Chapter 37
Mio’s eyes widened.
“A safe… as a set?”
“Please, sit down first. Let’s at least have some tea.”
Count Duon motioned to an employee and guided Mio further inside. After seating her on a sofa in the inner room, the count leaned in and whispered conspiratorially.
“You remember what I wrote in my last letter—the previous owner of the safe. I mentioned that the husband had a hobby of collecting antiques, right?”
“Yes. You did.”
“I got curious about the eye that could recognize such a mysterious safe. So I tracked down other items he’d sold.”
“Oh? Did you find something?”
Just then, a small voice came from behind the curtain.
“E-excuse me…”
Count Duon, who had been gearing up to talk enthusiastically, snapped his mouth shut. The employee Mio had seen earlier entered carrying a tea set. As if determined to maintain the dignity of a shop owner, the count began issuing refined instructions.
“Put it here. Ah, and the items that were repaired a few days ago and wrapped in advance—you know the ones? They belong to this lady, so bring all of them out.”
“Y-yes….”
Once the employee left, Count Duon immediately reignited his chatter.
“Now then, where were we?”
“You said you tracked the items that were sold.”
“Right! While tracking them down, I found that one had appeared at the Elton Jewelry Auction House. I rushed over at once to check it. And sure enough—something extraordinary was sitting there in plain sight! It had been remodeled into jewelry, but there’s no fooling the eyes of Baphomel Duon. Do you know what it was? Taralia. Taralia!”
“Taralia?”
That was the flying shoes from ancient mythology. Hearing the name only deepened Mio’s confusion. What did winged shoes have to do with a safe, to the point they were called a set?
Seeing Mio’s expression, Count Duon grinned and wagged his index finger.
“Oh, I can tell what you’re thinking—but dig just a little deeper. Just a tiny bit more. Then you’ll realize the connection between Taralia and the safe.”
“Taralia is… shoes, isn’t it?”
“I told you it was remodeled into jewelry. Of course it isn’t shoes anymore. But symbolically, it can still perform the function of shoes.”
“So it doesn’t let you fly.”
The count clicked his tongue, mimicking the ticking of a clock, then offered a hint as if frustrated.
“They say you can only truly understand someone’s position by swapping places with them.”
“Switching shoes?”
“Exactly!”
So the jewelry could switch someone else’s shoes with yours? The more she listened, the farther it seemed from anything related to a safe. But Count Duon continued.
“Lady Mio, what you’re dealing with right now is a safe that recognizes its owner. According to my flawless investigation, it’s an incredibly strange entity that measures one’s contribution to maintaining the estate. However, it has a fatal flaw. The fact that it’s changed owners within just a month or two proves it.”
“It does sound pretty disloyal.”
“Precisely! And doesn’t that mean the item itself lacks intelligence? Judging from what you asked me to do, Lady Mio, your goal is to become the safe’s owner, right?”
“Ah. I get it now.”
Mio finally caught on and flashed the count a grin.
“Taralia is an item that lets you swap positions with someone else. So if I use Taralia to switch places with the safe’s original owner, the safe will mistake me for its owner. That way, I become the owner instantly. That’s what you’re saying, right?”
“Very sharp. Yes—at least according to my theory.”
As the count nodded proudly, Mio leaned forward and asked,
“So? Where is Taralia now?”
“Haa… there’s a bit of a problem with that.”
Count Duon let out a deep sigh.
“I mentioned the Elton Jewelry Auction House earlier, didn’t I? They only deal in extremely high-purity gems.”
Mio had heard of it before. Wyden once bought out the entire stock there and gave it all to Caleb as a gift. Caleb adored gemstones—he would give away a dress after wearing it once, but he would never let a jewel leave his hands.
‘Good thing there wasn’t a rule about wearing specific jewelry to banquets…’
If there had been, Mio would never have attended a single one of Caleb’s events. And judging from how smug Wyden had been, every piece sold at the Elton Auction House was outrageously expensive.
With her empty purse in mind, Mio’s voice shrank.
“S-so… how much is it?”
“Even if I sold off my entire remaining fortune—the one I already blew on gemstones—it still wouldn’t be enough. To be honest, it didn’t seem like anyone realized it was a long-lost relic, and I’d also heard your story. So the moment I saw it, I blurted out the highest bid without thinking. I managed to buy some time before payment was due. But no matter how I thought about it, there was no way to raise the money by this afternoon. I’d completely given up when…”
Count Duon looked at Mio and broke into a broad smile.
“And then—bam! You appear, Lady Mio, the future Grand Duchess! Hahaha! This is fate. You must buy it immediately!”
“…So how much is it, exactly…?”
Mio swallowed hard and asked again. The count leaned in and gestured, then whispered the price. Mio clapped a hand over her mouth in horror.
“What?! With that kind of money—! Good heavens. There are people who actually buy jewels at such insane prices? It’s just a shiny rock!”
“I had no choice. It was a rare, expensive gem, and they’d redesigned it beautifully. People who didn’t even realize it was a relic were dazzled by its appearance, so the bidding was fierce.”
“Ugh….”
Mio grabbed her head. Sitting beside her, Count Duon tempted her gently, like a devil whispering in her ear.
“You’re really going to kick away an opportunity that’s rolled right to your feet? I noticed you arrived in a carriage stamped with the grand ducal seal—you must be in the middle of full-scale wedding preparations, right?”
“……”
“And since it’s jewelry, buying something like this wouldn’t look strange at all.”
When Mio didn’t respond, the count raised his voice slightly.
“Whether it’s the Kelt Ducal House or the Moro Grand Ducal House, one of them must be footing the bill! After all, you don’t have any money, Lady Mio!”
“H-hey, could you not hit me where it hurts…?”
“If it were within my budget, I would’ve announced to the whole world that it was a relic and sold it for twice the price. It looks expensive now, but honestly? This is practically a steal!”
It certainly seemed like a relic worth that much… but that terrifying price was still a problem. Contrary to the count’s assumptions, Mio wasn’t even running around preparing for a wedding. Which meant she didn’t have an excuse to buy expensive jewelry, either.
‘Damn it… the problem is, I really, really want it.’
The sooner she was recognized as the safe’s owner, the better. Humans naturally gravitate toward comfort wherever they are. Even if you fall asleep in a chair, your body will instinctively crawl into bed—that’s just instinct.
If there was an easier way, Mio wanted to take it. As her wandering gaze settled on the count, he twitched eagerly, like a dog wagging its tail.
“So Taralia really is destined to end up in your hands, isn’t it? Right?”
“But why are you so desperate for me to buy Taralia?”
“There are… several reasons….”
The visibly dejected count fidgeted with his fingers as he spoke.
“First, I want to spread the rumor that I successfully won an outrageously expensive item, so I can restore my reputation after it was ruined by that prison stint….”
“Mmgh….”
Given how deeply involved she was—practically the cause—her conscience began to ache. When she thought about it, Count Duon had essentially ruined the business he’d been preparing simply for the crime of being close to Mio.
