My Bratty Wife
Chapter 248 - Two Hundred And Forty Eight

Chapter 248: Chapter Two Hundred And Forty Eight

{ ELIAS BACKSTORY }

The market buzzed with a gentle hum, the scent of spices and freshly baked bread hanging in the air. Elias, a young man of sixteen years, stood behind the polished wooden counter of his father’s small artisan shop. Sunlight streamed through the open doorway, illuminating the carefully crafted jewelry and ornaments displayed within. Elias, though still an apprentice, had a keen eye and a steady hand, a skill inherited from his father, a man known throughout the city for his honesty and craftsmanship.

A shadow fell across the doorway, and Elias looked up to see Lord Collin, a nobleman known more for his dealings than his noble spirit. He was a tall man, his clothes rich and his face set in a sneer. He often visited the market, not always to buy, but to be seen, to remind the common folk of his status.

"Let me see that ring," Lord Collin said, his voice smooth but cold. He pointed a gloved finger at a gold ring with a deep blue stone set in its center. It was a new piece, one his father had acquired from a new supplier. Elias’s father, a trusting man, had been pleased with the quality and the price.

Elias carefully picked up the ring. "It is a beautiful piece, my lord. The stone is a sapphire of the finest quality."

Lord Collin took the ring, holding it up to the light. He squinted, turned it over in his fingers, a smirk playing on his lips. He knew, with a certainty that sent a thrill through him, that the ring was genuine, a rare find, worth far more than the price Elias’s father would ask. But an idea, wicked and opportunistic, began to form in his mind. He saw a way to acquire the ring for a pittance, or even better, to benefit in a far grander way.

"A sapphire, you say?" Lord Collin chuckled, a dry, unpleasant sound. "This bauble?" He dropped the ring back onto the counter with a dismissive thud. "I can’t buy this ring for that amount, reduce the price. It’s not worth it at all."

Elias’s heart sank a little. He had hoped for a good sale. "There’s nothing I can do, my lord," Elias said, his voice polite but firm. "It’s an authentic sapphire gold ring, definitely worth it and that’s the best price I can give. My father set it, and he believes it is fair."

Lord Collin raised an eyebrow. "Fair? For a piece of colored glass and poorly worked metal? Your father is either a fool or a charlatan." He paused, letting his words hang in the air. "I will not be swindled. Keep your trinket." With another disdainful look, he turned and swept out of the shop.

Elias watched him go, a knot of unease tightening in his stomach. He knew the ring was real. His father had been so sure.

A few days later, the marketplace was unusually crowded. A paper boy was shouting, his voice echoing off the stone buildings. Elias and his father, Michael, were arranging their wares when they heard the commotion.

"Hear ye, hear ye!" the boy bellowed. "Lord Collin calls for justice! He has been a victim of deceit, a target of a vile attempt to defraud a noble house! Get a copy to get more information!" He waved the papers in the air to get more people outside the gathered crowd to buy.

A murmur rippled through the crowd. Elias and Michael exchanged worried glances. Then, Lord Collin himself appeared, riding a fine black horse. He stopped dramatically in the center of the square, his face a mask of righteous anger. Several members of the City Parliament, men known to be easily swayed by wealth and influence, flanked him.

"People of this city!" Lord Collin began, his voice ringing with false indignation. He held up a ring – the very same sapphire ring Elias had shown him. "This ring, presented to me as a valuable heirloom, is a fake! A worthless imitation!"

Gasps rippled through the crowd. Elias felt a cold dread creep up his spine. How did the ring get to his hand? He asked himself, utterly confused.

"And the ones who tried to pass this forgery off as genuine," Lord Collin continued, his finger pointing directly at Elias and Michael’s small shop, "are none other than the artisan Michael and his son, Elias! They sought to exploit my good name, to tarnish the honor of my house, all for a few pieces of silver!"

"No!" Elias cried out, stepping forward. "That’s not true! The ring is genuine! We.."

Michael placed a hand on Elias’s shoulder, cutting Elias’s next word short, his face pale but resolute. "My lord," Michael said, his voice trembling slightly, "there must be some mistake. I acquired that ring from a reputable merchant. I believed it to be authentic."

Lord Collin scoffed. "A likely story! You thought you could fool me, an expert of fine things? You thought you could disgrace my lineage with your cheap tricks?" He turned to the crowd. "These men are not just poor craftsmen; they are schemers, attempting to extort money from the nobles and they could go further to extort from you too!"

The crowd, easily swayed by the nobleman’s veiled accusations and the stern faces of the Parliament members, began to mutter angrily. Doubt and suspicion turned towards Elias and his father.

"We are honest men!" Elias insisted, his voice cracking. "We would never knowingly sell a fake and we are sure it isn’t a fake!"

The Parliament members, however, barely spared them a glance. Their expressions were already set, their minds seemingly made up. Lord Collin was a powerful man, and his word carried weight, more weight than the truth spoken by a simple artisan.

"The parliament will hear this matter," one of the members announced, his voice devoid of any warmth. "But let this be a warning to all: deception against the nobility will not be tolerated."