My Husband Was Clearly a Paladin
Chapter 24
Just because something is shaped like jewelry doesn’t mean it’s an artifact imbued with power.
To confirm whether it’s an artifact or not, one must take it to the Appraisal Room located within the fortress.
There lies the ‘Hand of Appraisal,’ an artifact owned by the Kingdom Alliance, much like the Eye of Exploration.
It looked like a severed hand with seven fingers, so shriveled it resembled a mummified limb.
However, like the Eye of Exploration, it was an active-type artifact that moved as if alive.
When an item discovered inside a dungeon is placed before it, the Hand of Appraisal feels it all over, then picks up a pen to write down the artifact’s name and properties.
‘It’s all well and good, but the problem is it costs a fortune.’
True to the money-hungry nature of the Kingdom Alliance, they never appraised artifacts for free.
Using the Hand of Appraisal just once required a fee of 10,000 gold.
And what if, after the appraisal, it turned out to be nothing special? You would have just thrown your money away.
Even so, the reason people paid the exorbitant fee was that an artifact could only be registered for auction once it had been officially named by the Hand of Appraisal.
Irene handed the ring to Michael.
“Do you think this is an artifact?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Well, there doesn’t seem to be anything else besides this.”
Irene showed him the bottom of the chest and even shook out her sleeves to show she hadn’t secretly pocketed anything.
A faint smile played on Michael’s lips at the sight.
“I have no such suspicions. More importantly, why don’t you try it on?”
As he spoke, Michael handed the ring back to Irene.
“This?”
“I’ve heard that among pairs, there is a custom of gifting the first piece of jewelry found together.”
“Ah.”
Irene nodded at his words.
She knew there were pairs who pushed themselves to clear dungeons repeatedly just to obtain wearable jewelry as a reward.
Naturally, in the past, such things had nothing to do with Irene.
“So, please take it.”
“Pardon? But this is something Sir Michael should rightfully take….”
“It does not matter. If that is the custom, it is only right that you have one.”
As if refusing to accept a refusal, Michael’s firm response made Irene look down at the ring resting on her palm.
‘I didn’t exactly expect to receive anything.’
Since she hadn’t received anything before, she assumed they would move on without any exchange this time as well.
Besides, in the past, he had always sent anything they found straight to the Temple.
But for him to give this to her—not through some formal procedure or Temple tradition, but according to a playful custom between pairs.
“Thank you.”
Irene bowed her head politely. There was no reason to refuse a gift.
‘It is a mid-level dungeon, after all, so there’s a chance it’s an artifact.’
Even if it wasn’t, it was an item from a mid-level dungeon—and an Unstable Dungeon at that.
That alone made it valuable enough to people outside the fortress.
If she managed to save up some money before leaving the fortress, it might be worth getting it appraised once.
‘Either way, it’ll be worth money if I sell it after I leave.’
Of course, the thought of selling something she received as a token of their partnership weighed a bit on her conscience.
But they wouldn’t be pairs by then anyway, and once she left the fortress, she would never see Michael again.
So, she probably wouldn’t feel too guilty about selling it.
While Irene was contemplating how to dispose of it later, Michael spoke again.
“Why don’t you try putting it on?”
“But wouldn’t it be dangerous if it’s a cursed type?”
The worry suddenly struck her. It wasn’t uncommon for artifacts to possess cursed properties.
Not that a curse necessarily lowered an artifact’s value.
‘In fact, some were used for assassinations and sold for even higher prices.’
But if such a curse existed, she would be the one in trouble right now.
“It will be fine. I don’t sense any such wicked energy from it.”
At Michael’s reassurance, Irene lifted the ring to examine it. If a Holy Knight like him didn’t sense anything unusual, it was unlikely to be cursed.
“In that case….”
There was no need to ignore his kindness by refusing now.
Irene slid the ring onto her ring finger.
It had looked a bit large, but strangely, the moment she put it on, it fit perfectly as if it had been custom-made for her finger.
She had harbored a small hope that she might be able to use some supernatural power the moment she wore it.
However, no matter how she looked at it, it seemed to be just an ordinary, rustic ring.
“I guess it’s not an artifact. I don’t feel anything special.”
“I see.”
Irene tried to pull the ring off. Since it had gone on without a hitch, taking it off should be no problem.
“…Huh?”
But contrary to her expectations, the ring wouldn’t budge. She applied pressure several times, but the ring was stuck fast, as if it had fused to her finger.
