When the Emperor and Empress arrived, those present all showed proper respect.
The charity auction organized by the imperial palace was held in the public square to allow as many people as possible to watch.
The items up for auction were valuable items belonging to the imperial family. I chose the most common and inexpensive items from my collection.
The actual value of the items wasn’t important anyway.
Even if there was leftover milk at the auction, the nobles would cry and pay a fortune.
Today’s charity event was a joint effort by the Emperor and Empress to empty the pockets of the nobles.
The external purpose of this event was charity, but everyone’s focus was on one thing: who would spend the most money? The great nobles participating in the auction were seated in special seats on a podium.
The Duke faction members wore expressions of disgust rather than excitement from the very beginning.
The nobles in the Duke’s faction suffered from embarrassing scandals because of the empress.
There were many eyes, so others had to save their face at the right level.
Ian had conveyed the message to them beforehand to show generosity at the auction.
In order not to appear hostile to the Emperor’s efforts, they had to maintain a certain level of decorum.
Among them, I saw Theo sitting in the farthest seat. Even after that day, he often stopped by the Empress’ Palace. He honored my wishes for things to go back to the way they were.
<I made a mistake then, so let’s forget about it and go back to the way things were.>
We drank tea as usual and had the necessary conversation.
On the surface, it was a peaceful encounter, as if nothing really had happened.
But both he and I knew that we were both trying to keep things from becoming uncomfortable.
It was painful, but I didn’t hate that I could use the settlement as an excuse to see him.
If I didn’t have that excuse, he might have stayed away from me, and that thought made me feel a little wistful.
Then, not long ago, his visit began to decline. He seems to have gotten very busy lately.
<I’m afraid we won’t be seeing much of you for a while, as things at home have become quite troublesome. But please bear with me, as I will soon be presenting a significant gift to the Empress in the name of House Claflin. so please wait.>
That’s what he said when he stopped by the Empress’s palace the other day.
Rumor had it that the Marquis of Claflin had fallen unconscious and was unable to wake up.
Until then, he had been able to lie down and make brief comments, but now even that was proving difficult.
For the sake of the family’s standing, Theo would have to take over the Marquis Claflin’s schedule as heir apparent.
His visits to the Empress’ palace became noticeably less frequent.
Theo remained as friendly as ever, but the atmosphere of awkwardness did not improve.
I stared at him as he sat dignified among the great nobles.
Then I imagined the next part of the story that wasn’t in the original.
After I left, he would still have to live here. What if he becomes a marquis?
He wouldn’t be able to live as freely as he does now.
Given his personality, it is unlikely that he will be a loyal servant of the Emperor like his father, the Marquis of Claflin.
However, it would be difficult for him to completely sever his long-standing ties to the imperial family.
Ian is also not a fan of Theo, but I think he’s a lot more straightforward than some of the more manipulative vassals.
This was something I had observed in the original story.
If Theo hadn’t fought fiercely for Lethenia, there would have been no need for him to pretend to be close to the Claflin family.
After I’m gone, we may be able to keep a mutually beneficial distance. Sooner or later, he will have to find a woman to share the marquisate with and marry.
Theo was still alone, even though he was past the age of marriage..
When I read the original, I wondered if it was simply because Theo was in love with Lethenia, but now I realize it’s a separate issue.
‘Marriage…’
The words made me feel hollow inside.
Of course, like Baron White Rose, there were rare cases where a man lived alone until over 50.
Other nobles, who valued their honor and reputation as if it were their lifeblood, were terribly reluctant to become entangled with a family mired in an embarrassing scandal.
Perhaps being labeled as the empire’s top troublemaker had allowed him a relatively free life, away from the prying eyes of the traditional nobility.
But breaking the lineage of a family like Claflin’s was politically devastating.
In a world of aristocracy where power is maintained through arranged marriages, a family with no heirs is precarious.
While Theo didn’t seem to have a lust for power, Emperor Ian’s perspective might be different.
He might command Theo to marry into a family from the Emperor’s faction that would support his power.
It was something that could not be put off, especially if he were to become the Marquis of Claflin in the near future.
Despite my long gaze, Theo did not look at me for a moment.
I felt a little upset. Then a cold voice woke me up.
“Look ahead.”
I turned my head to see Ian, who was sitting next to me, staring straight ahead with an expressionless face.
Another rush of emotions came over me.
I felt anger for no apparent reason. My emotional state had become so precarious that even innocuous words could provoke me.
I tore my gaze away from Ian and looked straight ahead.
Oddly enough, lately I’ve felt like I’ve had a turf war going on inside of me between the emotions of Kim Sejin and Lethenia.
