Free Web NovelChapter 592: Chapter 592 - Too Grand To Accept, Too Dear To Ignore
"Where are we going now?"
Rubbing her eyes after being sat down on the ground to walk on her own, Onya’s voice was just a little slurred from waking back up. She thought she would be fine until she had a bit of food and the rest of her body decided that meant sleep. Even though half of it was *vegetables* - or maybe because of the extra mental struggle of eating them which caused her to be more tired.
"To a jeweler that I have business with. But you are going to be the most important part of this outing, too - just like at all of these stops."
Fixing the disheveled reddish-blonde hair, Elua of course noticed how those words made her sister ’shy-happy’. Because of that, she was a bit split on the prospect of easing up on spoiling her versus going full tilt until she became almost immune to it. Her next words seemed to imply she wasn’t going to give showing attention up, but inwardly she did think to moderate it carefully for any signs of being taken for granted.
"So when we get there, you can decide what we get for you. Alright?"
"Oh. Okay."
The answer didn’t seem as enthused as the heiress expected, but she shrugged it off and bet on the next part. Leaning down conspiratorially, she whispered something in her young ear that exploded the child’s mood. Right into the sort of rising fireworks of giddiness that almost smashed her very hard cultivator forehead into the side of the brunette’s soft-looking but hardened-steel if attacked higher-realm cultivator face.
"REALLY?!"
"...As long as you behave well with the next visit too. I was proud of you at Silversky, little otter."
’What a liar I am. I’d still do the whim that struck me, as long as Qat approved, even if she was a nightmare for everyone~’
Securing the white leather bag on the girl as she had these thoughts, El grabbed for her little sister’s hand and began walking again. Though part of her did want to just grab her up and hop from roof to roof... it was always much faster to travel alone without constraints, than with company that she would get in trouble for teaching improper manners to.
"Do you think Qat would arrange some special territory laws for me?"
"Huh?"
"Nevermind. Just thinking out loud."
"Okay~"
A silver bell strung high inside the workshop door eventually chimed for them, and before long Onya was looking around at everything with wide-open brown attentiveness. The little girl had seen her mother’s collection of jewels and her father’s Crystal collection, but the kinds of shops her mother and father frequented with her in tow were largely the practical ones that their second child wouldn’t pocket something valuable accidentally-on-purpose from.
Not that she was particularly a *thief*, but she had played too many pranks in the house to be trusted outside of it. Which is why she had to be lectured and told at her age what thievery even was in the first place. Truly, for Yatrel’s peace of mind, it was a wonder she hadn’t been locking the girl’s arms in Earthen bindings more frequently than she had!
"Little Lady... Goltbred?"
The jeweler had emerged from the back of her workshop thanks to the bell, becoming gradually aware of who had walked in. Her hands were paused mid-wipe within cloth as the surprised tone turned into a soft grin. The woman was no stranger, after all.
"You’re back."
"I am."
She was the artisan whose hands had made the ornament that sat in Elua’s wedding hair that long day. Who had endured years of making replicas of the same brooch design, albeit for a well-over-market fee for her time and materials. A member of the Citrine Fang Society who had never revealed their secret business connection of questionable legality, even when being investigated as part of the thoroughness of the case against the Goltbred family.
"May I introduce my sister, Onya er Goltbred."
The girl had been eyeing the woman with a ’who is this’ face since she entered, but blinked rapidly and offered the kind of curtsy that Aurehl had drilled into her. Graceful enough for her size, if perhaps a bit too hurried in the way of anyone who wanted to be done with the stuffy part. When she straightened and she pushed some short strands of hair back behind her ear, the jeweler immediately compared it to a habit that was very much her duelist mother’s.
"Hello. It is a pleasure to make your acquain... tance? What? What’s with that look?"
"Sorry, this is just the face I get when I meet a charming child for the first time."
Looking over at Elua, mint eyes blinked once and she nodded at the girl without missing a beat.
"It’s true. You’ll never see it again, not unless you bring a friend your age, but she lost her composure with me like that as well."
"Isn’t that weird?!"
"Your mother has told me about you, you know. In pieces over the years."
"...It’s getting weirder..."
The jeweler did not move from the place she had been standing when she came out from the back. She seemed to understand that making *too much* of a fuss over the new visitor might startle her. A professional of any kind did have to learn to reign in their impulses when dealing with customers. Which meant that badgering a new child over their favorite colors, shapes, animals, food, fairy tale, fraction, or any other slew of minutiae she could use for making a new piece of jewelry they would love...
