The Arrogance of a Duke

"Do you know who that was?" she couldn't help but ask.

"Perhaps?"

What kind of answer was that? She chose to focus her attention on the well-lit hallway instead. It was still daytime, yet the corridor was already lit with beautifully decorated candles that were placed inside iron cages that resembled a bird's cage.

She didn't know whose idea it was, but she immediately noticed that most of the decorations inside were cages and elegant paintings of birds — different birds.

The guard then led them to the second floor and then to another floor. This time, the stairs leading to the third floor were covered in a scarlet red carpet that muted their footsteps.

"Please come in… the general manager will come shortly. May I offer some cocktails and pastries?"

"Tea is fine. The most bitter one." Duke Lucas answered smoothly. She was guessing this wasn't the first time that the Duke came here. She noticed his burning gaze toward her.

"Oh… I… I would like whatever he is going to have." Rosalind uttered.

"Very well," the guard bowed before leaving.

"This place is— " Rosalind couldn't even begin to describe the extravagance in the room. There were four seats donned with velvet and gold. Jewels that she only saw inside the emperor's throne room were used to adorn the table in the middle of the chairs.

"This isn't an auction place," she said. The walls were decorated with velvet that would mute any sounds and there were no windows or any other methods for them to have access to a public auction.

"No. It's a place to buy … stuff."

She snorted. She could only imagine what type of stuff they could buy here. They sat opposite each other. Indeed, the chair was even more comfortable than the chair in that throne room!

Did that make any sense?

However, she had no time to think about the extravagance now. She had more pressing issues, such as the possibility that she may not be able to afford anything that they are going to sell her!

She mentally counted the money that she had and bit her lower lip.

She had about thirty gold coins left.

There wasn't really a lot. One gold coin was already considered a lot at this time. It is equivalent to ten silver coins. One silver coin is equivalent to a hundred copper coins.

Right now, a normal servant was able to earn one silver coin per month, which wasenough for them to survive for the entire month.

Meaning, the normal population already considered one piece of gold extravagant.

But was that even enough to buy something at this place?

She gritted her teeth. Being rich is really an advantage! She needed to earn her own money before she left this place and she needed to do it as soon as possible.

There was a knock on the door and a man wearing a -purple suit walked inside with a respectful smile on his face.

"Good day dear guests! My name is Nathanyell Claimond and I am the current general manager of this branch," the man elegantly bowed towards them.

"We are looking for books," the Duke said. "Banned ones."

Mr. Claimond smiled. "Of course. I will get the list of the rarest collections that we have." After that, he left them alone again.

"He left," Rosalind uttered.

"I can see that."

Rosalind gritted her teeth. Would it have killed him not to say a word?

"No, I mean… I was expecting him to serve you."

"I would rather not. I would prefer it if it was just the two of us."

She glared at him. She knew a question was coming. Almost immediately, she started overthinking. Did he know about Pratt and what she did? Was he following her since she arrived?

However, the man never spoke another word until Mr. Claimond came back with a booklet. By then, Rosalind and the Duke had been silently drinking their bitter teas without exchanging a single word between them.

To say that the atmosphere inside the room was very awkward was an understatement. Obviously, this made Rosalind overthink even more.

Why wasn't he saying anything? With her experiences and age, she ought to act calm and collected. She had gone through a lot of things, but being in front of him was different.

The man knew her secret!

She showed him she had the Blessing of the darkness in good faith, thinking it would convince him to work with her, but it seems that showing her cards was the wrong move.

For some reason, she was so certain that the man would ask her about Mr. Pratt, but he actually didn't.

"This contains all the collections that we have. Books that have been banned not just because they talked about the ugly side of the seven blessed families but their secrets as well. There are books about dark arts and the Dark Lord and books that the church would want to burn," Mr. Claimond said with a smile.

Then he handed them a bell.

"Please ring this bell when you are ready to make a purchase or if you have questions about an item."

Rosalind smiled and opened the booklet.

Then she closed it again. Like a child, peering from behind a tree, she opened the booklet once again.

Then she closed it.

"Is something the matter?" the Duke asked.

In response, she cleared her throat.

"None…" Aside from the price of the first item, which was already fifty gold coins, that is. She faked a smile. This time, she opened the booklet and started looking at the prices.

Just as she expected, the next page was even more expensive than the page before it.

It looked like they arranged the items based on their prices and even the cheapest one was more expensive than her entire current fortune.

"If you do not like it, I could ask them to give us another— "

"No."

He stared at her, blinking. "So you dislike it?" he asked.

"I mean… yes. I like it. There is no need to ask them anything. This — this booklet will suffice."

She grabbed one teacup and took a mouthful of tea to calm her nerves.

"Are you worried about the prices? Are you lacking in gold?"

**Cough**

She started coughing. For some reason, the tea stopped moving down her throat. How could he be so direct? Can he at least use some softer words to ask her about her money?

"Here— " the Duke handed her something. Seeing it was a handkerchief, she accepted it and used it to cover her mouth as she tried to calm herself down.

"You should be more careful in drinking bitter tea."

It wasn't the tea, she wanted to complain.

"If it was indeed the gold, then… there is no need to think about it. Buy what you want. I am certain my life is worth more than any books on this continent."

Speechless, she turned to him. Was this arrogance? Or was he simply jesting?