“Auction house?”

“Yes. It’s an event called the Littenburfit Auction that’s held once a year in the neighboring village. It seems to be popular among foreigners and nobles. Many valuable items are hastily put up for sale there.”

One of Cassian’s eyebrows arched elegantly.

It’s common for wealthy people to go to auction houses, but meeting the organizer means putting up items for sale.

The son of a fairly well-off family in the village is putting up items for sale, and doing so personally…

The image of that guy who never took his eyes off Yuriel troubled Cassian’s mind.

“When is this auction?”

“Tomorrow, sir.”

The son of a family that runs a horse farm wouldn’t lack pocket money.

A large sum of money that must be obtained secretly…

It’s quite obvious where that money might be leaking to.

Cassian swallowed a snicker.

Yuriel, did you whisper to that silver-haired boy with an innocent face?

Please rescue me from this hell under the shadow of Blanchet.

That you need your mother’s medicine for that.

No. That can’t be.

That girl, who always wears her ill-fitting pride like dignity, is not the type to say such things.

She’s the kind who would never borrow money from anyone, even if her hands were blistered from working every day.

She’s the one who never lowered her arrogant face even while trembling before him every day.

In short, that silver-haired boy is trying to solve a problem on his own that wasn’t even asked of him.

As if he were a prince on a white horse from some fairy tale.

Right. When he left the capital to come down to this backwater, he should have been prepared for this much.

The silver-haired boy’s parents excited at the thought of bringing in a good daughter-in-law, and their pure son who knows nothing of such things.

It’s already an intriguing combination.

Usually in situations like this, one would root for the prince’s victory and hope for a happy ending with the princess.

It seems I’m not capable of being such a good person after all.

The moment I imagined that silver-haired boy successfully obtaining the medicine and that girl telling me she’s leaving, the back of my neck grows hot.

Why. Even if that guy sells his house for that girl, what does it matter to me.

Well, it’s not that it doesn’t matter.

I, still with my foul temper, haven’t forgiven that girl.

She who must pay the price for deceiving me must repay that debt until I die.

Yet someone dared to try to open my greenhouse and release that girl.

Without permission.

Is that all?

The money that guy could barely scrape together by selling horses would be enough for only a few doses of medicine, even if I’m being generous.

When that runs out, will he sell more horses?

To think an intruder who can’t even prepare a greenhouse to raise butterflies dares to try to steal what’s mine.

Isn’t it laughably absurd.

Cassian roughly yanked open the table drawer and took out a pouch of gold coins.

Thud.

With a dull sound, the pouch was thrown onto the table.

Soon, a sardonic smile bloomed on Cassian’s face as he nodded.

The butler stared uneasily at Cassian, who once again wore an inscrutable expression.

What on earth is he thinking? The pouch, which appeared to contain a considerable sum at a glance, was quite thick.

It would be best not to get involved in such matters.

Unable to ignore the young master’s nod, he hesitantly picked up the pouch of gold coins.

“Buy that item with this.”

“By ‘that item’… do you mean the one Hael put up for auction?”

Cassian nodded with a nonchalant expression.

A cruel aura spread from the corner of his gaze.

Whenever the young master had such an expression, big events always followed.

Sensing this, the butler felt a chill run down his spine.

But as always, all he could do was bow.

“Understood.”

Just then, there was a stir outside.

As usual, the uninvited guest who appeared after 10 minutes was Yuriel.

Following Cassian’s slight nod, the butler opened the door and disappeared outside.

The clear-faced girl closed the door and stood before him. As usual.

With each step closer, a plain yet captivating scent, as if she had been ground into powder, tickled his nose.

Oblivious to such things, the girl was as composed as ever.

“What is the matter?”

Her voice, speaking clearly and precisely, was filled with strength.

This girl, who had arbitrarily drawn a line despite never being given set work hours, was unparalleled in her impertinence.

It was like playing hide-and-seek, the way she managed to avoid his eyes and run away despite being in the same mansion, except during those hours.

Then, when he called for her unexpectedly like this, she would always crawl into his room, showing her discontent like this.

It’s laughably absurd how she maintains a polite attitude despite her insolent face.

As if expressing with her whole body that she’s staying here reluctantly for the sake of her mother.

Do you know what’s happening because of you?

You probably don’t. That’s why you’re still trembling before me today.

