‘How much did the owner want to sell the store in that short period of time?’

Daphne gazed at Kael with a shivering look.

Obviously, the owner was nodding their head, their eyes as if they were possessed by something.

The eyes were clearly life-changing eyes.

The owner of the Meldy store would make a fortune.

Had it been a little bit too late, Meldy’s certificate of rights would have been in Daphne’s hands along with dozens of clothes.

‘It’s chilling.’

Daphne trembled.

She came to the south to settle the fraud, not to collect a store’s certificate of rights.

…Well, honestly, it’s nice to have it.

‘No, it’ll just get in the way when I leave later.’

Daphne shook her head at once.

This life was not forever. The end definitely existed.

The end that she chooses.

Of course she didn’t intend to just leave by then.

‘I’m going to take my share.’

Shouldn’t we get paid for our hard work so far?

She of course intended to secure her stake in future businesses as well as the hot spring.

‘Coins are heavy, so I’ll have to take them as jewels.’

Daphne grinned, covering her mouth.

“Is there something that makes you happy?”

Kael, who was sitting next to her, asked.

Kael had also changed into the cool clothes bought at Meldy.

Is it because it’s not his usual black uniform, or is it because he had his bangs down?

Or maybe it’s because he came to the south with his father?

For some reason, Kael looked especially young today.

“Miss Daphne?”

When Daphne did not answer, Kael asked again.

“It makes me happy to think about robbing a swindler.”

I will rob you of all the money you have saved so far without leaving a speck of dust behind.

“So what can we do to help?”

Zegman bit an apple and asked.

Daphne pointed to a store that could be seen through the carriage window.

It was a seemingly ordinary jewellery store.

“We’re going to that store.”

“Hmm.”

“Please say that you’re looking for ‘Red Dragon’s Tears’ over there.”

‘This is why I want to grow up quickly.’

As she looked young, she also had the advantage of being seen as a pushover.

The more you let it go, the easier it is to take a shot.

But she couldn’t do this herself.

Zegman’s eyes narrowed as he checked the jewellery store.

“It’s a shady store just by looking at it.”

“It looks ordinary.”

Kael inquired. Then Zegman pointed to a spot.

“If it’s an ordinary store, you don’t bother to open a back door to such a place.”

The place seen through the back door of the jewellery store was connected to a dark alley.

You could tell without looking. Somewhere in that dark alley must be connected to a secret passageway that leads out of the city.

“All right.”

Zegman, who had finished the apple, brushed off his hands.

“Shall we go?”

Zegman got out of the carriage and went into the jewellery store without hesitation.

“Welcome.”

When Zegman, Kael, and Daphne entered, the staff smiled and welcomed the three.

The staff scoured the three people quickly.

‘Looking at Meldy’s clothes, they must have some money?’

They can’t miss out on that pushover.

The highest-ranking employee stepped forward.

“You must be new to this city!”

“I’m here for a vacation.”

Zegman looked around in a stiff posture. Then he clicked his tongue openly.

“I heard this place is the most famous jewellery store in the south recently. Are these the only things you have?”

“Haha. There are many better things inside, customer.”

“No, I’m sure I can see. What’s on display outside looks worse than what I saw at Tasha’s.”

“Ah, hahaha.”

The employee’s face cracked.

It can’t be nice to be openly smashing his pride.

“You must have got a good item from Tasha. But we have quite a lot of good things, too!”

A smile was recovered in an instant. Is that not amazing?

“My daughter’s birthday is coming up.”

Zegman touched the topaz necklace on display with his fingers and said.

“Ah, it’s your daughter’s birthday. Congratulations.”

Then he asked Daphne with a businesslike smile.

“Then, is there any jewel that our little lady wants?”

“Mmm, that. Red jewellery would be nice! Actually, there are a lot of blue ones, but not a lot of red ones.”

“A red jewel. Then, for now, this ruby is fine.”

“No, no, not that lousy thing.”

Zegman stood in the way of the staff.

“I want ‘Red Dragon’s Tears.’”

“…..!!”

“I heard they sell it here. Am I wrong?”

At those words, the employee held his breath. Seeing his pupils shaking, he seemed to have guessed it properly.

“…How did you know that?”

Soon, he stared at Zegman with a wary look.

Bingo.

“How do I know?”

Zegman showed his raised pinky.

“I heard it from a one-eyed person who doesn’t have this.”

“Ah. You heard it from him.”

The employee nodded immediately.

“All right, come over here.”

Then he guided the three inside the store.

Daphne asked Zegman furtively, following the staff.

“How did you know? One-eyed without a pinky finger.”

Zegman replied casually.

“I’m sure it’s rarer to find someone with intact fingers while doing this kind of work, right? And when you do things like this, your eyeballs will get plucked once in a while, and that’s how everyone lives.”

…Don’t speak so casually. It’s scary.

“You can go in here.”

The employee led them to the innermost room.

When they went inside, there was a man sitting in the middle of a more pleasant room than expected.

He was the swindler.

