Please Repay Me with Marriage! - Chapter 12

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Your reward had better be marriage!
Chapter 12
“Three, three, three hundred million! Three hundred million Rarc! Customer number one has called three hundred million Rarc! Well, since the starting bid has jumped by hundreds of millions, anyone wishing to win must call four hundred million!”
“….”
“Four hundred million! Four hundred million! Going once?”
As if anyone would.
Even Leonard, the one who had put the sword up for sale, found himself thinking it. Surely everyone in this room was thinking the same.
“A treasured sword personally bestowed by the Great Emperor, who shared his own name with it! A historic relic from the very dawn of the Empire! Reize Messer! Four hundred million! Going once!”
Even in a state of utter panic, the auctioneer kept calling out, smooth as flowing water.
Leonard was so impressed by the man’s professionalism that he found himself applauding without quite realizing it. While he was clapping, the auctioneer raised the gavel in his hand.
“Then Reize Messer goes to customer number one for three hundred million Rarc. Three, two, one….”
“Wait!”
Lloyd shot to his feet, shouting as if he’d been struck, and once again the auctioneer failed to bring the gavel down.
Even so, though he had been interrupted, the man’s face was nothing but bright. It was the paddle in Lloyd’s hand, jabbing a finger at customer number one, that had done it.
“Three hundred million for that wretched sword? Are you out of your mind….”
“Customer number thirty-two has raised a paddle! Four hundred million! Customer thirty-two has called four hundred million!”
“What! No! I never raised a paddle!”
Lloyd jerked as though lightning had struck him and waved the paddle in his hand toward customer number one, gesturing frantically that he had absolutely not lifted it.
Considering what he had just done, he was technically right, but the trouble was that in reenacting the gesture, he had actually raised the paddle.
“We heard you.”
“We did.”
“Now, now, Mathias. You just raised the paddle for real.”
“You lot are really something…! I didn’t!”
Admitting he had raised the paddle meant he would owe four hundred million Rarc.
So it was only natural, if not exactly wise, for Lloyd to throw such a fit.
“So you’re all in on it, are you! Cheats, the lot of you, trying to drive the price up! Is this some backwater corner shop? Forcing sales on customers is one thing, but….”
“You should find the precautions for handling paddles clearly stated on the first page of the catalogue, esteemed customer.”
The auctioneer smiled at Lloyd calmly. Having run auctions for some time, he had clearly seen this sort of troublemaker appear at least once, and his excitement had cooled.
“Surely you aren’t going to tell me you lack the means to pay the price you wished to bid?”
His face, as he recited the auction house rules, was composed to the point of being faintly chilling. It was no wonder Lloyd flinched.
“…W-who said that?”
“Ah, I thought as much! In the forty-eight years of history this Roelle Auction House can boast, not once has a customer who bid at auction come back and tried to cancel because they suddenly had no money. Such a disgraceful thing has never happened!”
Over the theatrical, exaggerated chatter of the auctioneer came a clear, tinkling laugh.
“What a pointless worry! It’s Mathias, after all. Would the future count ever commit such a dishonorable act?”
“Ha, you’re absolutely right. Shall we resume the auction that was briefly halted? Anyone wishing to purchase Reize Messer, please raise your paddle. The next bid is five hundred million. Five hundred million!”
“No, wait, that’s….”
Lloyd, his hand hovering awkwardly as though to call the auctioneer back, could only move his lips in vain.
If things continued like this, he would have to pay four hundred million for that battered old sword. But how on earth was he supposed to raise such an enormous sum!
He looked around, searching for someone who might help him. The Second Prince, however, looked away.
Betrayed by the very axe he trusted, Lloyd turned to customer number one, clutching at straws.
Whether or not she noticed Lloyd gazing at her with trembling eyes, pleading for rescue, she let out a worried little sigh.
“Oh my. So someone really did call four hundred million? Five hundred, then… whatever shall I do….”
“….”
His gaze was desperate, but that was all it amounted to.
Even now, it seemed, he couldn’t bring himself to swallow his pride.
If Leonard had been in that position, he would have dropped to his knees and begged to cancel the bid.
But those expensive knees of Lloyd’s seemed carved from gold, for he didn’t so much as beg; he only moved his lips without making a sound.
Pitiful as the sight was, watching him scramble about like a dog with its tail on fire left Leonard feeling as though a ten-year-old knot in his chest had finally come loose.
As if she knew Leonard well enough, customer number one toyed with Lloyd for quite a while, and then, just before the auctioneer could bring the gavel down, she raised her paddle.
“I’m curious whether young Lord Mathias truly has the means to pay four hundred million… but what a pity. I’m afraid I can’t give up that item, no matter what.”
“Five hundred million! Customer number one has called five hundred million! Since the price has been raised by hundreds of millions three times, the next bid must be seven hundred million, raised by two hundred million! Anyone wishing to purchase?”
This time, truly, no one answered.
Among the people who barely dared to breathe, lest they make the same blunder as Lloyd, the auctioneer dragged out the moment with a regretful expression before finally striking the gavel.
“Reize Messer! This dazzling, honorable sword, touched by the breath of the Great Emperor, goes to customer number one! With this, today’s auction comes to a close!”
