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Not only that, I\'ve also investigated rumors and retrieved quite a few of them from the streets.

I even went as far as negotiating directly with nobles who were known to have bought or acquired one of them.

Sadly, while I tried to use only my own resources, there were times when this simply wasn\'t possible. There were tables I couldn\'t even sit at without using the Evretis family name.

this chapter is mv|le|mp|y r

Because of that, a few rumors started spreading about them looking to start a collection.

There was also a lot of speculation about their reasons, however, they were promptly shut down by Duke Albris, who decided to go with the narrative that his daughter, Isabella, was the one interested in acquiring them.

Given the direction the speculations were going, I was sure this poor excuse wouldn\'t stick, but surprisingly, it was widely accepted that this was just another one of her meaningless and impulsive actions.

It seemed like this happened because she already had a bad reputation established in high society, but I still felt this was unfortunate since I didn\'t want to tarnish her image even more.

Still, the fact that I was looking to acquire as many Snow White Wolves as possible was known to the Evretis, and Albris saw this as an opportunity.

At first, it was innocent and friendly. He offered information and even sent representatives using his own budget to gain favor with me.

This worked well for us both, however, being in that position didn\'t satisfy him.

He thought he had finally found something to bind me with, so his attempt at gaining favor quickly changed gears, and eventually, he tried to use them as hostages.

Unfortunately for him, I was not interested in playing this silly game.

From the beginning, I was prepared to use any means necessary to obtain them, and Albris discovered this in the worst way possible during his first and only attempt at using them to get to me.

Since I thought he had learned his lessons, I was genuinely surprised when her brothers Lennard and Albert invited us to participate in an auction during Isabella\'s first-semester break, at the start of this world\'s winter,

Compared to their father, the two of them had been much more honest and willing towards Isabella, so I decided to give them the benefit of the doubt.

With Isabella also joining us, the chances of either of them doing anything unreasonable also fell drastically.

And so, we traveled north from the capital, towards a particularly well-known and luxurious store.

The place didn\'t seem all that spacious from the outside, which led me to think it was the type of store that focuses more on quality than quantity.

However, the first floor was surprisingly packed with plenty of interesting and rare items.

They showcased a bunch of different jewels, dresses, paintings, and vases. There were even some interesting-looking spell books and magic tools.

I was surprised by the variety, but the prices caught my attention the most.

Even the least expensive items were costly enough that the yearly income of small businesses or even high-level adventurers couldn\'t afford.

It was truly bewildering.

Clerk: "Are you perhaps interested in Gigini\'s works, sir? If you follow me, there is a particular piece..."

I was only looking at the prices.

Out of curiosity, I started searching for the most expensive one.

But once I took a good look at the painting I was checking the price of, I understood why they were so expensive.

They all depicted a different type of scenery, but all of them shared this otherworldly charm that invited me in.

I couldn\'t imagine how much work was necessary to get such a result, so even though I felt like the prices were outrageous, I couldn\'t really criticize the work or put my own price on it.

Clerk: "Would you like to take this one?"

However, even though I felt that and recognized the value of the work...

I wasn\'t willing to pay that much. There were other things I had to prioritize.

Miwen: "Would you look at that? It\'s almost time for the auction..."

Clerk: "Hm? It won\'t start for another 30 minutes-"

Miwen: "Gotta be early to get the best seats."

Even though there wasn\'t such a thing due to all the seats being reserved, it seemed like I managed to catch him off guard, and that single second, when he stopped to think, allowed me to dash out of the place towards the underground hall where the auction was set to take place.

The hall was fairly spacious. easily accommodating hundreds of people even though each seat also looked to be big and comfortable.

If they offered snacks it would probably be my best experience in a hall like this.

However, the stage I was watching wasn\'t going to perform a play this time, and it was certainly not as entertaining as a cinema.

The auction itself consisted of many different items, some had brands and names behind them that I could recognize like the paintings from before.

But unlike the first floor, this auction also offered a number of slaves.

While it\'s somewhat acceptable in this world, it is never a comfortable experience for me.

I would avert my eyes, pretend not to see it, and avoid a place like this if the situation was different.

However, I had to torture myself this way every time I heard rumors of a Snow White Wolf being sold.

The worst part is thinking that perhaps I could free some of them. While I might have the budget thanks to the Kingdom and the Gacha aspects of my Gift generating a decent income now that we have a good number of citizens, the fact is that I can\'t compete with all the rich people of Evretis on every single item.

I had to stay focused, or else, I\'d risk losing what was truly important.

Albert: "...Is there a reason you\'re only interested in their tribe? Is it because of the one who is always following you?"

Miwen: "...Who knows?"

I don\'t mind Albert asking about this as much nowadays. He\'s smart and curious, and considering that what I\'m doing affects his family, it\'s understandable that they ask questions about it.

However, I\'ve always avoided answering. No matter which one of them asked.

Although I do use their name, I tend to leave it implied by simply saying that I\'m the Evretis\' butler. The rest is up to the other party\'s imagination.

Since I\'m using my own money, I don\'t feel like I should tell them my motives.

It\'s pretty much an open secret at this point, and Albert knew it well.

Thus, this question wasn\'t meant to receive a proper answer, it was just his way of breaking the ice.

Miwen: "More importantly... Don\'t you have something you want to tell me?"

