CH 25

His blue eyes were confident and it made me nervous.

Why would he buy a necklace that costs 600 franc at the most for 10,000 franc?

“Saintess. This is a great opportunity. Come on, sell it.”

Dwayne’s voice was heard from behind.

It must be a really cool thing to sell a necklace for 10,000 franc that I bought for 250 franc. I don’t know, maybe I could leave the temple a little earlier.

But even in this apparently lucky situation, I decided to be cautious.

In the original story, I didn’t know about the female protagonist, but for Ariel, he was definitely not a symbol of good luck.

“…No.”

Seeing the hesitant look on my face, Cass furrowed his eyebrows, as if he had predicted that I would definitely sell it.

But, having made up my mind, I reached out to him with a calm expression.

“I have changed my mind. I’m not going to sell this necklace.”

There was a heavy silence in the space. I could feel the appraiser and Dwayne looking at me without understanding me.

But I didn’t care and told the appraiser.

“I’m going to sell you those three things except the necklace.”

Cass, who was looking through things at first, had never even looked at the other objects.

In other words, the other objects will be objects with no repercussions.

“Do you really not mind? It’s a pity, you hit it so well.”

“Yes. I won’t sell the necklace.”

The appraiser meticulously assessed the three items, and Cass placed the garnet necklace on my hand.

As I felt the heavy sensation in my hands, I felt relaxed.

I’m good at smelling. Especially the smell of danger. The senses in my body were warning me not to sell the necklace.

“This statue of Mond is ambiguous to be called a work of art… I can’t give you a price. So if I buy the candlestick and the portrait, I can give you up to 1200 franc.”

It cost 900 franc to buy four things, so it’s 300 francs today, right?

I handed the statue of Mond to Dwayne and looked at Cass while holding the garnet necklace.

What are the thoughts floating in the blue eyes that stare at me without shaking?

“Haha.”

Whatever it is, I won’t get involved with him.

‘10,000 franc or whatever.’

Suddenly, Cass took a step closer to me and stood closer.

I looked up at him, who was a little taller than me, and he tilted his head slightly and put his lips to my ear.

“That’s a pity.”

As a low voice rang in my ear, I felt chills on my back.

“With that necklace was an opportunity for me to get to know the Saintess.”

I stood still with a calm expression on my face.

I was about to say goodbye to him by drawing a line, but he spoke again.

“I’m talking about the necklace. In fact, it’s a stolen treasure of the Imperial Family.”

And at the words I heard, my body stiffened. The hand holding the necklace tightened.

This is the stolen treasure of the Imperial Family, he said?

“It was a very noble necklace that the deceased Empress Dowager gave to the Empress. It would be better to keep it and not sell it anywhere. Dispose of it so that no traces remain.”

My heart pounded at the dangerous content that contrasted with his languid voice.

“If you don’t want any trouble.”

“…Thank you for the advice.”

He raised his body slightly leaning towards me. Then he looked at me and said

“I’d like to know more about the Saintess. I missed this opportunity.”

The low voice was so small that only I could hear it.

“Then, please come back carefully.”

Cass looked at me with a faint smile.

If he had given me 10,000 franc and I had handed over ownership of this necklace, the necklace would have been my weakness.

The Saintess who claims to own the Imperial Family’s belongings and sells them to the merchant. It’s a story that others cannot easily imagine.

What does it mean to have a weakness for him who had cold blood?

To Cass Lloyd, who in some ways has a crueler heart than Kyle or Reihausd.

Suddenly, a phrase from the original story came to my mind.

[Lloyd doesn’t make a profitable business at a loss.] 

That’s what he said to Camilla.

As I turned around, I felt terrified by his persistent gaze.

***

“Mond. Why did you choose a stolen treasure?”

[The God of Art, Mond, protests that it’s not his concern whether the artwork is stolen or not.]

Yes, Mond only distinguishes the value of a work of art and doesn’t care whether it’s stolen or not. In any case, the garnet necklace was much more expensive than the purchase price.

