Chapter 90

Necklace?

Did someone lose Shananet's necklace?

The maid, who can't raise her head now, is a person who has worked in Lombardy's mansion for decades.

She has a strong personality, so she won't be so contemplative about most things.

"Ahh! We can look for the maids who cleaned the bedrooms this morning..."

"There you go."

Shananet, who was standing still with her back turned, said.

It was as monotonous as if it were someone else's business.

But even with that little voice, the maid stiffened.

"No, Madame Shananet. I'll do whatever it takes to get the criminal..."

"Nelly."

Shananet called the maid's name.

"I think I lost my necklace."

"...Yes?"

"Come to think of it, I went out a few days ago wore the necklace. I must have lost it outside then."

Lie.

Shananet values the necklace, which is her mother's keepsake.

Anyone living in the mansion knew she does not wear it unless it was a really special day.

The maid seemed unable to find anything to say.

"Ha, but..."

"So don't make people suffer."

It was not something that could be easily covered.

Like the Lombardy family, high-ranking nobles take this kind of thing very strictly, in a place where there were precious objects strewn everywhere but ordinary people couldn't even see for their whole life.

When an employee touches the owner's stuff, the employee's accommodation is completely overturned on that day.

But if you don't get what you're looking for, you'll have to take some powerful servants and torture them to confess.

Perhaps the maid was aware in anticipation of such a future.

"Do you understand me?"

Shananet, who still hasn't shown her face, asked in a stern voice.

"Yes, yes, Madame Shananet."

"Th, thank you....!"

The maid, who probably cleaned the room, said, barely holding her quivering body.

"Let me rest."

The maids and other employees all went outside at Shananet's command.

I was wondering if she should go to her.

Somehow it doesn't seem right to leave Shananet alone.

The door closes with a clatter.

It was that moment.

Shananet's body, which was standing upright, collapsed.

"...Huh!"

She looked so small from behind, sitting there and covering his mouth.

"Uh..."

Crane looked at it and tried to approach her, but I shook my head and don't let him go.

"Mother..."

It was because Gilliu and Mayron, who were watching the situation in the room, approached Shananet.

Perhaps because of her sons, Shananet tried to pick herself up, but it didn't seem easy.

"Ugh..."

Little Crane is already teary-eyed just by looking at Shananet and the twins.

"Let's come over next time."

I said in a small voice, pulling Crane's hand slightly.

And turned around.

"Grandfather...?"

My grandfather was looking at Shananet with sad eyes.

Looking at the back of Shananet, who had collapsed for a while, the grandfather quietly turned around.

He didn't say anything, but I thought it meant to follow him.

I took Crane's hand and came out to the garden with my grandfather.

Like a habit every day, following my grandfather who takes a walk on the same road.

For Crane grandfather take a walk slower than usual.

Crane walked quietly without saying, perhaps he was aware of grandfather's feelings.

And finally, we reached the evergreen forest.

It was a place where memories of grandfather and grandmother remained.

Grandfather stopped and said, gently touching the biggest tree.

"Do you know why Shananet is so sad when she lost a necklace?"

"I heard it was my grandmother's keepsake."

I answered carefully.

"It's a precious thing. I'd be really sad if something so precious disappeared."

My grandfather, who touched the pine tree as if he missed it, smiled back at me.

And he patted my head.

It was a touch that was a little lackluster.

"Yes, I can't believe you understood Shananet's feelings. Our Tia is very kind."

And my grandfather spoke mumbled.

"Shananet was very close to Natalia. She was the first and the only daughter among her siblings. Natalia gave it to Shananet herself just before she closed her eyes."

The necklace was more special than I thought.2

Now that she's lost such a keepsake, how great a sense of loss must be.

"If it's something so precious, she must find it at all costs..."

"Aunt Shananet is a peace-loving person in Lombardy."

"...What?"

"It's just, I guess she's like that."

I said with a small smile to my grandfather, who looked at me in surprise.

It was a conclusion that I came to think about why Shananet divorced in her previous life, losing so much.

Shananet did not want to break the peace of Lombardy because of her problems.

She never dreamed that Vestian had another woman, and she carried everything for Lombardy and the twins.

Shananet-like, that was a foolishly good choice. [1]

I thought for a moment, and carefully patted my grandfather's sleeve and asked.

"Just in case, Grandpa."

"Ummm?"

