NOVEL NEXT Chapter 171 - Special Side Story 3
***
“Saintess. I brought what you mentioned.”
On an afternoon when I was drinking tea and enjoying the languid sunshine, Daisy brought me a bundle of yarn in her arms.
Before I knew it, I was four months pregnant.
The baby inside my stomach was growing well, and the morning sickness had subsided.
So what I’m doing these days is… prenatal education!
[The God of Knowledge, Hessed, recommends solving math problems as your prenatal activity.]
[The God of Art, Mond, recommends appreciating Reihausd’s face as a prenatal activity.]
[The God of Love, Odyssey, argues that nothing is more important to prenatal education than a romantic relationship with your husband.]
[The God of Destructiom, Ciel, expects you to make a dog doll out of yarn.]
[The God of Benevolence, Oman, says that if you have a thread, it is better to ■■■.]
[The God of Justice, Hetuse, says that covering Oman’s mouth is good for prenatal education.]
[The God of Death, Kairos, blushes shyly.]
The gods’ opinions varied, but I decided to make a child’s hat for prenatal education.
They say newborns wear hats to maintain body temperature, so wouldn’t it be more meaningful if the baby put on a hat I knitted myself?
“Saintess, I think something is a little wrong.”
“Uwah. It has turned into an earthworm.”
Of course, my knitting skills were terrible.
“It looks more like a snake than an earthworm, Saintess.”
Even though Daisy taught me step by step, I had to solve it a few times from the beginning and start again.
[The God of Art, Mond, pays tribute to your senses.]
Ignoring Mond’s annoying chat window, I focused again.
But this… Is this right for prenatal education?
I feel like I’m just throwing away my nature.
Finally, after failing several more times, I stood up.
“As expected, I really can’t do something like this.”
[The God of Knowledge, Hessed, urges you to go to the library.]
[The God of Justice, Hetuse, sings so that Oman’s words can’t be heard.]
[The God of Death, Kairos, applauds Hetuse’s singing skills.]
“It’s unfortunate, but I think it’s a good idea…”
“Forget this kind of prenatal education.”
I decided to do something I once enjoyed.
“I need to do another prenatal education.”
Daisy looked at me worriedly.
***
I was sitting in the auction house, dressed in clothes reminiscent of a noble wife, with the upper part of my face covered with a mask.
[The God of Knowledge, Hessed, shakes his head.]
[The God of Art, Mond, agrees that it’s good prenatal education, although it’s less than the appreciation of face.]
The place I visited today was none other than an art auction house.
Memories of participating in an auction in the past while dreaming of escaping from the temple come to mind.
The attention of countless people filling the auction hall was focused on the first auction item.
“Mond, you don’t have to tell me anymore.”
How many years has it been since I came to this world and lived as a saintess?
“Because my insight is high enough.”
I think I can easily distinguish good products.
“This is a portrait of the First Saintess, Bergheritta. It was painted by the renowned artist Arikhne.”
The crowd was excited by the word, “Arikhne.”
She was a famous painter whose name I had also heard of.
[The God of Art, Mond, pretends to know that the artist is no different from what he raised.]
[The God of Knowledge, Hessed, tackles him for boasting about giving her several blessings.]
Soon the host raised the cloth covering the work.
Then the beautiful First Saintess appeared.
Oh, it was a masterpiece so beautiful that everyone couldn’t take their eyes off it.
“Let the auction begin.”
“1,000 franc!“
“1,500 franc!”
“2,000 franc!”
“3,000 franc!”
It wasn’t long before people started raising their asking prices.
“5,000 franc!”
The last asking price was a whopping 5,000 franc.
If that is really Arikhne’s work, 5,000 franc would be a bargain.
But…
“Is there any more than 5,000 franc?”
[The God of Destruction, wonders why you don’t buy it.]
I stayed still until the bid was completed.
The person who bid 5,000 franc was the new owner of the ‘Baris Merchant’, a merchant that is small enough to be called Lloyd’s competing merchant, but is one of the top five merchants in the capital.
“It was sold for 5,000 franc.”
He seemed to be lifting his shoulders as if he was happy to have won a bid for a good piece of work.
I spoke to the Gods in a low voice.
“It’s a copy, right? Mond?”
[The God of Art, Mond, is amazed that you recognized the detailed replica.]
A replica that can be called ‘precise’ by Mond, of course, I didn’t recognize it by looking at the work.
I was suspicious because most of the people here were from the Baris Merchant.
There were many nobles, yet most of them seemed to be related to the Baris Merchant.
Perhaps, due to the fact that it was sold at a high price at an auction, they’re planning to sell the replica at a high price.
