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dear-mrs-otome · 1 year

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Silvio Ricci - Main Story - Chp 12

Standard Disclaimer: I do this for fun. I don’t, and never would, claim to be proficient at JP. There will be mistakes herein. There will be dialogue I choose to smooth out or change, because it feels choppy just straight translating. There will be the occasional snarky aside and irreverence and just plain summarizing. If you’re looking for 100% pure accuracy, without commentary or localizing, this is not for you. If you don’t mind that…then proceed, and I hope you enjoy! And please, support your local localizer (they make this stuff look easy) and Cybird by playing the games and routes when they come to English.

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Keith’s given Emma a surprise apology gift - but it’s one she never would have expected to create such a disaster...

In a modiste’s shop Rio is flabbergasted by Silvio’s gaudy taste, a dismay that Silvio fails to understand, claiming that every woman likes this kinda stuff.

“Please, do not lump Emma in with ‘every’ woman!” Rio protests, adding that the women Silvio’s referring to probably aren’t even that ‘normal’ either.

“You tryin’ to pick a fight, asshole?” Silvio growls, and Rio’s more than ready to rumble before Emma herself has to step in and defuse the situation, pleading with them both for calm.

She's despairing to herself how the two of them together just can’t seem to not be at each other’s throats. They’re practically ready to come to blows right here in the middle of this shop Silvio’s suggested.

The poor clerk on duty even is bewildered, and the whole scene has Emma chagrined. But she gets, kinda of, what Rio is trying to say. The dress that Silvio’s trying to push her towards sparkles and glitters so brightly she could be mistake for a star in it. It looks like the sort of dress some sort of high-stepping noblewoman would love…but it doesn’t feel like something she herself could wear.

It’s a gorgeous dress, one she’s sure must cost another fortune.

“Woman, hurry and change,” Silvio orders her.

She waffles, before speaking up. “I’d like it if you let me choose for myself…”

“Not gonna happen.”

“Why not?!” she exclaims, and Silvio replies that if he lets her pick the dress, she’ll be concerned first and foremost with the price, and choosing something plain will defeat the entire purpose of this.

He never planned on letting her choose, it seems, and she’s dismayed to realize he’s so easily predicted her.

Rio, however, quickly jumps to her defense and points out that Emma has her own tastes and preferences, as he picks up a much more modest dress trimmed with delicate lace that Emma finds the most appealing of what’s in the shop.

“Seems plain,” Silvio scoffs.

Rio counters that it’s not always about what something costs - you have to keep the person it’s for in mind when you’re choosing clothes…an assertion that Silvio greets with a silent scowl.

Emma hastily jumps in and tells Silvio that it’s not that the dress bothers her, it’s just that she doesn’t feel like showy clothes suit her well.

Silvio mocks her for being a shabby sort of woman, which she takes affront to, but he shrugs the whole thing off and instructs her to go get changed - surprising Emma with his apparent willingness to concede to the dress Rio’s picked out. Silvio says it doesn’t matter all that much in the end, it’ll be find just as long as she doesn’t look like some commoner since the auction they’re attending has a dress code at the venue.

She’s appalled, because she hadn’t even considered that, and as Rio has the clerk prepare the fitting room he mentions how it was a bit unexpected that Keith’s ‘apology’ gift was an invitation to an auction.

She thinks back to how Keith had asked if she was interested in such a thing, and she had admitted she didn’t really have a lot of experience with such things…but Rhodolite is a country with a lot of appreciation for art so they go hand in hand. And she’d been very curious to go just to spectate at least.

Rhodolite has countless artisans, from painters to sculptors, writers, craftsmen, instrument makers, metalworkers, and many more who all make unique items. Because of this it’s easier to hold auctions to put artists and buyers in contact and they’ve become quite common in the country…or so it says in the guidebook to Rhodolite she’d read in her efforts to be a good hostess to Silvio.

But despite having been born and raised in Rhodolite herself, she’d never been to an auction or any of these places where the wealthy rub elbows. It was the sort of thing she’d like to experience for herself at least once in her life.

A satisfied Keith had said that if she was even remotely curious about auctions he thought she’d have a good time, and since this one is invitation-only it’s even more exclusive than usual. There are supposed to be many rare things, a veritable treasure trove of jewels there, and since she seems to like gems and jewelry, he imagined she’d enjoy just having the chance to see them all.

Confused, Emma asked if she’d ever said that she liked that sort of thing, and Keith had told her no - but he’d heard from Silvio the other day that he had given Emma jewelry. “And since you seem to be wearing it even now, I thought you liked that…”

It made sense then, and she had realized that Prince Keith had had no idea that Silvio had been forcing her to wear the collar.

