"What? Intelligent?"
"You are protesting as if you are making excuses for the dishonest executions of my orders. Well, of course."
"Young master, why do you come to such a conclusion all of a sudden?"
Isn't this excessive self-awareness?
Miguel suppressed the words that reached his vocal cords.
"The fact that Princess Deborah, who normally would send her servants to deliver her desserts, came to the store in person proves that she wanted to talk to me. She left a hidden message as the request was progressing rather slowly."
"Don't you care that she instigated a commotion with the young ladies and turned the tables over, leaving those ladies to be in such a deplorable state?"
Miguel immediately refuted.
"Well, I'm not one of those people who bats an eye about other people's emotions. Her behavior was clever yet cynical."
"If you consider the actions and reputation of Princess Deborah, then she is a very impulsive person. Do you think that there is no smoke without fire? People don't change very easily."
"Sooner or later, you will find out who is right. I wonder what she has done to Cookie?"
With a discontented look, Isidor gently soothed his growling pet, shining his emerald eyes.
***
Duke Seymour's victory at the auction of the pink diamond, and not the successor of Montes, has been floating around in talks among the social circles for a very long time.
Because it was such a shocking result that no one had expected, everyone was trapped in a constant daze.
The majority of the nobles, convinced that the Duke of Seymour cold-heartedly treated Princess Deborah as if she was a disgrace to his family name, were astonished.
The fact that he quickly obtained a gem of astronomical value in his hands for his daughter must only means that Duke Seymour's love for his famous daughter remains to some extent.
Without a shadow of doubt, Princess Deborah, that had little to none parental love or proper supervision from her father, will pull her nose up high and get even more proud. For this reason, discontent continued to grow among the social circles.
In addition, the nobles who prayed with all their hearts for Philaf Montes to win the famous pink diamond could not hide their disappointment and ridicule.
"How could fail to predict a winning bid? He was so overwhelmed in confidence and complacent, but everything turned out to be in vain."
"No matter how much he succeeded the Montes, he could never surpass the Duke of Seymore's wealth and intellect. He is like a lizard in front of a dragon."
Philaf did not expect such a reaction from the public.
He pretended to be cold-blooded in this situation with all his might, but in reality he was burning with rage. As Mia's birthday approached, all of his accumulated anger exploded like a volcano.
"It wasn't enough that you can't get that pink jewel for me but you even had to make me look ridiculous in front of everyone? You little shit!"
Philaf, covered in crimson blood, kicked the face of the man with his utmost force. Although the man has fainted with foam at his mouth, Philaf still did not stop kicking the weak man.
It was rumored throughout the whole empire that he was targeting the pink gem, but Philaf unexpectedly lost the bid at the auction. As a matter of fact, the more he thought about it, the more he realized that there was nothing but shame and humiliation in this.
To make matters even worse, the current owner of the precious jewel is none other than Deborah Seymour, the woman he hated most in the world.
"You useless thing!"
It was Philaf's fault that body of the servant resting on the floor is almost lifeless. Alas, the man with sparkling eyes walked out of the dungeon without an ounce of guilt, exuding a fierce spirit of red flames.
The valet who was waiting at the entrance hastily wiped Philaf's soiled boots with a handkerchief.
As if nothing had happened, Philaf, whose appearance had become neat, looked at his pocketwatch and asked the subordinate.
"Has Lady Mia arrived at the mansion?"
"Not yet."
The sad-faced valet bowed his head.
"Why?"
"They say that there are a lot of patients who needed to be taken care of today."
"Ha, she spends time with them even on her birthday?"
Philaf, thinking of Mia, clicked his tongue to express his displeasure.
As an incarnation of a saint, she heals the martyrs with her holy powers.
The people who were treated by her, praised her as the light of the goddess. They spread sweet talk about the girl's abilities without knowing how to stop.
'I am incredibly attracted to the fact that this girl is out of this world.'
They say that your suffering will disappear if the divine energy is so great and pure.
The fact that power or money could not sway her made her quite attractive to Philaf. For her sake, he is willing to turn a blind eye towards his duties.
***
"Philaf, thank you for inviting me."
As the dinner prepared by the chef was cooling down, Mia appeared at the mansion and greeted politely.
Just by looking at her appearance, you could immediately tell that she came right after doing a day's hard work. Her pink her was matted and her burning face reflected a slight sign of fatigue.
"Thank you for accepting my invitation. It is worth relaxing a little on your birthday or else your body would be completely exhausted."
Mia's round eyes widened at Philaf's kind words.
"Oh, why…"
"What's so surprising?"
"To be honest, I had forgotten that today was my birthday."
Mia fiddled with her fingers and timidly painted a smile on her face, biting her lips.
