"If it's an auction it's hosted by my father. the Duke..."
"Enrica knows right."
I looked at Sophia with confused eyes.
Of course, the Duke of Wintersor was a prominent figure supporting the First Prince, and they often met in secret places.
According to Sarah, the Prince's forces were even present at the slave auction.
'I thought that maybe they were involved in direct operations, but it was also possible that they were simply customers'.
Besides, my goal was to ultimately bring down the Duke's family, so I didn't pay much attention to the First Prince.
'Of course, even if he was just participating as a simple guest, I felt that I had to prevent such a person from becoming the King of a country.'
But I never dreamed that I would be doing it with Sophia. I stared at her again, dumbfounded.
But the one who immediately opened his mouth was not Sophia, but the Second Prince.
"I'm ashamed to say, but it hasn't been long since I found out about it. I was so focused on controlling the chaotic internal forces that I didn't pay attention to external enemies or situations."
"It was a bit of a struggle, wasn't it? I understand."
Raphael opened his mouth and answered instead of me. It was something I didn't know, but it was still interesting to see him talking to his friend.
Sophia seemed similarly moved, and the mood became even more relaxed.
"Ahem, anyway. If it weren't for the recent fire at the auction house, it would have been even later that we noticed."
"Huh? The fire I started?"
Everyone's gaze was focused on the question that I blurted out reflexively, thinking it might be true.
"You mean that auction that was held on the streets of Montreal a while ago? That fire was started by the Grand Duchess?"
The Second Prince asked curiously, wondering if he had not been aware of that fact.
"That was my first time attending an auction. I had planned to just quietly watch, but when I saw a young boy in danger of death..."
I said this, worried that perhaps the impulse at that time might have become a nuisance to the Second Prince as well.
Since then, I have been unable to find any clues about the Duke's evil deeds, and I have often blamed myself and regretted that there might have been a better way.
"It's a good thing that our conversation was brought forward. I also received the report, but a normal person would not have been able to endure that situation."
Fortunately, however, the Second Prince seemed to genuinely condone my actions.
"Brother, no. That guy I don't even want to call brother."
As he continued speaking, he pressed his eyebrows as if his head was aching.
"One day, I happened to see one of his subordinates come in with a burn on his hand. The wound wasn't deep as if he had just been treated, but no matter how much I thought about it, something just didn't feel right."
If he is a subordinate of the Prince or a close associate, it means he is a person of noble rank. It is certainly rare for such a person to get burned.
"That bothered me for a few days. I kept digging into the point that felt strange. Eventually, I stumbled upon the auction house."
I was struck by the Second Prince's keen eye for detail in digging into something that could have been easily overlooked.
Then Sophia cautiously observed me and joined the conversation.
"Your Highness, is there another reason for doing such a thing?"
"You don't have to be so polite, Sophia."
I felt consideration for Sophia's hesitation. I was grateful that she was considering my feelings, even though I might not know what to do.
"I never thought of it as having a special purpose. The Duke's family has been exploiting magicians for generations to gain power."
Suddenly, my voice started to tremble slightly as I continued speaking.
Things I experienced before I turned back time.
And it was because of the things my mother had gone through that I thought she was the biological mother of 'Enrica' and not me when I lost my memories.
"To the Duke, my mother and I were also affected. Before I became engaged to Raphael, my health was so poor that my magical power was almost depleted."
Raphael, who was sitting next to me, slowly took my hand as if comforting me.
The man's cold hands were more affectionate to me than any warmth in the world. Thanks to him, I was able to suppress the emotions that were welling up in me.
Sophia's eyes slowly turned red as if she was shocked by my confession.
When she speaks so bluntly like before, let's see her truly empathize with the pain of others...
'Sophia will make a good Queen.'
I felt glad to get to know her, as I was grateful for another side of my friend.
Then the Second Prince finally opened his mouth.
"If money was the goal, it would have been easier to hold a regular slave auction. The Duke, oddly enough, deals with things related to magic. People and things."
"..."
"I find myself thinking that there might be another reason behind this irrational obsession."
I couldn't tell right away, but I decided to remember the Second Prince's words.
"Then, for what purpose does His Highness the First Prince interfere with the auction?"
"The Duke pays a considerable amount of money every month in exchange for his protection. But the real reason is..."
The Second Prince hesitated for quite a while because it was his first time seeing him.
It seemed a bit difficult for him to reveal the royal family's corruption in detail through his own mouth.
"It's a hallucinogenic plant."
This was something that surprised me as soon as I heard it.
"The Duke said that he runs an auction and imports hallucinogenic herbs that are hard to find in the kingdom. It seems that they suit the First Prince's taste."
Certainly, the Second Prince was capable. Even though he got involved in this late, the amount of information and its content was shocking.
"Has Enrica heard anything from him since the last auction?"
After a moment of silence, Sophia asked me a question.
I was a little disappointed, as I had been secretly hoping that the Second Prince would know the latest news.
"No, the base has certainly moved, but I can't find any clues."
At that moment, the second prin
Xxx
"You left the capital... No. Those heavy-assed nobles wouldn't have followed you that far."
It was a light soliloquy that passed by my ears, but it was not ordinary.
"We too, but I'm sure you've searched every place you could find it."
"Yeah, I thought they'd be more alert because they thought they'd been caught."
Since even the Second Prince's information power couldn't find anything, it felt like things were getting more and more difficult.
"The losses would be huge if they skipped the auction for just one month, so we can't just say they gave up on it overnight."
"His audiences are cautious and fearful. After experiencing the fire, they will be afraid of enclosed spaces like last time."
There were several plausible inferences, but that was all.
Even after the four of us put our heads together, nothing else came to mind.
Finally, I let down my guard a bit and brought in the food I had been putting off.
"I'm sorry for talking about heavy things while you're here. Everyone, eat up."
The gloomy atmosphere was refreshed as delicious-looking food appeared.
Steaming hot roast duck and wine-steamed clams.
Even rare liquors that go well with cooking.
If it were normal, I would have already been salivating, but perhaps because the conversation ended awkwardly, I couldn't really hear it.
Considering that I was an invited guest, I dutifully forked for a while.
Meanwhile, Raphael peeled the clam shells as if he were serving a meal and placed only the edible flesh on my plate.
As the number of shells on his plate increased, Raphael's expression became more satisfied.
'Stop..."
I wanted to say something, but it wasn't an atmosphere where I could open my mouth.
I silently chewed the clams that had a nice, spicy flavor.
"Enrica, by the way, where did you spend the prize money from the hunting banquet?"
Sophia asked cheerfully as if trying to lighten the mood.
"I don't have a proper place for it yet, so I'm just storing it."
At that moment, Raphael's eyebrows lowered slightly. He, who had kept his mouth shut throughout this conversation, spoke for the first time.
"Didn't His Majesty entrust the hosting of this hunting banquet to the First Prince?"
"Yes."
The Second Prince paused for a moment after answering Raphael's meaningful question. Something seemed to have flashed through his mind.
When I encountered that gesture, I also felt like the gears were meshing together.
Suddenly, a hint I had never thought of came to my mind. Several thoughts began to overlap and move.
An open space, not a confined space.
A place that is not too far away but is not too difficult to visit, and is somewhat out of the public eye.
At the same time, it is clearly the territory of the 1st Prince, so it is a place that the 2nd Prince cannot see.
I hadn't thought about it because Its original purpose was clear, but when I broke out of my stereotypes, I was surprised to find that it was a perfect environment for holding an auction.
I quickly raised my head and lowered my voice to voice out everyone's thoughts.
"The forest where the hunting banquet was held...!"
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