He hadn't planned on dragging Julian into this, but what else could he do?
This guy tried to choke them first.
That was why anything that happened from now was all this bastardâs fault.
âThis bastardâs artifact really is annoying, butâŚâŚâ
Ju-Heon actually had been keeping an eye on Zhuge Kongming's artifact more than anybody else because of that. He already knew a lot about it to start because they had been part of the same tomb raiding team in the past.
âThatâs why there is a method.â
But Ju-Heon debated for a moment.
âEven still, if there isnât a suitable situationâŚâŚâ
But as he thought about thatâŚ
â!â
Ju-Heon started to frown after feeling a presence.
He felt the presence of a third person here when it should just be him and Julian here in this storage room.
The location was the ceiling! Ju-Heon raised his head and the artifact spying on them disappeared.
Swish!
It had quickly run away after feeling Ju-Heon's murderous intent.
Ju-Heon clicked his tongue in response.
âTsk, did they overhear?â
It was a soul-type artifact that had been eavesdropping on them while hiding in the ceiling. It was obvious that someone had sent an artifact to spy on them.
Julian, who noticed it as well, sneered at Ju-Heon.
âHow wonderful. Now the information about how you put up a fake artifact will spread everywhere.â
Julian had noticed almost at the same time as Ju-Heon because the artifact had hidden so well.
Ju-Heon got an urgent call soon enough.
It was the auctioneer who had run the auction.
[Umm, we have a problem, sir.]
âPlease tell me. What is going on?â
[The princess of Monaco has paid for the item and taken it. But there is a person hindering the dealâŚâŚ!]
âHindering?â
[Yes sir, it is a woman claiming that the item is fake! Anyway, please quickly come to the exit area.]
The call suddenly ended as if there was a big issue at the other end.
Julian, who had heard the conversation because the person had been speaking loudly, started to laugh.
âYou're bound to get punished if you commit terrible deeds. Why donât you just confess and ask for forgiveness?â
But Ju-Heon, who was looking at Julian, was smiling for some reason.
âYeah, youâre right. Iâll go confess.â
He sent someone a text at the same time.
"What? Youâre saying this is fake? What are you talking about?!â
Sophie, the lucky person who won the bidding war for the artifact. Princess Sophie of Monaco's mind was a chaotic mess right now.
It made sense as something unexpected happened as she paid a hefty price and was trying to leave this stuffy small theatre.
A woman suddenly stopped her as she was trying to leave.
âWhat am I talking about? Itâs exactly as I mentioned. Princess, the item you won is a fake.â
It was a female FBI agent who was speaking fluent French to the princess. She was the one who had received Lee Seol-A's report.
Lee Seol-A was inside a car watching what was going on inside with a headset on her head.
She could see things thanks to the small camera she had stealthily placed on the FBI agent.
âI called you guys as you wanted to stop the princess.â
Honestly speaking, Lee Seol-A had been suspicious of Ju-Heon. She had been suspicious since the moment Ju-Heon said he would have this auction.
Why?
âThereâs no way that wicked bastard is going to do an auction with proper intentions.â
Grind. This bastard had completely destroyed their area for the harem artifact and Nero's artifact.
âI've pretty much figured out that the bastard is focused on artifacts.â
Would such a person just sell an artifact they worked so hard to get?
âOf course not!â
That was why she had infiltrated this place and looked around everywhere to see if she could find anything.
That led her to end up overhearing Julian and Ju-Heon's conversation.
Yes. The owner of the soul-type artifact that had spied on Ju-Heon and Julian was none other than Lee Seol-A. That was why Lee Seol-A had clearly heard it.
She heard that the artifact was a fake!
Lee Seol-A, who was outside, immediately started to act once she learned this fact. She called the Interpol and FBI members she was connected with. The FBI had already found artifacts to be headaches, and did not have a good relationship with the CIA that was kind of doing whatever they wanted for the artifacts.
But the FBI would gain more rights to artifact investigations among other benefits if they took care of this properly. Lee Seol-A was using that for her advantage.
She wasn't scared of the weird device Ju-Heon had installed on her.
âThe professor said it was a simple transmitter.â
Maybe that was the reason. The FBI agent who came after Lee Seol-A's report showed their ID and surrounded the auction house.
âAnyway, that artifact is fake. Seo Ju-Heon scammed you.â
People started to whisper.
