“Ars, doesn’t the person who just stood up and bid 200 on that ugly statue, number 21, strangely resemble Evans?”
Sid, unable to contain his laughter, chuckled as he spoke.
“Is that so? I’m not sure.”
Nigel casually remarked, resting her chin on her hand.
“Haha, even the mask they’re wearing is sim-ilar to the ones we’re…”
Sid’s voice gradually lost its humor and lowered.
“Wait… a minute. Ars, this isn’t a coincidence. You’d better tell me the truth.”
This is why I dislike perceptive people.
Nigel clicked her tongue and opened her mouth.
“Yeah, it’s not a coincidence. Sorry, Sid. For using you only when I needed to.”
Sid tried to scold Nigel, but as Nigel promptly admitted her fault and apologized, he couldn’t even properly open his mouth and had to let it slide.
Well, a true noble must be generous to those who admit their mistakes.
But no matter how open-minded he tried to be, there was one question he really wanted to ask before moving on.
“Ars, earlier when you shed tears…”
“Oh, sorry. I forgot. I’ll apologize for that too, Sid. Actually, I wasn’t really crying, I was just pretending. I thought you might be weak to a woman’s tears.”
Nigel looked at Sid with half expectation of what interesting reaction he might show, and half apologetic for deceiving him.
But Sid’s reaction completely missed Nigel’s expectations.
“Haah…”
Sid let out a deep sigh and then relaxed his tense face.
“I’m glad you weren’t really crying. Even if it’s you, Ars, I don’t want to see a woman’s tears.”
“…”
Stunned, Nigel could only blink.
“Why… are you staring at me like that?”
“You just seemed like a real noble. Not meaning the inherited status, but a ‘real’ noble.”
“Hmph, of course! Ars, why are you stating the obvious?”
Despite his words, Sid’s face flushed pink, unable to hide his emotions as the corners of his mouth curled up into a smile.
“…Until now, I didn’t understand why you were popular among girls, but today I finally see the reason.”
“Wh-what?”
Sid’s face turned completely red.
“Th-that, n-no, I mean.”
Completely flustered, Sid stammered.
Meanwhile, his elegantly raised, noble jawline remained fixed in place without dropping an inch.
Seeing Sid’s words and actions completely out of sync, Nigel felt mischievous.
“How strange? I thought you’d surely consider marriage as a union between families… Are you unexpectedly a romantic?”
Those words dealt a critical blow to Sid, resulting in his chin dramatically dropping to the floor.
Nigel snickered, savoring the joy of victory with a relaxed smile.
[This is the timeline separator]“Ahem. So, Ars, what exactly is the purpose of you and Evans coming to this auction?”
Only after the heat had subsided from his face, which had been hotter than under the scorching sun, did Sid speak with feigned nonchalance as if nothing had happened.
However, Sid’s ears, unfortunately, hadn’t escaped the heat and were still flushed red.
“Why? If you find our purpose convincing, will you help us?”
Nigel, having just noticed the well-reddened ears, spoke playfully.
“Whether I help you or step back, I need to hear the story first. That’s how I can make a proper judgment.”
As Sid’s words and actions, which had been separate before, were now both serious, Nigel narrowed her eyes.
“It might be a bit shocking. Are you okay with that?”
“Go ahead.”
“Sid, you read the newspaper this morning, right?”
“Of course… Don’t tell me you’re trying to tease me even in this situation, Ars?”
Nigel shook her head.
“What was the most memorable article?”
“Personally, I liked the article on the first page analyzing the power structure between the Imperial family and the temple, but… objectively, the most memorable one would obviously be the news about the disappearance of Her Highness Yenika, the Crown Prince’s fiancée.”
Having not earned his top spot in the political science department for nothing, Sid immediately gave the correct answer.
A secret auction with strict identity checks and Yenika. Now all the puzzle pieces were laid out.
Nigel silently waited for Sid to properly put the puzzle pieces together.
“…No way.”
Sid’s voice was close to a sigh.
“It can’t be… It shouldn’t be…”
Ah, come to think of it, I vaguely remembered hearing that Count Lumen and Count Cromwell once worked together in the parliament.
‘If Sid was close to Count Lumen, this would be quite unfortunate.’
“The ‘no way’ you’re thinking is probably correct.”
Nigel kindly hammered in the final nail.
“…Are you saying that Count Lumen, famous for his integrity, is secretly putting up the engagement ring made by the Crown Prince himself for his fiancée in an illegal auction?”
Clap, clap, clap.
Nigel quietly applauded.
“Congratulations. 100 points, Sid.”
“Ars, are you trying to deceive me again? Are you telling me to believe that? Count Lumen publicly swore loyalty to His Highness the Crown Prince at the recent royal ball.”
“Well, it’s the Crown Prince. Not the princess of the Kingdom of Crena.”
“…!”
Sid’s eyes wavered in confusion.
“Oh, by the way, Allen’s top-grade magic stone is also expected to be auctioned there. That Count Lumen is a nationalist and elitist who detests foreigners and commoners.”
“Am I supposed to accept this as fact now, not just a bit of mischief?”
Nigel nodded.
“If you want, you can go find Her Highness Yenika right now. She’s sitting next to Allen. Of course, you’re free to back out here. Given how serious this matter is, it could be dangerous…”
“No.”
At that moment, Sid’s chocolate-colored eyes looked straight at Nigel.
