STM 38

Of course, the thought of paying 400,000 gold made my knees tremble, but I maintained a haughty expression, as if nothing had happened. I could hear people murmuring about my sudden participation.

‘Haa, Adeye.’

‘Damn, it’s over.’

‘It’s clear that Adeye came after this.’

Thanks to Doctor Kim’s carefully built reputation, it seemed like I would be able to get my hands on the diamond without any competition.

Gollum 1, the strongest competitor, glared at me and grumbled, but he couldn’t raise his hand, the price was too much.

Okay, so now if I take that diamond back…

“500,000 gold.”

An unexpected voice came from behind me, suddenly revealing a new bidder in the auction. Everyone’s heads turned toward the voice.

Actually, I couldn’t turn around properly. It was a familiar and completely unwelcome voice.

What the hell? Why Tairok?

I cursed, I didn’t even need to turn around to confirm. Everyone in the room was already standing up and bowing their heads to him.

The only exceptions were me and Solongo, who stood there with stern expressions. But Solongo belatedly rose and nodded out of courtesy, but I couldn’t even do that. I couldn’t believe it.

So why did you come?

I looked back with a gaze even more menacing than Solongo’s. Tairok met my gaze, his golden eyes looking at me indifferently.

He leaned against the pillar, his mouth twisted crookedly, matching his posture. People stared at his smile, entranced, but my expression grew even darker. It seemed like my reaction made him amused.

Oh, what bad luck…

“Don’t forget that Tairok is the only hope for you and your planet.”

Solongo immediately warned me. Thanks to her, I managed to calm down, but it was all for nothing a second later.

“Oh, we have 500,000 gold. Anyone else?”

The host’s words brought me back to my senses. Wait, I need to get it. I quickly raised my hand.

“600,000 gold.”

“700,000 gold.”

As soon as I spoke, Tairok immediately raised the price. I was furious, but the eyes around me kept me from doing more than clenching my fists.

Hey, you want to fight me with money now?

That was when I was about to open my mouth, channeling Doctor Kim’s spirit.

“8…”

“Adeye Lu is not eligible to participate in this auction! He’s the one who donated the gem!”

Gollum 1 suddenly shouted at the top of his lungs. Yeah, I knew you’d cause trouble. His petty tattling startled everyone, and whispers spread like waves.

The wave soon turned into contemptuous gazes aimed at me. You donated it and now you’re buying it back? What are you doing?

Everyone was stunned, but no one seemed suspicious. That was thanks to Lu’s old reputation for greed over gems. I’d suddenly found myself in the spotlight, but at least there was no risk of the traitor noticing me.

“It’s unprecedented for a donor to participate in an auction again, so we’ll need to discuss it for a moment.”

As the host awkwardly tried to step down from the platform, an unexpected voice interrupted.

“The owner of the Demon King’s Tears is Adeye Lantuya. It’s not a family heirloom, but a personal possession, so her proxy, Adeye Lu, has every right to participate in the auction.”

I was shocked, since it was Tairok who spoke with that same crooked smile on his lips.

No, why would he say that?

I seemed to be the only one who found it strange that he was helping his rival. Perhaps because he was the Grand Duke no one dared question Tairok’s words.

No, even if he weren’t of high status, with that face, he could probably say anything and be believed.

Look at them, those who’d been glaring at me just a moment ago were now nodding, saying, “Then there’s no problem.”

I received unexpected help, but I wasn’t grateful at all. I just felt disgusted.

What is he now? A judge?

“Ah, then… ahem, we’ll resume the auction. Adeye Lu has offered 800,000 gold.”

“900,000 gold.”

Tairok immediately raised the price and walked toward me. He approached quickly, his long legs crossing the distance in seconds, and glanced down at the person sitting beside me. That person jumped up, startled.

“Oh, ah, would you like to sit…?”

“Yes.”

Tairok shamelessly took the seat and turned toward me. He draped an arm over the chair, looking entirely relaxed as if it were his own home. Yet everyone cheered for the man who had barged in and disrupted the auction.

‘It’s Adeye, after all. No wonder the Grand Duke step in.’

‘’Adeye should’ve known better than to provoke the Grand Duke.’

“That gem originally belonged to the Kuns.”

Everyone’s eyes sparkled as if waiting for the thrilling ending where the family heirloom was reclaimed from the greedy moneylender.

I didn’t mind being cast as the villain. The problem was his eyes? unlike his lips, they didn’t smile, and his cold gaze was directed at me.

He was looking at my lips.

The wound from his bite had healed, but the memory returned as vividly as if it had happened yesterday.

His golden eyes met mine and caught the anger burning in them. Then, as if he was mocking me, he ran his tongue over his own lips.

Fucking bastard.

“900,000 gold has been offered. Any other bids?”

The host’s gaze fell on me. My hand twitched unconsciously, and Solongo quickly tugged at my sleeve.

“No.”

It meant I had to give in and not provoke Tairok any further. After all, this damned thing was our world’s last hope.

But aside from my hatred for Tairok, there was another problem. The diamond had been screaming nonstop since earlier.

[It’s full of filthy souls!!! This place is horrible!!! I want to go home, wahhh~~~ Please send me home wahhh~~~ I want to go home~~~ wahh~~~]

As I hesitated, Tairok murmured softly, just loud enough for me to hear.

“You’re a coward.”

The moment I heard that mockery, I jumped up from my seat.

“5,000,000 gold.”

The murmurs rose again. I gritted my teeth and added loudly to the host.

“But that gem carries a curse that brings misfortune to anyone who touches it. No one should ever own it. The moment I win it, I’ll throw it into the pond west of the temple.”

When I turned around after making that bombshell announcement, the smile was gone from Tairok’s eyes, replaced by silence. On the other hand, my mood had actually improved.

Ah, so that’s why he laughs every time I get angry?

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“Now tell me. Why did you do that?”

Back in the waiting room, Solongo immediately confronted me. I clasped my hands together like a sinner and apologized.

“I’m sorry.”

“No. You don’t owe me an apology. I’m just curious. Why did you do it?”

When asked like that, I couldn’t raise my eyes any further, and made an excuse timidly.

“The number just popped out before I knew it.”

“The number?”

“I mean, 5,000,000 gold.”

“Ah, the donation. Well, that was a bit much.”

“Sorry…”

“A measly five million? Who would believe that in Adeye’s name? Not even a beggar. Even the ants in Adeye’s mansion would have more generosity. Of course, you only said such a small number because you expected Tairok to raise it.”

“…Yeah.”

I gave up trying to figure out how much Adeye’s wealth actually was.

“So what do you want to ask?”

“If you were going to donate it anyway, why did you have to go against Tairok?”

Right. I turned my head toward the next room. Crybaby Dia¹ was in there, finally quiet after crying endlessly.

I briefly explained about Dia to Solongo and added, “The crybaby said it felt the energy of home near the pond, but it never said it was home. I’m worried. If it’s not, then throwing the diamond in would make it impossible to retrieve.”

And there was that dangerous Gollum lurking in the temple, too.

After I finished, Solongo, who had listened in silence, spoke in a serious tone.

“So the Demon King’s Tears really curse people?”

“…Is that the only part you heard?”

“The curse really it’s indeed a terrifying gem. Ah, so that’s why the Emperor made such a foolish decision and died stripped of his power.”

Kun Nu. The name of the last emperor of the Kun family wasn’t unfamiliar. I’d studied the history while staying at Adeye Mansion.

He was the one who created the Eye of Hell to solve the problem of the monsters. But unexpectedly, the divine beast perished, and his throne vanished with it.

And the Kun family fell as well.

1. 다이아” (short for diamond) ↩︎