Albert: "...I wanted to thank you for what you have done for Isabella. Ever since you arrived, her mood and behavior have improved a lot. We\'ve even been able to get closer, something I thought would never happen. I understand that you don\'t have a good opinion of me. Or the rest of my family, due to how we mishandled her situation, but..."

I should have expected this is where he would take things.

The moment Lennard left with Isabella to take a break, I already thought something was going to happen, but a heartfelt thanks from Albert, the most stoic among the brothers, wasn\'t something I had imagined.

It seemed to be a collaborative effort between the two of them though.

Seeing as he was being honest, I decided to reciprocate.

Miwen: "I don\'t particularly blame you or your brother for Isabella\'s situation. You were just kids, so I understand that even though you wanted to, there was no way for you to do anything."

After we left the main residence, I was able to see a different side of the two.

They were by far the highest authority in the capital\'s house, and they made sure things were comfortable for Isabella there.

The three of them even started to grow closer to one another, and while our efforts to improve her behavior and prevent her from starting any trouble certainly helped, it felt like they just sped up something that was already brewing.

We know that if Isabella starts trouble there she will be reprimanded thanks to the game, but even there, the girls started to see things a little differently.

The reprimands instead of trying to shut her down, became more focused on telling her how to behave in a better manner.

It was subtle, but it showed that something in their main residence was preventing the brothers from acting the way they intended.

Perhaps even unconsciously.

Albert: "I\'m surprised you were paying so much attention... But you\'re correct. Isabella was always treated differently by our mother, which caused everyone to do the same. But it wasn\'t her intention for things to get this way. She just... couldn\'t bear to love her.

And before we knew it, reaching out for Isabella felt like defying the ocean. Unless we had more authority, we wouldn\'t be able to change things for her."

Social cues can be a hard concept for kids to grasp, but they can still feel it.

They must\'ve noticed that Isabella was treated differently from a young age.

Pamela cared about her children and the family. But that wasn\'t including Isabella at all.

With time, her attempts to ignore her existence started to become justification and validation for those working in the house to do the same, or even worse.

Eventually, it became the house\'s culture.

For someone on the inside, going against the prevalent culture could be seen as challenging the authority maintaining it.

It would be hard for Lennard to do it considering his position as heir to Albris. One misstep and he could lose everything.

While the same wasn\'t true for Albert, his position was even more delicate.

It\'s cruel, but when we consider his position, it could be said that he\'s just Lennard\'s spare.

As Isabella\'s treatment worsened, she obviously started to push back, leading to her situation and reputation.

Her mistakes made it so that even when she wasn\'t to blame, the blame still fell on her, simply because of the pattern of repetition.

It must\'ve made it even more difficult for the two of them to act. Not only because Isabella was causing her own misfortune, making it hard to declare her completely innocent, but also because defending her would instantly tarnish their own reputation.

In this situation, stepping up to help her could easily backfire and worsen the dynamic.

Miwen: "I would still have stepped up though. It\'s a brother\'s responsibility."

It\'s not really fair since our positions are completely different, but when it came to my sister, I would trouble everyone around me to help her.

Even the girl herself.

To me, no sacrifice was too big when it came to her.

Albert: "Things escalated beyond the point of no return. Even if I knew Isabella wasn\'t acting with malice, her actions were undeniably causing harm to everyone around. But I wish you would extend your forgiveness to the rest of my family. Like the two of us, no one was-"

Miwen: "To blame? I disagree."

Albert: "...Accepting her into the family tarnished my father\'s reputation at the time. The dissent was one of the main reasons why he chose to enter a union under Terith. He sacrificed a lot for Isabella. As for my mother... While she didn\'t take care of Isabella properly, you must understand that she was also hurt by everything that happened.

As a woman who always did her best for the house, being cheated on hurt her a lot, and she couldn\'t bear to treat Isabella the same way she did her own children."

I\'m sure he knew better.

This was just a plea.

Miwen: "...What are you so worried about? It\'s not like I can do anything about that anyway. My only focus at this moment is to help Isabella achieve-"

Albert: "You\'re building an army. And there\'s only one thing I can think you would use it for."

So he circled back... As I thought, he\'s quite sharp.

He has no way of knowing what my history with Hamperlon is, so he jumped to a similar conclusion, but with a different target.

Miwen: "Haha. Would you believe me if I said that I\'m doing it out of the good in my heart?"

Albert: "Not at all. Or else, you wouldn\'t target their race. The ones without a home... What are you planning to offer them?"

Miwen: "Me? I have nothing to offer. However, I do have some people I feel need to be punished. But you shouldn\'t worry about that. If you truly believe no one is to blame, that is."

Things became quite awkward after that.

I could tell he was trying to read me. Trying to figure out exactly what I meant and what I was going to do.

But this led him nowhere.

Albert: "I\'m thankful for what you have done for Isabella. That will remain true. You can choose whatever you want this time, it\'ll be on me. But this doesn\'t mean I won\'t stop you if you mean harm to my family."

That\'s a good attitude.

I wish he had it since the start.

Things would certainly be a lot easier were that the case.

Still, even though we had a bit of a discussion, the auction went on as normal.

I bid on all the Snow White Wolves, and even though their price had been inflated due to the Evretis\' newly found interest in them, being accompanied by them made others a bit more afraid of being disrespectful, shortening all of the bid wars.