Chapter 38. The Principality Of Bertino, Part XIX

The shopkeeper had his curly hair turned back so that it wouldn't run down at all, and wore a stiff cravat, a wide, rectangular cloth wrapped around his neck like a scarf. Due to his luxurious clothes and condescending manner, it seemed to be no ordinary shop.

Adam approached the shopkeeper while Julietta was so thinking.

As the count began to talk to the owner about one thing or another, Killian sat down in a reception chair in the center of the store. Julietta, who settled herself behind him gently, seriously agonized over the back of his handsome head.

She had spoken in sincere admiration of the prince's nightlife, but he must have been very angry with the maid who casually bragged about his private life. She was just looking for a chance to apologize, to say, "I'm sorry," and "I'll never do that again." But she couldn't help but feel uncomfortable.

Adam, who had just returned from talking to the shopkeeper, spoke to Julietta, who was restless behind Killian. "Is there anything you want to say? Then don't hesitate to say it."

Killian's head turned slightly to her at the count's question. With his silent permission, Julietta hurried to go around to his front and ask for forgiveness.

"Your Highness, forgive me for what I said earlier in the carriage. I did not know who I was and made a mistake, leaning on your generosity. I promise it won't happen again."

Killian's face stiffened for a moment and then relaxed as Julietta bent down and eagerly sought forgiveness.

"There's nothing you can't say before me and the Count of Adam, so there's no need to ask for forgiveness. But in front of others, you should be careful about this, because I shouldn't let things go about my personal life."Killian felt a strange sense of deja vu at the sight of Julietta bending down to ninety degrees, begging for forgiveness.

Adam continued, looking at Killian, who recalled that he must have seen it somewhere.

"I'm glad you're not one who'll just be angry or say anything about it, but in front of another nobleman we shouldn't have to say that you need to be careful of your words and actions."

Julietta nodded firmly at the Count's words. He asked for forgiveness himself, thinking he must have been crazy for a while. Then, the shopkeeper who had gone inside came out with an expensive-looking box wrapped in velvet fabric.

Julietta, wondering what was in it, unknowingly looked up. The owner made a face and glared at Julietta.

She used to work in the theater's prop room and matched the jewelry and decorations to the costumes of the actors. Of course, the jewels used for theater props looked plausible from a distance, but they were like toys that were too crude to look upon up close. But it was Julietta's job to combine even those fake jewels with a dress.

So her interest grew as the actresses used the jewels and dresses they had received from their followers. She often sketched out the designs of her envisioned dresses and jewels.

She was curious about what designs of Bertino's jewels would be. But as she had the owner's fierce eyes, she slowly retreated to the corner, and Killian said with a slight sigh, "Come and sit down. Maybe your eyes, though you are a maid, can be more accurate than ours."

At the words, Adam pushed the shopkeeper, whose eyes were wide, "Show me what's in it."

"Yes, sir."

The owner opened the lid of the jewelry boxes he was holding, and laid them on the table. The jewels in each box seemed to brighten up the dimly decorated shop, and Julietta was impressed.

She forgot how she had dared to sit by His Highness's side, and was moved by a group of glowing stones like a bachelor possessed by a woman. Sitting by Killian's side naturally, she gazed at the jewels with a face that was literally salivating.

Looking at the resplendent glare of red, blue, yellow and green color, Julietta came to her senses and finally tilted her head.

After all, it was a jewelry store. But she didn't understand why there was no device to show what this place was like. As the interior was empty, she wondered if this was a disguised business or if there was a smuggling business behind the scenes.

It was so strange that it had no advertisements to tempt consumers, and a fancy display case that boasted to its customers and asked them to buy it. Though it was a dimension that had magic and ecclesiastical calendar, it was oddly similar to the Middle Ages of the Earth.

Julietta, who found her reason for understanding, looked down at the jewels once again, and felt a stinging gaze. As she lifted her head toward the eye, she saw the shopkeeper staring deathly at her for fear that her saliva might even fall on the gems; she was surprised and suddenly stood up and hid herself behind her employer's wide back like a shield.

Lance, who had been crafting jewelry as part of the family business for generations, was a craftsman with great skills in the Principality of Bertino. Feeling so proud of his job of carving and trimming simple stones and turning them into dazzling ornaments, he thought something ugly in this world would bother him more than anything else.

In his eyes, Julietta had such a hideous look that he didn't want to be in the same room for a moment. He was worried that the hideousness of a maid that was hard to look upon would be transferred to his beautiful work.

Lance, barely able to frown himself, snapped shut the lid of the jewelry box close to the maid and moved it to the other side. The ugly face looked up at him, and quickly got up and went around to the back of her master.

He was nodding with satisfaction, thinking that at least she understood who she was, but the Prince's expression at seeing the shopkeeper's behavior became cold.

Adam quickly spoke up, feeling anxious that Killian would upset the store while siding with the maid if left unchecked. "Do you have a set of amethyst?"

"We don't have many people looking for them, so we don't have anything ready at the moment. It's less popular than diamonds, sapphires, rubies and other jewels. In particular, since the Principality of Bertino is the largest producer of amethyst, there is more supply than demand, and the value of the jewelry is low and not popular."

After Killian looked at the brilliantly lit jewels for a while, he stared hard at the owner and got up from his seat. When Killian nodded and went out, Adam, who was given his silent instructions, ordered the shopkeeper. "I'll buy everything here, so put it in the carriage."

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After returning to the inn, Killian looked at the jewelry sets he had purchased, and said to Adam,

"It's definitely not up to dwarven work, but this is very good handwork. I'll also add this man to the list of craftworkers of Bertino Business Group.

"Clearly, even though it is comparable to the workings of the famous jewelers in Austern, the jewelry shops are now saturated. Why don't we find a market for amethyst, rather than going into the uncertain jewelry business?"

At Adam's words, Killian was lost in thought. The Principality of Bertino was the continent's largest producer of diamonds and amethysts. However, Killian was struggling to extract the maximum profit from what he had, as it was natural that profit had been reduced by selling the same resources over several generations.

Certainly, as Adam said, the well-known jewelers who had inherited the family businesses from generation to generation were abounding in Austern and Vicern, so he was hesitant to jump in. No matter how big the capital was, there was no guarantee that he could make a profit from the competition unless he set up a different sales strategy.

The only thing Killian held a dominant position over the other jewelers was that he had dwarven workers, but there were only five of them. He couldn't sell all of his products with dwarves' handwork. As such, it was too much to launch a jewelry business under the pretext of differentiation.