It was an event she had chosen out of consideration, but Ryuel’s expression darkened.

“I’d rather dance the Ferzen folk dance than hold a kitchen knife.”

“My goodness, is it that bad?”

“At least I know how to dance.”

That meant he had never cooked in his life. Aristie, being in the same position, could understand that fear.

‘Well, there’s no helping it then. It’s a face too precious to show others, but…’

“Follow me.”

Having made her decision, she led Ryuel to stand in front of an event venue. Ryuel’s expression changed strangely as he looked up at the sign.

“Handsome Man Contest…?”

“I’ll cheer for you too. Enthusiastically.”

Aristie’s eyes wrinkled mischievously. Ryuel stared at the sign silently for a while.

She thought he had reason to be flustered. Judging by his attire and demeanor, he was clearly the son of some noble family, yet here she was pushing him to participate in such a ridiculous event.

So she was planning to pretend to give in and withdraw if he showed reluctance. However, Ryuel turned to Aristie with an expression opposite to her expectation.

“Lady Alice.”

He finally opened his mouth.

“Aren’t you being too considerate of me?”

When he said this, Ryuel was wearing the most charming smile she had seen today.

* * *

“Please rest here. I’ll be back soon.”

After entering the event hall, Ryuel left Aristie in the audience seats and approached the stage. The contest was already in full swing. On stage, eight men were showing off their looks and physiques.

The second group’s competition was ongoing, and the next third group would be the last. Moreover, these were participants who had been selected through preliminary rounds.

Still, Ryuel approached a staff member without hesitation.

“I’d like to participate in the contest.”

“Ah, you’re too late. Registration ended long ago…”

The staff member was waving his hand as if shooing away a fly, but stopped mid-sentence when he saw Ryuel.

He carefully examined Ryuel’s face and looked him up and down, then suddenly exclaimed in an excited voice.

“Wait right here! Don’t go anywhere! Right in this spot!”

After emphasizing this several times, he quickly ran off to talk with another official. He immediately rushed back and handed Ryuel a piece of paper.

“Sign here and you can go on stage for the next round.”

It was incredibly swift. To the point where one might wonder why they even held preliminary rounds.

Ryuel signed his name without much thought and quietly waited for his turn, just as Aristie had done. When it was time for the third group, he went up on stage following the other participants.

From the moment he appeared, a commotion began to stir, and an unprecedented heat enveloped the audience. It was all directed at Ryuel.

“Good heavens, look at that man!”

“Kyaa! It was worth the wait!”

“Oh my, oh my! What should I do, my heart…”

Ryuel, who she thought was an ordinary human, had magic. Magic enough to turn his nearby competitors into seafood or famine crops.

Aristie could fully understand the audience’s agitation. Because of Khalid setting the standard for looks since she was young, she had been indifferent to any man she saw.

Even she felt her heart flutter, so there was no need to check how the women were looking at Ryuel.

But…

‘Strange…’

An uneasy feeling crept into a corner of Aristie’s heart. It was because of the meaningful sounds she heard mixed with the excitement.

“I’ll take that man. Get him ready.”

“Damn, the competition will be fierce.”

“How much do you think? 100,000? 200,000?”

“That’s far from enough. Go get more!”

‘What is this? Is this not just a simple contest?’

Aristie looked around, tightening her interlocked hands. Come to think of it, the security around was stricter compared to other events.

Among the audience, there were many well-dressed women. The age range varied from young ladies to elderly women, but they all had purposeful looks on their faces. Some even brought secretaries or guards with them.

Realizing the situation, Aristie suddenly became worried about Ryuel. She felt sorry and regretful.

“I hope it ends without any trouble, since he’s going through this ordeal because of me…”

While she was worrying, the contest continued. Fortunately, Ryuel was proceeding smoothly with the competition.

It’s not like he was showing off anything special for the competition. He just flashed a breathtakingly charming smile.