“And this statue.”

I said, pointing to the statue of Mond on the window sill.

“I heard it has no value, but you chose it because it’s your statue, right?”

[The God of Art, Mond, looks at the distant mountain with a sharp look on his face.]

I let out a small sigh.

Still, it was good for interior decoration. Unless I remember the fact that I bought it for 100 franc.

In any case, should I say that I am fortunate to have raised an income of 300 franc through this auction?

The money I had now totaled 1,300 franc. If I use the art auction well in the future, I will be able to earn more money.

However, there is one variable… It was Cass Lloyd’s presence.

He tried to exploit my weakness by spending a whopping 10,000 franc today. But if I sell something that could be my weakness, it’s like going into the tiger’s den by myself.

There are other merchants, but they don’t have a systematic system like Lloyd’s.

It got really confusing.

“I just need to distinguish if it’s not stolen or suspicious…” I sighed and muttered.

In the capital, regular art auctions were held once a week, and the nobles occasionally held private or charitable auctions.

I took part in every auction.

However, contrary to what I had imagined, it was difficult to find a valuable piece of art that wasn’t stolen.

The dream of becoming rich quickly was vain, and in the last two weeks I had attended three auctions, I earned only 200 franc.

Of course, this was a lot of money, but with only 1,500 franc, it would be difficult to find a house, and even if I go out, it would be difficult to live.

‘It is difficult to find my house here and there.’

If I had known this would happen, I would have run away right after receiving 10,000 franc from Cass.

“Whew.”

It was when I opened the door to my room after going out and immersed in complicated thoughts.

I opened my eyes wide in surprise at the profile of the man who had entered my room before me.

His blonde hair was shining in the light coming through the window.

Head looking obliquely to the front, there was a shadow in his gold eyes, and his face looked stiff and tired. His hands were moderately placed on the armrests and legs at an angle. The crisp white uniform had some wrinkles.

Soon he found me and turned his head.

Reihausd slowly got up from his seat and started walking towards me in stride. His strangely cool eyes and tense atmosphere made my heart race.

“May the High Priest be blessed by the Nine Gods.”

Soon he arrived in front of me, stopped and stretched out his hand to me.

His heavy hand rested on my shoulder, and I looked up at him with trembling eyes.

“You seem to be doing interesting things these days.”

I had guessed that the Paladin Dwayne would report my daily life to him. And I was prepared that he would mention this at least once.

“May I ask why are you saving money?”

“…It’s just a hobby. I enjoy collecting and selling various pieces of art rather than saving money.” I quickly recited the prepared answer.

A strangely dangerous tone of voice continued at the end of my words.

“Are you sure you don’t intend to leave the temple?”

The Saintess is leaving the temple.

Reihausd said while showing his cold eyes without even thinking of hiding it.

The three male leads in the original work are summarized as follows.

He’s a Sword Master stronger than anyone else and had a cold heart, but a man who would gradually exert an exclusive desire on Camilla.

The Crown Prince, Kyle Alexis.

He has the cold eyes of a merchant who judged human values ​​only with capitalist pragmatism, but after meeting Camilla and experiencing confusion in her values, he realized his feelings for her and went straight ahead.

Cass Lloyd.

A man whose intimacy with Camilla, the Saintess chosen, as a priest of strong faith, developed into a sunshine-like love, and eventually prayed for her true happiness.

The High Priest, Reihausd de El.

The three men have in common that they will fall in love with Camilla, but if they have one more thing in common, they’re indifferent to Ariel, the fake saintess.

As in all novels, there is no male lead who will be genuinely interested in a villain.

So I was convinced that as long as I didn’t get stingy or overbearing with them, I would be able to spend my days peacefully outside of their attention.

“…”

But now, Reihausd’s eyes were so faint that I could feel his bloodlust, and I was staring at him with a beating heart.

…Is it just my imagination that the original story keeps getting twisted?