Golden eyes flashed sharply on a solemnly hardened face.

Thanks to this, Kardiel had no choice but to close his mouth, which was about to express displeasure at the recent rudeness.

No, now that he looked closely, Chersion was just as serious.

It was truly a rare expression from the usually cheerful youngest. At this point, Kardiel also became curious about what was happening.

“I don’t know what you’ve confirmed, but it seems you’re now willing to explain the reason.”

Two days ago. At the insistence of Prince Raphael, who wanted to stop by this city, the carriage changed direction.

The journey would be extended by about a day, but it wasn’t enough to cause significant inconvenience. Above all, Lieselotte had left instructions to treat the prince well.

But even then, there was a request that was incomprehensible.

It was to remove all emblems from the carriage and to omit titles when addressing each other for the time being.

Well, at that time, he thought the prince might be in the mood for mischief. But now it seemed he was ready to explain the reason.

“I’ll tell you inside.”

Prince Raphael hurriedly led the siblings into the hotel along with Chersion.

Everyone, including Sergei and Professor Ernestine, as well as the children’s nanny and Prince Raphael’s personal attendant, followed into the room.

Only after all these important figures had gathered did Prince Raphael open his mouth, which he had kept tightly shut for two days.

“According to information I’ve obtained secretly, tomorrow night, an auction selling an extremely rare item will be held somewhere in this small town. That is… a black market auction.”

A black market auction?

Only then did Kardiel understand why such a fancy facility like a hotel existed in this small town.

Moreover, despite the social season not being over yet, there were too many guests. They all had a purpose.

The words ‘rare item’ following ‘black market’ amplified everyone’s curiosity. At Prince Raphael’s signal, his personal attendant took over the explanation with a tense face.

“Among the items to be auctioned, there is information about an ointment that instantly heals and regenerates any wound.”

“…What?”

“It’s a mysterious ointment said to be so effective that it can mend broken bones and reattach severed body parts.”

Everyone was surprised, but Kardiel’s reaction was the most immediate.

Rarely contorting his expression, he pressed the attendant.

“A black market? Where did such an item come from? Does such a thing actually exist in the first place? I’ve never heard of such a thing in my entire life, so if it’s being distributed, there must be a manufacturer, right? Is it possible to know where it is? What about the ingredients needed to make the ointment?”

“Kardiel. It would be better to listen to the whole story first.”

“Brother, calm down.”

Sergei and Chersion restrained him as he fired off questions with an aggressive tone.

Kardiel barely managed to calm his excitement, and the attendant, who had been quite tense, continued his explanation carefully.

“Although they’re advertising outrageous functions, since it’s an item being auctioned in the black market, it’s certain that it’s a real item. When I inquired a bit, I was told that this mysterious ointment has been auctioned several times in the past. If I say it’s an item from the Mado era, you might understand.”

“An item from the Mado era?”

“Yes, it’s said that items from the Mado era are often traded in this black market.”

This time, displeasure was evident in Sergei’s expression as well.

It was a legally established rule that all items from the Mado era should be retrieved and sent to the Tower of Honor.

Even if it was just a single line of text, if it seemed related, there were no exceptions.

It had been over a thousand years since such a law was enacted. Most items and records had been retrieved.

Yet, to think that such items still remained outside.

“If it’s really from the Mado era, why is it in such a place…?”

Sergei was about to ask why it was there but only clicked his tongue briefly without finishing his sentence.

Right, it’s being traded in the black market because it’s not something that can be sold openly.

After organizing his thoughts for a moment, Sergei added an explanation.

“If it’s really an item from the Mado era, it would be an ointment made by concentrating healing magic and then refining it with magical power. There are records of it being used by the upper class.”

“I understand that much. But would the ointment maintain its function after more than a thousand years?”

It was a period long enough to have rotted a hundred times over, even if it had rotted.

Sergei nodded gravely at Kardiel’s question.

“There’s a sample kept in the Tower of Honor for research purposes. For some reason, perhaps due to magical treatment, it hasn’t decayed at all.”

