“50 gold.”
Someone raised a sign with a low voice. Sylvia turned her head involuntarily toward the voice. Then she saw someone holding up a sign on the opposite side of the aisle.
“The first bidder has come forward! And it’s a high bid of 50 gold!”
The host raised his voice in excitement when the unexpected amount was mentioned. Sylvia, who had come to her senses, lifted the sign in front of her and calmly opened her lips.
“60 gold.”
The room shook once at the unexpected development. Then, this time, the other person looked back at Sylvia. Unlike her, the mask that seemed to cover the entire skull of an animal was eerie. Through the eye holes in the mask, a cold purple eye caught her eye.
“Yes! 60 gold! 60 gold! Contestant number 41, what will you do?”
The host shouted excitedly. 'Contestant number 41' stared at Sylvia with unreadable eyes for a moment, then turned his head and responded. The voice sounded like gnashing teeth.
“...70 gold.”
Either way, Sylvia thought she could meet the auction house owner more easily than she thought, so she gradually raised the amount.
“80 gold.”
“100.”
“150 gold.”
Before they knew it, the staff sack had become the most expensive item on the market today. As Sylvia and Contestant No. 41 competitively raised their prices, several people raised their signs out of curiosity, but they were soon overtaken by the momentum of the two.
“500.”
When the amount reached around 300 gold, the man almost doubled the amount in one go as if he were going to make a big move.
“500! 500 gold! This is probably one of the top ten auction items ever! If no one bids more than 500 gold within one minute, this item will be sold to participant number 41!”
The people and the host were excited and shouting. Sylvia now locked eyes with contestant number 41, who was glaring at her with his sharp eyes, then leisurely crossed her legs and turned her head.
“1000 gold.”
The place that had been as noisy as a market floor suddenly became quiet as if cold water had been poured over it. And then immediately after, an explosive cheer erupted.
“Breaking new record! This item will be automatically sold to the person who rings the golden bell!”
The host picked up the wooden gong on the stage and banged it loudly. In the auction house, the person who offered a higher price than the previous highest bid could win the item immediately, regardless of the other person’s increase in price.
People implicitly called it the ‘golden bell.’ In fact, since the last person to ring the golden bell was the hidden King of the South, many expected that no one would ring the golden bell anymore. However, from the time she was young until now. The family was not very wealthy, but Count Florette and his wife were busy making excuses to pass on their wealth to their only daughter whenever they had the chance.
For her, who had kept it in her closet for over 20 years, 1000 gold was not a lot of money. Sylvia, who did not know about the golden bell but was satisfied with having achieved her goal, did not feel the need to stay in the auction house any longer and got up from her seat.
“Please wait here for a moment.”
There was no other break room in the building, as there was no good in staying in a place like this for too long. The employee, bowing deeply, left Sylvia in the hallway in front of the office and went inside for a moment.
“Please wait here for a moment.”
There was no other break room in the building, as there was no good in staying in a place like this for too long. The employee, bowing deeply, left Sylvia in the hallway in front of the office and went inside for a moment.
As Sylvia looked back at the security guards standing here and there and leaned her back against the wall, a strong force grabbed her arm and pulled her away.
"You."
A deep, deep voice like stagnant water was heard from nearby. Sylvia frowned slightly at the strong force that grabbed her forearm. The person who had grabbed her was the 41st contestant who had just competed in the auction. A flash of madness flashed through his purple eyes behind the animal bone mask.
“That staff sack. Hand it over to me.”
It was rude enough that he suddenly appeared and grabbed her arm without permission, but now he was giving her orders. Sylvia, who was feeling aggravated, twisted her lips under her mask. She rolled her eyes and looked around, then spoke in a low voice.
“Are you now demanding that I hand over the item that was won through fair competition?”
It was not a very loud voice, but it was clear. The guards who heard it gave them fierce looks and prepared to approach. Then the man let go of Sylvia's arm as if he had no choice. However, the eyes visible behind the mask still had a fierce look. The man who had been glaring at Sylvia clenched his teeth and suppressed his anger as he continued to speak.
“Tell me how much you want. I’ll match it as much as I can. I can’t give you everything at once, but I’ll take 500 gold as a deposit first, and the rest..."
Sylvia, who had been looking at the sight as if it were nothing, rolled her eyes coldly.
“Three times.”
"...What?"
“Whatever you think it is, I’ll offer you three times that amount.”
In other words, it was a sarcastic remark, telling him to wake up from his dream, because she had no intention of ever handing over anything to him.
“What did you just say...”
"You."
