Ariadne knew very well the expression that Cesare was making. It was the look he had when he was slightly interested in someone insignificant.

An indescribable sense of shame and anger surged up from deep within her stomach. These feelings of Ariadne’s manifested as a determination that she must obtain the “Madonna of the Daffodils”.

“10 ducats! Any higher bids?”

Whether it was the effect of Ariadne glaring at Cesare as if she would kill him, he did not bid again and just shrugged his shoulders before backing down.

“5, 4, 3, 2, 1…!”

The merchant pointed with one hand to the “Madonna of the Daffodils” neatly placed on the table and dramatically stamped a larger-than-necessary brown seal on the parchment.

“Sold to Lady De Mare!”

Only then did Ariadne let out a deep breath and cover her face with both hands.

The next piece was also by Bernardo of Urbino. When Ariadne bid at the starting price of 5 ducats, Cesare immediately followed suit.

Cesare called out the price in his pleasant, mellow tenor voice.

“10 ducats!”

This time, Ariadne glared coldly at Cesare sitting next to her and did not raise her hand again.

“10 ducats! Sold to Count De Como!”

With the lively sound of the stamp, the second piece went to Cesare.

The third and final piece up for auction was one that Ariadne could not concede.

Three of Bernardo of Urbino’s paintings were presented at today’s auction. The first two were approached for investment purposes, but this last piece had value as a gift or bribe to a specific person.

In order to pull strings, Ariadne absolutely needed this last piece.

“The works of the new artist are popular! Good, good! Next is this artist’s last piece for today, the ‘Madonna of Urbino Castle’!”

This was a painting modeled after Caterina, the mother of Bianca of Taranto and the late Duchess of Taranto.

Up to this point in his life, Bernardo of Urbino had probably never left Urbino even once, but Caterina, the previous Duchess of Taranto, had once stayed in Urbino for a few months to visit her cousin, the Marchioness of Urbino.

It was then that the young Bernardo, inspired by seeing the noble young duchess from afar, completed the “Madonna of Urbino Castle”.

However, as Bernardo was not even an official court painter, there was no way for him to attach the lady’s name to the painting and dedicate it to her, or publicly proclaim that she was the model.

To begin with, if asked where and how he saw her, he would have no answer, and it could tarnish the lady’s honor.

So he named it after the place where he had seen her and announced it as a religious painting depicting the Madonna. The true identity of the painting’s model became known through the grapevine a few years later.

Ariadne had no connection to Bianca of Taranto in either her past or present life, but she wanted to become acquainted with her someday.

The portrait of her late mother, whom Bernardo of Urbino, now a world-renowned painter, had painted in his youth out of admiration after meeting the noblewoman once from afar, would be the perfect gift.

“Any gentlemen or ladies who would like to bid? Starting at 5 ducats!”

“15 ducats!”

Ariadne’s husky low voice rang out, filling the hall of the Chibo family.

– “Is it worth investing that much in a complete newcomer?”
– “Hasn’t she lost pace because of Count Cesare?”
– “How brave…”

The audience seemed daunted by Ariadne’s imposing manner. Cesare also seemed to ponder for a moment. Indeed, 15 ducats (approximately 150 million won) was an excessive amount for a young artist in his 20s who had not yet shed his student air.

Cesare shrugged his shoulders and did not bid. After all, he already had one of this artist’s works, did he not?

“5, 4, 3, 2, 1…! Sold to Lady De Mare!”

– Bang!

The sound of the stamp was lively.

‘Despite the disruption, I have now achieved all my goals for coming here today.’

Ariadne let out a breath and slumped in her chair. Now she could relax and just spectate. It was supposed to be a light outing, but it had already been an unexpectedly tiring day.

In addition to Bernardo of Urbino, works by several other artists were auctioned off.

One or two pieces received no bids and were unsold, while one or two pieces sparked competition among the nobles and sold at sky-high prices, far outpacing the bid amounts. A few sold at low prices, and a few sold at absurd prices.

And finally, the highlight of the day, the “Victoria Nike”, was brought up on stage.

“Ladies and gentlemen! The ‘Victoria Nike’!”

The nobles focused on the statue on the stage, holding their breath.

The marble statue, which had been loaded onto a wheeled pedestal and painstakingly moved by eight laborers clinging to it, had an overall pinkish hue.

It was the color of a person’s warm skin. The statue depicted a young woman with her hair tied up, wearing a wreath of olive branches, spreading her arms and taking a dynamic step forward.

– “Oh, this is incredible…!”
– “This is the first time I’ve seen an excavated ancient artwork in such good condition!”
– “Usually Hellenic marble sculptures are a bit of a dull gray, but this one is a truly lovely pink color.”

The Porto merchant looked confident.

“There is nothing more to say about the ‘Victoria Nike’! A masterpiece from the Hellenistic era, recently excavated from the ruins of the northern city of Rastera! The very sculpture mentioned in the ‘Hellenic Travelogue’ by the historian Halicardotus! Let’s begin right away!”

