Episode 86

“1,200 gold!”

“1,250 gold!”

The auction was in full swing. Everyone’s attention was focused on it. The atmosphere felt a bit overheated.

“Once that ends, it’ll be the sapphire mine, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

Among them was the Duke of Reinhardt as well. His eyes narrowed when they met mine.

“Duke.”

I greeted him first with proper courtesy, and the Duke turned his gaze to Chris. I let out a dry chuckle at the way he tried to mask his displeasure.

“Your Grace, what brings you here?”

“I’m here to participate in the sapphire mine auction.”

“…The sapphire mine auction?”

A stir immediately spread through the crowd. Naturally, since Chris was someone who never took part in auctions like this.

“My goodness, no one else but Grand Duke Elzerian himself is participating in the auction?”

“It must be an incredible mine.”

I could feel people slowly gathering around. The Duke glared at Chris with burning eyes—as if asking, “Why are you going after this sapphire mine?”

‘Must be frustrating.’

Lately, after unexpectedly losing a few real estate and mining auctions to me, the Duke had been on edge. Marie was always amazed too.

‘My lady, how do you always manage to win bids so well?’

‘Auctions where you just write down a price and the highest offer wins aren’t all that hard.’

For me, it was only natural to act based on the information from the original work and my past lives. All I had to do was bid just 1 or 2 gold more than the Duke.

Each time, I used multiple proxies to place the bids, so they hadn’t realized it was me who had snatched them away.

From the Duke’s perspective, it must have been infuriating.

“Why is Your Grace interested in this sapphire mine?”

“My fiancée said she wanted some sapphires.”

I looked back at Chris.

‘I told him to make up a suitable excuse.’

Since I was the one who told him to bid, it wasn’t exactly a lie. A few noble ladies and young misses around us looked at Chris with eyes full of admiration, like they were witnessing the sweetest romanticist alive.

“I heard the sapphires here are beautiful.”

“……”

“Even if the Duke wins the bid, it’s fine. You’ll give me at least one, won’t you?”

With that, I subtly stepped away from the auction hall just as the bidding was about to begin.

“Whew.”

Letting out a small sigh, I moved over to the neighboring auction hall and took my seat. Once I pulled up my robe, my presence became less noticeable.

More than anything, all the heat and attention had gathered at the sapphire auction hall next door.

“They say Duke Reinhardt and Grand Duke Elzerian are competing!”

“Then it’s definitely a valuable mine!”

I glanced over at Chris, who was watching for the perfect moment to call out a price for the sapphire mine, then looked down at the paddle in my hand.

The paddle was made of terracotta, and like a chalkboard, I could write and erase bids on it.

“Well then, we’ll begin over here as well. The listing is the Thule Mine.”

Thanks to the crowd being drawn to the sapphire mine showdown, the people here were mostly fallen nobles or wealthy commoners just here for some end-of-auction entertainment.

It made sense.

“Who would even buy the Thule Mine?”

“My thoughts exactly. It’s always been unprofitable.”

“With Ullico right next to it, who’d dare to mess with it?”

Thule was a mine on the northwestern border of the empire, adjacent to Ullico. It was originally a silver mine.

Its profitability was low, and its location near a foreign border made it unpopular. Considering Ullico would attempt to start a war with the empire in the original story, the fear wasn’t baseless.

After the owner of the now-worthless Thule Mine died, and with no one to inherit it, it had been left adrift—until now, when it went up for auction.

But I was certain.

“This mine has magic stones.”

Compared to the northern magic stone mine the Duke seized, this one had far better yield and quality.

“That war with Ullico started over this very mine.”

After securing a successor and building up strength, Ullico began its invasion upon realizing this masterless magic stone mine existed near their border. With many magic users in Ullico, it was an appealing prize.

“We have to take it before Ullico grows stronger.”

Once Grand Duke Elzerian took over Thule, Ullico would be forced to redirect their plans elsewhere. The Elzerian territory’s military might was already widely known.

“This price should be enough.”

With that thought, I raised the terracotta paddle with “700 gold” written on it—an average price for an abandoned mine.

“750 gold.”

The next moment, someone behind me raised their paddle.

I sighed and updated my bid.

“800 gold.”

“850 gold.”

“900 gold.”

“950 gold.”

The other party kept matching me, as if trying to turn it into a competition. My brows furrowed on their own.

“I don’t have a budget cap, but…”

If a bidding war broke out, it could stir unnecessary talk. After thinking for a moment, I made my next bid.

“1,200 gold.”

“1,250 gold.”

The other bidder easily followed again.

