Chapter 13

Chapter 13

“I want to purchase information on a man called Louie Gazelle.”

He tapped his armrest with his fingers. “Louie Gazelle. The eldest son of a rural lord who owns land on the western border. One thing I do know about him is that thanks to the recent discovery of several silver mines in the west, his house suddenly gained vast wealth in a short period of time.”

What? They’re located in the west? I felt blood rush to my head. Veleque, that son of a b*tch, he just gets worse and worse the more I learn about him. I couldn’t help but curse him out mentally since the lands belonging to House Seymour, as well as the capital were in the east.

He planned to isolate me far in the west where I would have no connections. I wouldn’t be able to set foot on Seymour territory ever again. My marriage would be akin to being sent into exile. I’m not going down that easily. I suppressed the anger threatening to rise to the surface. “I don’t want simple information. I want to know his every weakness.”

I would do everything in my power to expose the faults in the man Veleque had chosen to be my husband. I couldn’t let him get away with trying to go through with this stupid marriage without a stain on his reputation.

“So, you want something you can attack him with,” the master said.

“That’s right.”

Understanding what I wanted, he made the shape of a coin with his thumb and index finger. So, he wants a little upfront payment. I produced a pouch from my leather bag and poured a pile of gems out onto the desk, all of which had been imbued with protective magic. His eyes widened slightly.

“You don’t think this is the extent of what I’m capable of paying you, right?” My eyes pierced him with the intimidating confidence I’d practiced in the mirror as I emptied another pouch. Still lying next to him with a bored look on its face, the beast’s ears perked up at the tinkling sound of gold and jewels. “Show me how capable you are of gathering information and you’ll see just how deep my wallet truly is.”

First impressions were very important—I wanted to leave him thinking that I was a more generous and bold client than even the crown prince. I’d have to pay up in the end anyway, so I didn’t want to do so grumbling and complaining like the prince often did. See, I’m better than the crown prince. You’ll want to maintain good relations with me, right? This was the message I hoped to convey in my stare alone.

There were sapphires, rubies, opals, obsidian, and even topazes. Most of the colors you’d expect to see in jewelry were represented in the pile of gems on his desk, a visually pleasing array.

“Since you’ve shown your sincerity, I’ll have to do my best to oblige you in any way possible,” the guild master said playfully, plucking a gem from the table. “Everyone has their faults. It won’t take much effort to find Louie Gazelle’s and no doubt in abundance.”

He smiled thinly. No doubt he’d worn that same venomous smile when he’d plotted to accuse Deborah of blasphemy and have her sent to a convent. I have a feeling someone like him would manufacture faults if he couldn’t find any. He was a terrible enemy, but a truly dependable ally. Thinking to myself that I’d certainly been wise to come to him, I moved on to my next order of business.

“This is my second request. Is it possible to purchase a title?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Of course… Titles can be bought. Even people can be bought for the right price. What makes you think the same can’t be said for titles?” he said like the money-hungry man he was, as he rolled a ruby between his fingers.

“How much would it cost?” I asked.

“That depends on the title. Titles are usually about as expensive as anything can get since a noble’s status is a truly desirable thing.”

Damn it. So I’m not the only one looking to buy one. I grew nervous, since the more demand there was, the higher the price. “I’d like to know the average price of a baron’s title,” I said calmly, even though I felt like my heart might pound out of my chest from anxiety.

“I don’t know of enough instances to give you an average figure, but if you have this much, you’ll likely be able to purchase a title from one of the lower-ranking houses.” He dipped his quill into an ink pot.

Wh-what? I very nearly reached across the desk and grabbed him by the collar as he continued to write zero after zero. The price escalated at an astonishing rate before finally coming to an abrupt stop.

Why is it so expensive? Converted to Korean won, the price seemed even more outlandish. Ten billion won. I’d expected a billion at most, but this was completely ridiculous. But... That would be a completely unachievable figure in my previous life, but not in this one. I’d foolishly asked for only four thousand gold, calculating based on my standards from my previous life. Remember, the spoon is made of diamond for me now.

Deborah had been born into a completely different world from Yoon Dohee, which meant saving up that sum was possible. It had to be possible. I couldn’t marry Louie Gazelle, who started drooling whenever a pretty girl entered his line of sight.

“Not too bad.”

He only shrugged as I bluffed. “I suppose it isn’t much for someone like you, who owns a necklace worth a townhouse in the capital.” That same house would be worth at least one to two billion in Korean won, I guessed.

“Well said. About that pink diamond. I’d like to convert it into coin. That is my third request.” I’d been on the fence about selling it since I was afraid of what the duke might think. However, I changed my mind after hearing how much a title was going to cost me. I’d rather take the risk and sell it.

“What?” he said, setting down the pen while wearing an utterly befuddled frown. “Why do you want to sell it all of a sudden? As I hear it, you fasted and even suffered confinement in your room to get your hands on it.”

