The Villain is Being Suspiciously Kind

Arriving on the most famous jewelry street, Dartrin Street, she chose to walk around the other shops and ateliers.
These jewelry shops were mostly the height of glamour. The shops used clear glass windows so that the jewels on display inside were visible to some extent. Outside stood armed knights and attendants.

‘I’m glad I spread the rumors and these days diamonds, especially blue diamonds are the trend.’

-Diamonds are pretty! I really love them!

Walking down the street, you could see the fads. As she continued walking, she reached the end of the street.
A strange situation stood out to Citrina who was debating whether she should head back. Although the streets had been more lively as the festival drew near, this seemed like way more people than usual.

“What’s going on?”
“… There was a fight.”
“Hm, I’ll have to take another way back.”
“Alright, miss. I’ll be too stressed if I get caught up in this business.”

The merchant shouted as he went back to his shop. Citrina agreed with him completely.
It was best to avoid tiresome events.
Citrina was about to go back to her atelier, but realized at one point that Gemma was zooming around her.

-It’s a fight!
– Don’t go, Gemma!
-I’m excited! Citrina, come on!

An excited Gemma flew quickly to the scene.
Citrina sighed and headed towards Gemma. Somehow she felt like she was raising a child. Why?
She followed Gemma to the end of the street.
The people were crowded into a circle. The was a lot of buzz and noise.
Citrina managed to squeeze through the cracks in the crowd. In front of a glittering store stood and man and a boy crouching down.

“Get out of here! I’ve got a lot of workers like you.”
“I’ll work harder. Please.”

Tears were dripping down the boy’s face. The area around his eyes was flushed red.
And…
The restraint around his wrist stood out. It seemed that someone cast a spell on it. It was a typical slave seal.

“What do you mean you’ll work hard?”

The man held a whip threateningly with a grim expression. His expression was normal but his thin lips were as vicious as a viper.

Slap!

The boy closed his eyes tightly. People exclaimed.
No one tried to rescue the slave, since they didn’t know how much the slave was worth or if he was actually useless.
However, Citrina stood as if nailed to the ground.

‘It reminds me of Aaron and Desian.’

Even as people left one by one, she hesitated to move her feet.

– Save him, Citrina
-Do you pity him?
-No, spirits don’t care about people other than their contractors.
-Then why?
-I know about him. And if you save him, you’ll never regret it.

Gemma wouldn’t lie to her contractor, Citrina. Because of the terms of the contract, a spirit was a perfect ally to their partner.

‘How could I save him?.’

Citrina pondered briefly.

-Gemma.
-Yeah?
-I have some small, uncut gemstones.
-Small gemstones?
-Yeah, can you cast an illusion on them? Instead of plain stones, can you make them look like blue diamonds?
-Alright!

Gemma made some rustling sounds as she slid into the pouch on Citrina’s wrist.
Immediately, Citrina started to move forward.

“Sell him to me.”
She said in a loud, clear voice.

“What, young lady? I’d love it if you took this stupid thing away.”
He used a flirting tone.

“But what can you do? It’s a bit expensive.”
“How much?”

His tone was vulgar as he bargained for a human’s life. He smelled like someone who had rolled around on the floor, so it was unlikely he was interested in jewels.
Citrina glanced at his face.

“The young lady will never be able to afford it, so why don’t you act moderately and mind your own business.”
“Are you the owner of the jewelry shop here?”
“Right. I took it over some time ago.”
“Then you should be very familiar with this.”

Citrina pulled out the pouch she was holding in her arms. The man’s face turned sly.
Citrina grinned and took something out of her pouch. Gemma was caught between her fingertips and revealed the gemstones.

-I’m done! You can show them!

In Citrina’s eyes, who could communicate with Gemma, they looked like ordinary topaz gemstones.
But they must look different to the man’s eye.
They would look like the blue diamonds that made love come true.

“I’ll give you one jewel. That’s because each craftworker usually deals with one jewel.”
“That’s an interesting suggestion, so come closer, young lady.”
“No, you come.”
Citrina stared him down.

If he was going to speak informally, then she would as well. [T.L. Note: The man has been using banmal, or informal speech used with family and friends. It’s disrespectful to use it with someone you just met.]
The man raised his hand with a displeased face, then turned around, looked about, and paused.
It only took an instant for the man’s face to fill with greed when he looked at the topaz.
The man strode towards her, threatening Citrina.
Coming closer to Citrina, he pretended to be disinterested and hid his greedy expression.

“How do I know that’s a real gem?”

Citrina walked towards him one step at a time. She could feel the boy’s gaze.
The boy was watching her as he lay on his knees. And there was the attention of the people around them.

-Gemma, put illusions on the stones to cover everyone’s eyes.

Gemma could be heard wriggling around. Citrina spoke calmly.

“Wouldn’t you know best?”

Citrina held up a rough gemstone. They were ordinary gemstones. But the man’s face was filled with wonder when he saw it.
That’s because the blue diamond was overlayed on the rough stone in his eyes.

‘To him, it will look like a perfectly cut, beautifully clear gem.’

To be exact, it would look like a delicately cut, multi-faceted gemstone.
Citrina calmly held up the gemstone so that everyone could see.

This man treated the craftworkers as he wished and did not pay them a proper wage. So even the gods would turn a blind eye to Citrina’s slightly underhanded dealings.
“I didn’t know a bug like this was worth this much.”
Greedy eyes swept up and down the boy. She could see the numbers running through his brain.

“Well, it’s good that I’m not in the business of losing money.”
The man hastily stretched out his hand. Citrina quickly pulled her hand back. It was a close call.

“Sheesh, is there anything else to do?”
“Transfer ownership of the slave right now..”
Citrina was unmoved by his ferocity.

“Ah, that’s right.”
The man nodded his head impatiently.

Slave transfers were not complicated. If the slave had magic, you released the restraints; and if they had none, you simply handed over the contract. It was like trading goods.

The boy whose face was covered in tears and cowered on his knees had weak magic. Therefore, he only had to put a bead in the gap in the restraint bound to his wrist. Only then did the restraint come off.

“Listen carefully.”
The man spoke as if he was chewing and took a small bead from his pocket without hesitation.

“You no longer belong to me, Feinmann. You belong to this woman. So get out of my sight.”
“…Yes, yes?”
“Feinmann?”

At this man’s words, Feinmann’s words, both were surprised.