Chapter 131: The Jeweler Who Would Not Kneel

Gemma Somnio looked at the person sitting in front of her with anxious eyes. Exactly that one person.

The study with a heavy atmosphere didn’t catch her eye at all. Even though it was full of books Gemma usually wanted to read, she had no leisure to look around.

He was examining the sketches Gemma handed over.

Flip. As the sound of paper turning was heard, her heart seemed to drop with a thud.

Did he turn it too fast? Does it mean there’s not much to look at? Worries filled her head.

Flip. This time it seemed to turn a bit slower. Still, Gemma’s head couldn’t become clear. Rather, other worries began to fill her head.

Are there too many bad parts? Is that why he’s frowning?

As his gaze glanced at Gemma, her lips felt like burning. The thought occurred that perhaps there were too many things to point out that he couldn’t even say them all.

Gemma Somnio, an Alpha majoring in magic at Price Stans, the most prestigious university in Henia, was extremely anxious right now.

Every time the slightly upturned green eyes looked at her, her heart seemed to beat wildly.

Jay, the spouse of the Duke of Westell.

Although he was a Beta without even a surname, there was no one in this Noberten who didn’t know his name now. Even expanding the range to all of Henia, it was a name rarer to find someone who didn’t know.

Among those mentioning his name, there were certainly those excited about the life reversal story of manifesting as a dominant Omega at a late age and taking the seat next to the Duke of Westell.

Even though it was already more than 5 years ago, his marriage with the Duke of Westell was still the most famous romance in Henia. Their story was being adapted and consumed in various forms such as songs and plays.

But the form of interest Gemma had in Jay wasn’t a fantasy about the protagonist of the most famous romance in Henia.

Flip. The sound of paper turning was heard again. Every time the sound was heard, Gemma was counting numbers inwardly, so she could know he was looking at the drawing of the necklace she drew right now.

She recalled when she first saw the drawing of Queen Florence’s citrine necklace in the newspaper.

It was a shock. Citrine was a gem hard to call precious. No, it was a mineral ambiguous to even include in the category of gems.

To think one could make such a majestic necklace with such a mineral.

Moreover, that necklace represented Queen Florence’s authority and power. When the former King went berserk overusing the power of the key, the necklace hanging around her neck defended against the key’s power. And the person who made that necklace was Jay, who was on the lips of gossips.

How great a magic circle must be hidden in it.

Gemma wanted to know the secret hidden in the necklace, but as a daughter of a declining baron family far from social circles, she had no way to approach the Queen or the spouse of the Duke of Westell.

Moreover, the person who made that necklace didn’t appear in front of people at all for almost a year after the wedding ceremony.

In short, Gemma fell deeply for the Queen’s necklace. The fact that a common mineral became a one-of-a-kind item stimulated her deeply.

In the process of finding out information about the Queen’s necklace, she learned there were a few more accessories created by the jeweler Jay.

The Crown Princess’s red diamond set, the Duke of Westell’s cravat and engagement ring, and the platinum set cherished by the successor of the Dime family were those very things.

All were items even hard to see in person for Gemma, a poor university student.

There was nothing she could do except find and collect drawings of accessories known to be made by Jay.

Although not as great as those famous gems, it wasn’t easy to obtain the early catalogs of Palmer Jewelry known to be directly involved by him either.

Catalogs that were distributed for free had hefty price tags when Gemma tried to get them.

Thanks to that, she had to tighten her already thin belt even more, but seeing the catalog she obtained that way, she didn’t regret it even a bit.

Even if not as tremendous as the Queen’s necklace, the accessories drawn in the catalog were enough to steal her eyes.

She didn’t care even knowing the fact that great magic circles capable of withstanding the power of the berserk key weren’t hidden in them.

By then, she had fallen deeply for the beauty of the gem itself, not the gem as a medium of magic.

And she became convinced that the person handling gems most beautifully was Jay.

Now, a few years later, the fact that not only Gemma herself recognizes it feels even regrettable. Because it required much effort to obtain even a drawing, not the actual gem.

