Chapter 48: Grace’s birthday (6)
"Sir Roger, is that...?" I froze, feeling the words stick to my lips. For a moment, I was truly speechless.
Before me, on the young man’s open palm, lay a precious stone. It shimmered with a soft bluish glow and looked magical. However, my actual reaction to it was far from enthusiastic.
No, in fact, I couldn’t even begin to guess what this guy’s intentions were when he gave me something like this.
I wonder if Duke Dickens even knew about this escapade of his? After all, even if the purchase of such a precious stone did not hit the duke’s wallet too hard, it would certainly have attracted his attention.
Just for your information, if this stone were sold, the proceeds would be enough to buy a well-renovated estate in the center of the capital. In other words, it was truly an unimaginable amount of money.
Nevertheless, Roger, as if understanding my thoughts from the expression on my face, hastily said to me:
"Lady Weinstein, it’s not quite what you think. Actually, I didn’t buy this sapphire."
"What?" I asked in astonishment. "Then where did you get it?"
In the end, I seriously doubted that such a stone could be found just by walking down the street. Nevertheless, the answer from my love interest still stunned me somewhat:
"As you know, I was on imperial army training exercises this month. These exercises took place on the southern border, where the largest sapphire mine in the empire is also located."
"Hmm, and what? Are you saying you stole it there?"
"No," Roger couldn’t help but smile, "you know I wouldn’t do that."
And it was true. Roger Dickens was not the type to covet other people’s property, and he was the type of person who wouldn’t even pick up a coin he found on the street.
Or maybe it was simply because he was the son of a duke and didn’t need such things... Well, in any case, I had no intention of tarnishing the noble image of this man, who was indeed such a person.
Nevertheless, how did he get his hands on this stone?
Meanwhile, the guy continued his story:
"It so happened that one day, when my friends and I were returning to our camp, we accidentally noticed some bandits trying to break into the mine. They managed to overcome the guards at the entrance, and thus they almost succeeded in robbing it. But luckily, we got there in time and were able to stop them."
Ah, I see. So Roger and his colleagues saved the mine from being robbed by bandits? Well, that was a worthy deed, although it still didn’t explain how Roger came to have the stone.
"...When the owner of the mine found out about this, he was very grateful, because thanks to us, he managed to avoid major financial losses. And in gratitude, he decided to reward us and allow each of us to take one stone from the mine."
Now that Roger had explained the whole situation to me, everything became clearer. Well, it seemed like it was a rather interesting story. And yet...
"But why are you giving me this sapphire now?" I couldn’t help but ask.
The guy was embarrassed.
"It’s because I wanted to give you a gift without relying on my father’s finances... And I managed to get this sapphire through my own efforts, so I want to give it to you."
I hesitated.
"But... Why me?"
"This is my way of thanking you for continuing to believe in me all this time, and also for being my teacher."
In fact, it was easy to believe in what you already knew was going to happen. So it wasn’t really my selfless "faith" in Roger... I just knew from the beginning how his fate would unfold.
And besides... I wouldn’t call my successes as a teacher so outstanding as to deserve such a gift. Roger clearly overestimated my abilities in this regard.
I didn’t think it was a good idea to accept such an expensive gift from him.
And yet...
(Accept the gift.)
(Refuse.)
Yes, it really did seem like some kind of mockery.
Game, what’s wrong with you?! Or have you already forgotten who the real heroine is here?
At that moment, a chill ran down my spine, as I realized that Roger and Angela had accidentally crossed paths here, even though they weren’t supposed to do so until she came of age!
I was afraid that something might go wrong because of this, but fortunately, Roger didn’t seem to pay much attention to Angela. Nor did she to him. Instead, the guy’s gaze was entirely focused on me.
In the end, I sighed. Okay, let’s just hope that everything will work out somehow and these two will continue to ignore each other.
Besides, I had a more serious problem to deal with at the moment. Since this choice concerned one of the main characters, I already instinctively understood what choice the game would force me to make.
And yet... I was the kind of person who never lost hope, even in the most desperate situations.
Finally, I tried to choose the second option. And, as expected, it failed miserably...
When the system forced me to make a choice again, I decided not to waste time and, with a heavy sigh, chose the first option after all.
"Thank you, Sir Roger. Your gift was very pleasant and unexpected for me."
After my words, which I uttered with gritted teeth, Roger’s expression brightened.
Although it was not very noticeable on his usually cold face, I still could not help but notice the difference, which did not make me happy at all.
After all, I felt that I was doing something I really should not have done.
At that moment, when I accepted Roger’s gift, I turned to Ruby and was met with a somewhat unexpected sight.
The thirteen-year-old girl had such a dark expression on her face that it seemed to me she was literally ready to burn a hole in Roger’s face.
It was a stark contrast to her usual sweet and innocent expression. But I couldn’t understand why she was reacting this way to Roger.
"Um, Ruby, is something wrong?"
When I called out to her a little anxiously, the girl seemed to snap out of it, and in a moment she was looking at me with her usual expression.
"No, Auntie. I was just really looking forward to finally trying the cake!"
Ah, so it was all about the cake? When I realized what was going on, I calmed down and smiled.
Well, really. Children are children.
Not paying much attention to the strange cold atmosphere that had arisen between Rubiella and Roger, I asked the butler if we had any cake.
And of course, since it was a birthday party, the answer was yes.
"Of course! I’ll have it brought out immediately."
After Edison gave the order, Nura soon brought the long-awaited cake into the garden.
All this time, I was watching her actions intently, as well as her somewhat clumsy gait.
After all, knowing Nura’s usual behavior all too well, it would not have been surprising if she had simply dropped the cake halfway there. Still, I sincerely hoped that this would not happen.
And, fortunately, everything turned out fine.
When Nura placed the gorgeous snow-white cake on the table, which was two tiers high, even I couldn’t hide my sigh of admiration. Yes, it really was a magnificent cake. No doubt they had ordered it from a very good bakery.
"Please, madam."
With these words, the butler kindly handed me a knife that had already been prepared.
Since I was the birthday girl, according to tradition, I was the one who had to cut the cake and eat the first piece. That’s exactly what I was going to do, while everyone else watched my actions with excitement.
When I carefully cut a piece of cake, I discovered that it was raspberry-colored inside. It seemed to be a cake with berry filling.
I put this piece on my plate, and by that time Nura had already poured me some tea.
For this occasion, I also decided to use a new cup from my father’s set.
When I tasted the cake, it was truly delicious. After that, I washed down the sweetness of the cake with tea.
It was black tea with a tart flavor that went perfectly with the berry flavor of the cake. In short, everything was really well organized.
However, before I could compliment the cake, I suddenly realized that I couldn’t do it. It felt like there was a lump in my throat that was making me choke.
What... What’s happening to me?
The next moment, I couldn’t help myself and spat my own blood right onto my dress. It ran down my chin and continued to drip.
While everyone else stared at me with completely white faces and screams rang out, I couldn’t see it because the image in front of me began to rapidly fade away.
In the end, the last thing I saw before losing consciousness was Ruby’s amethyst eyes.