Albrecht’s pearl 1

 Chapter 1

****

Burg, the northwestern tip of the Empire.

Ferdinand von Burg, the silver-haired holy changeling, stood by the window of the room he had occupied not long ago, staring out into the deep night.

His thick, gaunt lips took a drag from his cigar, and when he exhaled, a thin wisp of smoke hit the frosted glass, smeared it white, and then vanished.

Ferdinand finally turned around and spoke.

"You will have only one chance, Your Highness, and as soon as you reveal your identity, they must have proof of lineage."

The ornate candlesticks were all extinguished. The fireplace burned dully to one side, illuminating the darkened room with a reddish glow.

Seated at the desk was Caius von Burg, the man known to the world as Ferdinand's adopted son. Though their false paternity to fool the world did not extend to their time alone.

As proof, Ferdinand addressed Caius with respect.

But there was no deference in his gaze, though he addressed him as "Your Highness”. As it had been since he took in the dying child from starvation twenty years ago.

"It is rather difficult, Your Highness, because your appearance is so Heidenbergian."

Jet-black hair and golden eyes.

It went without saying that his bushy eyebrows and towering nose resembled the emperor's. Anyone who had ever seen a portrait of the Emperor couldn’t deny that Caius was of his blood.

“Once you have an audience with the emperor, he will do his best to prevent you from proving your lineage. There are rumors that he sought out His Majesty Emperor Wilhelm’s bloodline and killed them, but don’t we know the truth better than anyone else?”

Ferdinand repeated a story he had told dozens of times before.

"As soon as I enter the palace, I’ll need conclusive proof so I can see a priest and demand proof of lineage..................."

Caius answered the question with a gusto, but as nonchalantly as if it were the first time.

"The lost pearl of Albrecht has yet to be found."

Albrecht's Pearl. An heirloom that belonged to the firstborn of the House of Heidenberg, a treasure that was currently unaccounted for.

"But it is certain that it has not trickled down to the imperial court. Even the Emperor has been searching for it for many years.............."

His words sounded unconvincing, but his shiny golden eyes flashed sharply.

In fact, the one person who wanted to find it more than anyone else was Caius himself.

He never lost it. It has only been entrusted to someone else. He was too young to realize that it was a case of letting the cat out of the bag.

***

"Brace your heart, Louise."

At Mrs. Smith's words, Louise lowered her tear-stained face. Her mother's body, wrapped in white cloth, seemed like a terrible lie.

"It's more important for the living to live, you know how expensive a church funeral is."

Her mother had been distraught for the past few years. There were many days when she wandered into the distant past and pretended to be a noblewoman.

The people of Melk looked down on such a mother, but Mrs. Smith was an exception. Even such a woman was concerned about her mother's burial and clicked her tongue.

Louise's frustration was due to the stifling reality of her situation.

It hadn't been this bad when her father died, but funeral expenses had doubled in the last decade.

It was for this reason that the 'other way' was secretly practiced among the common people these days. A burial by burning the body, as known as cremation.

Practicality was the reason for this widespread practice of cremation against dogma. You can't muddle through the lives of the living for the heaven of the dead.

But Louise couldn't agree. She didn't want to burn her mother's body.

But Mrs. Smith was adamant.

"Rich people don't go to heaven anyway. Whose blood did they suck to amass such wealth?"

She dug through her pockets and made a clinking sound. A couple of coins were placed on top of her mother's body.

"I know someone who can help you with this for a little money, and I'll tell you what, so let your mother go. Okay?"

Now it was clear that silver was not only needed to live.

What she needed to die, Louise didn't have. There was so little.

After the woman left, Louise lifted the cloth slightly and looked at her mother's face.

Elisabeth Amalie Ermoli.

The wife of Stefan Rothschild Ermoli, former Marquis of Ermoli.

Her mother lived nobly, even after she lost her name.

