The Royal Deal

hook his head violently.
Is the duke contagious? How is it that he too was worried about Lady Amethyst?

Okay, he reasoned with himself, It’s not that I’m nervous.
I just need a little bit of help…

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This was because, the day something really did happen, the first head to roll wouldn’t be Dajal’s but his.

Jen’s body tensed.
As much as he tried to convince himself he wasn’t nervous, he was near certain it would be the death of him.
He frowned and picked up the document.
Before he could get the data he needed from the bank, the thing that he’d been worried about, happened.

Jen recalled the time and brought his hand up and fiddled idly with his neck.
Relief that his neck was still intact washed over him.
He was more concerned about Amethyst, even though she was only in a contractual marriage.

※

The mansion was busy all morning.
Carriages rolled in one after another, and even though the banquet hall was already full, there was a line of carriages full of people still waiting to enter.

Rather than shopping, Amethyst’s goal had been to learn the currency value of the Kingodm of Sehar.
If she were to live alone later, she had to somehow know the value of the money.
And, she discovered that the best way to do that was buying things.
She’d compare her purchases to the value of things where she lived and work out the value of the ‘ar’, the monetary unit here.

“One ar equals… one dollar?” she whispered to herself.

The price of a single apple hovered somewhere around two ars, however, it was said that five apples usually cost around ten dollars.
She had to master probability calculations.
If she made even the slightest mistake, she’d lose money or get totally ripped off.
While Amethyst ran calculations through her head, Lunia, along with several maids, started looking through the dresses.

“How much is this one?”

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“Eight thousand ars so… about eight-thousand dollars? For one dress! This is madness! Who the hell would buy this!”

Having not seen each other for a long while, Lunia and the maids were making the best of their time together by chatting excitedly amongst themselves.
They paid no attention to Amethyst’s expression of disbelief and awe.

“Madam.” Came the voice of one of the maids.
“How about this dress? The soft cream and dark green ribbon will go wonderfully with your complexion, Lady Amethyst.
You usually like light clothes.”

“No, that’s what I thought! I think it will go well with the colour of your eyes, Lady Amethyst.” Chipped in a second maid.

After seeing the prices, Lady Amethyst hurriedly shook her head.
“No, no… it’s okay.” However, her eyes lingered on the garment before she tore her gaze away.

“Then how about this one? You’ll look stunning in this seductive red, Madam.” Offered a third maid.

“The colour just about matches Master’s eyes,” said another, “If the two of you stand side by side in this dress, it would be perfect.”

“Is that so?” Amethyst scanned the dress, tempted by their comments.

It was the most beautiful dress she’d seen the entire day.
Feathers ran along the chest line, embellished jewels glittering at the waistband.
The wide, pleated skirt was reminiscent of a rose.
Just as she was considering it, her eye caught sight of the price.
Her awe quickly morphed into panic.

This one had one more ‘0’ on it than the last dress!