“What do you mean?”

Amelia’s lips quivered at the sight of the seemingly unaffected Master, though she expected him to be somewhat surprised. While there was nothing resembling Raphael about him, occasionally she felt a sense of Raphael emanating from James, like how he smiled unchangingly. Of course, Raphael was always expressionless by default, but he was equally composed no matter the situation.

“Let’s move to the office.”

“Are we going by carriage?”

She had already sent the carriage with Leonel. Amelia realized keenly that the man in front of her was more capable than she had thought.

“No.”

She knew that the Master would be able to take her straight from this bustling auction house to his office upstairs.

“Then…”

She knew what he meant without hearing the rest of the sentence. Amelia reached out her hand to him. She almost made a sound when her hand touched his hot fingers on top of the gloves.

“Oh…!”

“Shall we go right away?”

It was a command, not a question. Startled, she tried to withdraw her hand, but their entangled fingers were in an inescapable grip, like a noose. She wanted to gently tell him to let go, but the movement had already begun. Unable to find her balance, she firmly held his hand to rely on it. The only person she could trust was the Master.

“Here we go.”

A voice and tone that seemed somewhat excited. As soon as the movement began, Amelia tightly closed her eyes amidst the shifting surroundings.

“Your Highness?”

“Let go of me.”

Amelia pulled her hand away in response to his increasingly intense laughter, wondering if he found her struggles amusing. Her fingers, which seemed firmly intertwined with his, slipped away, and her hand dropped.

“Is it supposed to be this dizzying and shaky?”

“It depends on the person.”

The Master shrugged dismissively, contrasting Amelia’s unsteadiness after just one movement. Yeah, he must be sturdy.

“By the way, what do you mean Room 1 is me?”

“Don’t play dumb. You’re the Master.”

From the beginning, it wouldn’t have made sense if Room 1 wasn’t the Master. She absentmindedly twiddled her fingers, but she still couldn’t shake off the feeling of their held hands It was the first time she had ever clung to someone so desperately and intensely.

The auction house was owned by Chester Merchantry. It wasn’t a regular seat, and there was no way they could have gotten a room and not known who it was. Plus, the most decisive factor was the auctioneer’s attitude. She wasn’t surprised at all by the sudden appearance of Room 1, as though everything had already been discussed beforehand.

“Master predicted that the price would be 200,000 gold. The price I wanted was 500,000 gold. You knew that price would be difficult.”

Indeed, if the master hadn’t intervened, she wouldn’t have been able to sell the brooch for the ridiculous price of 800,000 gold. It was the emperor’s mistake, as he could not tell the difference and thought there was another competitor.

“So you set it up hastily, right?”

“Safety measures are always necessary.”

When he admitted it, Amelia glared at him, her lips tight. If she hadn’t said anything, he had no intention of ever speaking.

“I’m sorry. I acted arbitrarily.”

“From now on, tell me anything first. If you can’t do that, at least share it with me.”

“That’s right. We’re business partners.”

Having received an apology, she couldn’t say anything more. And he hadn’t made a big mistake either. In the end, it was all well since the brooch was sold at a high price.

“Thank you. Thanks to you, I was able to rip off the emperor quite a bit.”

“What…?”

Her body trembled with exhilaration as she recalled what happened. Amelie was thrilled, and her shoulders bounced up and down. It was a satisfying revenge. She received twice the amount Leonel received on his winning bid.

“Your Highness? Don’t you think the brooch is a waste?”

She doubted my own ears when he asked him that question. What are you saying now?

“Do I think it was a waste?”

“Yes.”

“The brooch was broken, but the spell it was enchanted with is broken, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

Are you so happy because your plan succeeded? Otherwise, there would be no reason to talk like that.

“You’re not lying to me, are you, Master?”

“Yes?”

“Did you lie to me when you said the intact brooch was broken?”

In response to her words, the Master quickly shook his head, and Amelia smiled insidiously. Whatever. Even if the magic inside was intact, she didn’t regret it at all.

“Then what’s the problem?”

“It’s a symbolic brooch.”

