Chapter 181 : Gold of Pride (2)
Gold of Pride (2)
"Next item!"
As soon as Rufus Greysel noticed Ian, he disappeared from the auction stage, and another auctioneer quickly stepped up to introduce the next item.
It was an old silver ring placed on a small velvet cushion.
"This is the vow ring that Sir Sigmund Greysel, the 12th lord of Greysel and the knight of oath, dedicated to his lifelong lover! It contains the romance and history of the family..."
Simply, an antique with only a story.
An ordinary silver ring.
"The starting bid is 50,000 gold!"
Hardly had the auctioneer finished speaking when—
"One million gold."
Ian raised his paddle.
A bold move, increasing the price twentyfold from the start.
The audience stirred in surprise.
"Heh. No matter whose ancestor it belonged to, one million gold for an ordinary silver ring?"
"That ring holds the pure vow of his ancestor. As the eldest son, he can't possibly give that up."
Ian stared at the platform with an expressionless face.
In truth, that ring wasn't something Ian needed at all.
It was just a simple piece of silver with absolutely no special effect.
But Ian had another purpose in mind.
And as expected—
"Two million gold."
Count Goldman glared at Ian and raised his paddle.
His eyes were bloodshot.
Just moments ago, the humiliation of having the domain documents snatched from him had wounded his pride deeply.
'Did you think you'd face no consequences for crossing me?'
Goldman was the empire's finance minister.
When it came to money, he was second only to the emperor and one of the continent's wealthiest men.
That background formed the pillar supporting his pride.
It was the foundation that upheld his strength born of pride.
But just now, a mere outcast of a fallen family had sullied that background.
Ian had humiliated him by dominating him with money.
'I don't know where you got that much money, but there must be a limit. Go on, let's see how much more you have. I'll drain you dry in no time!'
Goldman was certain Ian would not give up the ring.
Just look at the resolve he showed at the previous auction.
His will to protect his family's inheritance was fierce and unmistakable.
For Ian, that ring filled with ancestral honor must be as important as the estate documents themselves.
"Five million."
Ian upped the bid without so much as blinking.
"Ten million!"
Goldman immediately countered.
"Thirty million."
"Sixty million!"
The price shot up sky-high in a flash.
The wealthy and nobles in the venue held their breath, their eyes fixed on the two.
A real duel with astronomical sums was playing out before them.
"Seventy-five million..."
Ian's voice had grown quieter.
And the bids were going up by smaller increments.
Goldman thought Ian was finally reaching the bottom of his purse.
'Right. Seventy-five million gold is a huge amount even for you. After burning through 200 million on the estate documents, of course your funds are running out.'
Besides a bit of antique value, the real price of the ring was at most 1 gold.
Its current value had surged thousands of times beyond what it was worth.
But Goldman wouldn't show mercy.
He was determined to grind Ian's bones to dust here and claim an overwhelming victory.
'If you want that ring, you'll have to put in all the money you have left. And for the rest of the auction, you'll be left sucking your fingers with nothing to show for it.'
Goldman smiled triumphantly and raised his paddle high.
"One hundred million gold!"
"...!"
The venue fell silent as if doused in cold water.
A hundred million gold for a single silver ring.
Enough to buy and then some, a prime mansion in the city.
An astronomical sum that could bend a small nation to one's will.
The auctioneer's hand trembled as he gripped the hammer, swallowing nervously.
"O-one hundred million gold, we have a bid...!"
Goldman looked at Ian with a smug expression.
'Well? What now, boy? Will you go for a hundred and ten million? Or a hundred and twenty million? No matter how much you bid now, it won't matter.'
Goldman was absolutely convinced.
Judging from the way Ian had been following every bid up to now, Ian would never give up on that ring.
He surely wanted to protect the ancestor's vow ring, which had been cherished most in her life, no matter what.
Goldman was already prepared: if Ian bid higher, he would simply laugh and yield with elegance.
'I hope you have fun owning a mere silver ring for such an excellent price,' he would mock.
All eyes were on Ian.
Ian was silent for a moment.
'Heh heh heh... You're struggling now.'
Goldman interpreted that silence as trouble.
But—
Ian slowly opened his mouth.
"I give up."
"... What?"
The smile vanished from Goldman's face.
"Take it. My lord Count."
Ian put down his paddle without a trace of regret.
"... Eh?"
Goldman's mind went blank.
Give up?
A precious, beautiful ring that held his ancestor's tragic true love story?
After driving the price all the way up to a hundred million gold?
"... Uh, uh!"
Goldman's lips trembled.
He wanted to shout, 'How can the family's eldest son give up the ring his ancestor cherished most in life!'
But he clenched his teeth and suppressed the yell building up in his throat.
For he was not only the empire's finance minister, but also the Sin of Pride Cult Leader.
He couldn't disgrace himself by losing composure over mere money.
That would be a crack in his own 'pride.'
'O-one hundred million gold...!'
Goldman gripped his cane tightly, desperately trying to hide his trembling hands.
His stomach turned and it felt as if his blood was boiling in reverse, but he forced a crooked smile, feigning composure.
"Hmm, hmm... In the end, you give up? With such little resolve, you'll never uphold your ancestor's pure love."
Goldman smiled his most strained smile at Ian.
Then he saw it.
Ian's eyes meeting his.
In those dark pupils, there wasn't even a speck of regret or resentment at losing his ancestor's keepsake.
There was only—
A chilling sneer, faint yet unmistakable.
'W-what...!'