“You seem to forget—if you’re going to keep asking me questions, you should pay me this much in gems.”

A flash of confusion appeared briefly in his glass-like eyes. He gaped for a moment, then his lips relaxed into a grin.

I guess I didn’t upset him. I bit back a sigh. The only reason I was being this brave was that I was certain that he could do me, Duke Seymour’s only daughter, no harm. In a word, I was betting entirely on my father’s influence. If the master found out that I was in reality a coward, he would give me the shakedown of my life.

“I seem to have forgotten myself once again. Please accept a second apology,” he said playfully. It occurred to me that he looked quite young at that moment and I was taken aback. Come to think of it, how old is he? The more I look at him, the more puzzled I am about his age.

“My lady,” he said quietly, jerking me out of my thoughts as I studied his face. He had figured out exactly what I wanted almost immediately. “The pink diamond. You want to get rid of it without the duke knowing?”

“That’s right.”

“That jewel has already become famous in high society and it will be impossible to sell it in secret. If it is seen in an auction house or a shop, rumors will spread.” I’d expected him to have a magical solution, something like a genie in a bottle, but his answer was a surprisingly firm no. He did, however, have an alternative strategy at the ready. “But there is a way to trade the gem for gold without upsetting Duke Seymour.”

“And what would that be?”

He smiled with his eyes, resembling a fox. “Fifty-fifty.”

“You can’t possibly be asking for half the proceeds?”

“I’m glad my lady understands me so well.”

F*ck. He’s a crook. “Nonsense. You’re asking for far too much. I am willing to pay you a fee for your services, of course.”

“My lady. A few more pink diamonds are about to become available on the market very soon.”

My frown eased a little. As the owner of the shop that had sold the diamond, he was no doubt aware of exactly how many pink diamonds had been mined.

“In the long run, you stand to gain far more by selling it quickly before its rarity is compromised,” he said. “I will take my cut, but I can sell it for twice the price twice Duke Seymour paid for it.”

He flipped one of the gold coins piled on his table and it landed on the back of his hand. He showed me that it had landed on heads, engraved with an image of the first emperor, and said confidently, “Since I’ll be taking such a large cut, I will strive to earn as much profit as possible.”

I fell into thought. The whole draw of the diamond was its rarity. If it was going to lose that over time, it was better if I sold it quickly. And if he could sell it at a higher price, I wouldn’t really be losing out even if he took half of the profit. I was also curious about what sort of plan he would come up with to make it happen. “But fifty-fifty is still too much. Seventy-thirty,” I said.

“If you tell me why Cookie is drooling all over you, I will accept that ratio.”

I thought for a moment, gazing at Cookie, who looked back at me with glistening eyes. The reason the animal liked me so much was simple: I was wearing five bags of catnip strapped to my waist. In the dialogue I remembered reading, he’d said the cat seal symbolized his golden beast, so I’d guessed that his pet must be a feline and I’d been right. Pets were not commonplace in this world and catnip was only used as a medicinal herb. He probably had no idea I was carrying on me what was essentially a narcotic for cats.

“Fifty-fifty it is. I’m not an information broker like you.” This information meant nothing to me, but the guild master was probably a cat lover, and to him, it would be immensely valuable. I’ll tickle his curiosity so he’ll be interested in doing business with me. It wasn’t worth telling him if all I got in return was a ratio of seventy-thirty.

“So, you’re not willing to give that up,” he grumbled, and I quickly changed the subject.

“And here’s my final request. How can I most efficiently manage my funds?”

I had countless gems and accessories, but almost no gold, which was the main currency in this world. Deborah usually used a check to purchase whatever she wanted and the mansion’s treasurer would honor it. She hadn’t needed gold.

A drawback of using checks was that the duke got a detailed report of everything I bought, including the prices and quantities. I’d be leaving a paper trail. I wanted to sell the gems and save up as much gold as possible, but an unmarried lady who had not debuted in high society wasn’t allowed any private wealth. That meant I couldn’t make an account at the bank.

Used to the convenient electronic financial systems of the twenty-first century as I was, I wasn’t at all sure how I would store and manage all that heavy gold coin.

“Funds...” he drawled, cupping his chin with one hand. “Most people keep it somewhere on their estate or store it in a secret safe underneath their mansion.”

I guess the rich behave the same everywhere. “Both methods are too cumbersome for me. Is there any other way?” I asked with a frown, hiding my disappointment.

He rubbed his black-gloved hand against his pale chin slowly in contemplation. “That means creativity, not information, is needed here. If I show you my creative side, what will you show me?” he asked, throwing my words right back at me.

It was like he was testing me, demanding that I show him something more than just deep pockets. He’s not an easy man, as expected of such a dark, secretive character. The weaker ones tremble when I so much as frown at them.

But it wasn’t just my family’s wealth I was depending on.