“For the first item this evening we have something for those of you who like antiques we have a vase belonging to a fallen prominent ducal house of this kingdom, the Rosemary House!” she said before two buff men with naked torsos brought in a cart with a silver vase on it.
The vase looked fairly ancient, with a crest of a golden sword and a red shield carved on its front.
“The initial bid is 150 gold; you may start bidding!” Evelyn announced, staring expectantly at the crowd.
“250 gold,” an old yet dominant voice echoed throughout the hall. Its origin was an old man sitting at a VIP seat above the crowd. He looked very old as if he was a leg in the grave. But the powerful glint in his eyes caused Kiera to shudder, although he was only a figure on a screen.
The entire hall gradually quieted down before complete silence ushered it. Kiera could spot the fear and reverence in the guests’ eyes as they looked at the old man. The phenomenon made Kiera curious, compelling her to ask Katherine, who currently served her food.
“Miss Katherine, who is this old man? How strong is he?” Kiera asked before taking a bite of the enormous steak on her plate, her eyes widening at the incredibly delicious taste that spread in her mouth. “This is awesome!”
“Thank you, Miss Ashborn. This man is His Excellency Clayton Marieford, Archduke of Western Corinth. He is one of the top three strongest magicians of this nation, a Bronze Skilled Magician.” Katherine answered with an emotionless voice.
“So he is responsible for the western region, understood.” Kiera thought out loud and continued eating, clearly not interested in the vase.
The silence remained strong in the hall, as no one else dared to enter a bidding war with the old archduke. Evelyn smiled and went on the confirm the sale, “well then, Rosemary House’s vase is sold to His Excellency Marieford. Congra....”
But before she could seal the deal, a voice from a VIP seat at the other side of the hall stopped her.
“350 gold,” a fancily dressed young man announced with a confident voice. He then slightly bowed toward the old arch duke’s seat and said, “I hope uncle Clayton will forgive me for my presumptuousness, but my royal father has searched a relic belonging to that family for a long time. I can finally satisfy his wishes and won’t pass this opportunity.”
“Well then,” Archduke Marieford said, “if that old coot wants it so much, I won’t fight for it.”
“Thank you,” the young man said and sat back with a satisfied smile.
“I guess this guy’s a prince?” Kiera spoke to Katherine.
“Correct, he is His Highness Ronald Lancelin Corinth, the Crown Prince,” Katherine replied, standing behind Kiera with her hands behind her back, still like a statue.
“These auctions attract many powerful people aren’t they…”
“The Blue Rose Auction House is an organization that has an influence over the entire world. Thus, the treasures it has are tempting to even the High-Kings and the Emperor, much less nobles of a backwater country.” the young maid said with a flat tone.
"Courageous, aren't you?" Kiera laughed lightly, amused by the maid's bold words.
"It's what my lady always says…"
“Then the Rosemary House’s vase is sold to His Highness the Crown Prince, congratulations!” Evelyn declared.
The next items in the auction were of no interest to Kiera, high-quality yet regular weapons, more antiques, paintings, and several cubs of Mana Beasts for taming. Neither the archduke nor the crown prince bid on anything, only lesser nobles or merchants did.
Three hours passed rather dully, Kiera fighting off the boredom with betting how much she’d get from selling both armaments. However, Evelyn’s next words made her refocus on the auction.
“Now then, ladies and gentlemen, we are only an item away from the climax of this evening! Men, please bring the next item!” she excitingly said.
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“The next item is an unusual, undeciphered item one of the 12 Rose Guardians found in the depths of the Great Ranuros Forest. It was protected by a Tier 3 Lv. 50 Fire Wyvern, a terrifying Mana Beast capable of fighting opponents above its level!” she said in a mysterious tone, prompting the crowd to let out a collective gasp.
The item was a wallet-sized violet stone tablet, seemingly coming from ancient times. Kiera’s eyes widened in shock when she saw the stone tablet, or rather its peculiar color that exactly matched the ancestral platform’s color.
Suddenly, her tattoos surfaced as she felt an insuppressible desire to possess the tablet, originating from the very core of her being. She felt her blood’s circulation accelerate by several times, lightning coursing beneath her tender skin.
