Princess Shu

Translator: Wawaa

Editor: WilsonWilson

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The jewels on the order sheet had a common point. The theme was all flowers.

‘Does Duchess Garth like flowers?’

Flower jewelry was common. After making a floral pendant with delicately cut diamonds, making earrings, necklaces, bracelets, and brooches would complete one jewelry set.

Of course, there were various kinds of flowers. Schuden bought all the samples that Hubert showed. And even after over twenty-seven sets, Duke Garth still asked for more. He did not even bargain. Hubert did not know why Duke Garth was so obsessed with flowers and joked.

[Hahaha. Why don’t you just make a bouquet with jewels? Of course, I’m just kidding. Hahaha!]

The red eyes glanced over Hubert without answering. His expressionless face froze Hubert at the moment.

Hubert was just joking. He was satisfied that, after a long time, there finally appeared a customer who would spend a lot of money. He wondered if his joke was too much.

Hubert was born and raised in the capital. He had been a jewel artisan all his life, he did not know the scary modifiers that Schuden had, such as the ‘devilish murderer.’ Nevertheless, he was scared of the red eyes that looked at him. Schuden had only looked at him without saying a word, yet his heart was pounding hard. Though he did not think that Schuden was staring at him in particular, it could be said that a strange bloodthirstiness was buried in his gaze. His eyes were completely different from those of other noblemen.

There was not much meaning behind Schuden’s quiet glance, but be that as it may, Hubert would not have known. Known for his eccentricity, the jewel artisan trembled like a soft baby deer. 

[Not bad.]

[…Pardon?]

Schuden casually tilted his chin. He liked Hubert’s joke-like suggestion, and as a matter of fact, he could not think of anything to give Valia as a gift. Flowers and jewels were everything. But aside from the jewels, the flowers were quite lacking in many ways.

At first, Schuden had planned to dig a pond in the castle’s backyard and plant flowers around it to make a personal garden for Valia. The problem was that she would find out about it right away. Valia often went for walks in the yard or backyard. So he tried to empty all the flower shops in the Duchy as the next best thing.

But he thought what Hubert said was better than his original plan. It would look more sincere than a quantity rush. 

[But where can she use it if I give her a bouquet of jewels? I don’t want to be a husband who gives unnecessary gifts to his wife.]

[What? You were going to give it to Duchess Garth? I thought it was for your hidden…]

Hubert joked again. His confidence went up one level after seeing that Duke Garth took a liking to his previous joke. No, his confidence was about to go up. Had Schuden’s expression not suddenly changed like an ice sheet.

[Hidden what? Keep going.]

His beautiful, balanced face was cold and expressionless as always, but the meaning behind his eyes was clear.

If what comes out next is nonsense, I’ll cut your head off and throw it at a dog.

Hubert gulped down. Schuden’s gaze was scary before, but now, it was fear itself. Hubert’s hands quivered. Although he was suffocated by the pressure, Hubert was a famous jewel artisan who opened a store in the capital’s luxurious urban area. In other words, he had dealt with a number of nobles before. He quickly changed the subject.

[Oh my, I made a mistake. So, you asked me where Duchess Garth can use it, right?]

Hubert quickly drew a flower on an empty piece of paper on the table. Schuden’s gaze that was fixed on Hubert turned to the paper. He said the flower petals would be made in the form of a pendant and then the gold thread would be given a thick twist to attach a stem. Hubert gave a smooth explanation as to how the flower and stem were detachable, it was actually his defense to live, in fact. 

[The flower is in the form of a pendant so she can detach it later and decorate it on her dress.]

That would also lead to practicality.

[The noblewomen dress up a lot with jewels. I will design the jewels in various shapes as much as possible so that she can decorate her dress in various ways.]

Hubert read the room and asked Schudedn.

[Your Grace, do you like it?]

[It’s okay.]

Schuden nodded.

As a husband, it was natural for him to want his wife to show off his gift. He did not just put effort into choosing the gift for no reason. His wife had to like it first for her to brag about it. When Schuden showed signs of satisfaction, Hubert swallowed a sigh of relief.

Hubert wrote down the expected price and gave it to Schuden. Schuden readily signed the bill. If any other nobles had seen the amount, they would have rubbed their eyes a few times, but it did not matter to Schuden. He could even sell the castle as long as he could hold on to Valia’s feelings.   

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

While Schuden left for the capital, Valia was alone in the castle.

She thought Schuden would only be staying in the Duchy, so when he suddenly said that he would go to the capital, Valia blinked her eyes in surprise. But then again, Valia thought that taking three months off did not mean he could stay in the Duchy for three whole months. He was a busy man after all.

