Chapter 6
“…This really is a diamond.”
MoneyPan inspected the raw stone for quite a while before coming to a conclusion.
“The quality is also top grade.”
“Uhmm… Mister, if there’s moonlight, does an aurora appear on it too?”
“Mister? I’m only 26 years old, with a bright future ahead of me…”
“He was really pretty, Grandpa!”
Ignoring MoneyPan’s words, I shouted.
At my outburst, my uncle looked somewhat displeased.
It’s understandable — like a cat that usually keeps its distance and hisses nervously suddenly clinging to you.
But that’s exactly why I should cling tighter.
Burying my face in his leg, I made a childish whining sound, “Hiiing…”
“Ahem.”
There it was! The awkward cough my uncle always makes when embarrassed!
I grinned.
“A diamond with an aurora? What on earth does that mean?”
MoneyPan, trembling from being ignored by me, asked.
I glanced at Albus, who cautiously opened his mouth to explain.
“It’s true. At the Duke’s request, I went for a brief walk, and the sun had set. When night fell, an aurora suddenly appeared somewhere. It felt closer than usual, so I followed the light and found that raw stone.”
Albus calmly explained.
MoneyPan stared at him for a long moment, then lowered his gaze again.
“Cough cough.”
At that moment, my uncle suddenly started coughing violently.
“Cough.”
He took out a handkerchief to cover his mouth, his face growing paler. Cold sweat dripped down his cheek.
“G-Grandpa…?”
I looked at my uncle with a worried expression.
“Wood, sir!”
Albus limped over and hurriedly supported him.
“Albus, quickly take him to Grandpa’s room. Call the doctor too.”
“The doctor…”
Albus tried to say something, but my uncle raised a hand to stop him.
“Why…?”
Could it be that we don’t even have money to call a doctor?
‘Ha…’
I was speechless.
As my uncle struggled to stand, the inside of his tightly buttoned shirt was briefly visible.
There were dark red patches beneath his neck. Similar patches peeked from under his worn sleeve.
“Dark red patches?”
Sensing my gaze, my uncle hurriedly pulled down his sleeve.
“Wait a moment, cough… just wait…”
He said this to MoneyPan, then leaning on Albus, left the parlor.
On the floor lay a handkerchief stained with my uncle’s blood.
I carefully bent down and picked it up.
‘…Dark red patches, coughing up blood, pale face, low body temperature.’
And an incurable disease…
‘Consumption?’
I easily recalled the name of the disease with those symptoms.
It’s common in the North, but the cause and treatment remain unknown.
Rogas is a forsaken land with little support from the capital, so if you catch it, it’s known as a death sentence.
At least it isn’t contagious.
‘Still, there is a treatment…’
It just hasn’t been discovered yet at this time.
‘We don’t have money to call the doctor right now…’
I felt dizzy realizing we don’t even have a quack doctor we can call, let alone the Duke family’s physician.
‘Money first.’
If we had money, this frustrating situation could be somewhat resolved.
I plopped down where my uncle had been sitting.
“Where did you get this?”
MoneyPan asked, inspecting the raw stone and me closely.
“How much do you think this would fetch at auction?”
Instead of answering, I asked him a question.
MoneyPan, ignored once again, hesitated.
“You’re asking me?”
“Yeah.”
I answered while looking him straight in the eyes, which seemed to embarrass him a little.
Well, anyone would be surprised if a seven-year-old kid who usually clings and waves their arms around suddenly spoke so clearly.
“There’s never been a stone this size recorded before… Conservatively, it should fetch at least 8 billion Rad.”
Because it involved money, MoneyPan answered diligently.
“No, I told you it’s an Aurora Diamond. The aurora spreads under the moonlight. It’s even a limited edition. It’s the only one. It can be sold for more.”
“Unproven factors like that aren’t included when pricing…”
“This mister really talks nonsense.”
“I’m not a mister…”
“The proof can be done tonight. I’m talking about the value if it’s confirmed to be an Aurora Diamond.”
Crunch, crunch.
Chewing the precious almonds they served me as a guest, I tilted my head.
“…That means…”
MoneyPan fell silent as if at a loss for words.
Watching him hesitate, I said,
“Five hundred billion.”
“Huh?”
“At least 50 billion Rad as a minimum bid.”
Ha!
MoneyPan burst out laughing loudly.
“Crazy… no, don’t say nonsense. Who’d pay that much for a diamond this size?”
“I haven’t weighed it yet, but it’s over 8,000 carats. No raw stone this size has ever been found before. That’s at least 8,000 stones if each is one carat.”
“…”
“Aristocrats love to show off and have money to burn. Once cut, one carat could be worth several thousand. If it’s custom-made from the start, the price goes even higher. Plus, it’s a new material called the ‘Aurora Diamond.’ It’s the only thing that lets you see the aurora from home, which normally can only be seen in the far north.”
MoneyPan’s mouth dropped open.
“Considering the cost was only 10 million Rad, even rough calculations show it’s profitable. Famous boutiques sell dresses for thousands, but this is a gem.”
He pinched his cheek and thigh repeatedly as if my smooth talk was a dream.
He even shed a little tear.
In fact, MoneyPan plans to sell this raw stone discovered by the second protagonist, Calix, for 42.4 billion Rad.
‘And then revive Rogas.’
But first, I have to revive my own family.
“I want to entrust selling this diamond to the Guild.”
“To the Guild… you mean?”
“Yeah. They’re the most trustworthy and reliable institution. How about a 1 billion Rad commission?”
MoneyPan swallowed hard.
His eyes sparkled with greed. He clearly smelled money. There was something captivating in how he looked at me.
I liked that about him.
MoneyPan loves money. Meaning if you have money, he’ll bow even to a newborn baby.
And he wouldn’t want to hand over a 1 billion Rad commission to the Guild.
“Honestly, I’m a little worried… If word gets out it came from Rogas, weird people will swarm here.”
“…”
“I hope there’s someone who keeps secrets well and quietly gets a good price. I think I’ll need their services a lot from now on.”
Sigh.
Pouting like a sulky child, I let out an exaggerated sigh. MoneyPan’s eyes flashed.
“Then…!”
When I dangled the bait, he bit eagerly.
He was honest in front of money.
“How about I sell it personally for you?”
He was no longer rude or arrogant. He was very polite.
Pretending to eat almonds, I covered my mouth with my hand and grinned.
