Chapter 18
“110 gold.”
“120 gold.”
“130 gold.”
“140.”
Both raised the numbers as if competing out of pride.
For a moment, Dahlia was confused, but then she calculated how much it was and felt strange. The price climbed to a shocking amount for just one jewel.
“400.”
“400! 400, any higher bids?” Mister G shouted excitedly. Naturally, no one raised their hand. Mister G declared, “The Radiance of Dahlia is sold to the lady in the third box with the butterfly mask for 400 gold!”
The auction ended, and people started leaving one by one.
As Dahlia was being pushed by the crowd, she couldn’t believe her ears.
‘……400 gold?’
The price was so high it felt unreal. A jewel with the same name as her was sold for that amount.
Dahlia thought, if she had that money, she could pay off all her family’s debts. Even if she had the 200 gold that Ulysses mentioned, she could pay off everything.
‘A single jewel worth that much……?’
If she had that jewel with the same name, Dahlia could escape poverty.
Dahlia never told Ulysses about her family’s situation because she thought he hated illegal activities.
Although she never heard it directly from him, it was natural since he was the Crown Prince.
When she looked up, her eyes met Ulysses’.
“Da-Dahlia.”
Ulysses, looking flustered, rushed from the box. He was probably coming to her.
Dahlia recalled that when the Radiance of Dahlia was sold to Evelyn, Ulysses looked incredibly frustrated.
Feeling empty, Dahlia turned to look at Evelyn.
‘She’s mocking him.’
Evelyn mocked Ulysses for losing in the wealth competition. If the Crown Prince looked so ridiculous to her, how much more would Dahlia look?
Unable to hold back her anger, Dahlia left the auction house, leaving Raphael behind.
* * *
“Raphael, why are you here with Dahlia?”
After Dahlia and Ulysses left, I came to my senses and pulled Raphael to a secluded place.
“I should be asking you. Why did you buy that yellow diamond for 400 gold?”
Raphael, who never made a losing deal, was shocked. I ran my hand through my hair and sighed.
“The Radiance of Dahlia, it’s a jewel the Crown Prince desires.”
“I know that. But still—”
“What? You know, then why are you adding more?”
Raphael tried to say something, but I was too angry to stop talking.
“Since I took the Radiance of Dahlia, won’t the Crown Prince be annoyed? Starting with this, I’ll take everything the Crown Prince wants! So he won’t want to get involved with me ever again!”
“……So you wasted 400 gold?”
Raphael looked at me like I was crazy. But that was the reaction I expected. Now it was my turn to ask.
“What about you? Why are you with Dahlia? Are you the one playing a double game, not me?”
“Don’t misunderstand. I was just trying to create some romance.”
“Romance?”
Hearing ‘romance’ from Raphael felt like hearing nonsense for a year. Seeing my disgusted reaction, Raphael continued in a more serious tone.
“Count Hebe borrowed a large sum from Walpurgis Night to put the Hebe family in trouble.”
Everyone knew that the Hebe family was poor. Right now, Dahlia was supporting the family.
But soon, even Dahlia wouldn’t be able to handle the debt without help.
Even a magician from the Imperial Magic Tower couldn’t manage a moneylender’s interest alone.
That part I understood. But Dahlia being here meant Count Hebe borrowed money. That part didn’t make sense.
“Is Count Hebe crazy enough to borrow from a moneylender and come to Walpurgis Night?”
That wasn’t in the original story. I was confused, but Raphael seemed to think it was obvious.
“Young Lady Hebe and Count Hebe must be ashamed since they’re hiding it well.”
“What……?”
The original story is a mess. This was never in the content.
Which novel leaves the protagonist’s family history at just being poor and motherless?
If it were me, I would’ve made a three-volume series out of this hardship and struggle. Raphael, misunderstanding why I was flustered, sighed and ran his hand through his hair.
“Anyway, my plan was to lead Young Lady Hebe to seek the Crown Prince’s help. By continuously increasing the interest on her debt, she would have no choice but to rely on the Crown Prince’s wealth.”
In short, what Raphael was saying was this:
Dahlia, pushed to the edge, would have no choice but to confide in Ulysses, and Ulysses would naturally help his lover. If not, we would make it so he had to.
If Ulysses heroically saved Dahlia, she would inevitably fall in love with him.
