Holy Night: My Husband is Definitely a Paladin - Chapter 76
“You’re quite lucky.”
“Pardon?”
“As you know, obtaining an artifact from a dungeon isn’t easy. But this is only the second dungeon you chose, and you’ve already found one.”
“Ah, that’s true, isn’t it? I do think I’m a bit lucky myself.”
“Yes, I believe it’s exceptional luck. Of all the dungeons that appeared that day, the only one where an artifact was found was the one you chose.”
At his words, Irene held her breath.
Surely, he was just expressing surprise, but for some reason, it felt like she was being interrogated.
“That… seems to be the case. The Stone of Silence is one thing, but more than that, the real stroke of luck must be the Infinite Healing Ring, don’t you think?”
Irene smiled as she casually shifted the conversation toward the ring he had given her.
The ring she received was far more valuable than the Stone of Silence.
In fact, when it was appraised, she had nearly fainted from the shock.
‘The problem is, I don’t actually benefit from it.’
Even though it enhanced her purification abilities, it didn’t provide her with any financial gain. If anything, it had only drawn more attention to her, making a quiet life impossible.
Before she knew it, she had even become the head of a gathering.
“I may be lucky, but there’s not much that can be turned into money.”
In the past, she would never have talked about money in front of him. But now, perhaps because they were on more familiar terms, or maybe because she no longer cared much about what he thought of her, it was easy to speak about such things now.
“Are you in need of money?”
“Yes.”
Irene answered without hesitation.
“I have a lot of debt to repay.”
Before he could ask why she needed the money, she answered first. She didn’t want to bring up her ransom to him.
‘Come to think of it… If I had told him in my previous life, maybe he would have lent me some.’
Back then, she had thought of him as just a stern, rigid knight, but now, he didn’t seem so closed-off.
In fact, he was probably the closest person she could turn to for help.
‘I didn’t even think to approach him because of all the gossip.’
There were so many people who would talk behind her back, calling her shameless just for being near him.
So, she naturally assumed he despised and scorned her…
‘What’s the use of regretting it now?’
That life is over, and this is a new one. Besides, things aren’t as hopeless as they once were.
‘If it really comes down to it, I could always ask Reyna for help.’
After this auction, she would be making a large sum of money too.
If she couldn’t gather the entire amount by the end of the year, she could borrow part of it to placate the Count and then return to the fortress next year.
‘Michael won’t be my pair by then, though.’
Irene glanced down at the ring on her finger.
She was now an eighth-grade purifier. While that wasn’t too different from a tenth-grade one, she could at least demand slightly better conditions than before.
As Irene was lost in thought, Michael quietly observed her.
Meanwhile, the auction for the Stone of Silence had begun.
As soon as the auctioneer’s explanation ended, people began raising their hands one by one.
“Three thousand! Three thousand five hundred! Four thousand! Double! Eight thousand!”
The auctioneer deliberately raised his voice, quickly encouraging competition.
‘It needs to sell for at least twenty thousand.’
That way, even after deducting the appraiser’s fee of ten thousand gold and the auction house’s commission, she would still net over five thousand.
But perhaps because the Stone of Silence wasn’t an overwhelmingly powerful artifact, the response was lukewarm.
In the end, the Stone of Silence was sold for twenty thousand gold.
‘The same price as in my previous life.’
Irene felt a brief moment of doubt.
Some things yield the same result even when circumstances change, while other things end up differently despite similar conditions.
‘Is there some kind of rule at play?’
If so, she needed to figure it out. She resolved to calmly review what had stayed the same and what had changed once she returned.
As she was thinking this, she noticed the winning bidder being congratulated by those around him.
Irene leaned against the railing and looked down.
“Oh no…”
As soon as she saw the successful bidder, Irene frowned.
Of all people, it had to be the man Michael had grabbed by the collar when they entered the auction house.
Luckily, it seemed he had recovered quickly. Though his clothes were still a mess, his physical condition looked fine.
‘Of all people, why him?’
“I can’t believe he’s the one who got it.”
At that moment, as if reading her thoughts, Michael echoed the same words.
Then he added,
“If I had known this would happen, I would have cut off that filthy hand in advance so he couldn’t participate in the auction.”
