Chapter 39 – 39
Unable to contain his joy, Euro’s voice woke Dent, who opened his eyes and, unable to resist his curiosity, leaned closer to the box. What he saw was gold and silver treasures.
“T-this is….”
“Think about it. Does it make sense for mere statues and ornaments to be this heavy? They aren’t even that large.”
“…….”
“The Relics of Yanli have to be transported personally. Unlike other items, the auction house doesn’t deliver them to your home even if you win the bid.”
It was because they were damn heavy despite being practically worthless.
“Since they wouldn’t sell anyway, why did no one think to break them open?”
“H-how did you know something like this was inside?”
Dent asked, his eyes widening. [unauthorized copy]The money spent on buying this piece of trash statue was now truly a pittance. Just how many times the profit was this?
“Know? I didn’t ‘know.’ I just tried breaking it.”
“But you told me that this item would definitely come up for auction….”
Dent repeatedly demanded an answer. However, Raymond lightly stopped him and shook his head.
Raymond didn’t know why Euro knew such things either.
But having heard that he possessed a healing ability and a way to break the curse, he simply presumed that Euro had some other abilities.
If so, it was right to keep the rest of those abilities hidden. That applied even to him and Dent, who shared his secrets.
As Raymond tactfully silenced Dent, Euro held out the hammer he was gripping.
“Dent, you try breaking one too.”
“P-pardon?”
“It’s fun. It relieves stress.”
“…….”
“I’m telling you, just by breaking it, money comes pouring out. Where else in the world could you have an experience like this?”
Nothing in this world was more valuable than experience. When Euro held the hammer out again, Dent took it and swung it over another statue.
“My god…. Is this, is it all really gold?”
Gold coins, necklaces, and even rings poured out like water; it was a magnificent sight. Watching this, Raymond suddenly spoke to Euro.
“There are Relics of Yanli in the corridor of the annex as well. It’s a fairly large bust, so the contents should be substantial.”
“I’m good with that. It’s not mine.”
“…….”
“Technically, this is also His Grace’s money…. But I’ve legitimately increased the budget allocated to me. Taking that would be stealing from His Grace, so I’ll leave it be.”
Euro had no intention of touching the visit our sitebust in the annex anyway. While it was merely one of the Relics of Yanli here, to him, as a reader of the novel, it was a meaningful symbol.
“It’s right that it remains unbroken.”
The idea of the annex bust being broken felt ominous, as if it signaled the return of a tragic ending. He preferred it to stay exactly where it was, even if it looked a bit unsightly.
“Well, if you feel it’s a waste, you can tell His Grace after I’ve left. I won’t care what happens then.”
Muttering to himself, Euro snatched the hammer back from the dazed Dent and smashed the remaining relics.
“Gold can just be melted down, but the rings and necklaces are a bit of a problem. First, sweep up all the Relics of Yanli currently on the market. All of them, even if you have to pay a premium.”
“Y-yes, sir.”
Dent had practically become Euro’s follower, nodding quickly. He had been obedient yesterday as well, but now, the look in his eyes was entirely different.
“I should break one in front of people as a performance…. Gems usually sell for more when they have a story attached to them.”
“…….”
“Especially since they were stored like this, the [stolen content]gems probably have quite a few [stolen content]scratches. Selling Read on Read BL Novelsthem as they are wouldn’t bring in much money.”
Only when they carried the prestige of being the Relics of Yanli would the prices of these gems skyrocket. However, that was something difficult to do under his own name.
This was because he had kept the fact that he bought these relics a secret from Melione in the first place. These treasures had to become his secret assets, not be absorbed into the Dukedom.
‘I told him I didn’t need a reward, but I feel like I’m taking quite a lot for myself.’
Euro felt somewhat embarrassed and smacked his lips. The reason he was raising money this way was that the budget allocated to him could not be used entirely freely.
A budget, after all, was money that left a trail of usage. Of course, Melione wouldn’t track every single cent he spent, but giving that money to Larry to buy love drugs every time made his conscience prickle.
