The Killer Queen ( Noella Briony ) novel Chapter 189

Seeing Noella’s silence, Yates continued, "Don't worry, Ms. Schnabel. Even if we end up with a lemon or a wildflower, it's not all bad. Think of it as a stroke of good luck."

As Yates shifted the spotlight onto Noella, all eyes in the room followed suit.

Noella lifted her head slightly, the black evening gown and pearl necklace setting her apart with an air of untouchable mystique.

"It's all junk. I'm not interested," Noella said dismissively.

The rough stones laid out by the Gruber family were clearly mediocre at best, judging from the surface mottling; they were likely to yield nothing more than low-grade gems.

Noella's blunt remark didn't sit well with the self-proclaimed Gemstone Gambling King.

"Who is this young lady? She lacks manners. Perhaps she shouldn't embarrass herself in public."

Noella didn't even bother to look up. "I said everything here is junk, and that includes you."

Both Noella and Master Hector weren't the types to let anyone flaunt the Gemstone Gambling King title in the Imperial City and get away with it.

Gary lost his temper on the spot!

"You dare say there's no good stock here? I was in the gem business before you were even born!"

A commanding voice suddenly cut through the tension. "The Grubers are bold, aren't they? To doubt Ms. Schnabel of the Schnabel family, when they've just hired some greenhorn? Impressive."

Under the astonished gaze of the crowd, Lucian, seated in a wheelchair, was pushed in by Lavinia, joining Noella's side.

"And who might you be?" Gary frowned.

Lucian didn't bother to respond, not even lifting his eyelids.

The atmosphere was charged, but Arthur rose from the front and chuckled. "Lucian, why didn't you let me know you were coming?"

The Gruber family had risen to prominence with the support of the Richardsons. Even if Arthur held little respect for Lucian's ways, he had to greet him with due deference.

Lucian glanced around. "This young lady is under my protection. Anyone who dares to speak ill of her should think twice before stepping foot in the Imperial City again. Since you claim to be the Gemstone Gambling King, prove it—cut open a couple of those stones and let's see if they're royal or just reptiles!"

The Richardson family's influence in the antiques world was significant, and Arthur didn't dare contradict Lucian publicly.

With a smile, Arthur gestured to the stage. "Start cutting."

Seeing Arthur's cautious demeanor in front of Lucian, Gary didn't dare say another word. He selected two pieces of rough stone and began to cut them in front of everyone.

Palmer whispered, "Did he pick the good stuff?"

"Trash," Noella retorted without hesitation.

Gary was extremely careful, daring only to cut along a fine line.

Someone in the crowd exclaimed, "There's green!"

Yates and Arthur breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of the green jadeite on the stage.

Gary, smug, looked down at Noella. "Ms. Schnabel called these junk. Does this luster look like trash to you?"

Noella frowned slightly, shaking her head in distaste. "Like I said, just like your character, it's all trash."

The exterior of Gary's stone was a facade; a quick rub would reveal that only the surface layer was green—the rest was worthless.

"A deeper cut will reveal the truth. A thin layer like that? Who are you trying to fool?"

With Hector present, Gary could no longer claim to be the Gemstone Gambling King without appearing disrespectful.

Arthur shot a furious look at Walden by his side, his rage almost spilling out of the screen.

Walden was on the verge of a breakdown.

The so-called Gemstone Gambling King that he'd shelled out a small fortune for turned out to be a fake? His standing in the Gruber family was as good as toast!

Gary choked up as he started to defend himself. "Look, the reason I can't crack a decent gem from this rough is because your supplies are subpar. Nobody here could do any better with this stuff! It's just my bad luck, that's all! Even if Master Hector tried, he'd come up empty-handed!"

Hector let out a derisive snort. "Luck? You flatter yourself thinking I'd even bother. Noella, show them what real luck looks like."

"Alright then."

Of course, Noella's stone-cutting wasn't about luck at all.

But Gary felt a wave of relief when he saw Noella stand up. She looked clueless about the whole gem gambling business. As long as she couldn't produce anything remarkable, he'd have an excuse to wriggle out of this mess.

Yates watched Noella with barely concealed admiration and a touch of distasteful greed. "Ms. Schnabel, please, even if you don't unveil a gemstone today, the Gruber family will cover today's losses. We'd be honored to simply make your acquaintance."

Palmer stood up and moved beside Noella, his gaze heavy with a tangible threat. "Even if you’re no longer interested in the business at hand, you should still take into consideration the other members of the Gruber family."

Yates looked at Palmer, shrugged with a smile, trying to mask the involuntary tremor in his legs.

Palmer was indeed intimidating, but the thought of Noella's backing from the entire Schnabel family was too tempting for Yates to resist.

Noella bent down and casually picked up a nondescript piece of rough.

"Let's go with this one."