
Artist's commentary
What Never Truly Mattered
So, this is the Rheingold—the fabled and ruinous treasure my ex-husband, ex-prince, and ex-adventurer Siegfried went to such great lengths to acquire.
Do you know why I wished to obtain this treasure for myself?
Hehe, I won't be surprised if you don't.
...Yes, that's right. Because I wanted to destroy it. It's worthless. Utterly worthless. Maybe magecraft types consider it valuable, but to me, it's nothing more than a lump of yellow rock. I should have melted it down and turned it into medallions long ago.
You know, you ought to be careful too, Master. The glitter of gold can turn hearts as well as eyes. It could lead to someone you trust betraying you, or you betraying them. Which is why I'm going to teach you an easy trick for dealing with it. All you have to do is use it all up. Spend it all on whatever you like, because it has no worth otherwise. That's right. Use it up, share the wealth, and any curse or calamity associated it will simply disappear. That is the nature of cursed gold.