Goldman's heart dropped with a thud.
'Y-you... No—surely!'
Was this his plan all along?
Feign interest in the ring, fuel his rival's competitiveness, and then push the price to the absurd—just to foist it onto him!
'D-damn! You played me again!? Arghhhh!'
Goldman's eyes went bloodshot red.
But it was too late.
"One hundred million gold! Sold! Congratulations, Count Goldman!"
― Thud! Thud! Thud!
The auctioneer enthusiastically banged the gavel, the sounds hitting Goldman like blows to the back of his head.
"... Ugh!"
Goldman nearly toppled from his seat.
A hundred million gold for a silver ring.
A full quarter of his prepared budget vanished on a single old ring.
Because he let himself get played on that boy's palm.
"Pfft..."
Snickers escaped from the audience.
"Has that old man lost his mind? Burning a hundred million on a silver ring?"
"It's pride, that's all. Look at him uprooting the foundation of his fortune just for his ego. Tsk tsk."
"Ian the young master was clever. He used the old man's stubbornness against him."
Mocking laughter about Goldman, words of admiration for Ian, resounded all around.
"Grghhh..."
Goldman's face flushed bright red.
It was humiliating.
He who controlled the empire's purse strings, who lorded over gold, had been made a fool of by a mere greenhorn.
'Me... To a nobody like that...'
His hand trembled in rage.
But that was only the beginning of his actual hell.
"The next item: a copy of the Greysel Family Knight Martial Arts Book, 'Silver Blood Swordsmanship'!"
An important item appeared.
Something Ian would certainly want.
But Goldman couldn't act rashly.
Having just thrown away a hundred million gold, he couldn't openly compete with Ian for the remaining items.
Ian had spent two hundred million on the estate documents, but still looked relaxed.
'Just how much money does that guy have?'
While Goldman hesitated—
"Five hundred thousand gold."
Ian called out a reasonable price.
Some of the other nobles tried to raise the price a little, but Ian's presence and funds quickly discouraged them.
Goldman bit his lip.
If he intervened and raised the price again, and Ian once more said, 'I give up'?
Then his budget really would disappear in an instant.
He still had to buy the most important estate and business rights. He couldn't waste another coin on something like a swordsmanship manual.
"..."
So Goldman kept silent.
"Seven hundred thousand gold! Sold!"
Ian easily took the swordsmanship manual.
The same thing happened again and again, thereafter.
Ancient renowned swords, magic stones, rare minerals found only in the Greysel domain.
Time after time, goldman hesitated at whether to join in, but the memory of the ring incident haunted him and held him back.
Could Ian have set another trap this time?
Would he back out again if Goldman bid?
That fear kept getting in his way.
"Sold!"
"Sold!"
"Sold to Young Master Ian!"
Ian swept up Greysel's legacies as if he were shopping alone.
Meanwhile, goldman could only sit and stare, clutching the overpriced ring in his hand.
The surrounding stares were painful.
"Count Goldman's gotten really quiet. Out of money, maybe?"
"Looks like he's lost all his strength after blowing it all on the ring."
"Heh heh, young master Ian's turned the count into a walking corpse."
The whispers stabbed Goldman's ears like daggers.
"Grgh, grghhh...!"
Blood vessels throbbed in Goldman's eyes.
All the dignity and pride he built as the Sin of Pride Cult Leader were ground into the dust by this outcast whelp.
'I'll kill him...! I swear I'll kill him!'
Goldman swore to himself, glaring at Ian.
He'd wash away this shame with blood as soon as the auction finished.
He had to—if he wanted to maintain the strength of pride rooted in his pride.
'And every single thing you bought—I'll take them all off your corpse...!'
* * *
The auction ended.
"You were truly marvelous, Young Master Ian."
As Ian left the venue, lady Katrina approached him with words of praise.
"To be honest, I nearly lost ten years of my life from anxiety. If those imperial scoundrels had taken Greysel's land, we'd have seen the empire's flag flying right on Bellator's doorstep. There'd be border disputes, tariff issues... It was already giving me headaches just thinking about it."
She looked sincerely at Ian.
"I'm so relieved that Greysel's territory is back in the hands of its true bloodline. Thanks to you, this neighbor has one less thing to worry about."
Ian responded with a gentle bow.
"But you must be careful."
With a somewhat worried look, katrina lowered her voice.
"Goldman is a petty old man—his heart is smaller than a mouse's bellybutton. He won't let today's humiliation go easily."
Ian nodded.
"Thank you for the advice. I'll keep it in mind."
Katrina snapped her fan shut and let out a little laugh.
"Actually, I'm not just giving advice. Should anything come up, please come to Bellator right away. I may not have gotten along with your father, but I'd like to have a good relationship with you, Young Master Ian. If there's real trouble, Bellator will stand by your side with our full strength. I promise you that right here."
"..."
Ian met her gaze for a moment.
Katrina's eyes were honest.
Ian bowed respectfully.
"Thank you, lady Katrina."
"Hee hee. Then I'll see you next time. I'll be waiting to hear from you anytime."
Katrina climbed cheerfully into her carriage.
Ian saw her off, then was left alone.
The noble guests' carriages departed one by one, and the mansion soon quieted down.
Ian also began walking, slowly.
His destination was outside the city.
Soon, he left the mansion and entered a deserted forest road...
'As I expected.'
Soon, a sticky killing intent pricked his back.
About a dozen presences.
And among them, one particularly strong and arrogant aura stood at the center.
'Goldman.'
So he'd come in person.