‘We’ll meet again in a few days…’

The road warp that Schuden had kept near the castle was gone. However, there was another road warp built in the Duchy of Garth. It was not that far from the castle. Schuden also did not pack much because he would be back soon. He left with only a few of his entourage.

Valia spent days dealing with internal affairs. The absence of Schuden’s day and night hugs meant that she had free time, but her mind was very busy. Valia would host her first banquet, one on a very large scale at that. And on the day when the masquerade was to be held in the castle, a festival was also scheduled for the citizens. As the lady of Garth, she had to pay some attention to this as well.

There were many reasons why Valia chose a distinctive masquerade over other banquets, both public and personal.

Among them, the most personal reason was so that she could cover her face. Valia decided to confess to Schuden on that day. She purposely prepared a grand-scale event because she was afraid she might not be able to take courage. She ordered a dress and held a masquerade. She prepared the event perfectly.

‘Can I do well? What do I do if he puts on an absurd face after hearing it? No. He’s not that kind of person.’

After observing Schuden’s attitude toward herself, there was hope. He was really good to her. Every day, he would not let her go out of bed, and every time she looked around, he would always be looking at her. When she thought of that, her hopes swelled up like a puffy cloud.

With her past memories, Valia would have already believed that Schuden loved her. No, she would have been okay if Schuden loved an ordinary woman. However, the problem was that the person he loved was Yeri.

The man who married the temple princess under the supervision of the temple fell in love with the saintess. It was something that could make anyone think of fatalism.

So Valia could not easily pluck up her courage. She felt like some giant wheel of fate was spinning slowly. She was scared because it seemed that the person that Schuden would love had already been decided to be Yeri. 

‘It’s going to be okay. So what if it’s not okay? Preparations have already finished.’

Standing on the edge and crossing the line were quite different things. A concern that could not be avoided if one had an unrequited love. Valia had already decided to take courage and take a step forward. She clasped her hands and closed her eyes tightly, like a girl who hoped for her unrequited love to blossom into a reciprocated one.

She wanted him to be happy. She wanted Schuden to smile. Valia’s heart pounded fast throughout her thoughts. 

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

These days, the people of the Duchy of Garth had been filled with anticipation. It was the same between nobles and commoners, while the nobles were anticipating the masquerade at Garth castle, the commoners were looking forward to the festival. It was a festival held to celebrate the promotion of Garth territory to a Duchy. The large masquerade and festival held by the feudal lord excited many people.

Today was the day when Schuden was supposed to return from the capital.

Valia was in the Duchess’s office. She intended to take care of all the documents before Schuden came. Thanks to a few days of hard work, there were only a few documents left to look at. 

While Valia was reading the last document, a document related to the masquerade, she heard a slight knock on the door outside the office.

“Madam, this is Paul. I brought what you ordered this morning. May I come in?”

“Come on in.”

The office door opened. Six employees followed Paul in. Each employee held two boxes in their hands. After bowing to Valia, they arranged the boxes up on the table in the office. They did not forget to open the lid of the neatly placed box.

Valia got up from her seat and walked to the table. Then, she looked through the contents that Paul had brought. All the boxes contained masks.

“We prepared a total of 12 types.”

“Did you check the quantity?”

“Yes, Madam.”

“You did a great job preparing it. They’re all pretty.”

“Don’t mention it. I’m glad you like it, Madam.”

Paul smiled. The masks had different proportions, colors, shapes, and decorations. A total of 12 variations of masks like these had to be prepared for as many as the number of guests.

This was the reason why masquerades cost a lot of money. Those invited were allowed to wear clothes freely but had to wear the masks prepared by the hosts. And the masks were distributed at the maze-like entrance that was specially prepared. She could not just give a simple mask for the nobles to wear. It had to be decorated with jewels and feathers. It had to be fancy and elegant.

If the hosts could not prepare the mask for as many as the number of guests, it would have been a disgrace on their side. Of course, they could not collect the masks back after the banquet. It was a gift to the guest in return for attending the banquet. Masquerades did not cost a lot of money for no reason, instead, they had the effect of compacting a grand banquet that should have been held for several days into one day.

After talking with Paul about a few more things, Valia allowed them to go.

Her silvery-gray eyes seriously examined the documents. On the white paper, the total amount of money spent to prepare for the masquerade was written. It was not much different from the initial estimated budget, but it did not mean that the amount was small.

A masquerade costs several times as much as the other banquets. If Valia had not lived a year as the lady of Garth, her hands would have trembled. 

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