Such a Fine Piece, and Yet…
One of the accompanying knights went ahead to announce our arrival, so when we reached Carlos’s workshop, both Carlos and Shelly were already waiting.
I’d asked beforehand that Shelly be present, since this project was likely to fall under her line of work.
“I’d like you to take a look at these,” I said, showing them the five types of scarf rings Barton had made—ten pieces in total.
There were round, vertical oval, horizontal oval, diamond-shaped, and flower-like designs.
When I asked Shelly if she had a scarf on hand, she said yes and fetched one. She put it on, and we tried attaching the sample rings to it.
“I see,” Carlos said, grasping the idea. “So you want to inlay a glass design into the indented part, like with cufflinks.”
“I only have these ten samples for now—will that be all right?”
“It’s based on the same technique as cufflinks,” Shelly replied. “So it shouldn’t be difficult.”
They promised to let me know when it was done, but I made sure to tell them not to rush.
Everyone tends to overwork themselves when it’s a request from our family.
Here too, Raziel was quiet.
Definitely strange.
When we returned to the mansion, Raziel suddenly said, “We should report to the Lord,” and practically dragged me along.
I looked at Georges for help, but he just shook his head.
Seeing that I was back, Atre and Lucas came over, so we all entered Father’s study together.
“Even with all the exhibition preparations, you’ve gone and caused trouble again, haven’t you?” Father said as soon as we stepped in.
“It’s not that,” I protested. “It’s something I made at Raziel’s request. I think it turned out quite well, so please take a look.” I showed him the necktie rings.
“Our family crest and the guild emblem, both made into rings? They seem a bit large for finger wear,” Father remarked.
“They’re not for fingers. Raziel, Georges—put them on,” I said, handing each a ring and having them attach it to their ties.
“How about that, Father? Looks good, doesn’t it?” I turned back toward him after confirming both men had them on.
Father was frozen, mouth slightly open.
When he finally regained his composure, he said, “When did you even make these?”
“Raziel mentioned that after seeing Rosetta’s tie, the male government officers were wondering when they’d get theirs. The guild was hoping for something too, so I worked hard to make them.”
Father turned to Raziel.
“That was careless of me,” Raziel admitted. “I only meant embroidered ties… I didn’t expect Young Master Reinhardt to create something entirely different. My apologies.”
“No, that’s a fair assumption. It’s Hardt who’s the odd one here.”
Father sighed.
Hey, wait a second—this conversation’s strange.
Not a word of praise, even though it turned out great!
When I puffed my cheeks in frustration, Atre piped up, “Hardt, you’re giving me one too, right?”
“Huh? You want a necktie ring, Atre?”
“Yeah, I do!”
“But you already wear your nameplate around your neck.”
“I’ll have a bunch of custom ties made from different fabrics, and wear them with this. I can change the pattern every day—it’ll be fun!”
“That’s not fair, Atre! I’ll make my own special tie too!” Lucas declared.
Both Father and Raziel understood Lucas’s voice and turned their eyes toward the two of them.
Then came a tap-tap against the window.
When we looked over, it was Ciel.
Henry, who’d been listening nearby, opened the window, and Ciel flew in, landing on Father’s shoulder, chirping something in his ear.
“What—? You want a custom tie too, so you can have a ring of your own?” Father translated with a disbelieving look.
And just like that, all my kids were set on having their own special ties.
Still, how did Ciel, who was outside, even know what Atre and Lucas said?
Can high-ranking monsters understand conversation from that far away?
He probably wouldn’t tell me even if I asked.
Anyway, at least the talk with Atre and Lucas ended with permission to go ahead and make the necktie rings. That’s a relief.
What do you think about this chapter?