Suppressing the urge to curse, I turned to look at them. The moment our eyes met, I called out:

“1,251 gold.”

“……”

The opponent raised both hands and conceded. The crowd that had been watching our duel with interest slowly dispersed, disappointed.

I had finally secured the transfer deed to the Thule Mine.

As I approached to stamp the document confirming the transfer, the auctioneer smiled.

“That was quite the entertaining show.”

“More like a petty one.”

I replied as I accepted the stamp from the auctioneer. As soon as it touched my hand, it glowed faintly blue.

“Hm, do you possess mana?”

“Mana?”

“Stamps made from magic stone react when touched by someone with mana.”

“I’m more surprised that you’re using magic stone for stamps.”

“To prevent magical forgery, these kinds of places mix in a little magic stone on purpose.”

I just shrugged in response.

For a brief moment, a memory flashed through my mind—back when I had tried to learn magic with Aria, only to give up because she had no mana.

Back then, everything revolved around Aria—etiquette lessons, embroidery, philosophy, and even Servi’s tutoring.

‘It’s just meaningless magic anyway.’

After all, the magic I possessed was barely a sliver. Since I already knew that, I didn’t think much of it.

Just as I turned away, the one who had been bidding against me was standing behind. I wasn’t exactly pleased.

“Why did you give up? I thought your budget could handle it.”

“My aim was to get your attention from the start.”

The Crown Prince, hidden beneath a robe, smiled with his eyes.

“Still, you used to treat me quite kindly, didn’t you?”

“……”

“Have you decided to drop the act now? Your attitude has changed.”

Well, now that I was engaged to Chris, I had to leave no room for misunderstanding.

I sighed and turned to head back to the sapphire mine auction. That’s when he spoke.

“Would you like me to talk publicly about the golden corsage you received?”

“…Your Highness.”

“Surely you haven’t thrown it away. How dare you discard a gift from the imperial family.”

“I…”

“I don’t ask for much, Lady.”

“What is it you want?”

I tensed, thinking he might demand ownership of the Thule Mine. But the Crown Prince twisted his lips into a smile.

“I told you, didn’t I? I only bid on the mine to get your attention.”

“……”

“Why don’t you just talk with me for a bit?”

I glanced briefly at Chris, who was bidding in the sapphire mine auction. The Duke of Reinhardt was making aggressive offers, and Chris was matching them.

“If you’re not going to read the notes or letters I sent, the least you could do is talk to me.”

The Crown Prince pressed once more. I let out another sigh and followed him.

“Kya haha!”

Children dressed in yellow ran across the path, enjoying the Harvest Festival atmosphere. We passed them and entered a quiet walking path near the auction house.

Most people had gone off to enjoy the street festivities, so the area was nearly empty. In one corner, there was a small straw maze garden, made in celebration of the festival.

“This reminds me of when you left me behind.”

“……”

He was talking about the maze garden at the summer villa. He spoke like it was some precious memory, and I held back a sigh. Eventually, I replied coldly.

“Your Highness, may I ask what it is you want from me?”

“So cold. Are you truly done trying to stay in my good graces?”

The Crown Prince chuckled lowly.

“No. I actually like it. It means you’re being honest with me.”

I didn’t understand what he was talking about. It was clear the Crown Prince’s inability to be with Aria had taken a toll on his mental state.

Just as I was about to speak, he continued.

“I heard the rumor that you’re meeting the Grand Duke on the Duke’s orders. Is that true?”

“Your Highness.”

The Crown Prince looked me straight in the eyes. I didn’t avoid his gaze and calmly met his deep blue eyes, which revealed nothing of his thoughts.

“No. You truly love the Grand Duke, don’t you?”

The sudden question pricked at my heart. I raised a corner of my mouth and answered.

“Of course. I love him.”

“Right. Pretending not to love him. Pretending you’re lying.”

I was caught off guard by how accurately the Crown Prince saw through it.

“The part about the Duke telling you to seduce the Grand Duke… I’m sure that much is true. But you only pretended to go along, and ended up falling in love.”

“……”

“Otherwise, why would you take poison in his place?”

“Your Highness, that’s a misunderstanding…”

“How can you look at him with eyes like that?”

The Crown Prince suddenly wiped all expression from his face.

“Your love… it’s overwhelming, almost pure to the point of being absolute.”

The air around us felt cold.

“That’s why I was curious from the beginning. How such a thing could even exist.”

Whoosh.

A chill wind blew by. The Crown Prince didn’t take his eyes off me as he whispered:

“Come to me, Mindia Reinhardt.”