Lady Dhampir
Chapter 37

"...Glass?" Repeated Eugenie, astonished. "You can do such beautiful things with glass?"

"I thought glass was only in certain colors, like green or brown..." said Chartiana.

"Lady De Crescent, please tell us more!"

Milena nodded politely.

"I've recently been invested in a new glass business, and while working with some promising artisans, we have come up with new ways to design glass and make sculptures such as this one."

Of course, she wasn't going to say more about it, as she had to keep their secrets of glass crafting. Milena was aware that rivals would soon appear and try to steal some ideas, but she was hoping this would come as late as possible. Moreover, this peacock sculpture was only the tip of the iceberg. She had many more products and ideas yet to be revealed to the public.

"So beautiful," said one of the baronesses. "I would definitely love to see more of those!"

"Me too, this looks very smooth and the design has nothing to envy crystal sculptures!"

"Gla*s and crystal cannot be compared, this is new and very intriguing. Young Duchess, congratulations, this is truly a magnificent piece."

"Please, do not congratulate me yet. This is a present for Lady Eugenie, a gift for her birthday. I wish her all the best with this, and I was happy to contribute to my brother's present for today."

Lady Eugenie's eyes were indeed still fixated on her present, sparkling. She obviously loved it very much, to Valentin's relief. She took his hand.

"My dear Valentin thank you so much, I absolutely love it. Though Lady Milena delivered it, I really appreciate how you thought about something that would truly make me happy. I will definitely cherish it!"

"If my sister agrees, I would even be happy to offer you one every year on your birthday," he proudly announced to his fiancée.

"Brother, aren't you getting ahead of yourself?" Said Lucian with a smirk. "Aren't you afraid our younger sister will refuse?"

"Of course not, why would I refuse an order? If my older brother and sister-in-law would be our first regular customers, I would even happily give them a discount!" Valentin and Eugenie laughed.

"You're right, Lady Milena," said Lady Eugenie, "please use all of your brother's wallet if you can make me beautiful things like this! I'd fill our houses with glass birds!"

"We aren't even married yet, and you're conspiring with my sister to ruin me?!"

Everyone in the attendance laughed at Valentin's words. Then, it was Eugenie's family's turn to present their gifts, and some people resumed dancing. Milena, however, stayed to the side, until someone came to converse with her. "So this is what you did with the Vermillion Lands."

"Lady Rachael," sighed Milena. "Are you still unwilling to take my money?"

"Stay away from my businesses, Lady De Crescent, I have no intention to work with you on any of those."

"You're too stubborn."

"I could tell you the same, given that you're still trying to invest."

Milena chuckled. She was aware that her moves weren't discreet enough for Rachael not to know. She had done it on purpose, actually.

"I won't let you slow my ambitions," warned Rachael.

"Who said anything about slowing you down? I'm trying to invest in your school, how is that slowing you in any way?"

"I don't see why someone like you would invest in my school. Or even why I should agree to us working together."

Milena shook her head and showed the peacock sculpture with a little head movement.

"Don't you see? Glass is made of sand and fire. Who would have thought of putting those two elements together in the first place? Yet, they do make some great things together. I truly don't care much about our families' history. Whoever it is, I will look at them as a unique person, not a family background or industry."

Rachael frowned. Indeed, there was some truth in her words. As an example, Milena had cast away their family's previous blacksmith businesses and handed over all of their weapons crafting to the Pristin's family exclusively. A couple of generations ago, the House De Pristin wouldn't even have been able to step into this kind of party, but nowadays, they were invited everywhere because of her trust. If it wasn't for her, who else would have given a chance to a family of nobodies? "Sand and fire..." whispered Rachael.

But Milena didn't respond. The young duchesses turned back to the crowd, and after a bit of silence between the two, Milena left her to go see her friends again. Left behind, Rachael sighed before looking for her own friends.

Chartiana walked to Milena, impressed. Her friend was beautiful, in a black and white dress with little straps and a metal corset. Her hairpins and all of her jewelry were made of one of her family's trademark metal, steel. Unlike most ladies, Chartiana wasn't wearing any gem, as her family probably couldn't afford to spend too much on her outfits. Her younger sister, Pamelia De Pristin, was following close, as she had just reached the right age to attend social gatherings.

"Lady Milena, this is really too beautiful! How can you craft such beautiful things!"

"I will tell you later, Chartie. Actually, I would like to talk to your father about the glass crafting business. We might work together in the near future."

"Really? That would be marvelous! I will tell father tonight!"

"Now, let's go give our presents to Lady Eugenie before she is surrounded."

Chartiana nodded and followed Milena. As expected, her future sister-in-law was surrounded by young noble ladies, all fawning over her white dress with blue embroideries all over or her winter-themed jewelry. Her father had just given her a pretty necklace, silver with a sapphire gemstone.

"This is so gorgeous, Lady De Iris! It really goes well with your blue eyes."

"Indeed," said Milena, stepping into the conversation.

