008. A Bit More Often (1)
Owen visited the Duke Edelt’s mansion on schedule.
“You didn’t need to come out first.”
Lucia was waiting in front of the mansion even before Owen arrived.
Upon seeing her, Owen muttered something brief, and Lucia smiled broadly.
“You also came out to greet me last time.”
“…That’s right.”
Owen responded slowly with an affirmative answer. Then, he promptly extended his hand.
It was a gesture of escort.
Lucia, who was surprised the last time and stiffened, had become accustomed to it in the few times since then. She smiled and reached out her hand.
Owen grasped the hand placed on his, and Lucia remarked, “You’re not wearing gloves today.”
In a casual remark, Lucia smiled slyly, “I didn’t want to wear them.”
Her decision not to wear gloves brought them closer, adding warmth between them.
Lucia thought it would be nice if Owen didn’t wear gloves either, but she kept that thought to herself.
“I see. This also suits you well.”
Owen spoke warmly to Lucia. She responded with a bright smile.
“You too.”
“It’s a similar style to the one you wore the last time.”
“The arrangement of stones at the end is different.”
“It’s impressive that you notice that.”
Owen mumbled as if fascinated. He silently decided to observe Lucia’s details more closely.
She seemed to lack in many aspects compared to the typical fan.
“Get on the carriage. I’ve booked a place for us today.”
As they chatted, some time passed. Owen checked his wristwatch and assisted Lucia onto the carriage.
“Booked?”
Lucia, boarding the carriage, asked in response to Owen’s words.
“It’s difficult to visit without a reservation.”
She found Owen’s answer puzzling. It wasn’t easy to come up with a quick response.
“Let’s go.”
Once they were on the carriage, it started moving. The journey from the Duke Edelt’s mansion to their destination didn’t take long.
“What is this place…?”
The carriage stopped, and Lucia, stepping out, looked around in surprise.
The shop in front of her was of a completely unexpected kind—a auction house, and to her surprise, it was the “Rodel Auction House,” the one Lucia frequented the most.
“Do you visit here often as well, Your Excellency?”
Lucia looked at him with a puzzled expression, prompting Owen to avert his gaze and respond.
“…No. I just happened to know about this place.”
His words were, of course, a lie.
Happened to know, indeed.
The Rodel Auction House was a location from “Empire’s Flower,” mentioned as Lucia’s favorite auction house.
“It’s said you like beautiful things, and there are many beautiful items here.”
Lucia easily agreed with his excuse-like words. It was true that she had obtained many things from this auction house, just as Owen described.
Thus, Rodel Auction House had become a place filled with beautiful things she desired.
“Yes, that’s true. But, unless you’re a VIP, it’s difficult to make a reservation here.”
Being the favorite place of the antagonist Lucia from the original work made Rodel Auction House quite popular. It was also famous for being selective about its clientele.
As a result, unless you were a VIP, they didn’t accept reservations at all, and unless you had a reserved seat, there were hardly any available spaces.
“Sometimes there are exceptions.”
Given that Lucia was a woman who was considered a VIP and a Duke’s daughter, Owen’s words about occasional exceptions made perfect sense.
She easily understood Owen’s words.
With a nod, Lucia headed into the auction house with Owen.
“Welcome.”
As soon as they entered the auction house, an attendant greeted them.
“We will guide you to the reserved room.”
Politely, he offered a brief explanation of the auction process as they walked to the VIP room.
“Press the button here to indicate your intention to purchase the item.”
The auction process was simple. When the auctioneer called out a price, those participating in the auction pressed a button made of magic stones. The item’s price rose as long as people continued pressing their buttons. When no one pressed anymore, the person who pressed last would be the owner.
It was a fairly sophisticated proceeding.
“Enjoy your time.”
After the brief explanation, the attendant left the room.
Once they were alone, Lucia opened her mouth to ask Owen a question.
“Do you have anything you want to buy here, Your Excellency?”
Her question carried curiosity and interest, likely wondering about Owen’s reason for coming here.
“…Well.”
Since this was Lucia’s favorite place and he had booked a reservation without much thought, Owen could only give an ambiguous answer.
At his ambiguous response, Lucia tilted her head slightly.
“Did you just want to come and see the auction house, then?”
Lucia wore a rather serious expression, as if trying to figure out Owen’s interests. Perhaps she found it welcoming that ‘Owen,’ who probably didn’t have particular preferences, was interested in something new.
“So it seems.”
“Well then, may I give you a gift?”
Lucia flashed a bright smile in response to Owen’s answer. Owen, who had been quietly observing her, nodded slightly.
Lucia responded with a pleased smile.
After observing her for a while, Owen slowly opened his lips.