Of course, the auction itself isn’t a scam. This is an auction house certified by Lloyd’s merchants.
There are just a few things that have pitfalls.
The next auction item was an incense burner made of gold. It is said that this too was made by Arikhne.
[The God of Art, Mond, clears his throat,
ahem
.]
“300 franc!”
“500 franc!”
“700 franc!”
The asking price was lower than before.
I quickly wrote down my asking price.
“2,000 franc!”
The host shouted loudly when he saw my asking price.
People murmured loudly.
Then I saw the head of the Baris Merchant looking back at me.
After a while, he raised the asking price.
“3,000 franc!”
[The God of Justice, Hetuse, is worried that you may be caught up in manipulation and wasting money.]
[The God of Knowledge, Hessed, says he can send down lightning if he wants.]
I wrote the price again.
“10,000 franc.”
Everyone focused their eyes on me.
The price is more expensive than a portrait that looks beautiful at first glance.
It was an unconvincing look. I heard voices whispering.
“She doesn’t have an eye for art, so she’ll buy an incense burner at that price.”
“I think she’s pregnant. Her husband will be shocked.”
Arikhne’s incense burner was a piece of crude workmanship that could only have been made in the early days.
So no one will understand why I bid this price.
I could see the head of the Baris Merchant looking at me closely, but I just stared at the incense burner with a calm expression.
[The God of Art, Mond, smiles meaningfully.]
***
I was on my way back to the temple after winning the bid for the incense burner.
I was going down a narrow street to buy my favorite strawberry mousse cake, yet someone blocked my path.
They were three sturdy men.
Their eyes were on the box in my hand.
Inside the box was a golden incense burner.
“Could you please move out of the way?”
The three men just chuckled at my words and didn’t move.
I heard the voice of a man behind them.
“If you hand over the item, I will send you away without any harm.”
Even though his face was covered, I could tell that he was the head of the Baris Merchant I had seen earlier.
“Please don’t threaten that big trouble will happen if we touch your body, as it’s a cliché. A noble with enough energy to cause big trouble wouldn’t have shown up at the auction house alone.”
Because those sinister eyes weren’t soulless.
“I don’t want to see blood since there’s a baby in your stomach. I’m not the type of person who enjoys killing.”
It’s not even funny. They pretend to be a gentleman while robbing a pregnant woman.
After looking at them for a moment, I opened my mouth.
“100,000 franc.”
The men looked at me with puzzled eyes at my words.
“I will sell it for 100,000 franc. No negotiation.”
After a moment of silence, the head burst out laughing as if it was funny.
“I wondered if she was a discerning woman who would charge that much for a golden incense burner that people weren’t interested in… but she was just a crazy woman.”
“You’re the guy with the long tongue from earlier. Are you going to buy it or not?”
At my words, life flashed in the eyes of the head.
“How dare you…!”
I continued speaking without heeding anything.
“At first, I thought it was a counterfeit, but the incense burner was real. The copy was made for 5,000 franc in order to raise the price and limit the value of the incense burner in order to scam people later.”
If a good work of the same Arikhne sold for 5,000 franc, anyone would expect a work of inferior quality to be cheaper.
“Seeing as most of the auction participants are low-ranking nobles from the Baris side, it seems like the right to participate in the auction was intentionally restricted.”
The number of places available to participate in the auction is limited.
“No one knows how to see properly, and everyone has blind eyes.”
[Saintess, this auction is strangely sold out. I managed to get it through my cousin.]
If it weren’t for Dwayne, I wouldn’t have gotten a ticket to participate.
It’s all a plan on Baris’ part to get that incense burner at this event.
[I heard that the king of the Eastern Kingdom was buying and collecting Arikhne’s works. Was it their plan to buy them cheaply and make a large profit?]
This was a story I heard from Cass. I know, the prices of Arikhne’s works are rising.
And perhaps, among his early works, this is the first incense burner made of gold by Arijhne, so the difference in value from his other works will be significant.
“…Who are you?”
The head of Baris Merchant’s eyes sparkled sharply.
The conclusion that I was a crazy woman seemed to have been forgotten.
“I was planning to sell it for 200,000 francs saying it was very difficult to get it, yet you refused even if I offered it for 100,000 franc, thus I can’t sell it to shameless people like you. Deal broken.”
After smiling and speaking firmly, the head gave an order to the three men.
“Kill the woman. Make sure not to touch the incense burner.”
It seemed like they were trying to silence me since I already knew their plan.
The three men approached me without hesitation.
I mean, without fear.
[The God of Benevolence, Oman, is pleased with your prenatal care methods.]
[The God of Knowledge, Hessed, now accepts the reason why you took the Oman’s Whip earlier.]
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