A Priceless Gesture
After dinner nearby, we headed to the auction house hosted by the Roman City Hall. Held once a week, this municipal auction was quite grand in scale, showcasing all manner of fine art, rare artifacts, and weapons.
"How does it look? Is there anything worth buying?" Theodora asked, peering at the auction pamphlet.
I nodded. "Yeah. There aren't any useful weapons, but there is a very famous horse listed."
A legendary steed of excellent pedigree was up for bidding. If one were to name the most famous horse breed in this world, it would undoubtedly be the Akhal-Teke. Known for their breathtaking golden coats, they could run faster and longer than any ordinary horse. Furthermore, they were a specialty of the Babylon Empire, making them an incredibly rare sight in Roman.
"Really? What kind of horse is it?"
"It's a breed called the Akhal-Teke. Rumor has it they can cover four hundred kilometers in a single day. They're so rare that this is actually my first time seeing one in person, too."
Theodora nodded at my explanation. "Do you think my sister-in-law will like it?"
I nodded with absolute certainty. "Oh, definitely. She's completely obsessed with fine horses."
Mary already rode a decent mount, but it was nothing compared to an Akhal-Teke. Given her absolute madness for horses, she was bound to be thrilled.
"That is a relief. Fufu..."
Watching Theodora smile so brightly, I turned my attention to the ongoing auction.
"This next piece is 'The Death of a Hero,' crafted by the empire's greatest sculptor, Mendelike! Can you feel it, ladies and gentlemen? Looking upon these weeping women cradling him, does the tragic weight of the hero's demise not pierce your very soul?"
I stared at the sculpture depicting a man with a gaping hole in his stomach, a woman weeping as she held him, and several other women surrounding them. Honestly, it doesn't feel all that tragic.
Various other items were brought up to the stage.
"This tiara hails from the Dwarf Kingdom! It is a masterpiece of the highest order, adorned with a massive blue sapphire and hundreds of diamonds. Behold this grandeur! And look at the frame, forged from aluminum—a metal notoriously difficult to refine! This is indeed the pinnacle of dwarven craftsmanship!"
Aluminum might be a rare, precious metal in this world... but back on Earth, it was hardly expensive. In fact, it felt rather cheap. Knowing that priceless gems were set in a frame of aluminum gave me a bizarre feeling, considering how common the metal was in my daily life.
"Now! We shall start the bidding at one hundred gold!"
Just then, Theodora raised her hand.
"One hundred and ten gold! Do I hear any other bids?"
"Oh? Do you want that?" I asked.
Theodora nodded shyly. "Yes... I mean... isn't it beautiful?"
"One hundred and twenty gold! One hundred and thirty! One hundred and forty!"
It certainly had a mysterious allure. The metal possessed a unique, ash-gray luster rather than the typical bright sheen of gold or silver. The price continued to climb rapidly.
"Two hundred gold! Do I hear any more? Going once, going twice—"
As the auctioneer spoke rapidly, Theodora raised two fingers.
"Four hundred gold! We have four hundred gold! Any other bids? Eight hundred gold! Eight hundred gold!"
Theodora had bid four hundred, but a middle-aged woman immediately countered with eight hundred.
"One thousand six hundred gold! One thousand six hundred gold!"
Theodora had raised the bid to one thousand six hundred.
"Uh... isn't this getting a bit too heated?" I muttered.
Gems were expensive, sure, but was it really worth paying such an astronomical price for something decorated with aluminum?
"Hmph! It's aluminum. Of course it's expensive," she huffed.
"One thousand seven hundred gold! Do I hear any more?"
Theodora triumphantly raised two fingers again.
"Three thousand four hundred gold! Three thousand four hundred gold! Any other bids? Going once, going twice... Ten thousand two hundred gold! Ten thousand two hundred gold has been bid! Absolutely incredible!"
At that, Theodora hesitated.
Seeing her pause, I asked, "What's wrong? Aren't you going to bid?"
"Ugh...! We still have to buy the Akhal-Teke later. And considering the imperial budget Mother authorized..."
After agonizing for a long moment, she seemed to make up her mind and raised two fingers.
"Twenty thousand four hundred gold!"
The middle-aged woman competing with Theodora raised five fingers.
"One... One hundred and two thousand gold has been bid!"
Theodora looked utterly dumbfounded. I stared at the middle-aged woman.
Know when to stop...
Everyone in the room knew that Empress Theodora was present. Normally, it was customary to put up a polite fight and then yield to the sovereign. What on earth was this woman relying on to drive the price up so aggressively? Was she just trying to flaunt her wealth?
Hmm...
"Do I hear any other bids?"
Or did she view Theodora as a mere puppet empress? That would explain her insolent behavior.