"Lady Milena!" Exclaimed Eugenie, turning to her. "I hope you're enjoying the party?"

"I am. Actually, I was hoping to replace the right time to give you my present."

"Your present? Didn't you already participate in that glass peacock?"

Milena smiled and shook her head.

"That is my brother's present, I wouldn't dare to steal his idea! No, I had something else prepared, and I hope you will like it. I took the liberty to draw some inspiration from my older brother's present, though."

She handed a little wooden box to Eugenie. The young countess' eyes sparkled even before she had opened it. Anything that came from Milena would ultimately draw a lot of attention from now on, and the ladies behind her were all avidly eyeing the box as well. Inside, on a soft cushion, was a beautiful set of jewelry, all made of glass. From the earrings to the hairpins, they were all designed with a peacock feather's design and gold features. The young lady's eyes opened wide.

"Milena, this is exquisite! I love it, and this is so... unique!"

Indeed, none of the ladies present had ever seen anything like it. One could tell they were all intrigued and jealous of that unique present.

"Lady De Crescent, this is so gorgeous!" Said the young Baroness De Sevira.

"Do you plan on selling more of those?" Asked Tiphania D'Aventur. "I would place an order right away!"

Several ladies agreed with her, and Milena chuckled with a polite smile.

"Well, this one is a custom order for my beloved future sister-in-law. However, I would love to receive your ladies' orders. We are putting together a catalog for the next season, and of course, if you wish for something unique, my artisans would be very happy to work on some new designs for you."

All the girls and women present were excited to hear this, giggling and thinking about what they would ask of her. This was perfect for Milena. Soon enough, wearing glass jewelry would become the new trend in the Capital. She could sell the custom orders at expensive prices to the most wealthy of them since she had few workers, and start doing business with a few shops downtown. Even Yasina had already agreed to sell some sets in her boutiques.

Unknown to all those ladies, the truth was that Tiphania D'Aventur and Milena had been exchanging a lot of letters over the last few weeks. Under her sweet and discreet looks, the young Baroness was actually very involved in the trading business and Merchants Guild.

As all the women were still lurking and complimenting the present, Milena encouraged Chartiana with a look. Her friend stepped forward, presenting a little gift too.

"Lady D'Iris, thank you so much for inviting me today. I'm wishing you a very happy birthday, and I... Well, I prepared a present for you, I sincerely hope you'll like it..." Behind Eugenie, one of the young ladies chuckled.

"I wonder what kind of present a blacksmith's daughter could have for you, Lady D'Iris."

Her remark was clearly meant to look down on Chartiana, and a few other ladies laughed with her. However, one glare from Milena made her stop laughing, and hide behind her fan. Lady Eugenie pretended she hadn't heard her either, politely taking Chartiana's gift. "Thank you, Lady De Pristin!"

"It's really not much..."

She opened it, and of course, all the ladies behind couldn't help but stare as well. Lady Eugenie was surprised once again, taking out a little heart-shaped metal box. The design was very thin, feminine and intricate, nothing like weaponry. Silver lines were running all around it, and a little bird figure was drawn on top, with a small diamond for its eye.

"So beautiful and intriguing... What is this?"

"It's a secret box.... I conceived it with my father, actually, this is one of the very first models. Here."

Chartiana took out a little key and inserted it in a hole hidden under the bird. After a few clicks, it slowly opened, and to everyone's surprise, made music.

"Wow! It makes music...!" Whispered Eugenie, amazed.

"Yes, Lady De Crescent told me you were very fond of music, so I thought of inserting a mechanism which would make music if you open it. It is a short melody, and you can have it turned off if you open it differently." "If I open it differently? How many mechanisms are there?"

"Only the key! But it has to be inserted in the keyhole in a specific manner, or it won't open, and if you press it once before, it won't make music. I called it a secret box because this way, it can hide... well, secrets." "I absolutely love it, Lady De Pristin! This is perfect for a future bride-to-be!"

One of the ladies behind was about to say something with a mighty look, but before she voiced one word, Milena spoke first.

"Is Lady De Pristin's present to your liking?"

"Of course it is! And so thoughtful too, to carve a bird for me! You know, I just hate it when people simply give you money for your birthday. How lazy is that! No effort, no special attention! Lady De Pristin, you did great!" Behind her, a few ladies suddenly looked down, embarrassed.

"I knew the House De Pristin was inventive, but Lady Chartiana, you are such a bright mind! From the wood industry, your family moved to metallurgy. It must have been such a struggle, and I truly admire strong-willed people. Please let me know when you need to do more business in the future. I will definitely support you!"

Chartiana's ruby eyes lit up from hearing this. Thanks to Milena she had been invited to this party, and now, the D'Iris House would be supporting her family's business! It had been hard to establish themselves as new nobles, but with the support from a Duchess and a Countess, it was a very bright perspective indeed!

On the side, Milena was smiling, too. This birthday party was merely a test before the Spring Ball, and the results couldn't have been better. Only a few more days, and it would be time to establish her glass company officially, and have the Queen recognize her hard work...