“What is the matter?”
“This… the ring… it won’t come off!”
Flustered as she strained until her face turned red, a term suddenly flashed through Irene’s mind.
“Could this be… a soulbound artifact…?”
“It appears to be a soulbound artifact.”
Inside the fortress’s Appraisal Room.
The official in charge spoke after looking at the ring stuck firmly on Irene’s finger.
“Do you feel any symptoms like dizziness, nausea, anxiety, chills, or vomiting?”
“Nothing like that.”
Irene muttered weakly. She stared at her finger in disbelief.
‘A soulbound artifact.’
It was an artifact that attached itself eternally to the first person who wore it.
When this property was first discovered, the Kingdom Alliance supposedly spent months debating whether it should be classified as a curse or not.
However, once it was confirmed that, unlike a curse, the binding itself had no negative impact on the individual, it was categorized as an independent property called ‘soulbound.’
‘Soulbound artifacts are incredibly rare.’
Once owned, no one else can ever take it away.
Because of this, artifacts with the soulbound property sold for astronomical prices.
But that was only the case before they were bound. Once bound to someone, only the owner could use its power, making it useless to anyone else.
“If I had known this would happen, I wouldn’t have tried it on.”
Irene let out a long sigh.
Even without any special power, many people placed great significance on the soulbound property itself. If she had kept it and gotten it appraised, she could have received a considerable sum from someone who wanted a soulbound artifact.
“So, what would you like to do? Since the binding is already confirmed, would you like to proceed with the appraisal?”
At the official’s question, Irene shook her head.
“No. Since it’s already bound, I don’t see the need.”
Besides, she didn’t have the 10,000 gold required for the appraisal.
Just then, Michael, who had been quiet, spoke up.
“Please appraise it.”
“Pardon? No! I don’t have that kind of money….”
“I will cover the cost, so you do not need to worry.”
“But… is there really a need to appraise this?”
No matter how she looked at it, it was a ring that was plain, even humble. The fact that it was soulbound was surprising enough, but she didn’t think it held any great supernatural power.
Was it really worth spending 10,000 gold on?
“Since it is a gift from me, I feel I should at least confirm what kind of item it is.”
The official chimed in to agree with him.
“He is right. While nothing is felt now, there are occasionally curses that manifest much later.”
“Then… I suppose it can’t be helped. Please proceed.”
Irene’s resolve weakened at the mention of a curse.
And as Michael said, it was a bit unsettling not knowing exactly what it was that had bound itself to her.
Furthermore, since he was offering to pay the fee, she had no further reason to refuse.
“Well then, please step inside.”
The official led the two of them further into the room.
When they opened a decorative door and stepped inside, a severed hand was resting on a large desk.
‘So this is the Hand of Appraisal.’
A first-generation artifact said to have appeared at the same time dungeons first emerged on the continent.
In her past life, she had only heard stories about it and had never even caught a glimpse of it.
“Now, please place your hand here. When the Hand of Appraisal touches you, the sensation might be unpleasant, but please bear with it. This little one gets startled easily, too.”
To call an artifact that looked terrifying just by its appearance a ‘little one.’ Irene nodded, thinking that this line of work wasn’t for just anyone.
“Yes.”
As instructed, Irene sat in the chair and placed her hand on the table. The Hand of Appraisal crawled forward as if it had been waiting.
It gently tapped Irene’s ring. Then, as if suddenly excited, it began to move rapidly, scurrying back and forth over her hand.
The official’s eyes lit up.
“Seeing the Hand of Appraisal move that quickly, it must be an artifact with quite a strong power. It moves like that when it comes into contact with something unique or powerful.”
At the official’s words, Irene’s expression became even more miserable.
‘If I had known it was something like that, I wouldn’t have even thought about wearing it.’
She even felt a momentary flash of resentment toward Michael for urging her to try the ring on.
After scurrying over Irene’s hand for a long while, the Hand of Appraisal quickly crawled back to its original spot on its fingers.
Then, it picked up the pen that was there and began to scribble something rapidly onto a piece of paper.
“The Hand of Appraisal provides the name of the appraised artifact along with its characteristics. Ah, it’s finished.”
The official moved the Hand of Appraisal aside and picked up the paper it had written on.
“The name of that ring is ‘Infinite Healing,’ and its ability is….”
The next moment, the official’s eyes widened as if they were about to pop out.
“…Purification power increases the more demonic energy it absorbs?”