The Porto merchant declared the start of the auction with great vigor.

“The starting bid is 1,200 ducats (approximately 1.2 billion won)!”

The crowd murmured. Both those who intended to buy and those who came just to watch without being able to afford it seemed to have their interest piqued.

– “Wait a minute, the starting price is lower than expected?”
– “Right? Why is an item in such good condition starting so cheap?”
– “Then if you can just win the bid, wouldn’t that be a really good deal? Who will end up winning it?”

Ariadne intended to just watch the show and eat rice cakes. Her memory was hazy, but it seemed like the Valdesar family had won this bid.

“No, was it the Marquez family?”

Ariadne tilted her head and picked up another cookie to eat. It was because she hadn’t seen anyone from the Valdesar family among the crowd today.

“Anyone?”

At the merchant’s cry, the person sitting front and center in the very front of the hall raised his hand.

“I will bid.”

It was Prince Alfonso, with golden hair and wearing a purple cloak symbolizing the royal family.

Ariadne almost spit out the cookie she was eating.

‘Why are you appearing there!’

Unaware of Ariadne’s burning insides, the prince calmly raised his hand and the auctioneer happily proceeded with the count.

“We have the starting bid! But wouldn’t it be a shame to let such a precious item get sold right at the starting price without competition? Any other gentlemen or ladies?”

The crowd murmured, but no one else made a bid.

“Starting the count!”

“5!”

“4!”

“3!”

“2!”

“1,300 ducats!”

A hand rose from the corner of the hall and a middle-aged man’s voice called out a price.

“Who is it? … Oh, it’s you, Count Marcellus! 1,300 ducats!”

‘Ah, I’m exasperated.’

Ariadne let out the breath she had been holding in from the tension. Thank goodness someone had made a bid.

But it was too confusing. While the Marcellus family was an old and distinguished family in the capital, in Ariadne’s memory, it was definitely not the family that had won the “Victoria Nike”.

‘Was it Valdesar? Or Marquez? Whoever it is, where are they?’

Ariadne looked around the hall, but nowhere could she see anyone from the Valdesar or Marquez families.

She had been prepared for causality to change due to her actions. For example, she had thought it was quite possible that the power structure within the Holy Court would change because she had stopped the Apostle of Aseretto.

A bishop scheduled for promotion to cardinal would fall from power, his family would lose influence due to his downfall, their rival family would gain prominence, and that would lead to changes in completely unrelated places – this type of butterfly effect was within Ariadne’s calculations and expectations.

But she had not expected things to change from trivial matters unrelated to the Holy Court at such an early point, before they had even officially announced personnel changes.

Ariadne was not even dreaming that the brief walk she had taken with Prince Alfonso in the garden that morning had stirred the prince’s heart, causing him to make an impulsive bid without much thought.

Unaware of Ariadne’s inner turmoil, Prince Alfonso rebid, following Count Marcellus’s bid amount.

“1,500 ducats!”

“1,500 ducats! Anyone else?”

The Porto merchant’s screech filled the hall. The spectators who had nothing to do with the race watched with excitement, their palms sweating.

– “1,600!”
– “1,700!”

The race between Prince Alfonso and Count Marcellus for the “Victoria Nike” was neck and neck. Neither of them seemed willing to give up the “Victoria Nike”.

Alfonso called out exuberantly,

“2,000 ducats!”

At that moment, Ariadne, who had been anxiously scanning the hall while the bidding war unfolded in the front, finally spotted Count Marquez and Countess Marquez.

It appeared that Countess Marquez, who was next to Count Marquez, was trying to dissuade him from bidding even though he wanted to.

‘Ah, that’s right, Countess Marquez is a close confidant of Queen Marguerite…’

Suddenly, a missing puzzle piece came to mind and memories clicked into place.

In her previous life, it had indeed been the Marquez family who had won that sculpture. She even remembered the absurdly grandiose pedestal they had built to display the sculpture after tearing down the fountain in front of their main gate.

In this life, it had been a misstep for Prince Alfonso to unexpectedly bid on the “Victoria Nike”.

It seemed that Countess Marquez, who was close to the queen, was persuading her husband to refrain from bidding on the “Victoria Nike” so that Alfonso, the prince born from Queen Marguerite’s womb, could win it.

It was a delicate show of loyalty, but it could not be left that way.

“No, the Marquez family has to buy that.”

Muttering to herself, Ariadne was about to slip out to dissuade Countess Marquez when-

“Why can’t Prince Alfonso buy that sculpture, little lady?”

Count Cesare, who had been watching the auction next to her with his hat pulled low, spoke to her. Ariadne narrowed her eyes and turned to look at him.

Before she could utter any words of reprimand, Count Cesare raised his voice loudly, calling out to the entire hall in a resounding voice,

“This little lady here says that sculpture shouldn’t be bought. What do you think, Vincencio del Gato from the Porto Republic?”