<strong>New Embers (6)</strong>
Seta took a sip of her tea and the bracelet Petra gave her jingled on her wrist. Adrian’s eyes fell on the topaz.
“The Duchess must have changed her strategy, seeing that she gave you a present.”
“How do you know this?”
“A long time ago, the Emperor presented the same thing to the Duchess.”
Adrian faltered as if something had urred to her.
“The fact that she gave me such a precious item————”
“No, it’s not worth much. No matter how great a person is, the Duchess would never give such a precious thing to a person with the status of a maid. It might look fancy, but it can’t be worn for important asions. It was just one of the many gifts she had epted from His Majesty.”
“Then why———”
This time, it was Seta’s turn to look suspicious. Adrian, on the other hand, seemed to know everything.
“I might not know the Duchess as much as Her Highness, but I can somewhat see through her actions.” Adrian smiled bitterly and continued, “The Duchess wants His Majesty to see you wearing it. She’s dering that she takes good care of His Majesty’s woman, that’s what I mean. Yourst meeting ended awkwardly, so she wanted her image to look better to His Majesty.”
Seta nodded in agreement. Indeed, Petra would never do a favor without purpose. If the Emperor saw the bracelet on Seta’s wrist, he and his sister’s bond would grow to strengthen after being estranged for a while.
“Then I shouldn’t wear it.”
Seta took the bracelet off her wrist, thinking that she had a lot to learn from Adrian. After all, this innocent-looking, green-eyed girl was able to destroy Apollonia’s engagement three times.
“Can I see it?”
Adrian received the bracelet and took a closer look. Then, the corners of her mouth raised a bit.
“The item seemed old. There’s even a scratch over here.” She grabbed a small knife that was lying next to the refreshments.
“Oh my!”
The knife in Adrian’s hand scratched the bracelet’s topaz and Seta wasn’t able to stop her. The previous scratch, which was almost invisible, grew a bit. It wasn’t visible from a distance, but it would be upon closer look.
“I also know a little about separating people. After all, I have already seeded in breaking off marriages three times in a row.”
Adrian smiled innocently as if she had forgotten what she had just done.
“Keep wearing it. One day His Majesty will notice the w.”
“You want me to let him know that the Duchess gave me a defective item?”
Seta bit her cheek. Adrian’s clever move just now was bolder than ever. Apollonia must have influenced her greatly because her actions resembled that of her master. If the Emperor looked closely at the bracelet, he will get the impression that Petra didn’t really care about Seta.
“Yes. It won’t be noticed right away but it will be good if you get caught. That’s the n.”
This time, Adrian shrugged. The two looked at each other silently for a while. Unconsciously, Adrian remembered Seta being a poor figure that the Lattes had beaten while Seta thought of Adrian as a pretty maid who followed Apollonia’s orders. However, from that short conversation, both of them realized that the other could be crafty if they desired.
“I’m saying this because we’re talking about jewelry———”
Seta opened the drawer and took out another bracelet. It had a tiny red jewel embedded in a thin silver string. The jewel, which was more transparent and brilliant than ruby, was a precious red diamond that was hard to weigh.
“Unlike the previous one, this was wless. Should I wear this often?” What she held in her hand was Apollonia’s gift to Seta in the name of Idena. “Did the businesswoman behind Idenapany wants to buy His Majesty’s trust with me?”
The moment Seta received the bracelet, she thought it was just part of her next n. Apollonia wouldn’t act without reason either. Unexpectedly, Adrian smiled and shook her head.
“A gift is just a gift, Miss Seta. Her Highness just gave it to you because she thought it would go well with a beautiful wrist, so it’s your choice whether you sell it or wear it often.”