Chapter 215: The Price of Forgotten Love and the Herald of Winter
Chapter 215: The Price of Forgotten Love and the Herald of Winter
It was afternoon; classes had ended, and Cassian was walking alone through the capital.
Cassian turned onto the capital’s most elite street, a place where even nobles checked their wallets twice before entering.
His steps came to a halt in front of a shop featuring massive crystal display windows and gold-leafed doors.
This was the kind of place where the gleam of a single necklace in the window, coupled with the terrifying price tag next to it, seemed to scream at a commoner: *Change your path, don’t even walk past and taint my shadow.*
Unlike the silk-robed nobles around him, Cassian stood there in extremely simple black clothes that bore no crests or jewelry. From the outside, he looked like a lost, ordinary civilian.
Yet, without hesitation, he pushed open the gold-embroidered glass door and stepped inside.
The interior smelled of an even more suffocating wealth than the outside. There was a faint, expensive perfume scent in the air. The carpets on the floor were so thick that Cassian’s footsteps were completely swallowed in silence.
The moment he walked through the door, a young female employee stepped forward to greet him. She was dressed in a stylish, formal suit, wearing a professional, practiced smile she had perfected over the years.
The woman paused for a moment when she saw the simple black clothes and the very young age of the person walking in.
Her mind immediately concluded that this boy didn’t belong here, that he had probably walked through the wrong door. However, when her eyes met Cassian’s face, his pure white hair, his flawless, porcelain-like facial features, and those freezing, soulless blood-red eyes... Her mind went completely blank.
The handsomeness of this young man standing before her surpassed human limits; he possessed a mesmerizing yet equally eerie, demonic perfection.
The woman swallowed hard. Her professional demeanor faltered for a second, and words stumbled in her mouth.
"Welcome... Sir. How m-may I help you!" she stammered, a faint pink hue spreading across her cheeks.
Completely ignoring the woman’s bewilderment, Cassian stared directly into her eyes and delivered his request in a flat voice.
"I want to buy a ring."
The woman quickly composed herself. Taking a deep breath, she slipped her professional mask back on. "Of course, sir. Please, follow me."
Accompanied by the sharp clicks of her heels, the woman guided Cassian deeper into the shop, toward the section with massive display cases where the exclusive collections were exhibited. As they walked, she asked politely to gauge what the customer was looking for.
"I wonder, what kind of ring were you looking for? Were you looking for a gift for a friend or a sister?"
"No," Cassian said, without slowing his pace. "I’m looking for something in a style I could use for a marriage proposal."
The woman’s steps hitched for a moment. Startled, she turned to look at the young boy following her. He looked seventeen, maybe eighteen at most. To buy a marriage proposal ring at this age, and from a jeweler like this... It was a remarkably early decision, exceedingly rare even among the imperial nobility.
"Oh..." the woman said, forcing a smile to hide her astonishment. "Since you want to get married at this age... You must be truly in love, sir. She must be a very lucky lady."
Not a crumb of emotion appeared on Cassian’s face. As his gaze drifted over the shining stones in the display case, his voice was like ice: soulless and far too honest.
"I don’t know," Cassian said slowly. "I don’t remember."
The woman froze. Her steps stopped completely. "Sir... Excuse me?"
"I don’t remember if I’m in love with her," Cassian repeated, in an ordinary tone, as if he were talking about the weather. "I just need to buy this ring and propose to her. That’s all there is to it."
The woman didn’t know what to say, didn’t know how to react to this absurd situation. *He doesn’t remember if he’s in love? Then why is he proposing? At this age, no less... Has this kid lost his mind?* she thought to herself. However, it wasn’t her job to argue with a customer’s wallet. Clearing her throat, she swallowed and nodded.
"V-very well... Our display cases are this way."
When they arrived at the massive, oval hall where the rings were exhibited, the scene was practically blinding.
Resting on red velvet cushions, radiating magical halos, were countless rings adorned with diamonds, rubies, and dragon heart stones.
Forged from gold, silver, and mithril, each of these rings was a marvel of craftsmanship that had taken master artisans months to create.
Their price tags, however, were even more exaggerated and sickening than their appearances. The price of an average ring here was equal to ten years’ worth of tax revenue from a common town.
"If you’re having trouble choosing," the woman said, noticing Cassian staring blankly at the massive, flashy stones, "I can offer you my personal recommendations. For example, this teardrop-cut diamond on the right has been very popular among noble ladies late—"
"Plain," Cassian interrupted. "I want something plain but beautiful. There is no need for such flashy, loud, worthless stones."
Upon his request for something "plain," the woman led him further to the right side of the display, to a section with rings that had relatively less complex designs, though they still looked exceedingly ostentatious to a normal person.
Cassian scanned that row with his eyes. He was still undecided. Nothing he saw felt like the right choice.
Just as the woman eagerly began to recommend a thin, emerald-encrusted ring, Cassian’s eye caught a ring sitting in the very corner of the display case, overshadowed by the other massive stones, looking as if it didn’t belong there.
It had a delicate mithril band, shining even brighter than silver. The stone on it was tiny; it was a unique little stone with a pale but deep blue color, practically holding a captive ocean within itself.
