However, doubts were doubts, and Grand Duke Vidi didn't forget what his duties were. He first praised the painting endlessly before bringing up the friendship between the Gilded Kingdom and the Octopus Clan according to Monterey's instructions lest the Octopus Clan thought too much about it.
In the end, Grand Duke Vidi announced the official start of the bidding for the painting of the sunset at sea that was created by Heldanos with a starting price of 1,000,000 gold coins.
However, unlike the other auction items, which many of the guests had gotten into a frenzy for right after the bidding began, no one started bidding for this one. This time, there was complete silence, and it seemed possible to hear the sound of a pin drop!
