“Mother-of-pearl? I see….”

When she was young, every grandmother’s house in the neighborhood had a mother-of-pearl cabinet. Although it didn’t quite fit with modern aesthetics and young people rarely used them, she really liked mother-of-pearl cabinets.

The sparkling decorations on the black background looked like the night sky, and the various colors it reflected seemed like a rainbow engraved on it.

She had wanted to buy a mother-of-pearl cabinet when she became independent, but they were too expensive, so she had to settle for a phone case, she remembered.

“I think jewelry would be prettier than a cabinet. Or maybe a landscape painting with mother-of-pearl? That would be pretty too.”

Adelia muttered softly, turning her thoughts. She had been thinking about designing new products anyway.

Although artifacts were trendy now, she needed to create new trends as time passed. People would spend money on new items if trends changed periodically, wouldn’t they?

With just a little adjustment to suit the nobles’ tastes, this fresh and pretty item could become a new trend without any problem.

‘I brought her out to rest, but she’s thinking about business again.’

Lucian looked at her with a sigh. She seemed to be lost in her own world again, her small head working. Previously, he would have waited for her thoughts to finish, but now he knew how to handle it.

“How about buying Ariana’s gift here?”

“Ah. Yes, we should.”

As soon as Ariana’s name was mentioned, Adelia snapped out of her own world.

No matter what she was doing, Adelia reacted sensitively to anything related to Ariana. It was as if she responded instinctively, at a rapid speed.

Having gently set aside her own world for a moment, Adelia began to seriously choose a gift.

“Do you have anything that a 7-year-old girl and a 12-year-old boy might like?”

The shop owner tilted her head at her question.

“Children… no, younger siblings?”

“Yes, my husband’s siblings.”

“Oh my, such young siblings. You must have it tough, young lady. Don’t tell me you’re living in the same house?”

“Something like that.”

Not the same house, but the same palace.

At those words, the shop owner clapped her hands together in response.

“Oh dear. Your husband should treat you well. Taking such a pretty young lady and making her live with in-laws.”

She looked at Lucian as if he were a criminal.

While most nobles have the wife move into the husband’s family after marriage, commoners more often live separately.

There weren’t many houses large enough for extended families to live together, and living with family was often seen as a sign of incompetence.

“It’s fine. My husband is handsome, so it’s nice to look at him. And the family treats me well, so I’m doing fine.”

Adelia said smoothly, narrowing her eyes slightly.

Seeing this, the shop owner grabbed Adelia’s hands.

“Oh my, oh my, not only pretty but kind-hearted too. If only my son could meet a girl like you. If you weren’t married, I would have introduced you right away. Ohoho, is it inappropriate to say such things to newlyweds?”

“Why don’t you show us the items?”

Despite the change in hair and eye color, the atmosphere Lucian exuded was still intimidating.

Even the shop owner, who had been chattering away, immediately stopped at his stern voice.

“Oh my. Your husband is quite brusque. Haha. You said a 7-year-old girl, right? Usually, things like jewelry boxes or mirrors are popular.”

The shop owner laughed awkwardly and changed the subject.

She showed them various items. Every now and then, when she felt Lucian’s gaze, she would flinch.

“Why is it cold in summer…?”

“Pardon?”

“Never mind. So, have you chosen?”

“I think I’ll take this jewelry box.”

“The young lady has a good eye. This is one of my masterpieces.”

Even among the same jewelry boxes, each had different engravings. The one Adelia chose had butterflies flying among fully bloomed flowers engraved on it.

She liked the large, ornate flowers and the mother-of-pearl that had a subtle pink hue.

“And you said there was a 12-year-old boy? It’s hard to recommend for kids that age, they all like different things.”

“Hmm…. He likes swords, do you have anything related to swords?”

“Swords? As it happens, I have just the thing. There’s a sword I made with a skilled blacksmith at the end of the shopping district. It’s a short dagger with the handle and sheath decorated with mother-of-pearl.”

The shop owner rummaged through the display and brought out several daggers.

Adelia led Lucian to examine the swords.

