jdhmnovel Chapter 217 It smells so good, can I drink your blood?
Chapter 217 It smells so good, can I drink your blood?
"How can it be……"
The shopkeeper looked up, his face full of annoyance. When he saw what was in Lin Shuwan's hand, he rubbed his eyes in disbelief, then suddenly stood up, strode over to her, and, staring at the object, fawned over her, extending both hands as if to say:
"May I have a look?"
Lin Shuwan adopted a haughty tone, mimicking the shop owner's earlier manner: "Then you'd better be careful, it would be troublesome if you broke it."
"Of course, of course." The shopkeeper changed his previous attitude and respectfully accepted the item with both hands. After carefully checking it, he reluctantly but gently placed it back into Lin Shuwan's hands.
When she looked up again, her face was beaming with a bright smile, and she deftly took down what she called the "store's prized possession" from the counter.
"Your Excellence is truly admirable; you have excellent taste."
She lifted the lid and gently waved it above to release the fragrance. "It was created by a top perfumer over several years, and one of the ingredients is the starflower, which blooms only once every fifty years..."
"...Smell it, this fragrance is almost imperceptible yet ethereal, like the cool, twinkling stars in the night sky, perfectly matching your elegant temperament..."
"...Moreover, in order to preserve the fragrance, the bottle and cap are also specially made, using only the finest ivory and emeralds."
At this point, the shop owner said proudly, "This fragrance is so good, you won't find another one like it, not even in Garloway or Caracostia."
"I see you're a stranger here, you must be from out of town. You probably don't know that people here pay great attention to spices, especially the nobility. At the annual ball hosted by the Duchess, if a guest's fragrance is of poor quality, they'll be laughed at."
Lin Shuwan wasn't particularly interested in the incense; she had only picked it up to take a closer look because the bottle seemed somewhat novel.
The bottle is indeed nice, and the fragrance is quite pleasant, but, "a ball?"
"Indeed, our Duchess especially loves excitement and enjoys singing and dancing, so the Duke organizes a ball for her every year."
"The invitations are all to the nobles and dignitaries of Grove. If any wealthy merchants or other nobles want to come, they can also participate as long as they pay a certain amount of money or have something to prove their identity."
After finishing his sentence, the shop owner flattered the two of them, saying, "If you are interested, you've come at a perfect time. There's a show tonight, and you and your husband can go together."
Before Lin Shuwan could react, Tronos glanced at the shopkeeper with satisfaction, and the indifference in his eyes lessened somewhat.
The shopkeeper was quick-witted and immediately noticed the deeper meaning in Tronos's glance. He then suggested, "Sir, why don't you buy a bottle for your wife? That way, she'll have a spice that matches her status when she attends the ball tonight."
“Hey, he’s not…” Lin Shuwan finally realized, but was interrupted by Tronos’s words.
"can."
"Alright, esteemed guest, it's three thousand gold coins a bottle, and I'll also give you a complimentary handmade sachet. What do you say?"
The shopkeeper responded very quickly, deftly pulling out a bag and handing it to Lin Shuwan, while subtly doubling the price.
This spice is indeed extremely expensive to produce, and it was originally intended to be a best-selling product.
Unfortunately, the nobles of Grove preferred richer, more luxurious scents and were not interested in this lighter one.
She didn't want to sell it at a low price, so she left it there and it eventually became the "treasure of the store".
There was an unexpected pleasant surprise today.
"Three...three thousand gold coins?!" Lin Shuwan's attention was immediately diverted again, and she hesitated as she took the bag.
"Yes, the spices in our shop are all specially made. Each bottle is sold to only one customer. There is only one bottle in the world, and we will not make any more for anyone else. So you can rest assured that this will be a spice that is unique to you, hence the higher price. Of course, you can also come to our shop to reorder if you run out."
Seeing that Lin Shuwan did not speak, the shopkeeper looked at Tronos and continued, "Moreover, there are thousands of flowers in this world, but in the eyes of a lover, there is only one. I suppose you think so too, sir?"
"Hmm." Tronos was quite pleased with the shopkeeper's keen eye and readily tossed down a piece of jewelry.
Seeing that Tronos had thrown down an even more valuable jewel and was no longer listening to anything else, Lin Shuwan quickly stopped him, saying, "Actually, I don't need it..."
"Okay!" The shopkeeper hurriedly took it, worried that they might change their minds, and quickly put it into his pocket after glancing at it.
“I think…” Lin Shuwan looked at the spices in her hand, then at the gems that had already gone into the shopkeeper’s pocket, her eyes filled with longing.
She prefers gemstones to this spice!
Can she cancel her application now?
"Of course not!" The shopkeeper's face beamed with joy. He subtly shifted his body, blocking Lin Shuwan's gaze from her pocket, and then pulled out an incense burner from somewhere, handing it to Tronos and explaining:
"Sir and Madam, you are truly a loving couple. Our shop will also give you an extra incense burner as a gift. We wish you both a long and happy life together."
"You've got it wrong, we're not..."
"I accept your kind words." Tronos didn't want Lin Shuwan to deny it, so he simply pulled her away.
"Please take care, esteemed guest. Come again when you have time."
Once everyone had completely disappeared, the shopkeeper took the gemstone out of his pocket, carefully wiped it with his sleeve, and kept muttering, "I'm rich! I'm rich!"
*
After being dragged along for a while, Lin Shuwan angrily pulled her hand away, put her hands on her hips, and glared at Tronos with what she thought was a serious but actually cute and fierce expression:
"Tronos! Why won't you let me explain? We're not in that kind of relationship!"
When Lin Shuwan is angry, her fair face will puff up involuntarily, and her bright eyes will look both fierce and aggrieved, making her look exceptionally cute.
Tronos couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"Hey!" Lin Shuwan stomped her feet in anger.
"Ahem," Tronos raised his hand as if to cover up, but the smile in his eyes was hard to hide. "What's the relationship?"
"She just misunderstood that we were a couple," Lin Shuwan said, then joked, "What, do you actually like me?"
The smile in his eyes was replaced by seriousness, and Tronos nodded. "Yes."
Lin Shuwan was taken aback by his directness, unsure whether she felt flustered or delighted, only feeling a burning sensation on her face.
Ugh, it's all because the sun is so strong today, it's scorching hot.
She said, "How...how could that be? You're joking, right?"
"I don't like joking." Now that he had laid his cards on the table, Tronos no longer wanted to hide anything. His deep, ocean-like gaze focused on a single point, reflecting only her figure.
Lin Shuwan felt enveloped by an invisible force and involuntarily turned her gaze away first. "But, you are a witch and I am a vampire. We are not suitable for each other."