If it were possible to save this girl’s mother and break the cycle of misfortune by sacrificing a few horses.

If Yuriel could save her mother, who seems to mean everything to her, and cut off the shackles of unhappiness.

If that were the case, this girl would have left my side long ago.

Is that all? She probably wouldn’t shed a single tear after I disappeared from this world.

Thinking of that fact, it feels rather fortunate that this girl’s misfortune is too heavy to be resolved by just a few horses.

I am clearly a villain, stepping on others’ misfortunes to gain happiness.

So what, even if I’m so evil that I fall into the gates of hell, I’m not afraid of the hell I’d go to after death.

“Sit.”

Cassian’s red eyes flickered roughly as he watched Yuriel obediently sit across from him.

Hael put Brit up for auction at the Littenburfit Auction House.

Until the very moment he finally handed over Brit, Hael hesitated tens of thousands of times more.

Even though he had decided to sell and knew he had to do it to raise money, it wasn’t easy to let go when he saw Brit’s gentle eyes, which he had raised with his own hands.

“I’ll definitely come back for you, Brit.”

Only after making this promise to himself several times did Hael finally let Brit go from his hands.

At last, when Brit was brought onto the auction platform, many people began calling out prices with gleaming eyes.

The scene was bustling, and Brit, unfamiliar with such a setting, stepped back in fear.

Each time, the auctioneer gripped the reins more tightly.

Hael closed his eyes tightly, unable to bear watching the child being sold off.

“Sold.”

Only after the auctioneer’s loud voice rang out did Hael open his eyes to see a man in familiar imperial suit attire grasping Brit’s reins.

‘He seems familiar…’

But Hael’s sense of déjà vu quickly evaporated.

The name of the buyer he had noted down to retrieve Brit later was an unfamiliar one.

Above all, his mind wasn’t sound enough to pay attention to such things.

The guilt of handing Brit over to someone else and the complex, stained emotions tormented Hael.

Returning home weakly, Hael faced his mother, who was in tears, saying a horse had been stolen.

His father, too, was scouring the entire village, saying he would find the thief who stole the horse.

‘That thief is me.’

Unable to say those words, Hael lived each day in guilt.

A few days passed like this.

Even Yuriel, whom he encountered at the lord’s mansion, seemed to know about it and expressed concern.

“Hael, I heard Brit… disappeared. How could such a thing…”

Bearing a worry that no one else knew was quite painful.

But soon, with the medicine he had procured, Yuriel would suffer less. Then, she might regain her smile as before.

This fact allowed Hael to endure the pain.

Although his conscience pricked every time he heard talk of theft, there was no fear of being caught.

The Littenburfit Auction was a special event held in another village, out of reach for the people of Alphonse.

Moreover, it was clear that no one would notice the theft he had committed alone in the early dawn, as he was the one who always managed the horse farm.

Naturally, his parents, who would never dream that their son was the culprit, completely excluded him from suspicion.

So, things were proceeding more or less as expected.

Hael purchased the medicine and rushed to give it to Yuriel, who was still struggling at the mansion.

Elle stared blankly at the medicine suddenly placed in her hand.

“What is this?”

“Medicine for the madam.”

As expected, Elle’s expression became bewildered.

Looking at her, Hael calmly added.

“The doctor who came down from the capital said this medicine could cure the madam.”

“How did you get this medicine…”

Elle’s emerald gaze trembled aimlessly.

Hael, contained within that gaze, also shook.

“Can’t you just accept it without asking anything?”

Of course, from Elle’s perspective, it was natural to be surprised.

When the doctor from the capital that he had called came, there was no mention of medicine, and Elle probably thought only someone like young master Blanchet could obtain such medicine.

In reality, that was correct.

The young master might be able to procure that medicine with a flick of his finger, but for him, even obtaining one pill was quite difficult.

“If something like this happens in the future, tell me. Don’t try to solve everything on your own.”

Although Brit still lingered in his mind, Hael shrugged as if this was no big deal.

But unlike before when she never caught on to his lies, this time Yuriel keenly noticed.

“I can’t just accept something this big.”

“You accept things the young master gives you just like that. The house, work, and other things.”

Elle looked somewhat surprised, as if she hadn’t expected such words, but soon her face became resolute.

“That’s different.”

“It is different. I’m not just giving it to you either.”

“…?”

“Working under the young master… I’d like you to quit.”