“You know swords better than I do. Does it look good?”

“Daggers require less skill than long swords. And this one looks quite decent. It should be fine for self-defense.”

Lucian, after carefully examining the unsheathed dagger, gave a brief assessment and put it back down. The words of someone who had handled swords since childhood should be trustworthy.

Adelia cheerfully chose one dagger. It was a dagger with both ends of the sheath decorated with silver, and a pine tree engraved in between.

As she picked it up, the shop owner spoke with a troubled expression.

“The young lady has a good eye, but… that one’s a bit expensive, is that okay?”

Unlike the other daggers, this one had silver decorations. It also had jewels embedded in the handle, making it several times more expensive than the others.
Adelia smiled brightly at the shop owner’s worried words.

“Don’t worry. I have plenty of money.”

“Oh, oh, is that so?”

“Ah, by the way, do you have any office supplies? Don’t worry about the price, just show me.”

The shop owner glanced at Adelia.

After looking at her clothes and accessories, she put aside her worries. Now that she looked closely, the clothes were high-quality, and all the accessories like earrings were real jewels.

‘Are they nobles pretending to be commoners on an outing? I should pretend not to notice.’

She had been in this business for decades. She was familiar with nobles who came out for outings or to experience commoner life. Since they often didn’t want to reveal their identity, she smoothly continued without changing her speech.

“Sure, who are the office supplies for? You or your husband?”

“For Father.”

“My, you really are kind-hearted. Your husband is lucky. Come this way.”

The shop owner skillfully pretended not to notice as she led them.

She didn’t know why they were hiding their identity, but knowing they had money, it was a perfect opportunity to sell expensive items that didn’t sell well.

“This is a pen with decorations on the pen holder. That’s an inkwell, and here’s a box for storing snacks.”

“The pen is pretty. I’ll take three of these.”

Adelia bought several other items as well. Although there were no large items, buying various things made the volume too big to carry.

“Is delivery possible? Our carriage is at the storage area.”

“Sure, just pay a little extra.”

“How much is it?”

“All together, it’s 1 gold coin and 1 silver.”

“Here you go. The rest is a tip.”

Adelia willingly handed over 2 gold coins. The shop owner waved her hands.

“Oh my, this much? The tip is too generous.”

“It’s thanks to you that we discovered such good items. If you think it’s too much, would you do me one favor?”

“A favor? What is it?”

The shop owner asked suspiciously. It was suspicious that a noble would have a favor to ask of a mere merchant like herself.

Adelia smiled, narrowing her eyes as if to reassure her. Then, along with the money, she took out a small piece from her pocket.

Adelia engraved a simple magic on the back of the piece.

“The items are so good that I want to recommend them to my friend. My friend likes unique and pretty things like these.”

“Friend?”

“It’s difficult for that friend to come, so they’ll probably send someone. Please treat them well when they come. It would be even better if you accept my friend’s proposal.”

Adelia handed the piece to the shop owner.

On the piece made of white birch, a howling wolf was intricately carved. It had a glossy finish, probably due to some special treatment.

The shop owner, who had been staring at it, suddenly widened her eyes in surprise.

“Oh my goodness! Isn’t this the emblem of the Eileen Merchant Guild?”

“It’s a shame for such beautiful work to be limited to just this region. It’s a proposal, not a demand, so feel free to think it over. If you keep this, people sent by my friend will come to find you.”

Adelia firmly held the shop owner’s hand as she was about to drop the piece in surprise. Then she gave a clear smile to the shop owner who was gaping.

“Please send the items to carriage storage. It’s carriage number 4.”

They left the shop before the shop owner could fall over in shock. The shop owner stood there for a while, clutching the piece tightly, as if frozen in place.

“It feels like something incredible just happened. Did I have a dream while standing?”

It couldn’t have been a dream as the piece was still in her hand.

There was an Eileen Merchant Guild shop nearby too. Although they were everywhere, for some reason, the ones with the Eileen Merchant Guild name had particularly good sales. Even ordinary accessories would sell like hotcakes if they had the Eileen Merchant Guild name.