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Chapter 24
“Did you come to give me gold coins?”
That was the first thing Belaxina said the moment she cracked the door open.
Avalkin didn’t even look surprised. He seemed like he had expected her to say that.
“I’d rather talk inside.”
“…Come in.”
Belaxina opened the door fully and let him in.
She hoped he brought gold, but even if he didn’t, it wasn’t like she had any reason to turn someone away who came bearing gifts.
“Just to be clear, it’s not gold. Not coins, not jewelry, not even gold dust.”
“That’s disappointing.”
“But I do admit I was lacking in sincerity before.”
Avalkin hesitated for a second, then reached into his coat and pulled out a small velvet pouch.
The dark blue velvet looked expensive, clearly meant to hold something valuable.
“If it was a draw, both sides deserve a reward, right?”
What came out of the pouch was a simple, pure white ring, smooth and round like a full moon, reflecting colors like an opal.
“Didn’t you say you were broke?”
“I am. Yeshken collects taxes on goods, not money, and everything we earn from trade goes straight into buying food.”
He held the ring out to her again.
Belaxina glanced back and forth between the ring and his face, then reluctantly took it.
“It’s not like I wanted money to splurge.”
But there was no way Avalkin could know she needed actual gold coins. This was probably the most sincere gesture he could manage with what he had.
“It looks expensive.”
“Maybe. I don’t really know. It belonged to my mother.”
Belaxina’s head snapped up in shock.
“I can’t accept this!”
“Why not? Because it’s not gold?”
“How do you see me, seriously?!”
“……”
Avalkin didn’t say anything.
But his silence said it all. Even a fool could tell what that meant: If I answer, you’ll get mad.
Sure, I could sell it and turn it into gold coins…
But she wasn’t that heartless—she wasn’t about to pawn off someone’s mother’s keepsake.
“My mom passed away too. I made a mess of my life and couldn’t even bring one thing of hers with me when I left…”
Belaxina gently took Avalkin’s hand and placed the ring back in his palm.
“Even if it was part of a bet, I know this isn’t something you just hand over like that.”
Avalkin stared at the ring in his hand for a moment, then looked back at Belaxina.
“So… you do have feelings.”
“That’s rich, coming from you. Just take it back.”
“I can’t.”
Now what’s he being stubborn about?
Belaxina was about to snap when their eyes suddenly met.
Avalkin had a faint smile on his face. That caught her off guard, and her eyes wavered.
In that moment of distraction—
Avalkin grabbed her left hand, and before she realized it, he had slipped the ring onto her ring finger.
“Looks like I didn’t explain properly.”
Still holding her hand lightly, Avalkin continued.
“This ring is both my mother’s keepsake and a national treasure of the old Kingdom of Ishtvan. It’s traditionally used by the head of a noble house to propose to his future wife. It’s made from a unicorn’s horn. Obviously, it’s not something I’d give away as a casual bet prize—I just needed an excuse. It was always meant for you.”
Belaxina’s red eyes widened like ripe cherries.
“So… this is a proposal ring?”
“I asked you to cooperate with the wedding, but I never really proposed properly, did I?”
Belaxina couldn’t take her eyes off the ring on her finger.
A proposal? To me? But why?
She couldn’t make sense of it.
This man kept throwing her off—treating her like property one moment, then suddenly being kind…
Just when she resolved to escape and get away from his emotional whiplash, now he goes and proposes?
“….”
“You don’t look very happy. Do you not like the ring? Is that why you tried to give it back?”
Her mixed feelings must’ve shown on her face.
Avalkin watched her closely. He had zero talent for reading emotions, so of course he got it wrong.
“How could I complain about your mother’s keepsake?”
Belaxina pulled her hand out of his and took a step back.
She didn’t want him to see how shaken she was.
Even if she came off as mean or cold, she wanted to appear strong.
“Well. If it was gold, it would’ve been better.”
“As I said before, I really don’t have any gold. The grain prices in Mantova went way up, so all my funds dried up.”
“Wait. What did you say?”
Belaxina’s eyes lit up.
“Giovanni Desiderio raised grain prices? By a lot?”
“Yes. I couldn’t buy enough because of it.”
“Why?”
“…Hm?”
Avalkin didn’t expect her to keep asking, but he answered anyway.
“I heard the imperial family raised taxes.”
“Taxes? Oh, because of tea and tobacco, right? How much did they raise it by?”
“I’m not sure…”
“You know prices went up but don’t know by how much?”
Belaxina gave him a stunned, almost pitying look.
Avalkin cleared his throat and replied awkwardly.
“I think what matters isn’t how much it went up, but how we’re going to make up for the shortage.”
“What kind of nonsense is that? The territory you usually buy from didn’t have a bad harvest. Why go elsewhere instead of buying what’s already available?”
“…Ahem.”
Avalkin fell silent.
Even though Belaxina used a word as improper as “nonsense,” everything she said was perfectly logical.
“Wait a second. Are you telling me… you just paid the new, higher price without arguing?”
“They wouldn’t sell otherwise. What else was I supposed to do?”
“You’re kidding, right? Who actually says, ‘We’re raising prices today,’ and hears, ‘Oh, sure! Let me pay more!’ in return?!”
“……”
Why aren’t you answering?
Belaxina’s jaw dropped, caught between disbelief and frustration.
That silence meant—yes. He really did just pay the higher price.
“No wonder you’re broke!”
She exploded like a volcano, and words tumbled out of her mouth without pause.
“I knew something was off! You’re too broke. Even with bad weather, you’ve got magic beast by-products—those are worth a lot! And as an undeveloped territory, you don’t even pay taxes. So why are things this tight? It’s all because the lord is incompetent!”
Avalkin felt his ears heat up.
He never thought Belaxina, of all people—known for her extravagance—would be the one lecturing him about managing a territory.
“…Don’t people usually keep those thoughts to themselves?”
“If I keep it to myself, you won’t hear it! I want you to hear it!”
So that was the point.
Avalkin coughed, feeling incredibly awkward.
He didn’t even want to think about proposing anymore. He just wanted to escape the situation.
Meanwhile, Belaxina’s brain was working faster than ever.
Giovanni Desiderio doesn’t want to sell grain. He just wants to charge enough to cover the taxes.
Sure, grain lasted longer than other foods, but storing it still cost money.
If he waited too long and the next harvest came around, the old grain would lose its value.
Which meant—this was a deal she could work with.
“Want me to fix it for you?”
“…What?”
“Obviously, not for free.”
Belaxina’s eyes sparkled as she looked at Avalkin.
“If I manage to make a grain deal with Mantova, how much will you pay me?”
