Chapter 04
No—Luisa Messena had never lacked lovers.
Even during her engagement, she had several men who were officially called lovers but were, in reality, little more than kept men.
Most of them were lowlife delinquents.
But they all shared one other trait.
They were ridiculously handsome.
Whenever Luisa appeared in the novel, the accompanying illustrations often depicted her surrounded by her lovers.
Every single one of them had been carefully handpicked by Luisa herself.
The most handsome men in the Empire.
She showered them with luxurious clothes, expensive shoes, and every kind of extravagant gift before eventually growing bored of them and throwing them away.
Needless to say, very few of those relationships ended well.
There was only one exception.
Rudy Garko.
He owned Rudy’s Night Tavern, the gambling house Luisa frequented.
In many ways, Rudy was remarkably similar to Luisa.
While she openly cheated on him, he happily did exactly the same with countless other women.
Most of those women were the Empire’s greatest beauties—ladies who devoted themselves to drink, gambling, and pleasure.
That was simply the kind of man Rudy was.
Like Luisa, he possessed an obsessive collector’s eye.
He filled his tavern with priceless treasures gathered from across the Empire, then invited handsome men so that the Empire’s most beautiful women would naturally gather around them.
Luisa had merely been one of those collections.
“You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”
Even when she finally ended things after one of her infamous tantrums, the only thing Rudy regretted losing was her face.
“Well… this face really is one of a kind.”
Beautiful villains appeared in every drama and every play.
Finding an actress who truly looked the part, however, was another matter entirely.
“Rudy certainly has good taste.”
I quietly studied my reflection in the wine glass before my attention shifted to a man walking past our table.
“Pretty.”
His lips drooped a little too much for my liking, but his eyes…
Those were the sort of eyes that would suit the loyal supporting character standing beside the male lead.
That was all I meant by calling him pretty.
Just then, Rudy, who had brought over another glass of wine, asked,
“Do you want him?”
…Did he really just use want for a person?
Was that even a sentence normal people said?
Yeah… this one’s not exactly sane either.
“I’ll pass.”
That face wasn’t my Romeo.
“Then… do you want me instead?”
With his bright blond hair bouncing, Rudy pointed at himself with a dazzling smile.
At the end of the table, Alfredo’s face visibly twisted at the sight of a grown man acting cute.
“After all, there’s no man better than me, right?”
Well…
He wasn’t wrong.
Among all the men I’d seen in this tavern, Rudy was definitely one of the most handsome.
His pale complexion, sharp jawline, and narrow eyes gave him an intimidating appearance at first glance.
But whenever he talked to women, he smiled so warmly that the dangerous impression disappeared almost instantly.
“Still… he has the face of a born playboy.”
He looked exactly like the youngest son of a wealthy chaebol family from one of those daily soap operas.
In the modern world, he’d probably be the kind of actor an agency kept pushing into melodramas until he polished his acting enough to graduate into films.
Honestly…
He’d even make a convincing lead in a modern adaptation of Romeo and Juliet.
After all, Romeo attended the Capulet masquerade because he was infatuated with another woman—Rosaline.
He risked sneaking into the mansion of his family’s sworn enemies because he loved Rosaline so desperately.
And yet…
He fell in love with her cousin, Juliet.
Looked at one way, Romeo really was something of a philanderer.
The problem was—
“The Romeo I’m looking for doesn’t have this kind of face.”
Feeling a hint of disappointment, I looked back at Rudy.
“So… this is what you actually look like?”
In the illustrations he’d seemed much more like a carefree, childish boy.
This version of him was far too polished.
Just goes to show—you can’t judge an actor from promotional artwork. You have to see them in motion.
“What do you mean? Is my skin acting up lately? I know it broke out, but I’ve been taking care of it! Hmph…”
Rudy pouted dramatically.
Listening to his whining was enough to make me miss Arnaud’s icy voice.
If anyone fit the image of a cold, handsome man, it was Arnaud.
Unfortunately, he had none of the youthful recklessness I wanted.
Besides, if I ever asked him to act, he’d probably take over the theatre, throw me out, and restore everything to the way it used to be.
Thinking about Luisa’s miserable situation, I shook my head.
“By the way, Luisa.”
Rudy rested his chin in his hands, framing his face with both palms like a flower as he looked at me.
“You’ve changed.”
He casually plucked the feather pen from my hair and frowned.
“Weren’t you supposed to be… a bit more refined? Even the way you talk feels…”
“A bit more…?”
“You seem colder than before. You were always the cool beauty type, but back then you still had some fire to you. Now… it feels like you’ve put up a wall.”
Sharp for someone so useless.
I suppose a man with an eye for beauty would have sharp instincts too.
I quickly changed the subject.
“Be honest. There is a better place than this, isn’t there? The quality here isn’t as good as I expected.”
Rudy smiled brightly.
“Calling men goods? Looks like our Luisa hasn’t changed at all~”
“…”
“But as you know, that place has very strict quality control. It won’t be easy to get even that old man in there. I’d love to let your guest in for free, Luisa, but the other customers wouldn’t like it…”
“That place.”
He meant the establishment that existed beyond even this underground tavern—a place that dealt in things far more dangerous and illicit.
In the original story, Rudy auctioned off all kinds of secret treasures smuggled in from across the Empire.
Luisa loved buying luxury items there.
Rudy’s eye for beauty wasn’t quite on Luisa’s level, but it was still exceptional. Everything he displayed was both dangerous and beautiful.
And later, unable to stop holding auctions, he even sold off House Mesena’s remaining inheritance, helping turn Luisa into one of history’s most infamous villains.
In fact, one of Rudy’s prized possessions would ultimately lead to her death.
