Became the Owner of a Poor Estate
Chapter 13
Chapter 13
As soon as he saw the Lord of Grace, the man—possessing a protruding belly and a round double chin—let out a deep sigh and shook his head as if he were in a difficult position. Every time he moved, the ornaments hanging from his clothes clattered loudly.
“My Lord, I truly gave you a fair price for that pearl necklace you took last time. Anywhere else, they would have charged twice as much. Knowing the situation here, I gave you a special discount.”
With every word he spoke, his annoyance was palpable; it was clear just how much he hadn’t wanted to come here.
Listening to him blurt out words without so much as a greeting, Donghee felt a surge of irritation.
If she were her original self, showing her inner feelings outwardly would have been unthinkable.
They say humans are creatures of adaptation, and Donghee was currently adapting to her situation with animalistic speed.
“What did you say your name was again?”
Donghee tilted her head slightly, narrowing her eyes as if she couldn’t quite remember.
Her drawling voice was utterly arrogant.
“Pardon?”
Since the Lord of Grace had never shown such an attitude before, the jeweler looked at Chloe with a bewildered gaze. His expression clearly asked, Has she finally lost her mind?
Regardless, Donghee asked curtly with a relaxed expression, looking like she had become the Emperor Nero of Rome.
“Your name.”
Being arrogant was something that improved the more she practiced it.
The man twitched one side of his lips as if he found this absurd, then answered listlessly.
“It is Gold Rich.”
“Pfft!”
It was a name that perfectly suited a jeweler.
Donghee didn’t even try to hide the laughter that burst out, snickering as she asked.
“Is that your real name?”
It seemed like a pseudonym made up for the jewelry business.
“My family has run jewelry shops for generations. You know this well, so why the sudden surprise? It is indeed my real name. Surely you didn’t hold up a busy man just to ask my name. Why did you call for me? It’s not like the Lord of Grace is in a position to purchase gems. Surely! You aren’t planning to sell back the pearl necklace you bought from me last time, are you? I absolutely cannot give you full price for a necklace that has already been worn. I will give you half of what I sold it for. Not a copper more.”
Before Donghee could even speak, Gold Rich—having finished the introduction, body, and conclusion of the conversation himself—waved his thick hands and shook his head. The gold bracelet tight around his thick wrist glittered, and his slime-like chin wobbled with every shake of his head.
He was such an eyesore that she felt the urge to reach out and yank on that thick chin fat.
“I am going to sell something, but it’s not that cheap pearl necklace you sold me.”
“Ch-cheap?!”
Gold Rich’s sallow face turned beet red.
He was a man with immense pride in the gems he sold. Although he had ripped off the Lord of Grace slightly, they were by no means cheap, so he was furious.
It was a strange feeling, being so at peace while someone else was turning red with rage.
Donghee suppressed her rising laughter and waved her hand dismissively as if it were of no consequence.
Gold Rich’s face became as scarlet as the flesh of a watermelon.
“Shut it. Just look at this necklace. How much will you give me for it?”
Donghee placed a necklace set with a large ruby on the table and watched Gold Rich’s expression.
Gold Rich, who had been watching with a look that suggested he expected her to pull out something trivial again, suddenly had eyes that bulged as if they were about to fall out the moment he saw the ruby necklace.
“Th-this is!”
It must be a necklace made with delicate craftsmanship unseen in this place. The gap in technology would be immense.
Judging by the quality of the pearl necklace Gold Rich had sold to the Lord of Grace, she had guessed that the jewelry crafting techniques here weren’t very advanced. However, seeing Gold Rich’s reaction—as if he’d been struck by lightning—the gap in technology seemed even wider than she had anticipated.
Donghee gave a small smirk and placed a sapphire, a diamond, and a gold necklace on the table one after another.
She hadn’t realized it when she was frantically sweeping things into her inventory, but now that she had taken them out, Borimdang had quite a few items that looked rather expensive. No matter how small the scale, it seemed a jewelry shop was still a jewelry shop.
“I have quite a few of these. Well? Care to buy them?”
Watching Gold Rich, whose mouth was hanging wide open, Donghee asked while leisurely crossing her legs. Her posture was even more reclined than before.
“Th-this, just whose handiwork is this?”
Gold Rich’s voice trembled as he asked, his eyes filled with awe.
