Chapter 51: The First Order-Made Jewel

The catalog, which featured items with fresh patterns of gems composing magic circles, meaning designs, even if the content or power of the magic circles wasn’t much different from other jewelers’, drew a pretty good response.

Enough to require reprinting.

Actually, it was probably more curiosity about the free art book than interest in the accessories I designed, but since making the catalog known was one of my intentions anyway, it wasn’t a bad thing at all.

As the catalog gained fame, more people visited Palmer Jewelry.

As I intended by hiding it, there were customers who wanted items different from others.

It wasn’t a full custom-made order entrusting everything from the beginning, but requests to modify items shown in the catalog.

It didn’t happen from the beginning that a customer suddenly entrusted a family treasure and commissioned a new design.

Such a thing actually happened after publishing the third catalog.

It was when I was living with dark circles under my eyes to publish a booklet of a little over ten pages with new designs and compositions once a month.

A request came in to make a necklace with a 16-carat sapphire.

It was a request generated by the sapphire series featured in that month’s catalog.

Honestly speaking, it wasn’t the best condition for the first custom-made order.

Because the customer wasn’t a member of a prestigious noble family but the successor of an upstart family wanting to be recognized as prestigious.

To put it more frankly, my first custom-made client was an adolescent girl from a nouveau riche family.

“I will wear the necklace you make to my debutante ball. Since it’s an occasion many people will pay attention to, it will be easy to raise your reputation. I trust you won’t disappoint me.”

When the fifteen-year-old Alpha girl spoke with an expressionless face, I realized I was caught in a checkmate.

The date of the debutante ball announced by the customer was extremely tight.

That meant she was rejected by all prominent jewelry designers in the capital and had no choice but to find me.

Actually, it was a difficult request.

I don’t know what excuses other designers used to refuse, but the biggest landmine of that request was the customer herself.

Even though she was an Alpha, she was fifteen.

Although she was using a mature tone, I could easily guess that the girl in front of me was extremely nervous.

Unlike when the Duke, Philius, used a similar tone and it was just natural, the prospective client clearly showed signs of reciting words she had practiced over and over.

She pretends to be mature, but paradoxically, that appearance rather highlighted her young age.

But wearing a pendant made using a whole 16-carat sapphire to a debutante ball?

To balance with the pendant, the necklace chain would inevitably have to be long, thick, and flashy.

The heavy necklace and the client’s nervous face would form a stark contrast in a bad sense.

Far from receiving good reviews, it was a situation where just avoiding bad reviews would be fortunate.

“I am honored that you sought me out. May I know what outfit you will be wearing that day?”

So I accepted it.

Because as high as the risk was, the reward would be great when done properly.

The outfit was a very simple white dress.

There was no lace at all, and the buttons on the outfit were pearls, so they didn’t stand out much.

It was a dress serving as a background for the sapphire.

The fabric and pearls were all top-quality, and looking at the silhouette, one could tell it was sewn by the best tailor, but if asked if it would suit the person wearing it, I had no choice but to answer with silence.

I couldn’t offend the client and throw away the barely gained opportunity, nor could I lie.

“The important thing is the necklace.”

It was a remark sufficient to burden me.

Actually, I repeatedly drew and discarded design sketches that easily exceeded ten sheets.

Among them was a design that would suit perfectly if the customer were a 21st-century hip-hop artist, but I discarded that design immediately as it was way too ahead of its time.

It was a moment I realized I was under quite a bit of stress.

I had drawn a design completely incompatible with the customer’s request just to relieve stress.

The barely completed design was able to receive the customer’s approval safely.

Three days before the customer’s debutante ball, I visited the customer again.

“Is the pendant the only thing completed?”

Seeing the small case to hold both the pendant with a 16-carat sapphire as the main stone and the chain that inevitably had to be thick and long to handle the weight and size of the pendant, the customer clearly showed disappointment.

It was an emotion she couldn’t hide despite trying to maintain an expressionless face.

“The necklace chain is in progress, but I brought the pendant thinking I should show it to you first. In case I might not be able to meet your expectations.”

