WHEN HE HAD SEEN ABOUT TWENTY GEMS, Lucian straightened his back. I was sitting beside him and looking at him together at first, but I was already tired so I leaned back against the sofa.
With a slight movement of his lips, Lucian gave me a satisfied smile.
“This is the color of your eyes.”
I didn’t mean that I wanted the color of my eyes.
But I didn’t mind whatever he chose. I quickly moved forward to look at it closer.
The wooden box on the table was, from just a glance, luxurious.
Cradled by a white velvet cloth inside the box was a sapphire shaped like a water drop.
“It’s pretty, Brother.”
Perhaps because it was both shaped as a water drop and was the color blue, but it looked like a teardrop.
Even so, I was a little disappointed.
I wish it was a gem that resembled his eyes, not mine.
“Brother, why don’t you look at some yellow sapphires? We’re looking for a gem for Brother’s ring, but why did you choose the color of my eyes?”
As I said this with a hint of regret, at the same time, Lucian’s once-bright expression cracked once again.
He looked upset and displeased. Ah, right. It’s that kind of expression…
When I finally put a label to this previously unknown expression, I felt relieved. But then I soon wondered again.
What had gotten him upset?
As I tilted my head to the side, Lucian gave an order to the shop owner.
“Bring all the yellow sapphires.”
Ah, we’re doing it all over again.
I’ll have to wait again.
Of course, it’ll be nice to look at some gems that would match Lucian’s eyes but waiting for it to be over was a little boring.
I leaned back on the sofa again and watched him wear the monocle. It was just a monocle, but when he wore it, it seemed to have turned into a high-class item.
That’s right, this was such a moment, too.
When he brings in someone he loves later, he’ll go out with them and…
My heart already felt empty. I stuck close to him and watched him look at each gem.
His breathing sounded a bit rough. As soon as I looked up, we made eye contact.
Huh? Weren’t you looking at the gemstones?
I looked at him as I placed my chin on his shoulder, but Lucian just sighed softly.
Why was he sighing though?
Ah, I guess it’s hard to keep looking at the gems.
Well, he’s been looking at such small things, so his eyes must be tired.
He also usually reads a huge number of documents.
“Brother.”
So I took the monocle off his eye.
“I’ll look at these now. I know them better anyway, your beautiful eyes.”
How many times could he look at his eyes anyway? He wouldn’t be able to see them unless he looked at a mirror.
So I knew his eyes better. With an expression that wished to tell him that he could trust me, I winked.
Then, Lucian smiled gently, as if he was being shy.
I began to focus and looked at each yellow sapphire. Well, this one’s color is too light, this one’s cuts aren’t very pretty.
The teardrop cut we saw earlier was pretty, but an angled shape would look better on Lucian…
Looking at the jewels, I could now see why Lucian was so focused.
I thought this and that and everything would suit him, so it was difficult to choose.
Then, I found a yellow sapphire in the shape of a teardrop just like the blue sapphire we saw earlier.
“It’s the same size, too?”
Like a ghost, the jewelry shop owner heard my murmur and spoke up.
“You have a good eye, Young Master. That’s right, the two gems were cut by the same artisan. In the industry, they’re gemstones that are called the ‘Tears of the Odd-Eyed Goddess’.”
Ooh…
As I was fully immersed in his explanation, the shop owner began to speak again, making an elegant hand gesture.
“There is a myth about a goddess who has two different eye colors, and she lived a long time ago. It’s said that the goddess’ eyes were gold on one side and blue on the other. When the goddess sheds tears, tears of different colors would also fall. A gold tear would become a desert and a blue tear would become an oasis in the desert.”
“That’s not a myth of the empire, right?”
“That’s right, Young Master. It’s not a myth from the Leonis Empire, but rather, a myth from a desert country far away from the empire.”
“What a mysterious story.”
I recalled this one story that the duchess told me before, and the recent story about the mirage.
Maybe that’s why. I suddenly hoped that these two gems would not be separated.
Don’t just be a mirage. Be faithful to each other and always stay together.
“Then these gems shouldn’t be separated.”
“You’re very kind, Young Master. Of course, I also want it to be that way.”
