My Contract Husband Resembles the Male Protagonist - Chapter 24
Two days later, Rozanna came to find me.
“Thanks for the entertaining spectacle back then.”
Rozanna spoke while sipping the tea brought by Dale.
“It was a dull event, but it sparked some excitement.”
Rozanna marveled at the taste of the tea Dale had brewed.
“Is that Dale, the one that the impoverished Kiedland can’t live without?” she asked.
“That’s right.”
“He’s as handsome as everyone says.”
Rozanna’s eyes swiftly rolled, but it wasn’t a gaze of admiration for his looks.
It was the calculating gaze of a businessperson assessing a person’s monetary value.
“If beauty could be felt, I wonder how much the value of the charm possessed by the Empire’s most handsome man would be…”
She murmured seriously.
Was she serious?
“Could you refrain from treating other people’s husbands like commodities?” I suggested.
“Oh! I apologize. To my valuable business partner.”
Rozanna burst into laughter.
After completing the genuine appraisal of the necklace of the Empire’s 6th Imperial Master Craftsman, she earnestly scribbled something on a piece of paper.
“Is this enough?”
The amount she wrote was 1 million Crobats.
‘Starting with a high offer from the beginning?’
The offer was amazing. I changed the digit 1 to the number 5.
Rozanna screamed.
“Even if it’s a masterpiece of the 6th Imperial Master Craftsman, 5 million Crobats is too expensive!”
“Then, I won’t sell it.”
“Wait…!”
As I stood up, Rozanna hastily grabbed my arm.
“Wasn’t this necklace intended as a gift? Why are you proposing such an exorbitant price?”
“Naturally, I never intended to give it.”
“What?”
“It was clear that the party was a setup to corner me. Even a seven-year-old could have noticed.”
“…So, did you intentionally gamble with this expensive necklace?”
She looked astonished.
“You knew I wanted to covet that necklace?”
“I didn’t know Rozanna was present.”
“Then why…?”
“Adelaine Kiedland lacks the discernment to recognize the value of the necklace, and from the beginning, she had no intention of accepting the gift I offered.”
“You knew all of it.”
Rozanna nodded in admiration.
“Dealing with someone like her is not easy. She’s a difficult opponent.”
Rozanna changed the number. “How about 2.5 million Crobats?”
“Your words and actions don’t match.”
“I’ve raised it quite a bit.”
I sighed and ruffled my hair thoughtfully.
“How about 2.7?”
“Dale, shall we go for a walk?”
“Sure.”
As if waiting for this moment, Dale stood up and placed a bonnet on me.
He looked at me with a look of excitement on his face.
At times like these, I couldn’t help but think,
‘Even in trivial moments, he’s an amazing actor.’
Dale thoroughly adheres to the concept.
If he were born in my previous world, he might have been an actor.
Just like the detailed setting of a couple who repeated several encounters, confirming their true feelings, and finally succeeding in marriage, Dale moved naturally even when others were present.
‘He doesn’t seem like such an agile man in ordinary times.’
Despite his sharp appearance, his behavior was relaxed and gentle.
“Well, wait a moment! Then, 3.5 million Crobats!”
At that moment, Rozanna shouted desperately,
“3.5 million Crobats is the maximum. If you take any more, we’ll go bankrupt, dear customer!”
“3.5 million?”
I knew well that it wouldn’t bankrupt them.
Still, it was quite impressive.
“3.7 million.”
“Ugh! My heart! Ugh!”
“You’re not sick.”
“That’s right! But my heart!”
Rozanna tapped on her mental calculator and sighed deeply.
“Alright, 3.7 million! No more bargaining, dear customer!”
“You also have to pay in full. No installment payments, no dividing the balance, no exchanging for goods. It must be paid all at once in the Imperial currency, Crobats. Understand?”
“O-okay! Yes!”
Listening to Rozanna’s sigh, which was almost a groan, I glanced at Dale.
Having received the signal, Dale spoke to me, “May I say something?”
“What is it?”
“She came a long way, and it doesn’t seem right to raise the price too much.”
“Is that so?”
I pretended to seriously consider Dale’s words, and there was a hopeful expression on Rozanna’s face.
As agreed in advance, Dale assisted me in my negotiations.
With a regretful sigh, I approached Rozanna.
Now it was time to get down to business.
“As Dale said, seeing Rozanna in distress makes me uncomfortable.”
I gently pushed Dale’s arm and sat back down.
Although Dale seemed to give Rozanna a cold look for a moment, it was probably because of the atmosphere.
“I’ll give you a discount.”
“Really?!”
“Seeing Rozanna struggling makes my heart ache.”
“Yes, I’m really struggling. I have a headache, my stomach hurts, it’s a mess.”
She sniffled and whimpered, pretending to be in pain.
I knew it wasn’t. There was no smell of illness coming from her.
On the contrary, there was a pungent odor of severe illness that made me almost nauseous.
It was from the Lord’s Castle.