“There’s something I want to ask you.”
“Feel free to ask anything.”
It was a rare occasion for Owen to express curiosity and ask Lucia questions. Lucia was pleased that he seemed interested and readily replied.
“I heard a rumor that you started learning horseback riding.”
Lucia tensed at Owen’s next words.
“If it’s not too intrusive, may I ask for the reason?”
“The reason, um…”
Lucia tried to organize her thoughts while uttering the words. She hadn’t expected the rumor to spread so quickly, especially to Owen. She hadn’t even imagined that it would reach him before she could discreetly practice until the hunting competition.
“…I thought about riding during the hunting competition.”
Although she stiffened at Owen’s following words, “Is it not rude to ask for the reason?”
“It’s because I wanted to ride until the hunting competition.”
Lucia had planned to keep her horseback riding practice a secret to show a convincing appearance when riding with Owen. However, her plans had gone completely awry.
“…During the hunting competition?”
Owen asked in surprise at Lucia’s response. His reaction was entirely understandable.
Lucia’s disinterest in horseback riding was a well-known fact, even if not a famous story. Even if it weren’t a famous story, Owen, who had read the original work, was well aware of it.
“Yes. I got a bit bored with tea parties all week.”
Therefore, Lucia was aware that Owen’s confusion was justified. It was indeed surprising for someone who had shown no interest in horseback riding until now.
However, she had no choice but to proceed boldly. Since she had no substantial excuse.
Lucia nonchalantly responded with her usual radiant smile, completing her usual image.
“Well, I see.”
Instead of sagging and losing his words like usual, Owen nodded in response to her usual attitude.
However, he still couldn’t shake off his confusion.
It was strange for something that didn’t exist in the original to suddenly happen.
‘Is it because of me?’
For a moment, he even suspected that.
Without much time to dwell on such suspicions, the auction promptly began, and he pushed those thoughts aside.
“Ladies and gentlemen who have come to Rodel Auction House, welcome sincerely! We will now begin the auction.”
The auctioneer’s voice echoed through the amplifying magic stones.
The attention of the two immediately fell on the stage.
“The first item is…”.
As items were presented one by one, the auction proceeded.
Lucia quickly focused on the auction, as she had been mentioned several times in the original as someone who loved auctions.
She genuinely seemed to enjoy auctions, as evidenced by her unwavering attention to the auctioneer’s voice and the items displayed on the platform.
While Lucia sparkled with excitement at the auction items, Owen observed her closely.
Her finely curled red hair gently cascaded, and her somewhat sharp but glamorous features attracted attention.
Yet, what captivated him more was her overall appearance.
Lucia’s vibrant, jewel-like eyes were fully engaged in the auction. In the original story, it was briefly mentioned that Lucia enjoyed the auctions at Rodel Auction House the most.
Though this was also briefly depicted in the webtoon through a short scene, the visual representation, along with the scenes of the auction house and her attire, was incomparable.
Despite the external aspects such as the scenery of the auction house and her clothes, it was Lucia’s aura and attitude that had a tremendous impact.
It felt like an exhilarating sensation of grasping something seemingly unreachable.
Because of this, each time he faced scenes described in the novel, even if brief and fleeting, his heart raced.
Just the fact that he could see her real presence and that she existed in the place where he lived gave him an overwhelming feeling.
Yet, an insatiable desire kept arising.
The desire to linger by her side and watch over her.
*Ding*
While Owen was deeply lost in thought, Lucia firmly pressed the auction button.
Only then did Owen shift his gaze to the stage where the auction was taking place.
The item displayed on the stage was a cufflink made of red gemstones.
“40 gold. The bid has reached 40 gold.”
One gold was roughly equivalent to ten million Korean won.
So, 40 gold meant 400 million.
Owen’s lips parted in amazement at the staggering price.
He knew nobles spent a considerable amount of money, but paying 4 billion for a cufflink was quite astonishing.
As Owen was still surprised by this fact, the auctioneer spoke again.
“The ruby cufflink has been sold to the 35th bidder for 40 gold.”
At the announcement of the successful bid, Lucia beamed with a bright smile.
She turned her head to Owen and said, “It’s a gift for you, Your Grace.”
“For me?”
Unexpectedly, Owen slowly uttered words in response to Lucia’s unexpected statement.
To which Lucia responded with a radiant smile, nodding gently.
“Yes. Since you mentioned you like red roses.”
“Indeed.”
“Because the cufflink has a ruby in the shape of a red rose, I thought it would be nice to give it to you as a gift.”
He hadn’t noticed at first, but upon closer inspection, the ruby had an engraved rose pattern.
Owen realized anew that she remembered even the smallest details about him.
