Living As the Villainess Queen

Eugene became discomposed instantly when she recalled the earlier event, as if she was having buyer’s remorse. She tried to dissuade him, but Kasser insisted on purchasing every item on display, stressing that a king never goes back on his words.

Although she was well aware of the obvious fact that her husband was extremely rich, such excessive extravagance was, however, too much for Eugene to handle. Up to this time, Eugene only bought things she truly needed, after much comparison and consideration, in order to maximize the efficiency in a limited budget.

And even though she no longer has to stick to her old spending habits, she couldn’t help but to feel torn between her inner desire and her long-standing habit of frugality.

‘Perhaps he’s brought some free giveaways as a thank you for spending such a fortune.’

“I’ll meet him on my way out.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

As soon as Eugene and Charlotte got out of the manor, they both saw a carriage for Charlotte, standing on the yard stretching below the stairs, and another one standing right next to it. The men standing before the carriage, darted up the stairs as soon as Eugene was in sight. The assistant manager, who was in the lead, bowed until his body was bent at his waist, showing piety to the queen.

“My apologies for not introducing myself earlier, Anika. I’m Jake, the assistant manager of the Janette boutique.”

Even without his proper introduction, Eugene clearly remembered who he was as she could still vividly recall his joyous face while he wrapped away all the jewelry that was on the showcase, a few hours back.

“I have come to deliver the present from His Grace to you, Anika.”

“I thought everything was brought in with me. What did I miss out on?”

“You did not, indeed, Anika. What I’ve brought is a rare treasure, incomparable to what you have seen earlier today. But I must plead with you not to mistake my words, as everything you have purchased today is without doubt the best qualities of our most carefully selected products. Still, the thing about the treasure I brought…” the assistant manager said as he put out his hand to the two other men, who were carrying a wooden chest at its both ends, behind him.

“…is that it is the finest of our boutique, or if I may, it truly is the finest treasure of the whole Holy City there is. And I can’t be more honored for this treasure to have finally found the right owner. Would you please spare me some time so I can explain further about this treasure to you?”

On the contrary to the assistant manager’s expectation, Eugene didn’t seem much impressed.

‘What did he buy again this time? He’s going overboard.’

Charlotte, however, casted a curious glance at the wooden chest instead. And unlike Eugene, who didn’t seem at all intrigued by the assistant manager’s excessive explanation, Charlotte had a rough idea of what the content of the chest was.

There are only several renowned stores that carry finest jewelry in the Holy City and each of the stores has their own respective treasures in store. Although such treasures were perfectly on sale, not one of them had been sold so far as it was hard to find someone who could actually afford such exorbitantly priced treasures.

As a result, the treasures were more commonly used for exhibition purposes to impress the customers by showing them what the store has in carry. And since customers pay a substantial amount in advance for every purchase made in such prestige stores, such treasures are deemed as a security for the store to gain the customers’ credibility.

‘A treasure from the Janette boutique?’

Charlotte couldn’t be more curious as a store’s treasure was never something anyone could ask for a viewing.

“Your Majesty. If only I may ask, would you please give me the chance to watch as you open the chest?”

“Of course, you may.” Eugene promptly replied as she didn’t mind it at all. It was only a trivial favor compared to what Charlotte had done for her so far. So, along with Charlotte and the assistant manager, Eugene returned to the drawing room.

The two men stepped back after placing down the chest. The assistant manager then unlocked the chest and took out a smaller chest within it. After carefully placing it down on the sofa table, he further lifted the upper lid. At once, all four sides of the chest spread out on the table in order.

A pure gasp of shock escaped from Charlotte’s mouth, despite covering it with both her hands. Eugene too, couldn’t help but to gape with her eyes widened in surprise.

What was revealed from the chest was in fact a displaying bust, where it displayed a necklace, elaborately set with diamonds, enough to cover the whole neckline.

“To explain further about this treasure…”

Eugene was too dazed to listen to the assistant manager’s excited explanation as she was having a hard time believing her eyes. It was obvious that this world had no technical skills to make artificial jewelry, so the only possible explanation would be that the necklace was set with genuine diamonds.

But somehow, Eugene was finding it awfully familiar, which was utterly impossible as there’s no way she could have seen such valuable treasure before in her life.

‘Ah…’

All of sudden, the grand image of the royal treasury came into her head.

She could still vividly remember how overpowered she was by the stunning necklace, which was indeed a designated national treasure. Compared to that, the very necklace, which was brought by the assistant manager today, seemed rather plain.

Although there’s no denying that what’s in front of her was a marvelous treasure, as someone who’s already seen something more incredible, she couldn’t help but to be amazed less by it. As a matter of fact, she more amazed by how similar the necklace in front of her was to the national treasure she had seen before.

‘Did he buy that just because I marveled at the similar necklace in the treasury?’

It didn’t take much long for her suspicion to turn into certainty since someone as scrupulous as Kasser, wouldn’t have forgotten about it. She buried her face into her palms, wondering why her eyes were starting to tingle, even though her mouth was smiling.