“Hello.”

The swindler jumped up and greeted them.

The swindler was unaware of their true intent, but he looked very docile and nice in appearance.

“My name is Ken Melton.”

“You don’t have to say your name, do you?”

This time a swindler named Ken asked for a handshake, but Zegman lightly ignored it.

He sat down on the sofa and held out his hand.

“Give it to me.”

“Ahaha. You’re in a hurry.”

“That’s right, it’s my daughter’s birthday, not anyone else’s.”

“Oh, I heard from the staff. Congratulations.”

It’s not even her real birthday, but she had already heard happy birthday twice.

‘It feels so strange.’

Daphne smiled as if she knew nothing.

The staff served tea in front of Kael and Zegman, and filled a large glass full of water for Daphne as requested in advance.

“Here you are.”

Meanwhile, Ken held out a box.

It was a very luxurious box at first glance.

“This is ‘Red Dragon’s Tears.’”

Ken smiled confidently and opened the lid. And soon all three of them could see why Ken was so confident.

‘Wow, it’s really pretty.’

Daphne blinked.

As the name ‘Red Dragon’s Tears’ suggests, the jewel Daphne was looking for was a red diamond.

Colored diamonds are precious.

In particular, with such a vivid red light, there would be no shortage of it to be enshrined in front of the emperor right now.

“Certainly, it’s worth coming all the way to the south.”

Zegman raised the corners of his mouth. Then he clapped his hands.

Leon came inside with a jewellery appraiser who had been recruited in advance.

“Because I’m very thorough about this.”

“Of course, of course.”

The appraiser was also surprised to see the jewel, and started to evaluate the jewellery while shaking.

It didn’t take long.

“It is a real diamond. It is also of the highest quality.”

The appraiser left, and Ken shrugged as if to look at it.

“If you want, you can call another appraiser to check further. This dark-colored diamond is precious.”

“There is nothing more precious.”

“That’s right. I was lucky enough to get this in my hands, but I was worried about what to do.”

“How can you worry about getting such a nice item in your hands?”

Zegman began as if he knew nothing.

“To be honest, there aren’t many people who have the money to buy this. Of course, a high-ranking aristocrat can buy it in installments, but I am in a hurry…”

In short, it meant to pay cash right away without installments.

“Do you run a store this big and lack cash?”

“Ha, I don’t know if I can actually tell this to the customers.”

With a deep sigh, Ken opened his mouth.

“Have you heard of the Western fraud case?”

That’s you.

“I heard that two counts were victimized, but I was also caught up in the fraud case. I lost a lot of money thanks to that… They were really bad guys!”

That’s an interesting self-introduction.

“So the store is now under mortgage and the salaries of its employees are being pushed back.”

He was a typical sentimentalist. Daphne’s toes were tapping.

“So I’m going to sell this Red Dragon’s Tears to those who can pay right away rather than others—”

“It’s a long story.”

It was Kael who cut Ken off. There was a crease between his brows as if he was displeased.

“So how much are you selling it for?”

“My son resembles me, so he’s a bit rude.”

Zegman added a drivel.

Ken’s face cracked, who was only smiling good-naturedly.

“Haha. My story was a little long. All right. I’ll just tell you the price right away. I’m in a hurry, so I’ll give it to you a little cheaper.”

Ken grinned.

“I’ll sell it for 10 billion jenny.”

10 billion jenny.

It was roughly about 10 billion won.

‘It’s not a bad price.’

As many say, colored diamonds are precious. In addition, the diamond in front of them was of the highest quality.

“If it’s 10 billion jenny, we’re really just taking it. Don’t you know?”

“Dad!”

Daphne reached for the box with her eyes shining.

“I want this!”

She grabbed the jewel like an immature child.

Ken flinched.

However, he only smiled awkwardly, probably thinking it would be in vain if he shouted now.

“Wow, I’ve never seen anything so pretty.”

Daphne said, rolling the jewel around in front of her eyes.

“Isn’t this really cheap if it’s ten billion? That’s right, Dad. I want to have this!”

“Haha, the young lady has an exceptional eye. If you buy it now, other jewels for your birthday—”

“By the way, this. What if it’s fake?”

Daphne asked with no malice, adorning an innocent face.

“It can’t be fake. Didn’t the appraiser your father brought check it for you? On top of that, our appraisal report is also—”

“But it can still be fake.”

Daphne tilted her head while holding the jewel.

Ken’s forehead became tense, as if he was starting to get angry at her constant interruption.

“Haha! If this is fake, I’ll give you this store here and all the money I’ve accumulated.”

“Wow, really?”

You promised, you?

Well, even if you don’t keep it, I’ll take it all away.

“Then.”

Daphne deliberately dropped the jewel into the glass of water to see.

“What are you doing now…!!”

Ken’s angry voice gradually faded.

That was inevitable.

Now that precious red diamond was melting in the water.

“Fascinating.”

Daphne smiled as she touched the glass of water with her finger.

“Do diamonds dissolve in water these days?”