A brooch with a symbolic meaning? Those idiots spend a lot of money on such useless things. To her, that brooch was not a brooch of luck but a brooch of misfortune.

“Eat and then leave.”¹implies gaining some benefit or interest, possibly without putting in much effort, and then disengaging or ending participation in something

The Master seemed quite shocked to hear her say that. The expression on his face that never seemed to crumble has collapsed.

“I don’t regret anything. It’s so wonderful.”

“… I’ve already said this before, but I’ve never seen a person like you, Your Highness.”

“Is that a compliment?”

Seeing a slight nod, it seemed like a complete compliment.

“They’re going to sue you.”

“What would they sue me for?”

What’s the point of pressing charges? If you sue everything, you will be treated like a strange person. It seems like he already thinks that way.

“You sold something that wasn’t even in good condition for a large sum of money and deceived them.”

Thinking about what it did to Leonel was not enough to satisfy me.

It’s amazing to see someone who likes cheating on the imperial family.”

Cheating. She burst into laughter at that vulgar expression. It feels like she got revenge on the despicable imperial family, she didn’t know how satisfying it was.

“I don’t like the imperial family.”

She is able to say this because the Master’s true feelings about the imperial family were subtly revealed. It seemed like he had even stronger resentment than her. She was convinced when he nudged the price of the brooch to 800,000 gold. Besides, the Master was a comrade in the same boat as her.

“I used Siegfried. Not some guard dog.”

“I’m surprised.”

“Why? Did you think I had any good feelings toward the imperial family?”

“No, quite the opposite.”

When did she act like she had favorable feelings towards the imperial family? Amelia raised her head, trying to recall. It didn’t seem like there was such a time…

“I thought you hated Siegfried.”

“What…?”

Hate Siegfried? It wasn’t wrong. Since she hated everything with the name Siegfried. They were the ones who killed Leonel, she couldn’t have good thoughts about them.

“I don’t hate them. How could I.”

In response to her answer, the Master just smiled smugly and didn’t say anything else. He must not believe her.

“Do you think Siegfried is the Emperor’s dog?”

“….”

“Oh, don’t glare at me like that. I’ll correct myself. I mean whether Siegfried is a faithful guard dog or not, as Your Highness said.”

As much as he disliked Raphael, he dared to say the word ‘dog’ in front of her, his wife. Isn’t he afraid of him? It was a dangerous statement that could result in punishment, depending on who heard it. There was also a possibility that she, the Grand Duchess, could report it to Raphael.

“What if I tell my husband that you’re saying such things?”

“You’re not going to tell your husba–, I mean, His Grace the Grand Duke.”

How could he be so confident about that? Does he trust her that much?

“I believe in you, Your Highness. Surely you won’t send your business partner to prison, will you?”

“……”

“I apologize if my statement was rude. But does Your Highness really think that the Grand Duke is the emperor’s loyal dog?”

If I had to answer, it would be no. The imperial family always found the Grand Duchy difficult. On the other hand, the Grand Duchy always treated the imperial family easily. Maybe I should say it was troublesome. That was true even when Leonel ascended to the position of Grand Duke in the book.

But that’s not to say that the Grand Duchy was treated well. Assigning them to a cold and northern territory, they were tasked with protecting a western forest plagued by monsters. What kind of high-ranking noble would want to do that?

“……No.”

“A dog without its owner is bound to bite.”

If you were Siegfried, you’d attack the Empire right now. Is that what you’re saying?

“The imperial family doesn’t hold a leash on Siegfried, as people think.”

“Are you saying that Siegfried might attack the imperial family?”

The Master smiled and shook his head at her words.

“Well, then, where does our Grand Duchess plan to spend her huge fortune?”

The Master casually changed the subject after making a significant statement, which made Amelia furrow her brow.

“What did you mean by what you just said?”

It seemed that the Master knew more about this matter than she did.

“You’re just like a dog without an owner who might bite at any time. Not now, though.”

There was undoubtedly a separate reason why the relationship between the imperial family and Siegfried was not good.

“He’ll grab you by the scruff of the neck if you don’t behave.”

And he was warning her that Siegfried was even more dangerous than the imperial family.