âUnbelievable!â
"What do you mean it's a fake?!â
âOur Appraisers all said it was real!â
They didn't think this was all just for attention as the cops appeared as well.
Of course, the princess who had instantly become the victim of a scam was receiving gazes of compassion.
Did that have an influence?
âShut the hell up, what do you mean it's a fake? I bid on it because our side's Appraiser said that it was the real thing. If you want to try to turn me and my kingdom into idiots any moreâŚâŚ!â
However at that momentâŚ
âLet me show you proof.â
â!â
The person who appeared in front of the embarrassed princess was Lee Seol-A.
âPlease hold that artifact out in front of you.â
The princess held the artifact out and started to speak.
âFine. You wonât be fine if you're speaking nonsenseâŚâŚkyaa!â
Lee Seol-A had taken a dagger out and ruthlessly slashed down at the artifact.
Crack!
It had really happened in an instant. The golden laurel wreath was destroyed and everybody gasped.
âAhhhhhhhh!â
âWhat the hell did you do?! That was a 200 million dollar artifact!â
However, Lee Seol-A snorted while looking at the artifact that was destroyed so easily.
âPlease take a look. A supposed S-Grade artifact was so easily broken. My dagger would only be considered B-Grade according to Pandoraâs standards.
âW, what? B-Grade?â
âUnbelievable!â
âWhatâs wrong, what is it? Why does it matter that it is a B-Grade artifact?!â
Lee Seol-A started to speak as if to answer that question.
âA low-grade artifact cannot destroy a high-grade artifact like this. Thatâs a known fact. But it was destroyed?â
That made most of the people drop their jaws in shock. Even an idiot would know the meaning behind those words.
âThen that means that the item the princess won is lower than B-Grade!â
âUnbelievable! He said it was Julius Caesar's artifact! Why else would we have come all the way here?!"
âIt should at least be an S-Grade artifact because it came from a Great Tomb!â
Everybody turned chaotic.
âJust what is going on?â
What else could it be?
âAs I mentioned already, you all have been scammed.â
People were astonished or angry after hearing that.
âThen you are saying we were fooled by that bastard and even paid an admission fee for a fake?â
âAh, that crazy!â
âNo wonder he happily accepted a bid for 200 million dollars!â
The inside of the auction area was turning rowdy while the princess started to glare.
"Find Seo Ju-Heon immediately!â
âThis is big news!â
Lee Seol-A started to smile at the crowdâs intense reaction.
âGood, send Seo Ju-Heon to prison just like this.â
He had scammed the princess of a country. It probably wouldn'/ disappear quietly as he fooled a ton of colossuses as well.
This would allow her to get rid of Seo Ju-Heon and negotiate with the princess.
People soon started to go wild, talking about catching Ju-Heon.
"Find Seo Ju-Heon!â
âHurry up!â
But at that momentâŚ
âYou're looking for me?â
â!â
A person unexpectedly walked toward them with his head up.
The shocked people turned their heads to see Ju-Heon smiling by the hallway, looking as if he was wondering why they were all gathered together.
Lee Seol-A, who had expected him to have run away, started to get anxious.
âSeo Ju-Heon!â
The shocked people snapped out of it and started to shout.
âDid you really sell a fake?â
âPlease say something!â
Ju-Heon calmly responded.
âThatâs right. The item that all of you saw was indeed a fake.â
People were shocked to hear Ju-Heon's shameless words.
Was this guy crazy? How could he so openly say it was a fake in such a situation? What could he be thinking? Even Lee Seol-A looked confused as she could not understand his actions.
Ju-Heon clicked his tongue.
âBut itâs not like we wanted to put out a fake.â
The people couldn't believe it.
âHo. Of all the excuses to pick from, thatâŚâŚ!â
This seemed to be the right moment as the father of all scammers, Yoo Jaeha, started to shout.
âItâs not an excuse! Please look at this!â
Yoo Jaeha suddenly lifted up his shirt and showed them his stomach.
The people were shocked. There was a large scar on Yoo Jaehaâs stomach that looked as if it had healed not too long ago. He seemed to have been stabbed by a knife and had it sutured back up.
âW, what is that injury?â
âWhat does that have to do with the auctionâŚâŚâ
Yoo Jaeha started to grumble.