Either way, this blatant attempt to humiliate the Empress and diminish her prestige was starting to make me angry.
"Going once..."
Perhaps I was being overly sensitive. Maybe the woman simply desired the tiara desperately. Legally speaking, anyone—whether the Empress or a common citizen—could participate in the auction and win as long as they had the coin.
"Going twice..."
But if word got out that the Empress couldn't even buy a trinket she wanted, it wouldn't reflect well on me either. People might whisper that I had stripped her of all her wealth.
Still, was it right to buy an aluminum tiara at such an absurd price?
Regardless of whether that woman truly wanted the tiara or simply wished to humiliate Theodora, today's events would be talked about for a long time. They would say the Empress of the Empire couldn't afford what she wanted...
I glanced at Theodora. Her face was a mask of bitter disappointment.
Looking at her trembling red eyes, I made my decision.
Sigh...
I raised five fingers.
"Fi... Five hundred and ten thousand gold! Five hundred and ten thousand gold has been bid!"
The auctioneer stammered in shock.
Whoosh—
Theodora whipped her head around, staring at me in utter disbelief.
"Wear it on your way home today," I said, offering her a gentle smile.
"Five hundred and twenty thousand gold!"
It seemed the woman truly wanted that tiara. Otherwise, she wouldn't dare challenge me—the true power of the empire—in a bidding war. Still, seeing as she only raised the bid by ten thousand gold, her funds were likely running dry.
I doubled it.
"O... One million and forty thousand gold... One million and forty thousand gold has been bid!"
The auctioneer's voice cracked with sheer shock.
It was an astronomical sum, easily exceeding the annual budget of a small barony.
"Y-You...?" Theodora stammered, her eyes wide with shock. She clearly hadn't expected me to intervene like this.
"Going once, twice, three times—sold!"
And just like that, the tiara was mine.
After winning the bid, I signed the payment pledge at the counter.
"Here, wear this."
I lifted the tiara and gently placed it on her head.
"T-Thank you..."
Unlike her usual self, she spoke in a shy, quiet voice, her cheeks flushing a deep crimson. Watching her, a wave of regret washed over me.
No matter how I looked at it, I had paid far too much. An aluminum tiara that cost the equivalent of a small county's annual budget... I couldn't shake the feeling that I had been completely swindled.
Still, for aluminum, it possessed a remarkably mystical color. It didn't have the typical metallic sheen of Earth's aluminum, but rather a... well, a truly magical quality.
Once the tiara was on her head, Theodora kept her face buried in her chest, unable to look up.
"It seems the rumors of His Grace the Grand Duke's devotion to his wife are indeed true! Now, let us move on to the next item..."
For the rest of the auction, she couldn't bring herself to lift her head.
"Now! Next up is a legendary specialty of the Babylon Empire! The Akhal-Teke!"
The horse was led onto the stage.
"Huh? That's very different from what I heard."
As the bidding for the Akhal-Teke began, Theodora lifted her slightly flushed face to look at the stage.
"Is that really an Akhal-Teke? Didn't you say its coat was golden?"
"Right?"
While Theodora and I exchanged puzzled looks, the auctioneer continued.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the Akhal-Teke is indeed famous for its golden coat. However, this specimen is no ordinary beast! This is a red Akhal-Teke, one of the extremely rare variants found within the Babylon Empire!"
The horse was striking, boasting a fiery crimson mane. Its entire body was covered in red fur that shimmered with a subtle golden undertone.
"A red Akhal-Teke of this caliber is said to possess speed and endurance that completely outclass regular specimens. Now! Who will become the master of this magnificent red Akhal-Teke today? We shall start the bidding at ten thousand gold!"
The bidding commenced, but it didn't progress very fiercely.
"Thirty thousand gold! Thirty thousand gold! Do I hear any higher?"
Once the price climbed past the twenty thousand gold limit her mother had authorized, Theodora spoke in a tiny, crawling voice.
"Could you... chip in a little?"
I looked at her, dumbfounded. "Huh? Weren't you the one buying it?"
Avoiding my gaze, she mumbled, "Well... the budget Mother approved was only twenty thousand gold..."
"Then there's nothing we can do. It's a gift for Mary anyway. Let's just buy a cheap sword, stamp the imperial seal on it—"
I couldn't even finish my sentence.
"S-Still, she is your sister. How could you say that?"
Looking at Theodora's fragile, pleading expression—as if she might break at any moment—I ultimately stepped in.
In the end, I won the bid for the horse at six hundred thousand gold.
As we made our way back to the Imperial Palace after the auction concluded, I couldn't help but think:
No matter how I look at it... I paid way too much for that tiara.