“Are those all real gems?”

“They must be. They probably didn’t have that much funds for promotion, so where did they get all those treasures?”

“It’s amazing anyway. Mademoiselle Julia’s eye for quality seems to be much better than we thought.”

Julia straightened her shoulders as she listened to the guests’ impressions.

Even after removing all the accessories engraved with the Countess’s name, she was able to mobilize quite a lot of jewelry for the business presentation.

Although it hurt her pride to borrow jewelry due to lack of money, it was a pleasant experience to display precious items ostentatiously and hear people’s admiration.

Suddenly, Julia’s gaze fell on Countess de Tolomiès.

Although she didn’t like that woman’s tactless attendance, it was rather good to have an opportunity to show off how much she was loved by Count de Tolomiès.

Finally, when all the guests were seated, Julia opened her mouth with a haughty attitude.

“Thank you all for taking your precious time to attend this event. My name is Julia Florence. Our Florence family…”

The explanation continued for a while after that. In fact, it was close to simply reading a script that her father had written in advance.

When the explanation was roughly finished, it was time for everyone to look at the exhibits.

“Oh my, goodness. It’s so beautiful.”

A noblewoman’s hand touched a sapphire earring.

A sapphire the size of a pinky nail was surrounded by half-carat diamonds in a circle. The navy blue crystal emitted a mysterious light on the velvet cushion.

Julia said in a friendly manner,

“You certainly have an eye for quality. Would you like to try it on?”

“Is that okay?”

The noblewoman’s face lit up.

She immediately took off the earrings she was wearing and put on the sapphire earrings. The blue light of the sapphire reflected dazzlingly on her white earlobe.

“The color is so pretty. Is this a real sapphire?”

“Of course! It’s a product directly imported by our family. There’s not a single imitation among the jewels here.”

“Oh my, really? May I try this on too, just once?”

“Of course! Feel free to try anything.”

Julia smiled brightly and opened the lid of the jewelry box herself.

Her appearance of handing out accessories to guests with a kind expression was like a saint generously sharing her own possessions.

The guests tried on their favorite accessories with excited faces. Praises for Julia Florence and the Florence family’s skills poured out here and there.

Julia straightened her shoulders.

At that moment, a gentleman pointed to a displayed diamond bracelet.

“Mademoiselle Julia. Excuse me, but is this diamond real too?”

“Yes, of course.”

Julia answered confidently. The gentleman stared intently at the bracelet with an unusual expression.

“Why, is there a problem?”

“No. Rather than a problem…”

The gentleman hesitated, then opened his mouth.

“To my eyes, this diamond looks very much like a Strasser diamond.”

***

Around the time Julia was taking the guests to the platform, I left the salon on the pretext of going to the changing room.

Outside the salon, a few boxes were left abandoned. When I opened the lid of a box, the jewels that Julia couldn’t take to the presentation were revealed.

I examined each of the shining accessories one by one.

Before Felix lent the jewels to Julia, I had taken my personal jewels to a craftsman and asked him to engrave my maiden name on every single one without exception.

Indeed, Julia had not taken any accessories engraved with my name.

I finished my inspection and closed the lid of the box.

-Cling.

Suddenly, a clear sound echoed through the corridor.

When I turned my head, I saw that one of the jewelry boxes had tilted. An emerald ring that had been in the corner of the box was missing.

I looked around to find the ring.

Something shiny was visible in the corner of the corridor.

I bent down to pick it up. But did I lose my balance? Just as my fingertips were about to touch the jewel, my body suddenly tilted and fell backward.

“Aaak!”

I screamed as I fell.

But something was strange. The hard floor didn’t touch my back. I fell with a thud onto someone’s soft yet firm chest.

When I came to my senses, I was leaning my head against a man’s bosom.

“Countess de Tolomiès.”

A familiar voice was heard.

I got up with a start.

“Duke de Lenoir, Your Grace?”