Back then, I committed an act a merchant should absolutely never do.

However, if asked if I committed an act a designer shouldn’t do either, I could pride myself on having done exactly the opposite.

The 16-carat sapphire had a Marquise cut, shaped like lips with pointed ends.

Even without the condition never to damage the original form of the sapphire, it was in a well-cut state requiring no separate touch.

It was understandable how much my client, or more precisely her family, Viscountess Dime’s family, cared about her debutante ball.

The elongated shape created an optical illusion of looking larger than its actual weight.

The intention to show off wealth was also clear.

The design that made my client nod was so-called bling-bling yet edgy.

Big, heavy, and flashy.

It didn’t look bad to my eyes either.

Except for the fact that the person to wear the necklace of that design was a 15-year-old girl with charming freckles.

It was a design that would suit her mother very well.

Just before actually starting the crafting, I eventually changed the design.

Without seeking the client’s permission.

Instead of the design arranging melee diamonds in a geometric form with the intention of highlighting the main stone sapphire rather than having a special motif, I changed it to an improvised design with flowers and butterflies as motifs.

When I set the Marquise cut sapphire obliquely, it looked like a flower in itself.

The top-grade sapphire of clear color certainly had a charm to bewitch people.

Melee diamonds, which were planned to be arranged in a form just to look beautiful without special meaning, were set to look like small flowers.

So that the blue flower, not yet existing in reality, would stand out the most.

And I made a butterfly smaller than the blue flower with off-white melee diamonds.

I could have designed it to look more realistic, but I deliberately simplified it.

I did my best to make the butterfly, which also looked like a ribbon at a glance, feel witty without being ridiculous.

It was intended to neutralize so the wearer wouldn’t be overwhelmed by the splendor and weight of the blue flower.

“…Oh my.”

Opening the case and checking the pendant, a flush rose on the customer’s cheeks.

Her sparkling eyes told me that the redness wasn’t due to anger about the actual object being different from the design I showed.

The customer, letting out a small but clear cheer, twitched her hand.

It was a gesture fully revealing the conflict between the desire to touch it directly and the desire just to look at it.

“A design that would suit the customer better came to mind belatedly, so I dared to proceed without seeking permission. If you don’t like it, I will change it to the existing design. I can promise to complete it before the ball without fail.”

I sought permission belatedly.

But I was sincere.

If the customer wanted, I intended to stay up all night to change the setting back to the original plan.

“N-no!”

However, the customer hurriedly spoke words of denial.

“I am glad you like it.”

Of course, I was sure she would like the changed design better.

Because I made it into an accessory that would suit a young girl well by adding a bit of wit without harming the elegance and imposing presence of the sapphire giant stone itself.

“A strong wind magic was already engraved as a circle on the sapphire. What I engraved with the newly set decorative stones is a protection magic circle as requested.”

“By the way, is there a chain that would suit this pendant?”

The customer asked with her gaze fixed on the pendant.

Unfortunately, I had no choice but to answer not yet.

Before her face was colored with disappointment, I presented an alternative.

“Of course, I plan to make a chain perfectly suited for this pendant in time, but you don’t necessarily have to use it only as a necklace.”

As I took the pendant out of the case and held it up, the customer’s gaze followed.

Her fingers wiggled again.

It was a movement showing dissatisfaction that I touched the pendant before her.

“Although it’s temporary, you can also use it as a brooch if you attach a safety pin.”

The safety pin I took out was decorated with fancy colored melee diamonds.

When I attached the safety pin to the somewhat empty-looking space of the pendant, the pendant looked complete as if it should have been a brooch from the beginning.

Of course, the safety pin was made as the last piece to complete the pendant, no, the brooch.

I put the brooch, with the finishing touch of the safety pin added, back into the case and handed it to the customer.

An exclamation burst out from her mouth without fail.

“Oh my god.”

She hurriedly stood up from her seat.

I also followed the customer.

“How…”

Where the customer headed, there was a dress to pair with the brooch.

She quickly held the brooch against the dress and flushed again.

I didn’t need to hear to know that the omitted part of her sentence was ‘How can it suit so well.’