Then, Dahlia would stop hoping I liked Ulysses, and everyone would get their happy ending.
It was a really clever plan. If only we had worked together seamlessly!
“…But to think the Crown Prince himself would be here, let alone milady competing financially with him.”
Raphael lamented, rubbing his forehead. I was just as disheartened. We finally understood each other’s plans.
How could we be so out of sync? All we got out of this was Dahlia’s radiance, which cost us 400 gold.
I weakly blamed Raphael.
“…If only you hadn’t suggested seducing the Crown Prince.”
“…I’ll be more careful with my words. We should draft a new plan.”
I nodded. This was the despair of teamwork I had only heard about.
* * *
“Dahlia!”
Ulysses immediately chased after Dahlia, reaching out his hand. She didn’t get far before Ulysses grabbed her wrist.
“Stop, Dahlia!”
“Huff, huff… Let go of me!”
Dahlia cried out, struggling. Ulysses hugged her tightly, preventing her from resisting, and shouted.
“Dahlia, why are you here? This place is filthy, unfit for you!”
“…!”
When you get too angry, your mind goes cold. Dahlia stopped struggling.
‘I didn’t want to hear that…’
Unaware of Dahlia’s thoughts, Ulysses rambled as she quieted.
“Dahlia, whatever you thought, it’s a misunderstanding. I came to catch the black market’s trail…!”
Ha. If you’re going to lie, make it convincing. Dahlia lifted her head and asked Ulysses.
“But you participated in the auction.”
“That was to catch the host’s trail…”
“The jewel you were about to buy, it was named after me.”
“…”
“Were you planning to give it to me?”
Ulysses, speechless, nodded after a pause. Dahlia was overwhelmed with betrayal.
‘How could he think of giving me a jewel bought from such a place…!’
If he thought she would be touched, he was gravely mistaken.
Of course, Dahlia liked expensive jewels. But the origin mattered.
She didn’t want to know if that yellow diamond had a complicated story, but if it was revealed to be from the black market, it would disgrace her already crumbling noble family.
“…”
Oblivious to Dahlia’s icy gaze, Ulysses held her hands in his.
“Dahlia, I’m sorry. I thought it would make you happy.”
Did he really think I’d be happy? Did he think this was romantic?
‘How sheltered must he have been…!’
While some suffer and repay debts! Dahlia, infuriated, roughly pushed Ulysses’ hands away.
“Let go!”
“Dahlia!”
“Let go!”
Slap! Dahlia broke free from Ulysses’ arms.
“Dahlia!”
Ignoring Ulysses’ call, she ran into the street. She spotted a cab a commoner family was about to board.
In her haste to get away, Dahlia pushed the family aside and jumped into the cab.
“Take me to the Royal Magic Tower quickly. Hurry!”
A middle-aged woman fell, but Dahlia didn’t notice. The coachman, intimidated by her noble appearance, didn’t dare argue.
“Start now!”
“Y-yes, ma’am…”
Rattle. The carriage, urged by Dahlia, started to move roughly.
The bright lights of the opera house in the distance blurred Dahlia’s vision.
‘This is the worst…’
It was truly the worst day.
Entering Walpurgis Night was in vain, she couldn’t repay her father’s debt, and she learned Ulysses’ true nature.
The most pitiful part was her inability to return home despite the circumstances.
“Hic, hic…”
They say there’s no end to rock bottom, and Dahlia wept, feeling pity for herself.
A wealthy household, a proud fiancé. Evelyn, how did she have everything just by being born into a good family?
Dahlia thought she had finally taken Ulysses from Evelyn, but the truly precious things were still Evelyn’s.
Now she would sink even lower. Dahlia curled up and cried.
‘If only I had been born into a rich family too, I wouldn’t be this miserable!’
Dahlia resented everything. She was so envious of Evelyn that she could go mad.
Then Dahlia remembered her companion.
‘…Raphael must have been shocked, too.’
Well, with a fiancée like that. Dahlia still didn’t understand what Raphael saw in Evelyn to get engaged. Surely, he was being used by Evelyn.
‘He’s too good for her…’
Dahlia felt a sense of camaraderie and pity for Raphael.
She hadn’t completely decided to end things with Ulysses, but she wanted to help Raphael end things with Evelyn.
‘He helped me today, so I’ll help him.’
Contrary to Raphael’s intentions, Dahlia’s scales were tipping toward him.