It hadn’t been crushed among all the flashy, massive rings around it; it stubbornly and proudly maintained its own modest elegance. It didn’t try to stand out, but it instantly captivated a careful, observing eye.
A faint glint appeared in Cassian’s eyes. Reaching his hand toward the glass of the display case, he pointed at that small ring with his index finger.
"I will take this one," he said suddenly.
When the woman looked at the ring Cassian pointed to, she couldn’t hide her surprise. "Huh... Are you sure, sir? That piece is a special design by Master Elarion, and the stone is a rare mineral called ’Winter’s Tear’, but... It might be a bit too ’plain’ for an engagement. If you’d like, I can also show you its upgraded models, the ones surrounded by small diamonds."
"No," Cassian said, his voice entirely closed to argument. "I want this one."
Surrendering to the customer’s determination, the woman nodded. "As you wish, sir. Its elegance is truly unique. Well then..." Pulling out a small notepad, the woman asked with a professional smile, "What size does the ring need to be? What is the lady’s ring size?"
Cassian’s body stiffened.
"Size...?" Cassian asked, his voice coming out like a whisper.
"Yes, sir," the woman said, maintaining the smile on her face. "For the ring to fit the girl’s finger perfectly, we need to know her ring size."
Cassian’s lips parted, but no sound came out. His eyes stared into space. One second, two seconds, ten seconds... In the luxurious silence of the store, an overly long, suffocating, and awkward silence formed between the two of them.
Faced with this long silence, the woman began to sweat. In a hesitant and disbelieving tone, swallowing hard, she asked, "Sir... Could it be that you... don’t know the girl’s ring size?"
Cassian took a deep breath. He instantly collected his expression and assumed his serious demeanor. Since he didn’t know the size, he would choose the most logical, most guaranteed way to solve the problem.
"Iris’s hands..." he muttered to himself. Then, turning to the woman, he ordered in an extremely serious tone: "Estimate the range of ring sizes a seventeen-year-old, slenderly built girl could wear. And pack *all* the sizes of this ring within that specific range for me, one of each size. I am buying all of them."
The woman’s eyes widened as if they were going to pop out of their sockets. Her mouth hung open. The notepad in her hand almost dropped to the floor.
"H-huh?! All the sizes? A-are you sure, sir?!" she stammered. "Sir... Look, even a single one of these rings is worth a small fortune. If you buy all the sizes in that range, which is about seven or eight rings all at once... That... That would amount to an inconceivable sum!"
Looking again at Cassian’s simple clothes, she added in a panic, "But what about the money? Are you really going to be able to afford this? Don’t get me wrong, but... Even if you are a wealthy noble, your family, your parents won’t take kindly to you spending this amount."
Cassian listened to the woman’s warning and concern with a completely indifferent expression. Fixing his red eyes on the woman, he spoke flatly, as if stating a mundane fact.
"It is not a problem. I am a king."
The moment the woman heard those words, she was left completely speechless. This boy standing before her was saying things that grew weirder, more absurd, and more inconceivable with every passing second.
He didn’t remember being in love, he didn’t know the girl’s size, he was buying eight identical rings, and on top of it all, he called himself a ’king’.
"Uhh... O-okay then," the woman barely managed to say. "As you wish... Your Highness. Please, step toward the register."
With trembling hands, the woman took eight ’Winter’s Tear’ rings in the specified size range out of the display case, carefully placed them into velvet boxes, and directed Cassian to the ornate register at the back of the store.
While the transaction was being processed, the woman tried to smile to dispel this weird atmosphere a bit, to soften the situation, and spoke: "Despite everything, I’m sure your girlfriend will be very happy with your generosity and effort."
"She is not my girlfriend."
The boy’s final sentence destroyed the last crumb of logic in the woman’s mind. *Not his girlfriend?! Then why is he proposing?! My God, this kid is completely insane!* the woman’s inner voice screamed.
Leaving the woman completely confused and tongue-tied with astonishment, Cassian completed the transaction.
Cassian paid that astronomical sum without caring in the slightest. He took the stylish, black bag containing the seven velvet boxes. With a brief nod of his head, he thanked the woman and headed for the door.
Just as he was about to open the gold-embroidered door and step outside, he stopped. He slowly turned his head back over his shoulder to the female employee, who was still looking at him in astonishment.
Looking at the woman with his red eyes, he spoke in a flat, emotionless, but absolute voice:
"Wear something thick tomorrow. The weather will be very cold, because it is going to snow."
Having said that, he pushed the door open, merged into the noisy crowd of the capital, and disappeared from sight.
The woman just stood there behind the door. She blinked and looked at the stifling heat, the scorching rays of the sun pouring in through the open upper windows. They were in the hottest, driest time of the year. People were passing out in the streets from the heat, and it was still months before winter arrived and the weather cooled down.
Let alone the weather being cold... Snowing?!
"What in God’s name was this kid talking about?" the woman muttered, wiping the sweat from her forehead with her hand. From his appearance, to his behavior, his illogical words, and the boundless wealth in his wallet... There wasn’t a single shred of anything normal about this boy.
The woman let out a deep sigh. Even though she didn’t understand Cassian at all, the absolute certainty behind those freezing eyes had eerily unnerved her.
"Of course... I will keep that in mind," she whispered to the empty air, to herself.
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