To buy the collection of Jay’s accessory drawings published a while ago, Gemma had to stand in line from dawn.

One year after the wedding, Jay, who hadn’t appeared in the world, made his name known again as a jeweler, not a protagonist of romance, because of the accessories the Duke and Duchess of Westell wore to the 3rd anniversary of the victory.

Like the already famous rings and watches, the shirt collar pin clip and medal cravat pin they appeared wearing as a pair were enough to open the eyes and mouths of gossips.

Not a pin type fixed by inserting into the knot of the cravat but a medal-shaped fixture hanging on a chain like a necklace was quite novel.

The fact that it was made of pearls, which are not used very well for men’s accessories, was the same.

Perhaps if someone other than the Duke and Duchess of Westell wore such accessories, they wouldn’t have been talked about that much.

Gemma thought word of mouth spread even more because it was done by the two who had extremely little external activity compared to their fame.

Although it wouldn’t happen in the first place, still, if she wore that accessory, it wouldn’t have appeared on the front page of the newspaper.

But Gemma had not the slightest intention of denying the beauty of that pearl cravat medal itself. Rather, she fell deeper into the jeweler named Jay.

The elegant design wasn’t boring at all but already complete in itself. Trying to add something to add splendor would rather ruin it.

Perhaps eyes are all similar; the pearl cravat medal became a hot topic instantly, and people hanging similar medals on their cravats became common on the streets.

Even when she could discover students wearing pearl medals within the school, it felt like a light turned on in Gemma’s head.

And seeing the auction news in the newspaper published a few days later, Gemma had no choice but to open her eyes wide.

Even without Jay’s name explicitly attached, she could tell. That was Jay’s work.

Unlike the medal the Duke and Duchess of Westell wore directly a few days ago, it was extremely flashy.

Enough to even think it might be mocking everyone wearing medals made of pearls following them.

It might have been a paranoid thought, but the design stood at the opposite point to that extent.

She wanted to go to the auction site in person.

Wanted to see with her own two eyes how much the gem is auctioned off to a person suitable for it.

But for Gemma, a poor university student, there was no invitation to the high-priced goods auction, nor decent clothes to go to such a place. It was very regrettable.

The auction house published a catalog as Palmer Jewelry did, and she had to be satisfied with being able to obtain it.

Gemma realized not long after that the jeweler Jay chose the auction method to continue working as a jeweler without kneeling before nobles as the spouse of the Duke of Westell.

About 5 months after that, an auction was held again.

Just as the cravat fixing medal did, it was also auctioned at a very high price, and the successful bidder was very happy to obtain Jay’s crafted item even after spending big money.

It was natural that the appearance of the successful bidder wearing the accessory appeared on the front page of the newspaper.

Not a method of producing upon receiving orders from nobles, but a method where those who want the item created by the jeweler bid for it.

The positions of A and B were completely reversed, but nobles pretending to be lofty still wanted Jay’s crafted items.

Although working while being a noble was prone to gaining a reputation of being vulgar, Jay avoided even that.

Just then, Gemma was realizing her limitations. For her, it was unknown when she would become a renowned mage.

No, it was unclear whether she could gain fame as a mage at all. The cost to be incurred while devoting herself to research couldn’t even be calculated properly.

[Gemma, you are the only hope of our family]

Despite the family situation already declined long ago, her father seemed ready to pour in all the remaining family fortune until she succeeded as a mage.

Her shoulders were heavy.

It was just regrettable that she was still a teenage girl when there was a war in the New Continent.

If she could have participated then, she would have earned quite a lot of money.

In Gemma’s view, far from the family holding out until she succeeds as a mage, if they don’t abandon the petty pretense of nobles, it wouldn’t be strange if they collapsed anytime.

It was the same for herself who couldn’t see reality properly until then.

She could realize how trivial the prestige as a noble wandering like an old ghost is only after seeing Jay who didn’t miss the fame as a jeweler even while being a noble.

Also, she could realize along with it.

The fact that she cannot change the world with a novel method like Jay.