“It’s good to see you again.”

The Duke said, awkwardly raising both arms in the air.

I quickly removed my head from his chest.

“I’m sorry. I made a mistake.”

“It’s alright.”

The Duke burst into laughter and lightly kissed the back of my hand.

“I didn’t expect you to be here.”

I hurriedly tidied up my clothes.

Fortunately, the Duke didn’t look angry. Rather, he seemed pleased that something unexpected had happened in the midst of boredom.

At that moment, a new idea flashed through my mind.

“The Florence baronial family’s business presentation is in full swing right now, don’t you want to go see? If Your Grace goes, everyone would welcome you.”

At my words, Duke de Lenoir burst into laughter.

“Why would I go to such a place? I came here today for another reason. An acquaintance of mine is supposed to use the salon that the Florence baron’s daughter is using now, around dinner time.”

Duke de Lenoir was neither particularly related to the jewelry business nor was he on good terms with Baron Florence.

In other words, there was no reason for him to attend Julia’s business presentation, rationally speaking.

“Still, you should go and see. We have time anyway.”

But I smiled meaningfully and urged him again.

“You won’t regret it.”

***

Julia opened her eyes wide.

It was a name she had never heard before. She asked with a blank expression.

“What? Strasser’s diamond? What’s that?”

Some guests showed strange reactions.

Although Strasser’s work was not yet well known, Joseph Strasser himself was already secretly famous among merchants as a craftsman.

If one knew well about the jewelry business, it would be impossible not to know his name.

The man carefully continued speaking.

“If I may, Miss Florence. Strasser’s diamond refers to diamond products recently made by a craftsman named Strasser. Unlike existing imitation jewels, its brilliance is so excellent that it’s difficult to distinguish from genuine ones.”

Julia nodded without thinking, then belatedly realizing the man’s intention, she flared up.

“Are you saying that this jewel is fake?”

“As far as I know, yes.”

“How rude. On what grounds are you saying such things? I clearly told you. There isn’t a single fake among the jewels here.”

But the man had evidence to support his claim. He took out a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket and unfolded it.

“Do you see this catalog?”

The paper had drawings describing the designs of various accessories. At the bottom, the name ‘Joseph Strasser’ was visible.

“This is a list of accessories recently made by Strasser. They’re prototypes not yet released to the market. Not only the diamond bracelet I’m holding now, but most of the accessories, including that sapphire earring, all have the same designs already in the catalog.”

The man sternly questioned Julia.

“If this diamond is not a Strasser diamond, could you please explain why the design of this bracelet is exactly the same as the design drawn in the catalog?”

Silence fell over the salon.

Caught off guard by the unexpected situation, Julia stuttered.

“Th… that’s…”

As the man said, the designs of the accessories displayed on the platform were too identical to the designs drawn in the catalog.

If they were genuine, it would mean the designs were plagiarized, and if they were fake, it would mean Julia had lied.

But Julia couldn’t shift the responsibility to the Tolomiès family.

Her relationship with Count de Tolomiès was not above board.

If she admitted to borrowing such jewelry for free, it would surely cause a scandal in high society, and her and Baron Florence’s honor would also be tarnished.

Julia silently put on a pitiful expression. If she couldn’t choose either option, pretending to be pitiful while keeping her mouth shut was the best choice.

Fortunately, a young man stepped forward to take her side.

“Calm down. There are so many similar accessories in the world. The designs could have really overlapped by coincidence. Strasser might have seen the jewels here by chance and gotten inspiration.”

Murmurs were heard here and there. The guests put down the accessories they were holding with confused expressions.

At that moment, a middle-aged man stepped forward.

“May I take a look?”

He was a very famous jewelry appraiser in the industry. There was even a joke that his word was law when it came to jewels and precious metals, such was the height of his reputation.

Julia nodded with a relieved expression.

“Go ahead. But this time, you don’t need to trouble yourself. All the jewels here are genuine.”