Brianna quickly racked her brain. She recalled the high-ranking nobles who would have attended the underground auction. And those who would have been interested in the black armor and potential bidders.

Meanwhile, Gabe said gloomily.

“All information would have disappeared to track down an underground auction from five years ago. How about asking the lady to dye the black armor again? Helen should be able to make a replica.”

“No, Father. If you put it up for underground auction, most nobles would know the black armor was auctioned.”

If she hadn’t heard any rumors about it, the black armor must have either been sold quickly at auction or didn’t receive much attention, but it was still better to assume all the nobles knew about it as a precaution.

“And no matter how skilled Mother is, it would be difficult to express the effects of time and blood. Making a replica would truly, truly be a last resort.”

“Then what do you suggest we do!”

Brianna also felt anger rising at her sensitive father’s reaction. No matter how expensive her diamond dress was, the diamond mine itself belonged to the family, so how much money could they possibly need!

Brianna knew very well that besides the compensation that came to the family due to the victory, the Emperor had separately bestowed diamond and ruby mines to her father.

Not to mention that when her mother asked to transfer ownership of the mines to herself, citing the medicinal ingredients offered by the Tylesbury family, her father had refused.

And now to speak as if it was her fault. Just as she was about to explode in anger, the tea in the cup caught her eye.

“…Father. Don’t worry.”

“Have you come up with a good solution?”

“I’ve thought of someone who could obtain the black armor again.”

Grace Lancaster.

That pitiful one with eyes gleaming with ambition, yet frustratingly silent. The vice leader of the Rosa merchant group should be able to easily obtain an item that had appeared at an underground auction.

Brianna quickly regained her composure and smiled gently.

* * *

The vice leader’s office of the Rosa merchant group.

In the luxurious office with uniform brown and red mahogany furniture and exotic patterned carpets, Grace exhaled a trembling breath.

The hand holding the letter began to shake slightly.

-I want to confirm your friendship regarding my proposal. If you look in the same direction as me, bring me the black symbol of the hero. I need to verify that you have that level of ability, so I can plan how far to consider the future positions of the future baron and Rosa.

Confused eyes turned to the envelope.

When she received the letter sealed with the silver seal of the Crown Princess’s Palace, she had only expected it to contain information about the bidding for this festival, not content like this.

The black symbol of the hero. It clearly referred to Nerea Esteban’s black armor.

The treasure of the Esteban Count family, which even the Emperor had declined, appearing at an underground auction a few years ago was quite the topic of conversation even in the merchant group.

“Was the black armor the most tempting pearl in this ‘mud’? It really lives up to the name of underground auction. How did something so precious end up at an auction?”

“I thought it was a replica. Is it really genuine?”

Through word of mouth, some high-ranking nobles would know about it too.

But the reason Grace was so perplexed was different.

“Alejandro. So was it real? You would know.”

“…It was real.”
“Of course. You had such a hard time polishing that armor.”

Grace couldn’t forget the terrified expression on Johnny’s face when their eyes met as he spoke with a chuckle.

The sharp Grace couldn’t have missed that the subject he was pleading not to mention was ‘the black armor’.

The item the Crown Princess was looking for, which could guarantee her even beyond the position of baroness, was with Alejandro.

Grace finally stood up from her seat. The sound of her heels pacing revealed her anxious heart. After biting her red lips, Grace eventually let out a long sigh.

No matter how much she needed a knighthood, she knew what the black armor meant to Alejandro.

After all, the reason Alejandro had reached out to her in the first place was because of Count Nerea Esteban.

Grace opened the bottom drawer of the desk.

Seeing the black knight armor doll she had locked away like sealing it, memories of that day began to spread in her mind like a drop of paint falling on water.

It was three years after she had gained hope that she too could change while watching Count Esteban’s victory parade.

Instead of becoming someone to be sold, Grace had acquired some skill in bookkeeping and cultivated the qualities to become a flower of high society.

But her brother Trevor’s debt stood like a huge wall blocking Grace. If she could just enter high society, she could at least form connections with other nobles, but she couldn’t even get that far.

Finally, on a rainy day, Grace left the mansion as if being kicked out. In her haste to leave Trevor, who was trying to sell her off right away, all she brought was the doll she had been holding.

There was nowhere to hide. When she was barely crouching in an alley, resenting the innocent doll.

“If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have had such useless hope.”

If there had been no hope, she wouldn’t have felt this powerless. It was all because of the doll.

No, it was because of those eyes shining with hope. Those eyes of Nerea Esteban she saw at the victory ceremony.

If that hope hadn’t infected her like a spark. If she had just lived as she was without knowing anything. Despair like filth was creeping up from her toes.

She wanted to throw the doll away but couldn’t bring herself to do it, hesitating several times.

That’s when she heard the sound of something breaking from the other end of the alley. Soon after, hearing the sound of groaning, Grace’s body stiffened.