At this point, everyone couldn’t help but believe in the ointment’s function. Moreover, after accepting the facts, naturally, everyone had the same thought.

“Did you say that ointment will be auctioned in the black market tonight?”

“Yes, yes!”

“What’s the method to attend the auction? Is it perhaps a membership system?”

“Wait, Kardiel. If it’s an item from the Mado era, it should be retrieved by the Tower of Honor. It’s not a matter of participating in the auction or not, but a crime of privately possessing an item of academic value that should be punished.”

Sergei held back Kardiel, who was about to jump up. Then he immediately turned to Prince Raphael.

As a member of the imperial family, he would surely be strict about such matters. He thought Sergei would certainly agree with his opinion. However…

“If there’s already one sample of the ointment in the tower, isn’t that sufficient for research purposes?”

“…What did you just say?”

“I’m sorry, but regarding this matter, I’d like to ask the sage to keep silent.”

He bowed politely towards Sergei.

“Please, for the sake of your nieces and nephew, allow this matter just this once, Sage Sergei.”

“…”

The mention of doing it for his nieces and nephew ultimately swayed Sergei.

He had always felt burdened by not being able to lend a helping hand when his nieces and nephew were being abused.

Moreover, the purpose of purchasing the ointment was none other than to treat the burn scar on Euphemina’s arm…

“…I understand, Your Highness. But there are conditions.”

Sergei’s conditions were as follows:

First, the three Daiern siblings, being minors, could not go to the black market. This aligned with the auction’s entry rules as well.

Second, they would only purchase the necessary item and leave immediately.

His stance was that they shouldn’t stay too long in a place where dishonorable transactions take place.

In other words, the group Sergei proposed consisted of only himself, Prince Raphael, and three of his attendants. Professor Ernestine and the nanny had to stay behind to look after the children.

“I must go with you.”

However, Kardiel’s stubbornness was not something anyone could easily break.

No matter how much Sergei opposed, he was adamant.

His argument was that they couldn’t send someone unrelated when Euphemina was the one who needed the ointment.

Above all, Kardiel, at fifteen, was already much taller than his age suggested and had long since passed through puberty.

In other words, his body was not much different from an adult’s.

“But you must stay right by my side.”

Thus, the four of them decided to proceed with the steps to attend the secret auction.

In the process, they learned that the auction house completely restricted entry to nobles or anyone related to the Tower of Honor.

Thinking about it, it was natural since items from the Mado era were being auctioned.

Only then did they understand why Prince Raphael had insisted on removing all emblems from the carriage and omitting titles.

“Kekeke… This way, guests. Oops, watch your step, will you? Hehehe.”

A man with a hunched back, cackling unpleasantly, led the four people into the auction house.

‘This is supposed to be an auction house?’

Kardiel pulled his hood down and masked his displeasure with an expressionless face.

It was far too different from what he had imagined.

The auction house Kardiel had envisioned was a clean, spacious place with tight security.

Not this narrow, dirty passage reeking of mold that they were descending through.

Even the location of the auction house was quite suspicious.

The entrance to the auction house was a dilapidated house deep in the slums, about to collapse. Who would have thought there would be such a deep underground passage inside?

Moreover, there wasn’t a single light in the spiral passage.

As a result, the four had to rely solely on the lantern held by the guide walking ahead of them as they descended the stairs.

“By the way, is this your first time at a black market? Well, what kind of work do you folks do?”

“Oh, just collecting money here and there in this region.”

“Oh, so you’re merchants!”

“Ah well, us folks in the capitalist class earn a lot but don’t have many places to spend it, you know. Say, don’t you ever auction off things like noble bloodline certificates? Might want to try playing landlord for a bit.”

“Hehehe. Those do come up occasionally. But if you buy that, you can’t come here anymore, you know?”

“Ah. There’s that catch. Didn’t think of that.”

The one who answered was neither Kardiel, Sergei, nor Prince Raphael, but his attendant.

True to being the one who brought the information, he engaged in natural banter with the guide, maintaining a friendly attitude.

Thanks to this, the tedium of descending the deep underground passage was considerably alleviated.

And finally, the four arrived at the black market called the auction house.