Taming My Vampire Servant

"What?!" Ivory reacted, "You mean the ones that Lucius and I also worked hard for?"

Mona nodded, "As well as the others' works… Actually, all the recent inventory reports."

Lucius analyzed the situation. What if it was the castlemen? But no, it wouldn't make sense. Since they only took their 'coal', it might not be them. The King was already rich, why would he get interested in normal gemstones? 

Thinking that the thief might be a normal person unrelated to the castle, Lucius said, "Let us go back to the inventory office. We should check how they went past the city guards."

All of them hurried to the inventory office. The Gemstone Division's shelves of scrolls were a mess, and their colleagues were trying to sort out the old scrolls once again.

"So only the new ones were taken, huh…" Lucius muttered. He then turned to Ivory and said, "You should interview the town guards and residents nearby. Lycus and I will stay here and examine the area, maybe the thief left some clues."

Ivory, together with Sigmund, went out of the office and asked the town guard positioned in front of the office. She asked him if she noticed someone suspicious or someone lurking around.

But the guard said that his shift was only that morning. So far, he had not noticed anything odd. He then referred them to go to the town guard chief, Othello Miller, who is Mona's husband.

Ivory and Sigmund went to the town guards' office, which was beside a small jewelry shop. They were greeted by one of the guards, asking how he could help them. After knowing that they were looking for Othello, he said that he was not around, and that he was patrolling the town. 

"I guess we have to return later," Ivory told Sigmund.

Sigmund nodded, "Can't be helped. Perhaps he already heard about it from his wife."

"Yes. Maybe he's investigating around. Now where should we go…" she panned her sight around and saw the jewelry shop beside the guards' office. She pulled her Servant towards the store.

The bell attached to the wooden door rang, and the female shopkeeper, who was sewing cloth by the counter, quickly put down what she was doing and stood up. She greeted them, "Welcome, good afternoon!" and walked towards them.

"Hello, good afternoon," Ivory said with a kind smile. 

"What are you looking for? Ruby? Emerald? Sapphire? We have them all here," the purple-haired woman said. It was evident in her eyes that she's excited for Ivory to buy in her store.

Ivory noticed how pretty the shopkeeper was. Her purple hair was long and silky, and she had purple downturned eyes. She was clothed in a white long sleeve ruffled top under a red puffy blazer coat with flower embroideries on the laped. She looked like a noble by the way she dressed, and her ruby brooch and earrings seemed expensive.

"Your brooch… is very nice," Ivory complimented while she was staring at it. This made the shopkeeper smile.

"You have very good eyes, miss," she said. While touching her brooch, she explained, "This is the work of the most famous master jeweler in town."

"I see… That's why it looks so expensive."

She led her to the shelves at the back part of the store. "These are all works of that famous master jeweller. Take a look, and if you want to buy, I shall give you a discount. I also accept weekly payments, miss."

Ivory felt like she was almost going to buy it. She only went there to take a look, but because the shopkeeper was very accommodating, she might buy at least one!

Her eyes were drawn at two sets of earrings and necklace. The first one was a clavicle necklace where a peacock at the center was surrounded by blue small circular sapphire gemstones. The peacock's body, wings, and crown had rhinestones, while the head also had a small circular sapphire gemstone. The second one was a pink clavicle necklace made of crystals and rhinestones, where the rhinestones leaves were placed on top of the crystal leaves. 

"How much is one set of earrings and necklace?" she inquired.

The woman showed her hands, "Five."

"That's quite cheap, isn't it?" she was delighted to hear how cheap these were.

"Five hundred gold coins."

"What!?" her eyes widened before sighing. "I mean… Uhh I see…" 

While Ivory kept on asking the prices of the jewelry on the shelves, Sigmund walked around the store, also taking a look at the items. 

He wondered if he could buy his Master one of those, but then again, he's only her Servant. If he was a human, he'd definitely get a decent job and buy whatever Ivory wants.

Sigmund reached the counter and examined the other jewelry displayed there. And as he went nearer to the back door of the shop, faint clattering and hammering sounds could be heard.

He was about to go to that back door in his curiosity, but the female shopkeeper blocked her way.

"Apologies, but the workshop is only accessible to authorized personnel only," she pointed out to the side shelf where Ivory was. "Please help your lover choose. She has been staring at the rings for a while now."

Because he frequently wore casual clothes like a normal human's, he was always mistaken as Ivory's lover. He uttered, "No, we're-" but he paused, since he liked the idea anyway.

Before Sigmund walked away from the counter, he noticed the bright yellow silk cloak with a torn on the side. It was the cloth that the shopkeeper was sewing a while ago. Not minding it, he walked towards Ivory and saw what kept her so long.

"Sigmund, aren't these rings cute?" she asked when she glanced at his handsome Servant. The couple rings were rose gold in color, but in contrast to the man's ring, the woman's ring had several diamond stones. The shank also had a very unique and intricate pattern of waves which Ivory really loved. 

"As if you have a lover," Sigmund said bitterly. "Don't waste your money on that."

Ivory pursed her lips. Yes, she didn't have a lover, but she had Sigmund, who she cherished very much. "How about I buy this, as tokens of our trust for one another?"

The Vampire was confused, "What do you mean?"

"I'll buy these rings, but we wear them not because we're lovers, but because we trust each other. It's like a friendship ring…" she uttered these words out of desperation since she really wanted those rings for them. 

"If you'd buy a friendship ring, why don't you give Lucius the other one, instead of me?" he was playing safe, even though he'd love to have a pair of couple rings with her. Deep inside, he really wanted her to convince him persistently to buy those!

Ivory sighed, "Fine, if you don't want to, then I won't buy anything," it was obvious from her facial expression that she was sulking!

She thanked the shopkeeper, then ran out of the jewelry store.

Seeing how bothered Sigmund's face was, the woman told him, "If you want to see her happy, just buy the rings, sir. I shall give you a big discount. You can even pay weekly."

Sigmund was about to retort, but the woman hurriedly took out the couple rings from the shelf. She went to the counter to pack the rings in a small, red burlap pouch, and pulled the strings to close it. She gave it to Sigmund, "That set has a discounted price of 100 gold coins, but for now, give me any amount." 

When Sigmund looked at her suspiciously, the woman chuckled, "My shop is beside the guards' office! If I do anything wrong, you can just report me, the same way I can report you if you do not pay me weekly. Do not worry too much, and just focus on making your lover happy!"

Convinced with her statements, Sigmund searched his pockets, but there was only 1 gold coin. He remembered it fell off Ivory's pouch a while ago and he just happened to see it so he picked it up!

"All the coins are with her, so…"

The female shopkeeper received a single gold coin from him, "No worries, sir. Almost all the men I've known had their pockets empty because it was their wives who managed their funds."

When he bid goodbye to the shopkeeper, he tried to catch up with Ivory. He saw her turn onto a street, returning to the inventory office.

"Found anything?" Ivory asked Lucius. Although she's still upset that she was not able to buy the couple ring and Sigmund did not agree with what she wanted, she decided that it was such a petty thing and she should just focus on the problem in front of her.

Lucius gave something to Ivory, "This. We found it hanging on the wire of the fence. It seemed like the thief went over to the side where the town guards do not pass much."

The strip of cloth was made of silk, with a bright yellow hue.

Lucius explained further, "I asked around, and it seemed like this kind of fine clothing is expensive. It is not common in this town."

Sigmund widened his eyes when he saw the cloth. "I think I've seen it somewhere..." 

They looked at him curiously. Ivory asked, "Where?"

The Vampire tried hard to remember, as he was sure about it. When he finally remembered, he said, "In the jewelry shop… beside the guards' office!"