His warm smile looked quite kind.
“Then, what about the design?”
“A pen and a piece of paper will be fetched for you.”
As soon as he finished speaking, another employee left the drawing room and returned.
Lucian looked at me with an intrigued gaze.
“Hehe, I’ll personally draw a design for Brother. Is that okay?”
“Of course, Ray.”
He smiled softly, as if he liked the idea very much.
I drew on the piece of paper that the employee gave me. Over the outline of the ring band, I drew droplets of a different color going up and down alternately.
“Place the gemstone atop it like this, like it’s floating just between these. And there should be transparent diamonds around the teardrop gem like this.”
As I drew it exactly as I explained, it seemed to be a bit too excessive.
“Um, I think it’ll be better to remove the diamonds since it’ll be for Brother to wear… Which do you think is better?”
I let go of the pen and looked up, but then I found numerous pairs of eyes looking back at me.
“W-What’s wrong?”
Their gazes were so burdensome that I sneakily stuck closer to Lucian.
The shop owner had an elegant flair to him so far, but at this moment, he suddenly exclaimed.
“Young Master is a genius! How did you come up with this idea!”
“That’s right, you’re amazing, Young Master!”
“It’s so beautiful that I can’t help but admire it.”
Not only the shop owner, but even the staff standing around us began applauding.
It was embarrassing, so I held Lucian’s hand tightly and looked up.
Lucian, these people are kinda weird.
But his eyes looking back at me were also shining too much. With a gaze more burdensome than the shop owner’s, he held my hand tightly as well and said,
“Ray, I’m so touched.”
Huh? You’re touched?
When he said something so out of the blue, I became even more confused. Whether he noticed or not, Lucian began to give orders of this and that to the shop owner.
At that moment, I was exhausted, so I leaned back against the sofa again just as I was.
“The same as this… Find something like… Right, it has to be the same shape.”
I couldn’t hear everything because Lucian lowered his voice from time to time, but he just continued to give very meticulous instructions.
“Young Master, please excuse me for a moment.”
An employee approached and measured my finger. She carefully measured all fingers, from my thumb to my little finger on both hands, then she left the drawing room.
“Why was my size taken?”
I asked as I stared at Lucian. Instead of answering, he just smiled.
You won’t tell me. Again.
I just muttered to myself because I knew him well. He wouldn’t answer if he didn’t want to talk.
“Brother, I’m hungry.”
It took quite a while to choose, so it was already dark outside. Lucian frowned slightly as if he was contemplating what to do now.
Maybe he was just thinking about whether we should go back home or not.
“Brother, there’s a place I know. Can we eat something simple there?”
Yup. Spicy food is always the best on days like this.
Before going down to the south back then, I remembered the place selling spicy food that I wouldn’t have discovered if I hadn’t been kidnapped.
Of course, they should still be in business, right?
I smiled broadly, anticipating the new kinds of spicy food I’d get to taste. At my suggestion, Lucian also smiled joyfully.
“Shall we?”
“Yes!”
I was so excited that I answered with my arms raised, just like I did when I was young. Then, Lucian rose from his seat and took my hand naturally.
With our fingers tightly interlocked, he turned his head at an angle and looked down towards me.
“Then, can you guide me?”
I felt his heat from where our hands were connected.
It was so warm that a smile effortlessly graced my lips.
“Of course!”
The two of us left the jewelry shop and went back to the carriage. We got off the carriage again at a street that was frequented by commoners and not aristocrats, I searched for the store selling spicy sauce as I reminisced.
“Brother, this way.”
I led him to an alley, of which its air was filled with a spicy scent. We came the right way. I looked up at Lucian with a gaze full of anticipation.
We wore our cloaks before we got off the carriage, so I couldn’t see his eyes, but seeing the slightly raised corners of his lips was enough to tell me how he felt.
I stepped forward enthusiastically towards the store where light and loud sounds leaked through from far away.
For a moment, I looked for the place where I was kidnapped before, but I soon turned to Lucian.
He also noticed what this place was, so his mouth had tightened up. However, as he felt my gaze on him, he seemed to loosen up.
I held Lucian’s hand tightly as we entered the place where I first went to with the duke.
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