The condescending attitude from moments ago was nowhere to be found. He even grew teary-eyed as he looked at the necklaces, crafted with meticulous techniques that couldn’t even be found in this world.
At the very least, it was certain he was a man sincere about gems.
I like him.
Donghee straightened her leaning body, brushed off her sleeves with a thwap, thwap, and answered as if it were no big deal.
“I have a route that only I know. Of course, I cannot disclose it carelessly.”
“Th-then, will you continue to trade these items exclusively, My Lord?”
“Yes. Only me. It’s a secret trade that no one else can do but me.”
“This is not the work of a human!”
Gold Rich, having drawn his own conclusion, spoke in a dazed voice as if he had realized something.
Did that mean non-human entities lived here too?
Donghee had many questions, but she merely maintained a subtle smile to add to the mystery. Now was the perfect time to drive up the price.
Strictly speaking, it wasn’t a lie. Since they weren’t 100% handmade, they weren’t solely the work of a human.
I haven’t lied.
Donghee repeated this to herself as she looked at Gold Rich.
“So, are you buying or not?”
“O-of course I must buy them! How much should I pay you! I will give you a generous price, whatever it takes!”
Gold Rich moved much closer than before and answered quickly with a desperate expression.
Seeing him hurry as if he had competitors made Donghee feel better and better.
“You have an eye for quality.”
She nodded and smiled, pretending to be relaxed on the outside, but inside she was quite flustered.
She didn’t even know the currency units here, let alone how much gems of this caliber were traded for.
Donghee, her mind working furiously, called for the butler Scrooge, who had stepped away with a solemn air.
She was certain that he would know more about money than anyone else.
“Did you call, My Lord?”
Scrooge, who entered upon being summoned, was visibly displeased.
He had heard she was going to sell jewelry, but he couldn’t believe it. There was no jewelry in the impoverished Grace Castle worth selling to the greedy Gold Rich, and even less money to buy jewelry from him.
Scrooge, who had entered the drawing room with a lukewarm expression, found his face crumpling the moment he discovered the gems laid out on the table. When a face already full of wrinkles crumpled like that, it looked like nothing so much as a silkworm pupa.
Scrooge was determined not to open the vault door, no matter how much the immature Lord pestered him for money.
Even if he were kicked out of the castle, it couldn’t be helped. It was his final act of loyalty to the late Marquis.
Having made his decision, Scrooge’s hunched shoulders straightened.
“I intend to sell these to Gold Rich.”
“I absolutely can—… pardon?”
The answer he had prepared, assuming she would ask for money, slipped out first. Scrooge snapped his head around to look at Donghee, his wrinkled eyes blinking.
“I said I’m going to sell these to Gold Rich.”
But as the Lord’s words finally processed in his mind, Scrooge’s firm expression collapsed instantly.
Donghee, focused on Gold Rich, didn’t notice Scrooge’s rapidly changing expression and beckoned him closer.
Scrooge hesitated, wondering if he had heard correctly, as he approached the Lord.
As he drew near, the young Lord beckoned him once more.
It seemed she wanted him to lean his ear in. Scrooge glanced at Gold Rich, who was drooling and unable to take his eyes off the gems, and slowly leaned toward Chloe.
He still didn’t understand what was happening.
“You likely know more about these trades than I do, so watch from the side. If that man tries to lowball the price, stop the trade immediately. Understood?”
“Pardon? Ah… yes.”
Scrooge answered blankly, but he was dying of curiosity as to where those expensive things had come from. However, since the Lord wasn’t alone, he couldn’t bring himself to ask.
His heart was pounding with the fear that the Lord might have stolen them from somewhere.
But even if that were the case, he couldn’t show it in front of that man, so Scrooge feigned composure and nodded slowly.
Oh, Marquis. What is to be done about this?
Unaware that Scrooge was wailing internally, Donghee smiled with satisfaction.
Everything was going as planned.
In the meantime, Gold Rich, having finished evaluating the gems, spoke in a trembling yet cautious voice.
“I will give you 20 gold for the ruby necklace, 10 gold for the pearl necklace, 40 gold for the diamond necklace, and 10 gold for the gold bracelet.”
“80 gold?”
“You finished the calculation already?”
Seeing Chloe state the total price the moment he offered the values, both Scrooge and Gold Rich were startled.