A deep, deep voice like stagnant water was heard from nearby. Sylvia frowned slightly at the strong force that grabbed her forearm. The person who had grabbed her was the 41st contestant who had just competed in the auction. A flash of madness flashed through his purple eyes behind the animal bone mask.
“That staff sack. Hand it over to me.”
It was rude enough that he suddenly appeared and grabbed her arm without permission, but now he was giving her orders. Sylvia, who was feeling aggravated, twisted her lips under her mask. She rolled her eyes and looked around, then spoke in a low voice.
“Are you now demanding that I hand over the item that was won through fair competition?”
It was not a very loud voice, but it was clear. The guards who heard it gave them fierce looks and prepared to approach. Then the man let go of Sylvia's arm as if he had no choice. However, the eyes visible behind the mask still had a fierce look. The man who had been glaring at Sylvia clenched his teeth and suppressed his anger as he continued to speak.
“Tell me how much you want. I’ll match it as much as I can. I can’t give you everything at once, but I’ll take 500 gold as a deposit first, and the rest..."
Sylvia, who had been looking at the sight as if it were nothing, rolled her eyes coldly.
“Three times.”
"...What?"
“Whatever you think it is, I’ll offer you three times that amount.”
In other words, it was a sarcastic remark, telling him to wake up from his dream, because she had no intention of ever handing over anything to him.
“What did you just say...”
The moment the man, who understood Sylvia's words a beat late, took a threatening step forward, the office door opened and an employee ran out.
“Thank you for waiting so long. The boss himself wants to personally deliver the package and express his gratitude... What’s the matter?”
The staff also seemed to recognize participant number 41 and asked with a wary look.
“No. Nothing happened.”
Sylvia shook her head blandly and started to follow the clerk down the hallway, but then stopped. She turned around and looked at the man clutching his gloved hand as if it was going to break. She asked.
“But, you.”
“...”
“Why on earth are you so obsessed with this staff hilt? It doesn’t even have a magic stone, so it’s basically just a stick.”
“Why should I tell you that?”
Even though she couldn't see it because of the mask, she felt like he had immediately made a face. But even so, she was the one holding the sword. Sylvia took it leisurely.
“If you tell me why, I will consider handing over the item.”
"...What?"
The purple eyes opened wide in surprise. Sylvia shrugged and turned away.
“If you don’t like it, there’s nothing I can do about it.”
“No, wait. Wait a minute.”
As Sylvia was about to take her steps without hesitation, an urgent voice stopped her. She turned her head and saw a man standing in an awkward position, seemingly in conflict. The man, who was mumbling a few curses under his breath, finally let out a deep sigh and opened his mouth in a reluctant tone. What she heard next was shocking.
“That is...a keepsake from someone who has special meaning to me. So give it to me... no, give it to me.”
'...Special meaning?'
Sylvia held her breath reflexively at the unexpected words. As she met the man’s purple eyes, a name suddenly came to mind.
'Leo...?'
Sylvia, who had been imagining something ridiculous for a moment, immediately shook her head and shook off her empty thoughts. Cleon’s eyes were the same purple as the man’s, but they felt completely different. If Cleon had flawless, solid amethyst eyes, the man in front of her had dark, slimy, rotten eyes. Sylvia, who had been moving her lips in confusion for a while, furrowed her brow.
'Then what the heck? Was there another wizard who used that staff besides me?'
But if that was the case, the formula engraved on the magic stone would have been unknown. Even when searching through the memories of when she was 'Alyssa', no one else came to mind who would have had a 'special meaning' to her other than Cleon. After all, Alyssa was Cleon's savior.
‘...I think it’s a lie.’
Her golden eyes narrowed. She looked the other person up and down once and slowly opened her mouth.
“...I listened to the story carefully.”
“Okay, how much does it cost...”
“So let’s think about whether or not I should hand over the items as promised. Okay, that’s all for now.”
Sylvia quickly finished her sentence and walked into the hallway without giving the man a chance to respond. The employee who came to his senses belatedly followed Sylvia, saying he would show her to the president's office, and participant number 41 also tried to follow her, but the security guards blocked him.
“You can’t go inside here.”
"Move."
“I’m sorry. Please go back now.”
The man glared at the guards as if he was going to devour them, but the guards were stubborn. Eventually, the man was chased out of the building, and he took off his mask and threw it carelessly into a dark alley.
“Damn it, you idiot, playing around with that kind of nonsense!”
Kwak!
He let out a fierce curse and roughly stomped on the mask rolling on the dirt floor. The impact sent shattered bone fragments flying everywhere. Still not satisfied, the man kept stomping on the mask several more times and squelched his hair.
