The capital’s foremost jeweler couldn’t stop marveling at the gems brought from Astel.

Although the Duke of Astel, who had provided them, didn’t even mention it, according to the jeweler, even in the empire it was difficult to find gems of such high quality.

“Then, please check the order form as it’s all filled out.”

Upon Serena’s signal, Anna carefully checked the craftsmanship order form and nodded.

“I’ll see you out.”

Already tired and not wanting to stand, Serena nodded again at Anna’s words and gave the jeweler a nod with her eyes.

“Really, really… it’s beautiful!”

Lora’s eyes sparkled as she exclaimed without tiring.

“I’ve seen my mother’s jewels a few times, but the duchess’s jewels are entirely different. Also… the high-end craftsmen are so meticulous.”

Serena thought it was easy to meet a jeweler.

When making a dress, Mrs. Hailey and her assistants came to measure every part of the body, along with measurements for hats, gloves, and fans, and even gave a thick sample book to see which fabric matched one’s natural skin tone; there was no time to rest.

“Uh, I didn’t even know that.”

She was of the mind to just roughly entrust the jewels and let them do as they would, but it always seemed to become tiring when meeting the best in the empire.

The jeweler showed several design sketches while marveling at the gems Serena brought, and even made various notes while placing each gem against the back of his hand.

“Thanks to the duchess, I’m frequently seeing precious things today. I’m truly grateful.”

“No, it’s not much.”

Serena was very tired, but she hadn’t forgotten her purpose yet.

“If my friend Elize had seen it, she would have loved it.”

Lora glanced sharply at Serena when she subtly brought up the mood again.

“Right, you said you didn’t like Elize, right?”

“Yes. I don’t want to slander her but…”

“It’s not slander, it’s what Lora feels. What’s the big deal? It’s a secret between us.”

Girls at an age when emotions are sensitive are weak to the sharing of secrets.

“My parents passed away, so it wasn’t good to live in the countryside, but for some reason or another, she was such a rude child.”

“Poor thing at such a young age.”

Lora nodded her head, then lowered her voice a little.

“In fact, there’s a reason the Shroude family didn’t take her in.”

“Then, it’s our secret time.”

Serena, who always thought Lucas was audacious, had nothing to say this time.

“The reason I mentioned it was vague whether we were first or sixth cousins, is not because I don’t know the family tree well.”

Ah, young ladies of this age always want to boast about how smart they are. And adults could get the information they wanted if they just spurred that psychology a little.

“Elize was originally born on the sidelines of the Shroude family. From the line of my grandfather’s brothers. When I met her, I was 11 years old, and the adults were in a meeting about what to do with her.”

“You remember so clearly at 11? Lora, you’re really smart.”

“While the adults were deciding, I played with dolls in the room. With Elize.”

Serena looked at Lora and nodded her head. As if to say, go ahead and speak more.

“They said she was a pitiful child, so I wanted to treat her kindly, but she suddenly said she would take all my dolls. I’ve never seen such a greedy child.”

Phew, Lora grimaced.

“In the end, I told her she absolutely couldn’t have my favorite doll and went to the bathroom… and when I came back, she had cut up all the dolls with scissors.”

If Lora was 11 at the time and Elize was 10, it was an unusual story.

“When I cried and told the maid, she said Elize had asked for colored paper and scissors, saying she would play origami.”
By now, I understood why Lora vividly remembered Elize. Experiencing such an incident at the age of 11 would definitely leave a strong impression.

“Too extreme.”

What Elize had done was something a normal 10-year-old wouldn’t do. The real protagonist of this story, at such a young age, cut someone else’s doll with scissors; I suddenly felt stifled.

“That day, Elize became my cousin.”

“Huh?”

“The adults gathered to discuss what to do with Elize, and my uncle decided to adopt her.”

Now it made sense, whether she was a first cousin or a distant one.

“My uncle is ill and in recovery. Conveniently, he has no children, so it worked out well for both.”

It was unclear whether that was a good thing from Elize’s perspective. At just 10 years old, she had been treated as an outcast and now would spend her life caring for a sick relative.

“So, is Elize still helping with the care?”

Lora casually nodded.

“I don’t know. I’ve lost all interest in Elize after that doll incident.”

It seemed that was all the information I could get from Lora. But that was enough.

Knowing Elize was an outcast member of the Shuward family and currently adopted by Lora’s uncle, I could investigate the rest myself.

“I had hoped to spend time together when the Duke stayed at the capital mansion… it’s regrettable.”