“Am I perhaps wrong?” Keith had asked her, hesitantly, and she hastily assured him that she found jewelry beautiful and interesting. Conjuring up a white lie about her interest in the subject to mollify his anxious expression. But they were rather fun to look at, she admitted to herself, and she had asked him if she could indeed have an invitation after all.

Back in the moment, she’s looking forward to getting to experience an auction for the first time. She looks over at Silvio, he of the crossed arms and sour face right now, and he catches her look.

“...What?” he asks.

“Nothing,” she hastily answers. In truth, she’s still in disbelief that Silvio’s attending the auction with them at all.

He had seemed surprised when she’d told him of the invitation she’d received from Keith and how she had planned to attend tomorrow with Rio, and asked if he knew of it - surely he would, given how it’s been billed as a ‘treasure trove of gems’.

It had been a casual mention, brought up in their chatting, but for some reason Silvio had paused his drinking and frowned in silence.

“..Why that auction, of all things?” he’d asked, seemingly to himself.

When she had tried to ask what he meant by that, Silvio had waved it off - before abruptly declaring that he would go with her.

Both she and Rio had been taken aback (Rio especially displeased) but Silvio had chided them not to look so disgruntled by the idea. “Neither you nor the dog have ever gone to an auction. I’ll go along and you’ll be thanking me for it.”

“Are you maybe...worried about me?” Emma had ventured.

But Silvio had scoffed at the very idea of worrying over her. “I’ve just been meaning to make an appearance at the auction house for awhile now. I’ll take advantage of this opportunity and join you guys.”

Which is how Emma made plans to attend the auction with both Rio and Silvio, and how they had ended up on a detour here at the clothiers, with Silvio declaring they first had to do something about Emma’s blah appearance.

If she’s being honest with herself, it’s actually reassuring to have Silvio along…but she can’t help wondering - what was the reason for his frown when she first mentioned the auction?

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Some time later, with Silvio having bought her the dress Rio had suggested, she’s put together like a proper noblewoman and they head directly to the auction venue. She’s blown away by the upper-crust atmosphere, which isn’t quite up to the levels of luxury seen at the court but is certainly nothing to sneeze at. Emma’s taking it all in, wide-eyed, as the auctioneer talks up a stunning piece of jewelry, and she thinks that Keith was right about this being something worht seeing.

The items on display for auction are gathered up on the stage, all jewelry and adornments of the sort Silvio would wear, beautiful works of art in and of themselves. Aloud, she says how she’s not exactly some expert on jewelry and gems but even from here she can tell how gorgeous these pieces are.

Silvio agrees that everything is top notch here, only for Rio to point out that he hasn’t bought a thing despite that.

“I don’t feel like it,” Silvio says dismissively.

“That’s a surprise. I thought you liked jewelry…” Emma says.

“I don’t particularly. It’s just that my position doesn’t allow for me to dress poorly,” he replies. “Wear something of value, and you’re seen as a person of value. And conversely, wear poor things and you’re seen as a person of no consequence. That’s just how it goes.”

She supposes that makes some sense - that for Silvio, jewelry is merely a tool to better himself. It might not be something he actually loves.

Silvio says that even if the stuff here is superb, he doesn’t feel like buying it. He praises the settings the gems are placed in, the precious metalwork that frames them, and Emma is confused. Asking if that isn’t a good thing that they’re exquisite? Silvio agrees that it is, and normally he’d probably buy all of this up…if not for the whole thing with that eyepatch bastard.

Eyepatch bastard? She’s wondering if he’s talking about Gilbert, and why his name has suddenly entered the conversation.

Rio, however, seems to understand something she doesn’t, and he looks pensive. “I see. The fact that everything is of such high quality makes no sense.”

“What do you mean?” Emma asks.

“Because this is Rhodolite, right? We don’t have as many mines as other countries,” Rio explains, going on to add how Rhodolite basically can’t be picky as to what gems it cuts and shapes and sets into pieces. “Didn’t Silvio just say how all the gems are of the highest quality? That’d be impossible here in Rhodolite.”

The implications of what they’re saying starts to sink in for her, as Silvio tells her how even in Benitoite, where they have access to all the trade and passage of goods, wouldn’t allow for an auction like this made up of only the best of the best.

“There’s only one country on the continent capable of it…” Rio says.

Ores…mines. A country of ore and military might.

Silvio covers her mouth with his hand, before she can say the name of the country that comes to mind. “Absolutely not another word on this. Just have fun for the moment and enjoy the rare gems.”

After that, she sees countless jewels that are enchantingly beautiful…but she can’t quell the unrest in her heart. When the auction comes to a close, servants at the venue escort Silvio and them to the lounge, since the head of the auction house seemed to want to greet him.

“Here.” Silvio surprises her by tossing her the ‘featured item’ of the auction, which he’d been idly toying with.