Short strands of dark auburn hair emerged from under the hood and then disappeared again. He ground his teeth as he recalled the slender, white figure that had eaten him and slowly disappeared.
“...As soon as I finish this urgent matter, I have to find her and kill her.”
Je can't let 'that person's' things fall into someone else's hands.
“...As soon as I finish this urgent matter, I have to find her and kill her.”
Je can't let 'that person's' things fall into someone else's hands.
The man who left behind a sinister mumbling soon disappeared into the darkness of the alley.
***
To get straight to the point, Sylvia was unable to find out the whereabouts of the remaining magic stones or the staff.
"Haha, Golden Bell. I am so grateful that you let me see such a rare sight in my generation."
The man who owned the auction house was a snake-like person. Perhaps because he was a businessman to the core, when Sylvia hinted that she wanted to meet with the seller, he immediately showed his discomfort and refused. He even insisted on protecting the seller’s safety, saying that he would give up the Golden Bell if necessary, so Sylvia had no other choice.
"Haha, Golden Bell. I am so grateful that you let me see such a rare sight in my generation."
The man who owned the auction house was a snake-like person. Perhaps because he was a businessman to the core, when Sylvia hinted that she wanted to meet with the seller, he immediately showed his discomfort and refused. He even insisted on protecting the seller’s safety, saying that he would give up the Golden Bell if necessary, so Sylvia had no other choice.
In the end, she was satisfied with getting her staff sacked and returned to the mansion. Of course, she was annoyed again because Auston, who had discovered the staff sack she had brought, showed interest in it. In any case, the night outing ended like that, and a new day dawned.
“Madam! Tonight is His Majesty the King’s birthday banquet, so you should get ready quickly!”
Sylvia had the experience of taking a bath in the morning for the first time in a long while. While she was dozing off, the maids of the Duke's palace and the Count's palace worked together to wash, polish, and dress her up.
“Madam! Tonight is His Majesty the King’s birthday banquet, so you should get ready quickly!”
Sylvia had the experience of taking a bath in the morning for the first time in a long while. While she was dozing off, the maids of the Duke's palace and the Count's palace worked together to wash, polish, and dress her up.
A light and airy dress, suitable for the weather in the capital, was draped over Sylvia's body for the first time in a long time. She tied her hair in half and decorated it with a ribbon to match the mood of the dress, and only then did she lose her sleepiness.
Seeing Sylvia's perfect appearance, the maids of the Duke's palace and the Count's palace silently rubbed their noses and exchanged glances filled with camaraderie. Sylvia thanked them and went downstairs with Randall. The Count and his wife, who had come out in front of the mansion in advance to prepare for departure, were amazed at them.
“You two look good together.”
"Thank you."
“Mother is also beautiful.”
“You two look good together.”
"Thank you."
“Mother is also beautiful.”
Randall and Sylvia complimented each other affectionately, and the Count wiped away tears again at the sight of his grown daughter. Soon, the carriage carrying the four headed to the palace.
Since the Florette estate was right next to the capital, the party arrived at the palace in no time. The palace was already packed with carriages of nobles who had finished attending.
The Count and Duke couple entered the banquet hall, arm in arm.
“The Duke of Belfort and the Count of Florette, please!”
At the call of the servant, the people who had gathered and were talking naturally stopped talking and made way for them. Countess Florette and her husband, Randall, and Sylvia went straight to the King who was sitting in the highest place through the crowd.
“The Duke of Belfort and the Count of Florette, please!”
At the call of the servant, the people who had gathered and were talking naturally stopped talking and made way for them. Countess Florette and her husband, Randall, and Sylvia went straight to the King who was sitting in the highest place through the crowd.
The four people who reached the King bowed respectfully.
“His Majesty the King, the lord of Elvares.”
The King, who was sitting on his throne talking with his subjects, noticed them and got up.
“Oh! Who is this?”
He showed his kindness by coming down from the steps with his own hands, but the next moment he tilted his head with a crooked smile.
“It’s been a while. Especially since I haven’t seen your nose since the wedding, I almost forgot your face. Even if you’re newlyweds, you should show your face often.”
Where his gaze turned, there stood Randall.
“His Majesty the King, the lord of Elvares.”
The King, who was sitting on his throne talking with his subjects, noticed them and got up.
“Oh! Who is this?”
He showed his kindness by coming down from the steps with his own hands, but the next moment he tilted his head with a crooked smile.
“It’s been a while. Especially since I haven’t seen your nose since the wedding, I almost forgot your face. Even if you’re newlyweds, you should show your face often.”
Where his gaze turned, there stood Randall.
Support Novellate!
Comments
Post a Comment