Grace couldn’t protect herself. Especially in an alley like this where no one passed by.

As the sound of footsteps splashing through puddles drew closer, Grace tried to cover herself with the doll as if it were her shield.

“…I was just wishing I could see a knight.”

A seductive voice was heard. A low, husky voice as if passing from boy to man.

When Grace looked up, a boy beautiful as a sculpture was looking at the doll.

With unusually jet-black hair and eyes. Even the blood smeared on his white cheek seemed alluring as the boy spoke as if Grace’s presence didn’t exist.

“It’s a limited edition from the victory commemoration festival. I’ve never seen one in such good condition.”

After Nerea Esteban chose seclusion, all the dolls were said to have been discarded or sold at dirt-cheap prices. Of course, there wouldn’t be a doll in such good condition.

In a state so strange it was hard to distinguish between fantasy and reality, his eyes turned to Grace.

“Will you sell this to me?”

“…No.”

“I’ll pay you well.”

“Hey! Where are you going like that? You really killed… What? Who is this?”

A brown-haired man who seemed to have chased after the boy came running. But what caught Grace’s eye was the pattern on the umbrella held by the man standing behind. That mysterious rose pattern.

“…Are you related to Rosa?”

At that, the boy pulled the corners of his mouth into a leisurely smile. It was an attitude exuding languid arrogance.

“You’re sharp. If I’m connected to Rosa, you know how well I could pay you, right?”

He might be a con artist.

But Grace had to believe in this fifty-fifty chance. Perhaps this fateful miracle was something Grace could never let go of.

“Make it so I can be included in the Lankaster Baron family’s succession plan.”

“…What?”

“I am Grace Lancaster of the Lankaster Baron family. I’ll give you the doll after you make me a candidate for the Lankaster Baron family’s successor.”

“Hmm, do you know who I am to try to bet on you.”

“If you were a con artist or a bad person, you would have coveted me rather than the doll. This doll is a ten-year-old item, but a young noble lady is quite valuable.”

The bet paid off. According to Johnny later, Alejandro had entered the alley to catch someone trying to traffic Orlando’s people.

Riding the luck given by Orlando and the doll, Grace worked harder than anyone else. Nothing was given for free.

As a result, Grace rose to this position now. Alejandro Rosa was more cruel than anyone, quick to calculate, and was managing the Orlando territory in the meantime.

Despite Grace’s advice to save wheat, saying that no matter how much they reclaimed that ruined territory it would be useless, Alejandro turned it into a trade route.

At the same time, he made the people struggling with poverty in Orlando into employees of the merchant group. He would look at her with affectionate eyes, saying it was all the knight’s will.

So no matter how good a position he offered, she couldn’t take that black armor from Alejandro.

Grace firmly made up her mind and was about to tear up the letter when she paused for a moment.

But…

It was inevitable that a very small doubt arose as to whether she and the Rosa merchant group should really be satisfied with just this position.

* * *

At the time when dawn moonlight was scattered.

Standing on the stairs of the underground training ground, Alejandro slowly grasped the iron bar-like door. Under the moonlight, every time the knight’s sword cut through the air, her red hair shimmered as if fluttering.

Afraid of disturbing the training, Alejandro swallowed his breath.

He thought the other day when he had desperately run to the knight would be the first and last time he peeked at her training.

Even as he watched her slowly grip the sword, Alejandro couldn’t take a step. With each strong and graceful movement unfolding impassively, Alejandro just watched from afar as if entranced.

It was a great discourtesy to secretly watch a knight’s practice. But even so, Alejandro couldn’t stop his footsteps heading to the training ground.

At first, he was overjoyed at the knight’s return, and the second time, he missed the knight’s movements as she freely used her wrist again.

As time passed, Alejandro had to clench his lips. A tingling sensation rose through his fingertips. The strange sensation he dared not utter aloud.

The knight smaller than him, yet strong and gallant, the knight who protected him, and…

Suddenly, the face showered in light looked in his direction. Instinctively, Alejandro fled up the stairs.

“Alejandro.”

He heard a voice calling him from behind. But Alejandro didn’t dare think of turning back.

His heart pounded heavily. And it resembled a memory from ten years ago that Alejandro had forgotten.

.

.

.

“Alejandro?”

The presence that had been watching intently moved away.

Nerea looked towards the stairs where Alejandro had been standing. The sound of running up the spiral staircase echoed in the distance.

We were supposed to have breakfast together.

What was he planning to prepare for breakfast that he ran up like that. Nerea thought.

By the way.

“…He always runs away.”

The small head that had been hiding behind the barrack’s pillar watching came to mind. The small body that would run away with its tail between its legs every time she pretended not to notice and stretched. Even the large back fleeing from the cabin.

Nerea smiled brightly. That smile passing by unnoticed by anyone, sweet enough to make the training ground fragrant for a moment.

It was their everyday life.