"Do you have anything left by my grandmother? Things she can always carry, like necklaces."

"Well, there are a few rings left by Natalia."

"Then why don't you give it to Aunt Shananet? It may not be as much as a necklace, but I think it can fill in a little empty space."

"Oh, that's a good way! Yes, I should!"

My grandfather's face, which had remained bitter, was wide open.

"Oh, my God! Smart girl!"

My grandfather even hugged me so tightly that his prickly beard stung my face.

Crane looked at his grandfather laughing loudly for the first time and then sneaked up to get a pat on the head.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm going to go find Natalia's jewelry box."

Patting Crane's round head, Grandfather continued to laugh so cheerfully.

* * *

Caramel Avenue, a dessert shop, has already marked its third day of work this week.

Today was the day that Clerivan met Vestian again, and I stopped by for something sweet.

I didn't doubt that Clerivan would do well as I instructed so I felt light on my way to the dessert shop.

Not long ago, there were more days when I didn't just buy a cake and came up to the second floor and ate a piece or two.

"Um! Delicious!"

The sweetness and savory taste of the soft cream, which was filled with forks, made me stamp my feet.

Bate, the waiter, smiled a small smile, putting a plate and other desserts in front of me.

"You really like our cake."

"Because it's delicious! And I feel at ease when I come here."

"Ease?"

"Yes! Hmm. I feel like I'm in my hideout that no one knows."

At my words, Bate stopped moving and stared at me.

Her mysterious amber eyes made me feel as if I were looking at a real gem.

"I'm just saying that."

I sidestepped his eyes and turned the topic around.

"Today, I'd like to have two boxes of desserts for adults. I'm going to give it as a gift."

"It's a dessert that adults would like, so I was going to bring it to Shananet, who has gotten dark since she lost her necklace."

"Please send one of them to Pellet Company."

It was a snack gift for Clerivan and Violet who worked hard these days.

"Yes, Lady. I'll bring it if you wait a minute."

Bate nodded politely and went downstairs.

Left me alone again, I enjoyed the new dessert that Bate brought a while ago.

"Hahaha!"

"Lady, you're good at joking!"

A group of women on the other side of the same second-floor burst into laughter.

It wasn't that they were offensive or anything.

I just looking back because there's a loud noise.

My eyes met with a woman in the crowd.

It was Maria Patron who was smiling with her face covered with a fan.

"Oh, it's so disgusting."

The happiness that seemed to fly a little while ago disappeared in an instant.

I can't believe I ran into that woman here.

To make matters worse, Maria Patron and her neighbors whispered a few words and came toward me.

Oh, come on. Don't come...

"Hello, Lady. Are you Florentia Lombardy?"1

She dares to come and talk to me.1

"Yes, that's right."

I deserve the Children's of the Year award as long as I didn't tear that woman's hair off here.4

I deserve it.

"I, I saw you at the Pellet Company banquet last time..."

Maria Patron, who seems a little embarrassed by my cold reaction, smiles forcedly and pretends to be close.

"By the way."

"Whoa, the feast was a little hectic for the young people, right? Seeing that you don't remember me... That day, I greeted the Lord of Lombardy separately..."

Maria Patron shrugged her shoulders and said, aware of the girls she was with we're deliberately listening.

"Ah, that's when..."

When I pretended to remember, Maria Patron made a 'Sure' face.

"A low-ranking nobleman who spoke to my grandfather without knowing the subject."7

The ladies burst into laughter, and Maria Patron's face turned red.

How stupid.

I thought she only had eyes for men, she doesn't have eyes for people.

No matter how young I am, she doesn't even realize that she's not enough to treat me like a fool.

A person of such poor sense is nothing but a farce in the bloody social circle of the Imperial Capitals.

Ladies, who are laughing at Maria Patron to their heart's content, are just like that.

People who are making fun of a low-class aristocrat from the countryside.

Finally, it was time to turn my head, looking coldly at Maria Patron.

Something she shouldn't have.

Did I see it wrong?

I blinked but it didn't disappear.

"That necklace..."

A round sapphire necklace with unique cutting and high purity, although it doesn't have much decoration.

It was obviously Shananet's necklace.34

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Glossary

[1] '샤나넷다운' - Is composed of '샤나넷' + '다운'. '다운' which comes from '답다' is an adjective. '답다' means having full property of something. So '샤나넷다운' means Shananet-like. Having a trouble at this one.