Five hundred million. At such a staggering final price, someone began to applaud, and the sound grew louder until someone else even let out a whistle.
At that, customer number one rose from her seat, returned the applause with an elegant wave of her hand, and removed the mask she had been wearing to reveal her face.
Just as expected, she was Marquis Blair.
“I knew it was you, my lady! Who else in the world could call five hundred million Rarc and have that kind of fortune?”
“I was certain of it the moment you took that seat at number one. Why on earth did you wear a mask?”
“Otherwise it would be obvious, wouldn’t it? That I came here to bid on my fiancé’s belongings.”
She stood some distance away, yet Irene’s voice reached Leonard’s ears with perfect clarity.
‘Could she have come here on purpose because of me? To make sure no one refuses her offer?’
Perhaps that was exactly the case. The only thing she had won at today’s auction was that Reize Messer.
Still, one question remained.
‘Why on earth did she bid three hundred million?’
All he needed was thirty million Rarc. She could have bid just that much and been done with it.
As if she had read Leonard’s thoughts, a man came storming toward Blair, who was surrounded by a crowd. It was Lloyd, who had nearly been saddled with a four-hundred-million debt.
“Marquess Blair! Have you lost your mind? Why did you bid three hundred million for that old sword, which couldn’t cut a tree branch to save its life?”
“Oh my, why are you asking me that? You, young Viscount, bid four hundred million yourself.”
At Irene’s innocent question, a short laugh escaped Leonard’s lips.
He was not the only one who laughed. Lloyd, who had suddenly become the object of ridicule, flushed crimson.
“That, that’s…”
“I hope you didn’t make the kind of rookie mistake of raising the wrong paddle by accident.”
“…”
Lloyd, who had no words even if he had ten mouths, was rescued by a man Leonard had half expected to step in, though it was still somewhat unexpected.
“No, I’m curious about the reason too. So answer me, Marquess.”
“I greet the Second Prince.”
Irene lowered herself into an elegant curtsy, but the Second Prince waved a hand lightly, dismissing the formality.
“I’ve heard plenty about Blair’s brilliant exploits. But I never imagined you’d accumulated such a fortune beyond your means that you’d throw it away on a stunt like this.”
“A stunt, you say… Heh, Your Highness. If it wouldn’t be too rude, may I raise a question before answering yours?”
“What is it?”
“Why didn’t Your Highness make any effort to win the bid for Reize Messer?”
Leonard was not the only one who saw the Second Prince’s shoulders twitch at that question.
But Leonard alone could guess what lay behind the Second Prince’s thoughts, because the shock had struck him just as hard.
‘Could she possibly know about the deal between me and the Second Prince?’
Had the Second Prince arrived at the same suspicion? The voice with which he answered Irene was rather sharp.
“That’s a strange thing to say, Marquess. Why should I take an interest in that old sword?”
“Because it’s old.”
“What?”
“It’s one of the few relics from the founding era, personally named by His Majesty the Great Emperor, and its existence is clearly recorded by the Palace archivists, isn’t it?”
Irene let her gaze drift across the onlookers, as if seeking their agreement.
“Truth be told, I’ve been terribly anxious ever since I saw Your Highness here today. Of course, I should have expected that the Imperial Family would want Reize Messer! I feared that my rash choice might end with the House of Elpias’s family heirloom being sealed away in the Imperial treasury.”
“A rash choice?”
“Didn’t all of you wonder? Why my fiancé would put up for auction that precious sword of the Great Emperor himself.”
With Irene’s clever remark, Reize Messer had quietly become the Sword of the First Emperor rather than the Elpias family heirloom.
The buyer had paid a staggering five hundred million for it, and the value he had now assigned to the sword made it worth far more, even though it still looked worn and old.
“Now that you mention it, I’ve been wondering this whole time…”
“Why did Count Elpias put that sword up for auction?”
Those who had been pretending not to listen to their conversation slowly added their own remarks.
Amid the clamor of people demanding an answer, an auction house staff member wrapped Reize Messer neatly and brought it to Irene, since she wished to take it home right then and there.
Irene held out a hand to Kiri behind her, took the cheque book, and signed for the full five hundred million without a moment’s hesitation.
The staff member checked the cheque and immediately handed the sword over to her. Irene accepted the wrapped blade and hugged it to her chest with great tenderness.
Then she smiled, with the face of a girl in love and, at the same time, a warrior who had won after a fierce battle.
“I begged for it, you see. I wanted to proudly declare to the whole Empire just how deep our love runs.”
“What on earth are you talking about?”
“The five hundred million Rarc I paid, minus the auction house’s ten percent commission, comes to four hundred and fifty million Rarc. That four hundred and fifty million is my dowry to the House of Elpias.”
“Good heavens…!”
A dowry of four hundred and fifty million Rarc!
Amid the auction hall, plunged into a frenzy of shock and disbelief, Leonard too finally understood.
The winning bid she had named: five hundred million Rarc.
Just as she had said, four hundred and fifty million Rarc, minus the commission, was now about to fall into his hands.
Enough to clear every last debt and still leave more than four hundred million over!

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————