Holy Night: My Husband is Definitely a Paladin - Chapter 82
‘What could it be?’
What was so special about that chest to make the ring react like this?
“This box looks quite decent. Shall we give it a shake?”
At the auctioneer’s words, an employee shook the box, and a rattling sound came from inside.
While no one knew exactly what was making that noise, it was clear that something heavy was inside.
“We’ll start the bidding at ten gold this time. With each bid, we’ll increase by five gold. Let’s begin!”
Unlike the previous auctions, which had all started at one gold and increased by increments of one, the auctioneer immediately raised the starting price, thinking it might be worth more.
The attendees, who had started to lose interest, perked up again at the higher starting bid.
“Fifteen gold! Twenty gold! Twenty-five gold!”
People’s expectations rose, and the bidding increased quickly.
Each time the price went up, the ring continued to squeeze Irene’s finger, as if impatient for her to act.
As time passed, some bidders dropped out, unwilling to spend more money on an unknown chest.
However, two women remained, persistently raising the bid, perhaps intent on taking home a souvenir.
“One fifty! One fifty-five! From now on, we’ll raise the bid by increments of ten!”
Sensing the fierce competition between the two women, the auctioneer quickly increased the bidding increment.
As the price climbed higher, Irene let out a sigh.
It was clear she needed to buy that chest. The problem was, she didn’t have enough money.
“Two fifty!”
As the bidding continued to rise, Irene nervously tapped Reyna’s arm, who had been watching the proceedings with amusement.
“Reyna, I’m sorry, but could you lend me some money?”
“Of course! How much do you need?”
“Enough to buy that chest. I’ll pay you back as soon as my payment from the artifact sale goes through.”
“Don’t worry! I’ve saved up plenty, so it’s no problem.”
Feeling reassured by Reyna’s offer, Irene waited for the bidding war between the two women to end.
By then, the price had already surpassed five hundred gold. One of the women started to hesitate.
Just as the other woman confidently raised her hand, certain she had won—
“Five hundred forty.”
Irene called out the number and raised her hand.
With a new bidder joining in, the auctioneer became even more animated.
The woman who had assumed victory glared at Irene before quickly raising her hand again.
The bidding battle continued for quite some time.
“One thousand!”
The woman shouted, her voice laced with determination, as if daring Irene to continue.
Irene hesitated for a moment.
‘A thousand gold for a chest whose contents I don’t even know?’
The money from selling the Stone of Silence wouldn’t even amount to five thousand gold.
Was it really wise to spend so much on an unknown chest? Wouldn’t it be smarter to save the money and leave empty-handed…?
“Ah!”
Just as she had that thought, the ring squeezed her finger painfully.
‘Could this ring really be alive?’
It had to be. How else could it express its will like this?
“Fine, fine, I’ll buy it.”
Irene muttered under her breath, raising her hand again with a resigned sigh.
It seemed she had no choice but to follow the ring’s wishes.
* * *
In the end, the chest was sold to Irene for a final price of 1,550 gold.
Reyna, who had initially encouraged Irene to bid, asked multiple times if she was really going through with it, shocked at how high the price had climbed.
Once Reyna paid on Irene’s behalf, the staff handed the chest over to Irene.
“Open it! Hurry!”
Reyna urged her, and other curious onlookers began to gather, eager to see what was inside the chest.
But no one was more curious than Irene herself.
‘What on earth is inside this chest?’
What could have caused the ring to react so strongly?
While it was remarkable that the ring seemed to have a will of its own, Irene’s main concern was discovering what was inside the box.
With bated breath, she slowly opened the chest.
Creaaaak.
The lid swung open, revealing the contents inside.
“A dagger?”
There, lying inside the chest, was an old dagger, covered in scratches.
It reminded Irene of the state of the Infinite Healing Ring when it had first been discovered, marked with scars and worn from time.
The moment she saw it, Irene instinctively knew.
This dagger, like her ring, was an incredibly valuable artifact—rather, an invaluable one.