“Knowing these details, I can’t just sit idle. I need to confirm it with my own eyes. And someone who will serve the Imperial family in the future shouldn’t avoid a situation just because it’s frightening.”
The face before her no longer showed any hesitation. Suddenly, Nigel realized that Sid resembled Cledian’s rational, sharp gaze.
Having glimpsed the firm resolve and conviction within, Nigel willingly accepted Sid as an ally.
[This is the timeline separator]The official auction event had ended. However, the bright light on the stage that hadn’t been turned off was still glimmering somewhat bleakly.
And at the entrance, which had been brightly open, a black curtain was now hung.
People, their faces hidden by hats and masks, entered the curtain one by one, undergoing thorough identity and possession checks before being allowed into the auction hall.
Nigel and Sid also took their seats only after enduring an almost rudely thorough body search at the curtain.
“Well… I didn’t want to believe it, but I’m starting to trust your opinion more and more.”
Sid coldly glared around the auction hall.
“Ars, do you know what they’re selling here?”
“…I just hope Count Lumen hasn’t sold his conscience too, that it’s not the worst-case scenario.”
Sid let out a shallow sigh, realizing that Nigel’s thoughts exactly matched his own.
They both simultaneously hoped it wasn’t the buying and selling of lives of equal value to their own, something strongly prohibited in the Empire hundreds of years ago.
“If… it turns out to be the worst case, what do you plan to do?”
“I don’t know. …Maybe we could escape by breaking down all the walls, like we did at the academy.”
At the light words unsuited to the serious situation, Sid let out a small laugh.
“Thanks to that, I feel a bit relieved. Right, you who broke through the barrier made by an Imperial magician, there’s no way you couldn’t break the walls here. I’m asking in advance, if we escape, please don’t go alone, take me with you, Ars.”
“…Sure, why not.”
Nigel replied gruffly.
“By the way, do you know?”
Sid, who had been quietly observing the auction hall, spoke up.
“Usually, the really valuable items aren’t on the stage, but behind it.”
At Sid’s words, Nigel’s eyes immediately sharpened.
“That… can you be sure?”
Sid nodded elegantly.
“I’ve been studying the structure here, and the area behind the stage seems to be several times larger than the stage itself. It’s an inefficient structure for an auction house that mainly deals with jewels and artworks.”
“Then the true depths of this place are inside there.”
“To get there, we’d probably need to buy something here.”
Having quickly put their heads together and reached a conclusion, the two awkwardly turned their heads in opposite directions.
They had thought they would never get along for the rest of their lives, but were surprised at how well they worked together.
“Ahem. Ars, you should quickly go inform Evans about this before the auction starts.”
As Sid cleared his throat and spoke, Nigel tilted her head.
“Aren’t you coming along? You said you needed to see with your own eyes. Don’t you want to meet Yenika?”
“No. …I trust you.”
Sid bluntly expressed his sincerity.
The Nigel that Sid had observed at Sienna was a troublesome girl who would pick fights at the drop of a hat and never yield an inch to him.
However, Nigel had never once lied to him or made empty boasts she couldn’t keep.
“…Thank you.”
A faint voice brushed past Sid’s ear before quickly leaving the seat.
Male lead is a Destined Young Husband (Female-dominant)
One-sentence summary: Wife-master, listen to my explanation!
Li Ruantang, a young lady from a prestigious family, stumbled and fell. When she woke up, she saw a noble and beautiful young man sitting by her bedside, wiping away tears.
The young master had slightly reddened eyes, and his every move exuded charm.
The sight made Li Ruantang’s eyes hot and her heart flutter. After all, she had made a bet with the young master Meng from the neighboring family. If she couldn’t marry a husband before the end of the year, she would have to admit defeat and give up the jade she had worked so hard to obtain.
Outside the window, the flowers were in full bloom.
Rather than losing the bet, the jade, and her face, Li Ruantang calculated that it would be better to seek marriage with the young master in front of her, killing three birds with one stone.
…
Meng Jun never thought that an accident during a spring outing would lead to them rolling down a cliff and into a river, yet still survive.
Now they were trapped in an unknown village, and Meng Jun had overheard that the family who had rescued them had their own intentions.
After all, it was Li Ruantang who had lost her mind and sought marriage first. He was only trying to protect himself!
Glancing at Li Ruantang, who was listing her own merits, the young husband’s voice softened, and he blushed as he lied, “W-wife-master, Wife-master, don’t you remember me?”
The young husband’s voice was clear and handsome, coaxing Li Ruantang’s heart to be soft and sweet, and she spared no effort to protect him.
It wasn’t until they returned to the capital that Li Ruantang suddenly remembered.
When they had fallen off the cliff, in order not to implicate Wei Yunruo, whom he secretly admired, the young husband had instead pulled her, who was slightly farther away, down the cliff with him…
Short summary by Yuushi L: Initially, the male lead (ML) liked another girl, while the female lead (FL) liked the ML. Both fell off a cliff. The FL temporarily lost her memory, and the ML, fearing others might take advantage of him, claimed FL was his wife while they were staying in a village. Later, when they returned home, the FL regained her memories and remembered that the ML liked someone else, so she kept her distance from him. However, during their time living together in the countryside, the ML’s view of the FL had completely changed. From this point, his pursuit of the FL begins.
Link to read
