Sid Cromwell was looking down at Nigel with a face mixed with arrogance and gladness.

“What a coincidence. To think I’d meet you, Ars, in Obeliu. Did you come to participate in the auction too?”

Delighted by the chance encounter with a fellow academy student outside school, and in the far south no less, Sid couldn’t hide his joy as he sat down next to Nigel.

“Ars, are you here with your family… Oh, I misspoke. I apologize.”

Sid added hastily, greatly flustered.

“…”

But Nigel had already lowered their head dejectedly, seemingly deeply hurt by Sid’s words.

“Um, Ars…?”

Sid’s attitude towards Nigel became noticeably more careful and gentle.

“You’re not… crying, are you?”

Sid’s outstretched hand trembled in mid-air, unable to easily reach Nigel.

No matter how Nigel never chose kind words for him, and only pretended to be friendly when needed despite usually picking fights, the fact that Nigel was a girl remained unchanged.

And in the noble etiquette Sid had cultivated for 17 years like second nature, it was a fundamental principle that a man who makes a lady cry is not to be treated as human, regardless of social status.

“…Hic!”

Just then, a tearful whimper escaped Nigel’s lips. Following the crying sound, Nigel’s shoulders began to heave up and down.

“Ah… Ars? Are you al-alright? Ju-just now was entirely my fault, no doubt. So please stop crying now.”

Sid, who had been frantically flustered, finally found a handkerchief and held it out to Nigel.

But Nigel cried pitifully, without even noticing the handkerchief.

“Pl-please, won’t you stop crying? Right, shall I buy you your favorite dessert? An-anything, just say it. I’ll grant your wish!”

It was then.

“…Really?”

As if by magic, Nigel’s shoulders suddenly stopped shaking.

“Ye-yes! Of course!”

Sid exclaimed confidently, feeling relieved.

Not seeing Nigel’s face, which was grinning with a smirk, without a single tear having fallen from their eyes.

“A-Ars! Wait! Where on earth are you going!”

Nigel, who had stopped crying in an instant, grabbed Sid by the nape and led him to the entrance of Lumen’s auction house.

“I’m disappointed, Sid. You always prided yourself on being a noble, so I thought you were someone who understood noble honor.”

Nigel’s hand only let go when they arrived near the auction house.

Sid, who had been dragged along without knowing what was happening, looked utterly bewildered.

Nigel tried their best to dredge up sad memories.

…Right, that time when they lined up to get seconds at the cafeteria, only for the dessert to run out just in front of them.

As that memory surfaced, the stiff facial muscles naturally created an expression of resentment and sorrow.

Nigel slowly lowered their head to show off the face they had specially crafted, and spoke the words they had prepared during their earlier pretend crying.

“Actually… I really wanted to see Count Lumen’s secret auction tonight, but only those with a rank of count or higher can participate. So…”

Nigel trailed off, vividly recalling the frustration and regret of seeing the macaron disappear before their eyes.

All the cards they had prepared were now laid out. Everything now depended on whether Sid would fall for their acting.

After a long silence, Sid finally spoke.

“I see…”

Nigel stared intently at Sid’s mouth, pretending not to.

“…then it can’t be helped. Ahem, Ars! I was planning to check out the auction house tonight anyway, so since it’s come to this, why don’t we go together?”

Sid said awkwardly, clearing his throat.

…He fell for it.

Nigel grinned widely, avoiding Sid’s gaze as he turned his head, seemingly embarrassed.

Feeling elated, Nigel linked arms with Sid and stood proudly at the entrance of Lumen’s auction house.

“Young Lord Sid of the Cromwell Earldom. Your identity has been verified. Please enjoy your time.”

The guard easily let Sid and Nigel inside.

Nigel, holding a golden paddle marked with number 53, thoroughly scanned the lavish interior lit by crystal chandeliers at its center.

“Ars, there’s still plenty of time until the auction starts, so take your time looking around!”

Sid said condescendingly, clearly thinking that Nigel, being a commoner, would be unfamiliar with such scenery.

Of course, this attitude was welcome to Nigel, who needed information about the auction house.

Nigel gently prodded Sid’s arrogance to survey various parts of the auction house.

Allen’s group was nowhere to be seen, perhaps having already entered the main auction hall.

