30 A Special Gift for You~

My father spoke to me, "I sent Dr. Singh a letter requesting the services and explaining the situation, but I don't think he will respond quickly. He's a very busy man."

"That's alright. I can wait."

He sighed, "I can't believe Duke Bayne came here with those demands. Are you really certain that you want the doctor to come here?"

I nodded, "Of course. The Duke is wrong about me being unstable and needs to realize that."

I'm like the most stable person I know. He needs to be slapped in the face by good ol' evidence.

"Alright. I'm a bit worried, but since you're so confident I will do it."

He's a bit worried? Does that mean he thinks something is wrong with my head??

*Grooooowl*

I grabbed my stomach quickly. I could feel my face heat up. My father grew quiet. I forgot that I was starving and had been on my way to the kitchen to steal some snacks.

"Are you hungry?"

"Starving."

He smiled, "Maybe we should have a little tea party together. Would you like that?"

"There's nothing I would love more, Daddy!"

Except perhaps an acid bath.

"Then let's go! I will have the maids whip us up some sandwiches and snacks. Besides, your mother is sure to be on the war path after the Duke leaves so it would be best for us to make ourselves scarce."

He picked me up and started whistling very happily. I think he's just using me to escape my mother. I would be upset but I completely understand wanting to hide from her.

As we waited for the maids to prepare everything I tapped on his shoulder.

"What is it?"

"I want to grab something real quick."

He nodded and put me down. I ran up to my room and grabbed a pen and paper. I rushed back downstairs and we went outside to have our little tea party.

I pulled out the notepad and he looked at it curiously, "What's that for?"

"Well Daddy wanted something homemade so I thought I would make him a portrait. Unless you don't want it?"

"No! No! I would love a picture from my darling daughter!"

I began to draw his portrait while simultaneously shoving food into my mouth. I took a gulp of tea and hid my work when my father tried to glance.

"No peeking daddy."

"Alright, alright."

I finished my tea and yawned. Ah, I really miss drinking coffee and wine.

"Daddy, when can I drink coffee?"

"When you're older."

"Yes, but how much older?"

"When you enter the academy you can."

That long?! I can't enter the academy until I'm 14!! I need to find a way to get it before then.

He continued, "But I'm sure you won't like it. It's usually too much for young ladies."

Sir, I used to take shots of espresso when preparing for finals. I'm sure I will be fine.

"Okay. What about wine?"

"Wine?"

"Yes."

"How do you know what that even is?"

Uhhh. Do children not?

"I saw Queen Luna drinking some and I was curious so she told me what it was. She made it seem tasty."

He chuckled, "It's tasty for adults. You can drink when you are 16. However, it's proper to only drink it for special occasions."

Wow! This world has such a young drinking age. Don't they know that studies have shown it can harm the development of a teenage brain? Oh well. I don't care. I already have an adult brain anyways so it'll be fine. Now I just need a 10 year time skip.

I finished my sketch and rubbed my face. I smiled in pride. Ah! I've created another masterpiece!

I smiled at my father, "Are you ready?"

"Yes!"

I proudly showed him my work, "Walah! Isn't it magnificent?"

His smile twitched, "Woow! It looks just like me?"

Did he just force himself to say that?

I frowned, "If you don't want it then I will just throw it away."

"Nonsense! I love it! Anything made from my darling daughter is beautiful. I will immediately put this in a frame."

I smiled smugly. That's right. My masterpiece should be on display, shouldn't it?

After we finished eating I returned to my room and collapsed on my bed. Spending even a minute with that man makes me exhausted. I quickly fell asleep and woke up to notice it was dark outside my window.

Wow, Lona must be really busy if she never woke me up. She left my pajamas and some food next to my bed. I grabbed the food and shoved it into my mouth. I grabbed the empty plate and put it outside the door.

I locked my door and threw on my black cape. I need to go to the red light district to get Lona something nice. I glanced at my desk drawer and pulled out the necklace that Dante and William had given me.

It's not like I'm going to sell it or anything... But... I am dying to know how much it is worth. After they gave it to me, I threw it into a drawer and forgot about it. I slipped it into my knapsack and climbed out through the window using my rope. After I landed, I stealthily made my way into town. I'm getting way too good at this.

I walked into the pawn shop and stared over the counter. I must be getting taller since I don't need to stand on my tip toes anymore. I knocked on the counter and the shop owner turned to me and smiled.