"I have always clumsily prepare for this day."
"Is there no one that could take care of you?"
Despite his rather straightforward question, Mia didn't show even a glimpse of displeasure on her expression.
"I'll treasure my memory of spending my birthday this year with Philaf, which makes me incredibly happy. You are like an unexpected gift."
"Your speeches are always so beautiful."
Philaf liked Mia's answer, so he smiled contentedly.
At that moment, Mia's stomach growled.
Philaf laughed loudly as he looked at her red earlobes and flushed cheeks.
"Obviously, let's start with a meal. I think I had a precognition that you are hungry."
The table were lined instantaneously with mouth-watering hot food at the hand gesture of Philaf.
While looking at Mia, who was charmingly eating the food in small portions, Philaf initiated the table talk.
"Admission to the Academy has been issued."
Despite her late age and background of a ruined noble family, Mia was able to enter the Academy thanks to the letter of recommendation from the Montes' family.
"Thank you very much. Studying at such a prestigious institution has always been my lifelong dream."
Philaf had his nose in the air as he received Mia's endless words of thanks.
"You didn't think that was all I prepared, did you?"
He flaunted and handed her a diamond necklace as a birthday present.
Since the desired item was brazenly taken away by the Duke of Seymour, Philaf had no choice but to rush over to the most famous craftsman in the capital to buy a diamond necklace for Mia.
As soon as Mia set her eye on the big diamond, she immediately showed a look of disapproval.
"It was already enough for you to just write me a recommendation letter to the Academy. Such a gift is too much for me."
"Please accept my sincerity as a gift. I heard that you couldn't even celebrate your birthday properly."
"But, like this…"
"Allow me to repay you for saving my life. Please, Lady Mia."
"I've already received so much from you. That's really enough for me."
The scuffle between the two continued on for a long time, until Philaf took a step back so Mia could peacefully enjoy her meal.
'I really can't convince her.'
Philaf could not hide his disappointment even though he felt the gentle touch of her pure heart.
'Damn, I should have gotten that pink diamond. It would suit much better on the pure and innocent Mia than Deborah Seymour.'
The pink gem went well with Mia's which is of the same color, so it was a good gift for someone who did not know the existence of this rare jewel due to her indifference towards fashion trends among noble ladies.
And later on, when Mia found out that the piece of jewelry was so expensive that could make your jaws drop to the floor, Philaf would be able to see her adorable shocked expression at such a generous gift. However, Deborah ruined all of his plans.
'I'm extremely annoyed by this girl.'
Philaf lost his appetite just by the mere thought of Deborah, wearing that damn necklace, walking around in the social world with her head up high.
***
After meeting with Philaf, Mia returned to the old mansion on the outskirts of the Yones district and sat on her bed, looking out the window.
'I'm tired.'
Whenever the wind blew through the crack of the window frame, there was a loud rattling sound.
The garden outside the window looked like a weedy grave, which clearly showed the dire poverty of the Binoche family.
A maid entered the room, but Mia did not take her eyes away from the window.
"What are you looking at?"
The middle-aged woman inquired. The woman, whom introduced herself as Madame Ophelia to Mia, told her to speak comfortably.
"I'm looking at it."
When asked by the woman, Mia pointed her finger towards a blossoming flower on a dry branch, oblivious to the flowering periods.
"Oh my god, I'm freezing tonight."
The woman, mumbling to herself indistinctly, handed a large jewelry box to Mia.
"A footman from the Montes family handed me a birthday present for you."
When Mia opened the jewelry box, the woman hung a gorgeous necklace with a large diamond around her slender deer-like neck.
"What do you think?"
Mia asked without any enthusiasm, lightly clicking her tongue.
When the masterfully crafted diamond necklace was paired with her shabby dress that was out of fashion by several seasons, it was unsightly picture that would embarrass any onlookers. It did not look good on me.
She was like a graceful flower blossoming brightly on a dry branch.
"To wear such a beautiful necklace, you need a more appropriate outfit to hold it up. Philaf Montes is rumored to be a very sophisticated man."
The woman spoke with a dispassionate face.
"If you wear something grand like this in a tattered dress, you would be the object of ridicule among the nobles."
"…"
"If only there was that pink diamond, then the story might have been a little different…"
Even without fashionable clothes, the jewel would have perfectly matched Mia's pink hair.
"You would have attracted the attention of the high society. What a shame."
The woman spoke coldly before leaving Mia in the room alone.
Mia twirled her pink and disheveled hair with her fingers while reaching out to the Academy admission letter that was sitting on her bedside table.
[Congratulations on your admission.]
The strange glint, that was flickering in her eyes for a moment, vanished in the blink of an eye.