“Ars, shall we go in now?”

“Ah, wait a moment.”

Nigel rummaged through their bag and pulled out two masks. It was good they had packed extra just in case.

“Here.”

“Ah, thanks.”

Reminded of the common trope in novels of wearing masks to participate in auctions, Sid chuckled and gladly put on the mask.

Not knowing there was a crucial reason why that mask had to be worn.

Nigel and Sid followed the staff’s guidance to sit in the front seats marked with their paddle number.

Looking around carefully, Nigel noticed that people in the front seats numbered 1 to 100 had golden paddles, while those in the back seats after 100 had white paddles.

Nigel guessed that only those with golden paddles would be able to participate in the secret auction.

The key was whether Sid would hold out until the public auction ended and they entered the secret auction hall, but Nigel already knew how to deal with that.

Well, it was simple – they could just pretend to cry or flatter Sid if needed.

Nigel considered it a great stroke of luck that the person they had accidentally met was Sid.

If it had been Oliver or Jayden instead…

Just imagining it sent chills down Nigel’s spine, and they quickly shook their head to dispel the dreadful thought.

Just then, the lights in the audience dimmed and the stage lit up.

“Thank you for waiting! Now, the charity auction hosted by Count Lumen will begin!”

At last, the curtain rose on the auction.

Meanwhile, at seat number 21.

“…I wonder if Nigel is alright?”

Even as the auction was in full swing, Noah’s mind was elsewhere.

“Come on, Noah. How long are you going to worry? They’re not a child, they’ll be waiting outside. Of… course, I can’t guarantee they haven’t gotten lost.”

An uncomfortable silence fell between Noah and Allen.

“Rather, it’s unexpected. To think someone as brilliant as Nigel would be weak with geography.”

Yeni said, raising the corners of her mouth.

Glad for the new topic, Allen excitedly recounted to Yeni his fateful first meeting with Nigel and the series of events that led to them becoming friends.

“So, you’re all students at Sienia!”

There was a strange bitterness in Yeni’s smiling face.

“I’m envious of you three. My parents were so overprotective that I couldn’t even dream of attending an academy.”

“Ah, I see. Then with your parents being so worried, how did you end up meeting me and Nigel alone…?”

“I ran away from home.”

“What?”

“Strictly speaking, it’s not running away. I barely got permission from my parents to travel to the Empire. But everywhere I went, I was accompanied by multiple people, so instead of freedom, I just felt like I was under surveillance. So when the security got lax, I snuck out. That’s when I fatefully met Nigel!”

Yeni calmly recounted a story that was not calm at all.

At that moment, the contents of an article Allen had skimmed over that morning flashed vividly through his mind.

It was an article about the crown prince’s fiancée, who was also a princess of the Kingdom of Crena, having disappeared. The girl’s appearance depicted in the drawing certainly had voluminous pink hair and amber eyes. And crucially, her name was…

“…Yenika?”

“Oops. I thought I might be able to keep it secret until the end, but I guess I’ve been found out after all.”

Yeni, or rather Yenika, smiled broadly. In contrast, Allen’s hands were trembling. If what he suspected was true, this situation couldn’t be dismissed with a cute exclamation like “Oops.”

“…Um, Your Highness?”

“Allen, it’s awkward, so just call me by my name.”

“Alright, Yenika.”

Allen promptly called her name. Then, after a pause, he slowly opened his mouth.

“The ring you said you lost to a pickpocket earlier today, was it by any chance…?”

“Yes, it was the precious engagement ring Calein personally designed and prepared, sigh…”

The moment the crown prince’s name left Yenika’s lips, Allen was so shocked he abruptly stood up from his seat.

“Yes! Customer number 21 has energetically risen from their seat! The current bid is 150 gold, increasing by 50, so 200 gold! Customer number 21 has bid 200 gold.”

At that moment, the auctioneer on stage beamed at Allen, staring intently.

Allen, not knowing what the auction item even was, sat back down with tears in his eyes. He prayed desperately for another bidder to appear.

Bang!

However, without any further bids, the gavel struck forcefully.

“The ancient statue has been sold to customer number 21 for 200 gold! Congratulations!”

Cheers erupted from various corners.

And what Allen saw when he raised his head was a large, crude statue far from sufficient to satisfy his aesthetic sense.