"Ah! You're back! I haven't seen you in a while. Did you bring me something nice today?"

Ugh. I much prefer the old man at the bookshop compared to this old man. The book store owner looks sketchy but this guy looks so dirty. And not only in the sense that he could use a bath.

"Well, I'm not sure if I should sell it. I was just curious about how much it costs."

I pulled out the necklace and he put on his glasses to carefully look at it. He spoke while checking it out, "Did you steal this from the Royal family?"

"Good sir. Remember what I've told you."

"Yes yes. Ask no questions. Well this is a fine piece of jewelry that only the Royal family could afford. It could easily go for two million gold."

"T-two million?!"

That is more than my entire house is worth!!! I want to faint. What are those two idiots doing giving something so expensive to a child?!

"Maybe even more if you could find the right seller."

"How is it worth that much?!"

"Well these jewels are from a far away kingdom and are considered rare even there. This has over 10 of those jewels. The insignia is Arthur Wraith, who is a famous jeweler who only makes necklaces for royalty. Simply put, this necklace is one of a kind."

My mouth dropped. Well this will definitely fund me when I am old enough to get away from this crazy place.

He handed it back to me, "So do you think you'll sell it? Unfortunately I can't buy it from you but I can find someone who would be interested. However, since it's potentially from the Royal family it will be harder to sell."

I shook my head, "No. That's alright. I will hold onto it for now."

I'm almost scared to carry something so valuable.

"Alright then. Let me know if you change your mind. Do you have anything else I can help you with?"

"Yes. I am also here to find a gift."

"A gift? For your master?"

"Well my master has this mistress and he asked me to pick her out a gift. He said since I am a girl I know what they like. But I have no clue what she would like."

"I see. So you are in a delicate position."

"Exactly. If I don't get her something she would like, then he will punish me severely. So I need your help."

He smiled in a disgusting way, "Well I do meet many fine women. I've gotten really good at figuring out what they like."

Uck. What a pig.

He continued, "What is she like?"

"Well she's very strict. She seems mean most of the time, but she is actually a very nice person. However, she never talks about herself and is very expressionless. She also works as a maid so she doesn't have much free time. It would be good to get her something she can use even when she's working."

"I see. Sounds like quite the difficult person to buy for."

"Exactly! Do you think you can help?"

"I think I have just the thing."

He pulled out a small package and I smiled, "That's perfect!"

He wrapped it up for me and I skipped out of the building. I saw something glint from the alley and went to investigate. My mouth dropped at the sight of three gold coins scattered across the ground. I quickly ran over to them and picked them up.

Ah! Today must be my lucky day!

I heard footsteps enter the alley and I hid behind some trash. I peered at the figures, but couldn't tell who they were. Is this like some drug deal or something?

"Duke Bayne sends his regards."

"Commander Elliott greets the Duke."

Yoo-hoo! This seems tasty.

The man handed a small package to the other. He opened it and looked at it's contents.

"It's all there. The Duke doesn't want you to hurt the doctor's wife. Just kidnap her and keep her at the Pfienners farm. Make sure to wait until after he meets with Kane's daughter."

The other man chuckled, "So the bribery didn't work?"

"Tsk. It didn't. He said he takes his work seriously. What a load of sh*t. Well he will change his mind after this."

The men nodded to each other and left the alley separately. Geez. Could they be any more sketchy?

Also, it's nice to know the Duke's plan. It's going to be fun ruining it. I went to stand up and felt the necklace in my hand. I don't even remember holding it.

Could it be... This necklace is lucky?!

Nah. I stuffed it back in my pocket and left the alley. As I walked down the street I saw the old dessert lady waving at me.

"Fifi! Come here!"

I almost forgot I was telling everyone my name was Fifi here. A girl's gotta protect her identity.

I walked over to her, "Hello Mama O! How are you today?"

"I'm good! Actually, I just finished making some sweets from a new recipe. Do you think you could taste them and tell me how they are?"

"Of course!"

Mama O is a nice lady who makes desserts. You may think this is weird since her shop is in the red light district, but she also runs an inn above it. It's not an actual inn, but something I refer to as a love hotel. Apparently sweets are really popular for guests because they need to "recharge".

"I'm so glad I caught you! Now try all of these and tell me honestly how they taste."

She pulled out two large pans with mouth watering desserts on them. I took a bite from one and felt it dissolve in my mouth. Okay, I'm convinced now. This necklace is definitely lucky!!!