“Don’t do that!” she exclaims. “That little doggie is worth a fortune!”

“The stone’s sturdy. It’s not gonna break if you drop it,” he grins.

That’s not exactly the issue here, she thinks, as she look over what he’s given her. It’s a statue of a little dog, carved from an enormous, palm-sized gemstone. The jewel pup’s little head wears a crown of pure gold, and it’s so glittering and beautiful she can’t help being fascinated. Even to her untrained eye, it’s clearly wonderfully made, and she’s enchanted by the color, quality, and how stinking cute it is.

Silvio explains that he bought it just to sort of check things out, and it's definitely top tier stuff - much to Emma's internal dismay that he just bought the premiere item on a whim.

But that's not the real issue here. "Trading with the countries that produce this ore is supposed to be forbidden," Emma notes.

"Right? Rhodolite banned all Obsidian goods from entering this country ten years ago," Silvio agrees. "The same goes for us in Benitoite, as allies."

She thinks on the Bloodstained Rose Day ten years ago, the Obsidian invasion that led to so many Rhodolite deaths, and how relations between the two countries had been severed that day. “So if everything at this auction is from Obsidian…”

“It’s certainly illegal,” Rio agrees, noting that profits from the auction are probably going straight to Obsidian too.

Emma wasn’t personally affected by the Bloodstained Rose Day, but that doesn’t make it any easier for her to stomach the origin of these jewels - there’s no forgiving Obsidian’s tyranny.

Rio points out that there’s something even more serious than the fact that this is Obsidian material being sold here - the organizer of the auction is a wealthy Benitoite merchant. Silvio doesn’t seem surprised to find out that Rio had checked things out before coming, and Rio agrees that he couldn’t let his mistress go somewhere without knowing more about it…although Emma was totally clueless that he’d been poking into it.

“Benitoite citizens distributing Obsidian gems…just like how Silvio had suggested the possibility of alliance with Obsidian, there’s a chance some people already are working together without our knowledge,” Rio surmises.

“What, seriously?” Emma’s aghast, and turns to look at Silvio reflexively.

He leans back in his chair and snorts. “What of it?”

“You’re not going to do anything about this auction, are you?” Rio accuses.

“Obviously. What’s the upside for me if I do?” Silvio retorts on a smirk. “All that matters is that the Benitoite folks are coming out ahead in their business dealings.”

Silvio’s an ally that judges things by worth, she knows. If he’s aware the auction is illegal, and makes no move to stop it, that’s because he sees more benefit in the Obsidian ore. Which means that although she and Rio are both doing their best to impress Silvio with Rhodolite’s worth, it’s still not enough.

She hugs the little statue tightly, and Rio puts a hand on her shoulder. Aloud he draws the line between money that flows into Obsidian supporting its war efforts against Rhodolite…and how much he can’t stand the idea of that.

He turns a direct gaze on Silvio. “Now that I know about the auction, I’ll work with the other princes. I’m not about to let Emma’s smile fade.”

She’s heartened to have his unwavering support, Rio helping her work through difficult times together as he always has.

Silvio challenges Rio to go ahead and try, if he thinks he can - but he knows there’s only so much a coward can accomplish. But an undaunted Rio just tells him that he’s unbeatable when he’s with Emma…much to Silvio’s displeased silence.

Just as Silvio’s clicked his tongue with disgust, a knock comes at the door. “Pardon the interruption,” the head of the auction house calls as he enters, making further apologies.

Silvio waves them off, and bluntly asks the man what he wants from him. The manager tells Silvio he has something he’d like to show him…and he suggests that Silvio bring the young lady along with him as well.

Emma realizes he means her, and she wonders if the man has some special items that’s difficult to put a price tag on.

“Show me,” Silvio orders him, standing from his chair to follow the man.

Rio and Emma move to follow as well, but the manager shakes his head at Rio. “Apologies, butler, but would you mind waiting here for them? What I’m about to show them is too special for any servant’s eyes.”

Now Emma’s really wondering what the heck he’s planning to show them, as she exchanges looks with Rio. At her assurance she’ll be fine, he bids her go, and she follows Silvio and the manager from the room.

Once gone, Rio surveys the room, and aloud he observes that he understands - the real focus here isn’t Silvio or Emma. It’s him.

As if in reply, the door opens on a laughing Gilbert. “Right on the mark.”

The click of his cane echoes through the room as he enters, and the air goes tense. He explains to a wary Rio how he’s gone to lengths to get Rio alone, where they can’t be spied on…and taps his cane once more. “I have a very special tale to tell you.”

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For reference - you don't receive this intimacy item until chp 17 but I'm sure it's the same pupper statue Silvio gives Emma here:

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<< Chp 11 | Chp 13 >> (TBC)

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