"You may wear a shabby cotton dress, but you are Ermoli, Heidenberg's most valuable servant. Do not forget that name."

She taught Louise to do the same.

The family name, of course, was long gone.

But she deserved, at the very least, to be buried under the same sky as her father.

If you don't, your mother won't go to heaven, and she won't even leave this world in peace. For that was the mother she knew, the former Marchioness Elisabeth.

Louise carefully took her mother's handkerchief from the window and unfolded it.

The teardrop-shaped pearl, shedding a strange luster, wore a shameless daylight.

She looked at it and smiled wistfully. She didn't even acknowledge the existence of the item until her deathbed.

If it was worth anything, she knew she would be an apothecary in no time.

The words rang in her ears.

"Cherish it like its mother."

Be happy, be healthy.

Why didn't she leave an ordinary will?

The pearl was too large, so there was a good chance it was a fake.

But it would be too terrible for her mother to simply disappear into thin air, without a proper mausoleum or tombstone.

Louise would need to pay for a formal funeral.

*** 

There were no large pawn shops in Melk, so she had to take a carriage to the bustling city of Helden.

Louise found a pawnbroker in a marketplace she'd only visited once before, and it took her a while to get close enough to see him.

-Ding, Ding.

Finally, she pushed open the door to the pawnshop.

The sound of a small bell announcing the arrival of a visitor pierced her eardrums as sharply as her mother's reproach.

Louise squeezed her eyes shut. As she hesitantly entered the shop, the owner looked up from the register.

"What brings you here, young lady?"

He asked nonchalantly, and then scanned Louise's formal attire.

The one black dress had belonged to her mother when her father had died, long ago, and it had been just a little too much for Louise.

She realized now that she must come across as a cold-blooded person who had come to the store to dispose of the belongings of the deceased, but there was nothing she could do about it now.

What she was about to do was not far from the man's guess.

"Well, I wanted to know the value of this................"

As she carefully laid out the pearl wrapped in a handkerchief, the owner's eyes narrowed slightly.

With a slightly trembling hand, he put on his glasses, pulled on his clean gloves, and looked at the pearl for what seemed like forever.

Later, he even took out another pearl and rubbed it against Louise’s Pearl.

Louise watched the long process of appraisal and felt a twinge of hope. Maybe it was not a fake. The owner finally opened his mouth.

"Hmm, a baroque pearl."

"Baroque pearl?"

"That's what they call pearls that aren't round. It's hard to get a good price for something of its size."

His tone was softer than at first.

"Ah................"

Louise parted her lips in confusion. In other words, this might be a baroque pearl, but it didn’t look like an imitation. She swallowed a nervous breath and repeated the question.

"So, how much can I get if I leave this with you?"

"You're leaving it?"

The man's brow furrowed once more.

Louise looked around in amazement.

There were jewelry, but also silver ornaments, bayonets, armor, furs, and anything else that looked expensive. Even the things that didn't look all that expensive on closer inspection.

Hadn't the others borrowed money from him for these items?

It certainly looked that way, but Louise opened her mouth cautiously.

"With all due respect, isn't that what pawn shops do..................?"

Then the owner let out a low, mocking laugh.

"I suppose so, but it looks like they're in a tight spot................"

Then he trailed off.

She'd never been ashamed of her poverty, but now, when it looked like she'd come to sell her mother's belongings, she wasn't so sure. A small gulp escaped her nervous throat.

When Louise didn't respond, the owner continued.

"If you don't believe me, look at the size of this pearl. If it weren't for the baroque pearls, it would be worth a hundred crowns."

"......huh?"

The man laughed again.

"If it weren't a baroque pearl, that is, but since it is a baroque pearl. Hmm................ Let me see."

He flicked the abacus with a seemingly pointless gesture, then said.

"Ten crowns."

Louise sucked in a breath.

It was exactly the same amount of money needed to pay for a church funeral. Perhaps this pearl had been given to her by her mother for her funeral.

***

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