I don’t know why, but whenever I think of Theo, my fiery feelings for Ian are dampened a bit.
But it’s not just a welcome relief.
Thinking of Theo now causes me a different kind of pain.
I took a slow, deep breath and put on a nonchalant face.
I decided to put my dreary thoughts aside and enjoy the evening’s events.
“We will now begin the charity auction.”
The host announced the start of the auction in a loud voice.
To help spread the word about the day’s events, I assigned Collin an exclusive story.
In addition to providing gossip aimed at the nobility, the Locale newspaper was the only newspaper to feature stories of commoners suffering injustice from their lords.
People cheered his articles.
And as a journalistic organization, the Locale newspaper’s influence on the people was growing.
In fact, there was an incident that became a particularly excessive issue due to Locale newspaper’s article. Related issues were mentioned at the political affairs meeting, and Ian sent a separate person to deal with the problem.
This event also coincided with Colin’s column on the culture of luxury among the aristocracy, which caused an even bigger stir.
After today, the locale newspaper’s popularity will soar even further.
Colin was now free to write what he wanted to write, free from the threat of losing his livelihood.
Colin, who had been holding his position early on, sent me a discreet nod of acknowledgment. I responded with a light smile.
“Let me introduce the first item of the day.”
At that moment, the scattered gazes of the people gathered together.
The first item was an oak jewelry box with several black pearls and amethyst crystals.
Upon seeing it, the faces of the nobles subtly contorted. It was so unremarkable that they were embarrassed to say it belonged to the imperial family.
But the starting bid was a whopping 1,000 knets. Silence fell over the podium for a moment as the numbers were read out.
The nobles squinted and glanced up. One of the Emperor’s deputies raised his hand, and the others followed suit, raising the price.
“1,100 knets.”
“1,200 knets.”
“1,300 knets
The oak jewelry box, which looked to be worth less than 100 knets, finally sold for 1,500 knets. The crowd erupted in applause.
The rest of the auction went smoothly, thanks to the Emperor’s faction.
The courtiers placed the winning items next to their owners.
In time, the only ones left who had not participated in the auction were the Duke’s faction and Theo.
“Next up is a sculpture of Charlope, the Earth Fairy.”
The host diligently explained the features of Charlope’s sculpture, but the people couldn’t hide their astonishment.
It was a sculpture by an unknown young artist.
Only the name of the work was fairy, but it was not a fairy, but a strange winged creature.
If it was an earth fairy, it gave off such a sinister vibe that I wondered if we were living in a cursed land.
The lack of even the most basic finishing touches showed how poor the artist’s skills were.
One of the Duke faction members hesitantly raised his hand. But then, Theo, who had been sitting quietly, spoke up for the first time.
“5,000 knets.”
His bid made people’s eyes widen, and a wave of whispers swept through the audience. The murmurs grew louder and louder.
Theo remained calm, sporting a faint smile. His bold bid of 5,000 crowns left the remaining nobles unwilling to compete.
There was a moment of silence, and then the moderator rang the bell. The room erupted into a roar of applause unlike any other.
A statue of a monstrous fairy with wings that covered her upper body was placed next to Theo. The host then introduced the next item.
“Next up is a piece of Baroque porcelain. The starting price is 2,000 knets…….”
“10,000 knets.”
Theo shouted 10,000 knets as if the host had waited before the introduction was over. For a moment, there was tension in the room.
There were six members of the Duke faction who didn’t participate in the auction, and there were six items left to be auctioned.
If Theo took another item, someone else would leave empty-handed.
That meant falling prey to the Locale Newspaper.
The situation turned into a clear message of becoming a pitiful target for the Emperor’s faction.
The Duke’s faction shot Theo cold glances, openly expressing their displeasure, but he remained nonchalant, as if nothing had happened.
“Now, that’s a whopping 10,000 knets, is there any more?”
Then someone reluctantly shouted 10,500 knet.
Looking in that direction, one of the Duke faction nobles seemed visibly uncomfortable, appearing as if he had been robbed.
The sight made me snort without realizing it.
“15,000 knets.”
It was Theo’s voice. Contrary to the expectation that it would be auctioned for 10,500 crowns, the auction continued, causing the crowd to grow even more excited.
Even the Emperor’s faction nobles had astonished looks as they stared blankly at Theo.
While people were dumbfounded and confused, a bell rang to announce that the item had been sold for 15,000 knet.
When the next item came out, the crowd was now only interested in how much Theo would call. He shouted again.
“20,000 knets.”
With each bid surpassing expectations, the Duke faction nobles’ faces started to turn red, overwhelmed by the staggering amounts.