That auction item…
…was the male protagonist of the novel.
The Empire’s First Prince.
For reasons unknown, he had fled the Imperial Palace, suffered every hardship imaginable, and was now a beautiful twenty-year-old young man.
Luisa first met him while visiting Rudy’s tavern.
The moment she saw him, she declared,
“That boy… how did he end up here? I’ll buy him.”
But—
“He was auctioned off a year ago. The guests bid on him, but I bought him back. He’s far too precious to sell. He’s one of my personal collections now.”
Rudy had refused.
Well, to be fair, Luisa couldn’t even afford to buy a single slave back then.
Slave trading was strictly forbidden under Imperial law, but Rudy couldn’t have cared less.
His business philosophy was simple.
Beautiful men attracted beautiful women.
What a lunatic.
That lunatic’s obsession played a huge role in Luisa’s downfall.
After all, his “collectible” would eventually become the Empire’s next Emperor.
I shoved a pouch of gold coins into Rudy’s hands.
“Alfredo will wear a mask. Most of the guests are masked anyway.”
Pointing at Alfredo—whose face had been sour ever since we entered—I continued,
“Give him a rat mask. It’ll suit him.”
A fussy little city rat who was all bark and no bite.
Perfect.
Alfredo’s expression darkened even further.
✦ ✦ ✦
A city rat and a cat entered the dim underground chamber together.
The room was divided into sections by heavy blackout curtains, with only a few candles left burning.
The atmosphere reeked of danger.
Although Alfredo grumbled the entire time, he never left my side, apparently worried he’d lose me.
“Isn’t that Luisa Mesena? The infamous princess. The famous auction queen.”
Someone somehow recognized me despite my mask.
Alfredo edged even closer.
Is he… worried about me?
“I’ll report every single thing you do with another man to His Lordship!”
…Never mind.
He was just policing me.
Smiling beneath my mask, I said,
“No need. Even wearing a mask, everyone here knows who I am. If I caused even the slightest scene, the whole Empire would be desperate to tear me apart.”
“T-Tear you apart? If anything, you’re the one who tears people apart…”
Just then, the people surrounding the stage began whispering as I was escorted to seats directly beneath it.
“So she finally came back. Must’ve made some money from those auctions.”
“Making money through auctions just to spend it all at another auction. Pathetic.”
“How much could a ruined princess possibly have? She’s nothing more than the spoiled daughter of a fallen house. Lost her parents young… and apparently her personality too.”
I started toward a secluded corner…
…then deliberately sat in the centre instead.
If I was going to be insulted either way, I’d rather sit where I could see every face looking down on me.
An actor’s face should always be viewed under proper lighting.
Stage lights could be deceptive.
Unlike me, lounging comfortably on the sofa, Alfredo glared at everyone insulting me.
Then he muttered,
“Even so… bringing up someone’s family like that…”
“Ladies and gentlemen! The auction you’ve all been waiting for is about to begin!”
A dwarf acting as the auctioneer shouted from the stage.
“You picked the perfect night, darling. We’ve got excellent merchandise today.”
The sofa sank as Rudy plopped down beside me.
Still smiling, he held a cherry to my lips.
“My, what perfect lips~”
Behind his mask, Rudy’s blue eyes glittered.
They were the eyes of someone who saw people as merchandise.
I slapped his hand away.
At that very moment—
“Today’s first item is exceptionally rare. Rather than describing it, let me show you! Presenting Lot Number One!”
A large iron cage was wheeled onto the stage.
Candles surrounded it like spotlights.
The dwarf grinned and pulled away the cloth covering the cage.
The elegantly dressed nobles erupted into cheers.
Inside…
A slave stood in chains.
Covered in blood from head to toe.
Very slowly, he raised his head.
Golden eyes flashed brilliantly.
The golden eyes I had been searching for.
The face I had been waiting to see.
The male lead of this novel.
The future Emperor of the Empire.
The man destined to burn me alive in the streets.
“Beautiful, isn’t he?”
Rudy whispered.
“Don’t you want him?”
All around us, the nobles admired his face, sighing in satisfaction.
“How much should I bid?”
“I’ve only got one million Derks. Maybe I’ll start at five hundred thousand.”
“Wait. That ruined princess will start the bidding anyway.”
They snickered as they looked at me.
The reckless princess of a fallen duchy.
A hopeless spendthrift.
Surely she’d run out of money by now.
Above all their voices came Rudy’s gentle whisper.
“You’re short on money these days, aren’t you? I heard you’ve earned a bit through auctions, but this must still be too expensive.”
“…”
“I can lend you a hundred million Derks if you—”
“Fifty million Derks.”
“…!”
The entire room held its breath.
Forty million Derks.
That was what Rudy had paid in the original novel to buy him back.
Rudy himself had stated the amount.
Which was why I had come tonight carrying fifty million Derks.
The very first earnings from my own auction.
I’d spent all night balancing the accounts to scrape together that exact sum.
Everything else had gone toward paying off smaller debts.
In other words…
Every last coin I had received from selling my grandfather’s sword.
“Anyone willing to bid higher?”
I didn’t even have to look around.
Everyone had to be staring at me in shock.
Fifty million Derks wasn’t the sort of money young aristocrats casually spent in a single evening.
Nor was it an amount anyone expected a ruined princess to possess.
No one bid higher.
Not even Rudy.
I pulled out the pouch of gold and tossed it to him.
“I’ll pay immediately.”
“…?”
The heavy pouch struck his cheek.
Opening it, Rudy’s eyes widened.
I pointed at the man I had just bought.
“Load him into my carriage.”
It was a bargain.
That “item” was worth far more than fifty million Derks.
His value…
…was the price of my life.