Furthermore, his own livelihood after the divorce was an issue, and besides paying Larry for the drugs, there was a lot of money he would need to spend bit by bit to break Melione’s curse.
Of course, if solving just those issues were enough, there would be no need to buy up all the Relics of Yanli. The performance of smashing statues in front of people would be unnecessary as well.
But human nature is such that once you discover a lottery like this, you can’t just leave the remaining relics alone.
“Master, the person who likely possesses the most Relics of Yanli is that Captain.”
“Hmm?”
“Since auction houses don’t accept them well and they are large and heavy, they were likely treated as white elephants and sent back to him in large quantities.”
“……Ah, that makes sense.”
“Why not buy the ones released to the public through various aliases and entrust the rest to the Captain?”
At Raymond’s suggestion, Euro nodded as if realizing something.
“Right, the Captain can handle it all.”
It was the Captain who had discovered the Relics of Yanli and brought them to Silon. Therefore, it was only right that he get a share.
“Once you’ve gathered a certain amount, arrange a meeting with the Captain. He’s probably being pestered by the nobles who invested, so he’ll reply quickly if you contact him saying you want to buy the relics.”
Euro only needed to tell the Captain the truth. The relics bought at a low price were simply the cost of the information.
The Captain would likely arrange a grand display and perform the smashing of the statues, and after that, the value of the gems Euro possessed would become astronomical.
“Now, let’s divide the shares.”
“Pardon?”
When Dent asked back, confused, Euro said with a smile.
“It’s hush money. Take one box each. Take care of the servants who worked hard to bring them here, too….”
“No, not at all. I am fine.”
Dent waved his hands in horror at Euro’s words. It was true that he had worked hard to bring them, but this was not his share. Raymond felt the same and politely declined.
But Euro was adamant. Anyone’s eyes would glaze over in front of money. These two would have to continue finding and laboriously transporting the relics.
It wasn’t necessarily that he suspected them, but there was no guarantee they wouldn’t embezzle the relics. In that case, it was better to give them a proper share.
“No, this is an order. Take it.”
“But….”
“Don’t think of this as a gesture of goodwill. I intend to make you two my accomplices.”
“…….”
“Even if the end of my goal is benevolent, we are currently deceiving Duke His Grace. So it wouldn’t be strange if any one of us betrayed the others.”
Moreover, it was even more so because they were loyal subjects of the Spioren Dukedom.
“If you trust me and follow me, you will never suffer a loss. Instead, if you quit halfway, you should be prepared to take the fall for everything. Giving you this is a threat, and if you don’t take it….”
Euro said this, staring at the two of them in turn.
“I will make my entire plan a lie. Then you will simply become traitors.”
If everything stopped halfway, the only one who would die unfairly would be Euro. But that wasn’t all.
Euro’s death would mean that Duke Melione would also have to accept his fate of dying with no other recourse.
They could not betray him, not for his sake, but for the sake of saving Melione. However, Euro wanted to proceed with everything with as few variables as possible.
It was a precious life he had regained. If he couldn’t return to [unauthorized copy]the world he originally lived in, he should at least live doing what he wanted after changing the ending.
Euro had no intention of staying in the Dukedom any longer; he planned to carry out everything in secret and slip away before anyone noticed.
To do that, both his healing ability and the fact that he knew about the dragon’s curse had to remain secrets.
“So I’m asking you. Please do not speak of anything you’ve learned anywhere.”
“…….”
“Especially not to the Duke.”
At some point, Euro began to care a little about the version of Melione that differed from the novel. It wasn’t because of any particular trigger.
He simply hoped Melione would treat him with only that kind of business-like kindness. If he were to find out something and show even a slightly different attitude….
‘No, that won’t happen.’
Euro muttered inwardly. This was merely an unnecessary worry. Such a thing would absolutely never happen.
If Melione became healthy, he rightfully had to succeed the Spioren Family. Therefore, [stolen content]by that time, Euro should not be in this place.
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