C176
Isidor's elongated eyes, staring fixedly at the list, narrowed.
Where his sharp gaze landed, it was written "Javier Histach."
"The 3rd prince...."
That person participated in the bid for the lavender diamond, causing Isidor to slightly twist his lips.
"You wrote a rather high price."
Since the winning bid price was revised several times, there was a possibility it could be increased even further during the remaining time.
"It truly doesn't matter."
Anyway, since all the people participating in this auction were Isidor's associates, there was no chance the jewels would fall into the hands of the 3rd Prince.
And this behavior from the 3rd Prince confirmed Isidor's suspicions.
"As I expected."
From the moment he accidentally spilled alcohol on Deborah's skirt and arrived at the academy, looking around, Isidor intuitively realized he was similar to Philap.
Those who are arrogant by birth, obsessed with comparative advantage, have less sense of duty to have what they want in their hands.
"Moreover, the 3rd prince knows the secrets behind his mother, the 4th Queen, so he must be convinced that Deborah is the incarnation of the Saint, not Mia Binoche."
Isidor tossed a coin with an expressionless face, then slowly rose as the moment for the auction of the gem called "Lavender Diamond" approached.
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The interior of the auction house was packed with people coming to see the supposed gem.
After the bidding was won, it was obvious it would be difficult even to look at the jewels from a distance, and the atmosphere became even warmer due to the beautiful faces of the participants.
In the center of the hall, a purple diamond placed in a large glass chest was wrapped in the twilight of dawn, and many nobles were betting on who would win the bid for this beautiful gem.
At that moment, there was a commotion inside.
"Look over there."
It's Rosad Seymour!
Rosad entered with his disciplined and characteristic gait, followed by a Belreck looking sensitive, who appeared with his long hair roughly tied up.
"It seems like I came here with him. It makes me feel bad."
They didn't even come together, but since they were supposed to be twins, both arrived at the auction house at the same time.
"Isn't that the fifth princess?"
Marquis Baslein was also here.
As the personalities of high society appeared one after another, the temperature in the auction house began to rise.
"Mmm."
Rosad, with crossed legs, sitting in the VIP seat provided only to those participating in the bid, frowned when he spotted the 3rd Prince as he looked around with cold eyes.
"I knew Deborah was subtly popular, but this was a bit surprising."
Of course, it's possible that the 3rd Prince attended to give jewelry to someone other than Deborah.
However, it bothered him because he had heard that Isidor and the 3rd Prince had almost dueled at the academy.
"Well, that gem will fall into my hands anyway."
Rosad intentionally leaked the price he had in mind, and when the competition erupted, he wrote twice that amount.
When there's a benchmark amount, most people pay attention and increase the amount by 10%, or at most 30%.
Rarely does someone boldly double the price, so he was confident of victory.
"I just have to buy my sister's birthday present, I don't know why I have to try so hard."
"Well, I've learned a lot in the past, so I have to do this. Of all the family, Deborah is the most uncomfortable with me..."
While Rosad rationalized, Belreck thought the same.
The only madman who doubled the announced price must be him.
Participants waited for the announcement, hiding the tension that began to arise.
At that moment.
An unusual murmur began to be heard from the entrance.
Belreck's eyes widened when he saw Isidor enter the VIP area with a friendly smile.
"Why is the Duke Visconti here?"
It was a completely unexpected face.
He has already given a gift to Deborah.
"Isidor. Did you participate in this auction? If you hit the object Baslein is aiming for, I would like you to give up that gem."
Marquis Baslein spoke straightforwardly, and Isidor smiled.
"You know how greedy I am for Princess Deborah. This is a place where I can show a bit of my overflowing affection, so it would be a shame to lose it."
"Ah. I'll have to look for another gift."
Feeling defeated, Marquis Baslein sighed. His nephew never started a game where he could lose
The next day.
The news that a lavender diamond had been sold for a record price exceeding three mansions in the Yones district spread through social circles.
"Wow, that's three times the price of the pink diamond that was auctioned last time."
"Of course, the owner of the jewel will be Princess Deborah, right?"
"Duke Visconti is also amazing for writing such an astronomical amount."
While high society buzzed with the story of the owner of that jewel, the palace where the 4th queen resided was turned upside down.
"Q-queen, please calm down!"
Because the news of her son's participation in the noisy diamond auction had reached the 4th Queen.
"Aaargh, crazy bastard! Why the hell did he go there?"
She already suffered from a headache because of Princess Deborah, but when her son needlessly spilled oil, she became even angrier and threw everything she could hold in her hand.
"Why are you doing such a stupid thing?"
Could it be that her son still fantasizes about the possibility of having Seymour behind him?
It is already impossible to separate Isidor and Princess Deborah.
Moreover, the Seymour and Visconti families, who had established orthodox successors with blue hair since the foundation of the Empire, were not subjects of negotiations by the 4th queen from the beginning.
"Even the bid failed."
If she had given that purple jewel to Mia, at least it would have been worth it.
Jamilla rubbed her neck for a moment and then jumped up.
It was to visit the residence of the 3rd prince.
But the 3rd Prince's room was empty.
Where is Javier?
After a while, the 3rd Prince appeared with a disheveled appearance.
His expression distorted upon seeing his son emanating the smell of alcohol and women's perfume as if he had been out all night.
"Didn't I tell you dozens of times to stay close to the northern lords and stay away from Count Rowan?"
"I manage my connections. I'm not even a three-year-old child; how can you interfere in my personal affairs, even when I make friends?"
"Javier!"
After remaining silent for a while, seeming to be solely focused on sword training, upon seeing his son show signs of rebellion again, the 4th Queen shouted.
"Don't you still know that I am the only one on your side in the imperial palace, where there are enemies everywhere?"
Ha, ha. The third prince let out a brief laugh.
"You always said everything would be mine, but what the hell have I gained after all this time?"
He extended an empty hand.
"Even among the young Marquises, there are those who dare to scorn me as a member of the imperial family. But what's wrong with trying to hold a small diamond in my hand? Why do you come early in the morning and get angry?"
"Then you should have spent a lot of money and won the bid! The Emperor loves you, and he would have given you anything, but why do you stand there, behind Duke Visconti? Why are you making a joke of yourself since the last time?"
The 3rd Prince, who had already grown accustomed to endless scolding, remained silent as he listened.
He was fed up with this.
Moreover, as the days passed, a deep irritation filled him to the point where it left him breathless.
His mother always says it's for his own good, but she treated him like a puppet while fiercely threatening him in this way.
He obeyed his mother when he was young, but not anymore.
Was it because he had been living alone in the north, away from his mother, for a long time?
He looked away and saw that his mother wasn't as good as she seemed. Not many things go as planned, and plans often fail.
Even after making a pact with such a strong demon.
"Do you understand? Javier. You just have to do what I tell you to do."
Javier nodded dryly, even though he had been scolded for a long time while thinking about something else.
"Ah, rest. Since you haven't neglected your training, I won't say anything more."
Immediately, the 4th Queen suppressed her anger and left her residence, and Javier gritted his teeth.
"I did what they told me to do, but I got nothing. I crawled to the palace for nothing."
He picked up his cloak, with rough hand gestures, and left the palace again.
As he spent time with Count Rowan while smoking a cigarette, he learned about the rumors.
"There are rumors that Duke Visconti paid a large sum of money and won the bid for the lavender gem to propose to Princess Deborah to marry him."
"It's very likely. Although Princess Deborah is a bit young to become a duchess, her marriage seems to be later than that of other young nobles."
"Do you mean he's going to propose to her?"
The 3rd prince narrowed his eyes as he exhaled the smoke slowly.