âI'll tell you everything since it ended up like this. We originally had no intentions of auctioning off the item! Who would want to sell something that they worked so hard to earn?!â
"Then whyâŚâŚ!â
âWe received a threatening phone call! The caller said to hand over the item we got from the Kyoto tomb!â
"What? A threatening phone call?â
Yoo Jaeha threw copies of a doctorâs note to the whispering people as he continued to shout.
âTake a look at this! We ignored it thinking it was a common prank call but I got stabbed a month ago!â
ââŚâŚ!â
The people looked at this completely authentic diagnosis and became anxious.
Yoo Jaeha continued to speak.
âAnyway, we did the auction because we thought we might die if we kept holding onto it!â
âThatâs why we tried to catch the perpetrator here in the auction house.â
âHuh? Huh? Thatâs right! We knew someone who desired that item so much would definitely come here!â
Ju-Heon immediately looked toward the princess.
âThat was why we tried to draw out the perpetrator with the fake. Wouldnât such a criminal stealthily aim for the person who won the bidding?â
â!â
âIn that sense, I believed the perpetrator would aim for you since you have the item.â
âIf that is true, then you used me.â
Ju-Heon put on an extremely apologetic expression.
âI apologize, but I thought your guards would be able to handle themselves in danger, princess.â
The people around them were suspicious but shocked.
ââŚâŚIs that for real?â
ââŚâŚIf that is the case, I can now understand it. I see why he let her win it with just 200 million dollars and some pretty useless artifacts.â
They could now understand why he chose the princess and the expressions on Ju-Heon and Yoo Jaeha's faces made it seem as if they were not lying.
Ju-Heon soon started to speak.
âI apologize. I was planning on giving you the real item once we caught the perpetrator and explained the situation to you. An auction is an auction after all.â
ââŚâŚ!â
The princess seemed to soften up a bit after hearing Ju-Heon's comment.
âAlthough we didnât manage to catch the person who threatened us, we will give you the real thing right now since the situation ended up like this.â
âBut this is still fishyâŚâŚâ
At that moment, Julian who was released by the rope was huffing as he arrived at where Ju-Heon was talking.
He had come to see if Ju-Heon really was confessing.
âSeo Ju-Heon.â
Ju-Heon put a hand on Julianâs shoulder.
âSorry, Miller. I had to confess like you said.â
The good-natured Julian smiled after seeing that Ju-Heon seemed to truly be reflecting on his actions.
ââŚâŚYou should have done that from the beginning.â
âI apologize. Miss princess. Please let me give you the real thing.â
But the moment Ju-Heon tried to take the laurel wreath out of his pocketâŚ
âHuh?â
Ju-Heon suddenly looked shocked. He then became flustered unlike his usual self and thoroughly searched his body.
The people around him started to get anxious while looking at Ju-Heon's reaction.
âWhatâs wrong?â Did something happen?â
âItâs gone! The real thing! It was definitely here!â
âWhat did you say?â
Ju-Heon then urgently asked Lee Seol-A for help.
âPlease block the exit for a bit! Can you do a body search on people just in case as well?â
Lee Seol-A tensed up. He truly had the gaze of someone who had lost something.
Julian was shocked as well.
âWhat the hell is this bastard saying all of a sudden?â
He had just confirmed in the other room that Ju-Heon had the artifact on him.
That was why Julian found it odd and activated Zhuge Kongming's artifact again.
He couldnât keep it activated all the time because it drained a lot of energy, but he needed it now.
HoweverâŚ
âHuh?â
He questioned his eyes.
âW, what the!â
He couldn't believe it.
The real artifact that Ju-Heon should have had on him was sending out its aura from his own pocket!
When the hell had this thing gotten here?!
Julian was rarely confused, but he was extremely bewildered at this situation. He then glared at Ju-Heon.
But Ju-Heon was smiling like the devil at him.
âWelcome, my accomplice. No, the perpetrator.â
That was what he seemed to be saying.
That was why Julian got the chills.
âIs this bastard perhapsâŚâ
But that only lasted for a moment as Julian became urgent. They would suspect him no matter what if this was found when they did the body search.
Because of thatâŚ
âI need to quickly let them know before there is a misunderstanding.â
But at that momentâŚ
âPlease cooperate with us for this body search.â
The Chinese Team Red excavation team put a hand on Julian's shoulder with perfect timing.