“This weird tablet was appraised by our best experts, and they came up with a theory that says an extremely strong magic is hidden within the tablet, and whoever could decipher its secret will possess power beyond any recognition. But, although it might hold a great secret and was hard to acquire, its unknown purpose reduced its value, so the inital bid shall only be 700 gold!” Evelyn announced, causing an uproar to arise within the auction hall as bids were thrown.
“750 gold!”
“850 gold!”
“900 gold!”
“950 gold!”
Kiera was sure the tablet was connected to her inheritance, thus seeing all this bids thrown she turned anxious. “Katherine, I want to bid! 1,400 gold!”
Katherine visibly raised her eyebrows but did not say anything in protest, bringing out a small white sphere from her pocket. “My Lady, Miss Ashborn wants to bid for this item, 1,400 gold.”
“Then I’ll pass this to little Evelyn.” a familiar playful voice abruptly resounded in the suite from the white sphere.
“A communication device made from an Apparition Crystal, I reckon?” Kiera asked, successfully suppressing her rampant powers.
Katherine nodded slightly, “it’s called Televoice.”
Kiera froze momentarily before she let out a burst of hysteric laughter, “an interesting name.”
She turned her attention back to the auction, sighing in relief as she saw Evelyn received her bid.
“I just received a notification that a mysterious guest bid 1,400 gold for this stone tablet; anyone wants to bid more?” Evelyn cut off the bidding war that merely reached 1100, scanning the sitting guests with her beautiful eyes.
Nobody said anything, the silence causing Kiera to win the tablet. With another sigh of relief, Kiera’s nerves finally calmed as she flashed a pleased smile. Now all she had to do was sit back and see how people fought for her two armaments.
Evelyn’s easygoing expression suddenly turned serious, her cheerful voice replaced by a solemn tone. “Originally, the stone tablet was supposed to be this auction’s grand finale. However, only yesterday we received a delivery of two extremely rare items even Skilled Magicians would find terribly attractive.”
The two half-naked men came into the stage again, now with a decayed wooden suitcase. They opened the suitcase to reveal two silver weapons, a one-handed sword and a mace. The two weapons shone brightly under the illuminating light, a powerful aura radiating from them.
“I believe those who possess keen eyes among you already understood what kind of weapons these are,” Evelyn said with a low, suspended voice. “Indeed, both the sword and the mace are Mana Armaments! And not just regular Mana Armaments, but two Masterwork Grade Mana Armaments nearing the Grand Grade!”
An ear-deafening uproar ensued in the auction hall when Evelyn finished her explanation. Both the archduke and the crown prince stood up from their seats with widened eyes, their hands trembling as if they saw the most amazing treasure in the world.
“You cannot bid independently on each armament; the initial bid is 3,000 gold!” Evelyn announced, her cheerful attitude reappearing.
The outrageous price made 95% of the guests slump back on their seats in disappointment, with only a select few of the upper echelons of nobles having the financial power to spend such a sum.
The Crown Prince bid 3,500 gold first, followed by the archduke who bid 4,000. A marquess unafraid of consequences in the face of such a treasure threw 4,500, albeit reluctantly, but was shot down by a duke who bid 5,000. The Crown Prince did not let go and raised the price to 6,500, his bid shooting down any competition aside from the old archduke, who threw a shocking sum that almost made Kiera faint from happiness.
“10,000 gold!”
The Crown Prince sat back down, stomping his leg in anger.
“I see no one else intends to bid. Thus, the two armaments are sold to Archduke Marieford!” Evelyn exclaimed, closing the curtain on the grand auction.
Even the solemn archduke couldn’t hold back his laughter at the treasure he acquired. “Sorry, boy, but you know my Marieford House is specialized with swords. Tell that old coot I’ll sell him the mace later.”
The crown prince’s angry expression shifted into a wide smile. “If uncle Clayton says so, I’m assured.”
Kiera couldn’t hold back a wide grin as she stared at the screen with overwhelming joy in her eyes, “I’m fucking rich!”