Was better saved for a lunch date the second time she saw them. When the strong desire to have cute kids wear something special she made herself had finally settled. It was better to stick to the pre-made items on first purchases anyway, as children were notoriously fickle about their likes... which was why she was so obsessed with crafting for them in particular. Even though it made up a very small portion of her commissions with adults having all the money for her products.
It felt like a *challenge* to zero in on a design that they would *actually* like for years to come as they grew up! A sentiment Elua had never openly agreed with, but wouldn’t openly disagree with unless there was merit in doing so. Since either way it sounded like a bit of artistic masochism and she didn’t actually care that much if moods or minds changed over an object she made... it just meant she would craft the newly wanted thing to hard-learned perfection, too.
"I’ve brought you something."
"You’ve brought yourself and your sister, which is already-" ƒгeewёbnovel.com
The attempt at socially deflecting any gift died in her throat when the first giant stone, an unrefined olive colored, green-brown peridot, caught the essence lantern light inside her storefront. With more expected weight once all cleaned and cut to it than she would ever likely use in a single piece, it was not the biggest stone she’d ever seen but it was still-
"-beautiful. How much?"
El only smiled and took steps toward the meeting table. She set that gemstone chunk down in the center before pulling stone after stone out of her bag. Sapphires and rubies, opals and garnets, as well as various colored fluorite samples ripped from the cave systems underneath the ancient, oceanic upthrust that the mansion she designed for Qat was built upon. Following that were samples from her other mining operations throughout the Exclave’s dimensions... filling the table with more stone than she moved in years.
"Is that taaffeite?"
"That’s what I thought, but it turns out this one really *was* just an exceptionally pretty lilac spinel. I tested the relative hardness of every stone."
Their geology level banter hadn’t stopped, questions or statements flying out with every new piece. A small booklet was added next, balanced precariously on top of the uneven pile of rocks - just because she could. Containing details that Elua felt the woman would need for stock certification with the Citrine Fang... or simply for the jewelers own records, if she decided to sell any pieces under the table.
"You know, I really wish I could afford *all* of this. Can you give me some time to go through and pick out some?"
"Why would you just pick out some? They are yours."
"Oh. Oh, of course. You mean you want me to work them and cut you in on the profits. I do have a few deals like that already, let me find one of the contracts as an example..."
Seeing the other woman rush back to her office to either continue to misunderstand, or willfully refuse to believe that she was actually being handed over a tableful of extra valuable stones, the heiress sighed. Going from talking with an adult so greedy for raw funds to a person so honestly hard working that her ’desire’ was placed entirely into making beautiful things alone... was almost uncomfortable!
’Like walking out of a cool cellar into the hot sun. Oh well, I think I can get through to her. After a few more firm statements.’
"The two of you forgot about me."
Underneath the table, back against one of the legs, Onya sat with arms crossed. Facing away and pouting. She’d watched them both marvel and talk to each other for a couple minutes before she realized it was the case. Neither set of their eyes did anything more than slip past her the whole time. Frankly, she couldn’t care less if the weird old lady ever talked to her again, but Elua was another matter.
"I didn’t forget. I was giving you time to decide. Did you see anything you liked?"
"...I didn’t look yet."
"Why not? I was distracting her for you."
"Liar."
"Now, now, is that any tone to take with your dearest sister?"
"If she ignores me it is."
Rolling her eyes, the reincarnator got on the floor and crawled underneath with the girl. Poking at her cheek, getting her hand slapped away, and proceeding to show that tickling her until she laughed was probably worse than being ’ignored’ for a few minutes. Or so the little girl accused a cultivator who had seven layers of spiritual barriers locked proximally to her moving form at all times.
Elua er Goltbred literally couldn’t ignore the spiritual noise and effort of that protectiveness if she tried. Though she could admit to herself that she had gotten a little too distracted simultaneously paying attention to Qat’s distant feelings while talking. To the point of not bothering to baby her second favorite person, for a mere few minutes.
"You’re so *spoiled* already. What did they do to you while I was away?"
"Am not!"
"Yes, you are."
Dragging her out and plopping her on a clean edge of the table, the heiress began running her ’dry clean’ manipulation of supercritical carbon dioxide across the dusty clothes. A technique that most servants of the Goltbred - or anywhere - would love to have, until they realize that meant they had much more time and energy... to do *other chores*.
"It’s a good thing I’m kidnapping you then, when I leave the city. You would surely just throw more tantrums and pout if I’m not around."
"W-would not! I’ll behave. When I go. And if... even if I don’t go with you..."
Mint eyes squinted but decided she wouldn’t argue with her. It was just as easy to let someone else in this building hold their willful refusal to believe something. For a time.
Both that she *could* behave and that she had a ’choice’ to go, whether she was actually good or not.