As if truly breathless, several women fainted and were carried out. Flustered by the accident, the MC made excuses that it seemed to be due to heatstroke. However, seeing that Aristie was fine even in her long dress, that couldn’t be the case.

Perhaps… it was due to the combined effect of Ryuel’s smile and the corsets the women had tightly laced.

“Now, I’ll announce the final results! The winner is…”

As the competition ended, Aristie listened to the results with an anxious heart.

Even when Ryuel’s name was called, she was more focused on the thought of quickly leaving this place with him than feeling happy.

However, as feared, the dreaded situation unfolded. As soon as the announcement ended, the MC drew the audience’s attention and suddenly announced the start of an auction.

“Now we will proceed with the auction bidding for the winners!”

As soon as the declaration was made, the noble ladies in the audience all became busy at once.

“The winners will act as the lover of the highest bidder for one day, and part of the winning bid will be given to the winners as prize money! Please note that only those who can pay in cash on the spot can bid. Now, first for the grand winner, Ryu…”

Before the MC could finish speaking, a woman raised her paddle and shouted.

“50,000!”

Then another woman joined in as if she had been waiting.

“100,000!”

It was an absurdly high amount for just a day of playing lovers. But even that was just the beginning.

Women raised their paddles one after another as if they had expected such amounts.

“110,000!”

“130,000!”

“150,000!”

“155,000!”

“180,000!”

The venue instantly turned into a gambling den. Amidst the flying shouts, Aristie looked at Ryuel with a pale face. Ryuel was also looking towards her with a troubled gaze.

Both of them looked as if they hadn’t known such an auction existed.

They had thought it was just a simple contest, never imagining that this was the real beginning.

‘Are you going to do it?’

When Aristie asked with her eyes, Ryuel shook his head as if it was absurd. He walked resolutely to the staff member watching from the edge of the stage and said,

“I’m quitting. I didn’t participate knowing there would be an auction in the first place.”

“What? No, that’s not possible. It’s written in the contract that winners must participate in the auction.”

“Contract? What contract?”

“The document you signed earlier.”

‘Document…?’

At that moment, the participation form he had carelessly signed flashed through Ryuel’s mind. He had thought it was just a routine consent form, but apparently, the auction details were written in fine print.

A typical method to lure in beginners.

‘We’ve been had.’

Ryuel sighed and ran his hand through his hair. At this point, there was no legal way to escape.

“Eeeek! 298,000!”

“300,000! Let’s end it with this, please!”

As the bidding price skyrocketed, Ryuel turned his eyes back to the audience to find Aristie.

He didn’t need to look far. She had already come to the front of the stage and was gesturing towards a corner of the hall.

‘That side is empty!’

‘……!’

Without hesitation, Ryuel jumped down from the stage and scooped up Aristie. With Aristie in her dress, it was certainly faster for her to be carried by him than to run.

“Hold on tight.”

While the organizers were startled, Ryuel dashed like the wind, finding gaps.

Guards hurriedly tried to block them. However, they were no match in strength, speed, or any aspect to catch up with Ryuel’s momentum as he broke through the enemy lines.

“Damn it! Catch them!”

Receiving angry shouts from behind, Ryuel ran for quite a while. Then, when they blended into the crowd, he put Aristie down and, holding her hand tightly, quickly delved into every alley.

They walked silently for a while. Only after time passed and they felt certain they had shaken off the guards did the two stop walking.

“Are you alright?”

To Ryuel’s question, Aristie replied apologetically.

“I felt like a princess being carried by a prince, so I was fine, but Ryuel, you must have had a hard time. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine too. It felt like I was carrying a princess.”

“What…?”

Joking even in this situation. Really, this person…

Aristie and Ryuel looked at each other and burst into laughter simultaneously. By now, it was late afternoon, and long streaks of crimson light stretched across the sky.

With half her body bathed in the sunset glow, Aristie fumbled to take something out and held it out to Ryuel.