“Usually, when someone is busy, they’d summon the other person to the palace.”
“I couldn’t exactly order the owner of Tamer Relic to come and go as I pleased.”
...No, showing up like this is even more of a nuisance. My brother had to leave today with an upset stomach! Whose fault was that?
“I thought you would contact me first.”
“Me?”
“I didn’t expect you to accept a gift from me and then act like nothing happened. Was the ten-million-gold gift not to your liking?”
Ceres scratched her cheek as she watched Crown Prince Aseraian lift his teacup with a faint smile.
Because of him, she had ended up fleeing the auction house in a hurry. While she probably could’ve found a way to obtain Artia’s ring without his help, there was no denying that he was the one to hand both the child and the ring over to her.
He even kept our presence there a secret.
He also warned her that the soldiers were coming. Whatever the circumstances, she had received plenty of help from him.
“Grand Duke Persia said he’d pay the auction price.”
“Who... did what?”
“The Crown Prince paid the auction price and brought back Arti’s ring... Hey, where are you going?”
“The palace.”
“What? Wait!”
Ceres had barely managed to stop Kainel when he tried to rush to the palace and pay the money himself. There was no way he’d simply pay and leave. Knowing him, he’d end up causing another scene.
“Hmm. I’d rather not.”
“Pardon?”
Crown Prince Aseraian shook his head.
“Then it wouldn’t be a gift, would it? That ring was a gift from me to you.”
“......”
...Why is this man so determined to give me gifts? Ceres clicked her tongue quietly.
Well, if he doesn’t want the money, that’s fine by me.
The potion that removed demonic energy was still selling like hotcakes. Ten million gold was an astronomical sum, but it wasn’t so much that she couldn’t afford it.
“You didn’t come all the way here and even cook me breakfast just to see if I received your gift, right?”
“I thought you might be curious about the auction house.”
Ceres immediately understood what he meant. She had been wondering about the auction house herself.
She had planned to look into it through the Sky Guild sooner or later, but the Crown Prince had come straight to her with the answer.
“All the members of the auction house have been arrested, and everyone who was being held as a slave is released. The children are being temporarily cared for at an orphanage in the capital.”
Ceres expected as much. But there was still one thing she wanted to know most.
“Where did the money ultimately end up?”
In other words, did they find anything linking the funds to Marquis Merial? She heard the Imperial family had seized all the documents from the office as well.
“Hmm.”
At Ceres’s question, he lifted his teacup and took his time savoring the tea, seemingly in no hurry to answer. He kept her waiting until her gaze grew increasingly sharp.
“I found it. House Merial is under investigation as we speak.”
He had found all the evidence showing that the auction house’s earnings passed through several intermediaries before ultimately reaching the Merial household.
“The Marquess’s household must be in quite a panic by now.”
Of course, she doubted that alone would be enough to bring him down.
“I suppose that takes care of the auction house.”
Ceres nodded. She had gone there in the first place hoping to dig up information on Marquis Merial herself.
Although it was a little disappointing that Aseraian had gotten there first, she certainly wasn’t going to complain if the Crown Prince thoroughly dealt with Merial for her.
“There’s one thing I’d like to ask.”
She had considered going straight to the Emperor, but since she already had the Crown Prince in front of her, perhaps she could leave the matter in his hands instead.
“If it’s a request from the owner of a Tamer Relic, how could I refuse?”
He smiled and leaned forward, intending to give her his full attention.
“In return, you’ll have to grant me one favor someday.”
“......”
...Maybe I should just go to His Majesty.
Ceres couldn’t shake her unease as she looked at Crown Prince Aseraian, who was smiling so brightly.
.
.
.
Chapter 53: The God of Curses
“What about the documents?”
“We destroyed them all.”
“Ugh....”
Marquis Merial sank into his seat, groaning as though his head were throbbing.
The soldiers had suddenly stormed the illegal auction house and seized it in an instant. They had also hauled all the documents and records there back to the Imperial Palace.
“It seems we can’t simply pretend we knew nothing.”
“Haa.”
All the records at the Marquess’s household had been destroyed, but there was nothing they could do about the documents seized from the auction house. They had no way of getting their hands on anything already in the Imperial family’s possession.
“You’ll have to be prepared to sacrifice someone and pin everything on them.”
The aide’s words drew an even deeper groan from Marquis Merial. He was suggesting they choose someone to take the fall for everything.
“Viscount Gerdo.”
“Understood.”
They would make it look as though Viscount Gerdo, one of his retainers, had done everything out of loyalty while the Marquess himself had known nothing about it.
“You’ll have to give up this month’s auction revenue as well.”
The funds currently being moved through other channels for money laundering would have to be abandoned too.
“Haa.”
Marquis Merial sighed heavily again. Then, as another thought suddenly occurred to him, his face twisted.
“I heard there were three dukes at the auction house.”
“Yes. No one saw their faces, but apparently, the powers of wind and water were among the forces that brought the auction house down.”
“And Grand Duke Persia...?”
“Yes. Many people witnessed the power of ice.”
Marquis Merial ground his teeth. There was no doubt that those three were responsible for his auction house being brought down so quickly.
“Find out if there’s anything else that could implicate the Imperial Family.”
“Understood.”
As he watched his aide leave, Marquis Merial let out another long sigh.
***
“Where did you get the ring?”
“This...”
Perhaps it was because Zien had been staying at Ceres’s home for several days, but he seemed more comfortable speaking now.
Of course, he’s still a little timid.
But unlike before, he no longer clammed up no matter how many times she asked. He seemed to have realized that he wouldn’t be beaten just for speaking.
“I found it.”
“You found it?”
He nodded.
Zien wasn’t lying. That day, he had been on his way back to his room after another beating from the orphanage director. There wasn’t any particular reason for it. The director simply didn’t like the sight of him, complaining about why such an unlucky brat had to keep getting in his way... That was all.
Anyway, as Zien headed back to his room, he spotted something lying right in the middle of the path, as though it had suddenly flown in from somewhere and landed there.
It was a ring set with a black gemstone.
For some reason, Zien felt drawn to it and slipped the ring onto his finger. Then something astonishing happened. The ring, which had looked enormous on his small hand, slowly shrank on its own until it fit his finger perfectly.
“The ring hasn’t come off since.”
“...That’s just like Arti. He’s always been pretty possessive.”
“Pardon?”
“Haa...”
Ceres chuckled helplessly.
Arti, you rascal. What did you do to that ring?
“What did I do? I told you, didn’t I? Only someone with the ability can wear my ring. The ring had waited long enough, so it went and found its own master.”
...Of course. Arti was never the type to let just anyone have his ring. Ceres immediately understood Zien’s absurd story. After all, this was Artia’s ring.
“Forget the ring for now. How did you end up at the auction house?”
“At the orphanage...”
The moment Zien mentioned the orphanage, his face darkened. Just thinking about the place was enough to change his entire demeanor.
“A visitor came.”
Apparently, someone regularly visited the orphanage. Every time they came, they would take children away with them. Zien had caught their eye too, and that was how he ended up being taken to the auction house.
“That person was interested in the ring.”
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