73. Petty
"I'm back."
"Welcome back." It was Alex who greeted me today.
"Thank you for your hard work." I had come to realize that the moment you start taking things for granted is the moment you've already crossed the line. That's why I made an effort to voice my gratitude aloud.
"Alex," I called, handing him the paper bag I carried. "Share this with the others." It was the result of my small adventure through the shopping district, sampling things I had never tried before.
As someone who had once lived in the modern world, it had always been difficult for me to stomach things like insects or other bizarre animals. But after my ordeal on the Forgotten Shore, no matter how unusual the food might seem, it was still far more palatable than those nightmarish creatures. So, I packed up the ones I enjoyed, intending to share them.
"Mom, I'm back. Need any help?" I stepped into my mother's gallery once again, slipping into the same routine as yesterday.
"Welcome~. I'm almost finished with today's quote, just wait a little," she replied, her attention still fixed on her work.
Well, this had become part of my daily routine, so I stopped in my tracks. "Mom?" I called softly, a hint of caution in my voice as my eyes fell on yet another gem lying on her worktable.
"Is it Baroness Evergreen again?" I guessed. The gem was different this time, yet it carried the same feeling as before.
"Boo, boo, wrong. This one belongs to Marigold's accessory owner." She seemed to have finished her work as she stood up. "Ah, I understand what you mean, though. It really is as beautiful as Baroness Evergreen's gem," she said, her eyes lingering on the stone in admiration.
"Is this some new trend? I thought we already had a lead there." I'm unable to keep my suspicion off that thing. Once was fine, but twice? I'd be a fool to keep ignoring it.
"You knew it yourself—that's what trends are. Blink once, and you're already left behind." It would've been a lie to claim she wasn't frustrated by the sudden shift, but Peytra had been in this kind of business long enough to grow almost numb to it.
"But I never expected this." She held the gem in her hand, turning it slowly under the light. "I've seen them in all shapes and sizes, every color imaginable—but they struck the fashion world like a storm. Now everyone wants one, everyone wants to wear one." She inspected it again and again, yet still couldn't find much to set it apart from the gems she already owned.
"Do you want to wear one too, Mom?" This feeling… something was slowly brewing.
"Mm, I have to. But honestly, even if it weren't for the popularity, I'd still want one for myself. Sadly, I already tried using my connections, but it seems no one knows where they're coming from—or maybe they just want to monopolize the supply." She finally set the gem down and began tidying herself before joining me at the dinner table.
"Mom, I think you should hold off on the custom order for now," I said, watching her closely, not wanting to miss any hint of corruption—or magic.
"But why? I may not be able to get one, but at least I can admire so many," she replied, her defense unusually sharp, even more than normal.
"You're overworking yourself!" I stepped closer, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Don't you feel this? Stiff as a log!"
"I… is that so?" She looked flustered, half by my sudden remark and half by her own reaction just now. She tried to move her shoulder, but it felt fine.
"You need to rest too. And you have to give Father a chance as well!" I said, half admonishing, half pleading.
"Chance?" Mother tilted her head in confusion.
"Of course. You'll become head of the household if you're always the one bringing food to the table. That would bruise Father's pride."
"It won't." A deep, sudden voice cut through the room, making both of us startle. It was my father, Grandar. He shot me a glare sharp enough to feel like I was about to be thrown into a meat grinder.
"I'm not petty," he insisted. He was genuinely proud of his wife's success—jealousy over your own spouse, your own family? What kind of twisted thinking is that?
"…" After a moment of shock, I gathered myself. "K-Ko-hom. I… I'm full today, so you two can enjoy your date. I… I'm going to do my homework. Haha… I have a lot of homework lately."
Without waiting for their response, I busied myself giving orders to the servant to set up a date-like atmosphere for dinner and slipped away.
"Chris, come see me later," Father's voice echoed behind me before I could leave.
"…Yes."
***
After that day, I didn't waste any time. I had managed to keep my mother away from those strange gems—for now—but it wouldn't last. Neither Mother nor Father visited the church regularly, so I knew I'd have to persuade them to go later.
Meanwhile, I began investigating the origins of those gems, relying on my own network of connections…
"…So, what do you all think?"
I was currently at Viscount Glaint's mansion. Before me sat the usual group: the viscount himself, Fors, Xio, and Audrey. After explaining everything I had discovered about the gem, I turned to the two who were most likely to have contacts in high society.
And the result was…
Audrey shook her head. "No, I've never heard of that before."
Is it because she moves in circles too elevated for me to notice? As I pondered this, Viscount Glaint added that he had never heard of anything like it either.
"Same here," he confirmed, echoing Audrey's sentiment. "We're familiar with the gem you mentioned before, but we had no idea it had this kind of effect."
"They say it's beautiful, but not to the point where you'd become completely engrossed," Audrey added. In noble society, trends like this usually reached her mother's ears quickly, yet even so, she had never heard of such side effects.
Did I guess wrong? Or is it a completely different gem? If it's the same one… is my family the only one affected? Tch! There's not enough information.
I couldn't help but second-guess my own decision. It was true that I had been drawn to the gem because of the eerie feeling it gave me—but had I misjudged it?
Could there be some other factor influencing my mother?
I would have to re-investigate everything from the beginning later.