Chapter 103

Now Seria could see Alliot’s expression hardened. But he overlooked one thing. He didn’t really know that people were staring at him too.

“Lady? What are you looking at?”

“No, Bibi. I was wondering if Sir Alliot was being eaten.”

(*the word ‘eaten’ means the people stare at them intensely in a sexual way or something)

Abigail glanced at Alliot and asked back.

“What is it, young lady?”

“Look carefully around you.”

Abigail looked around slowly. She quickly realized.

“He’s been completely eaten.”

“Isn’t it? The eyes are also very focused now. That’s a little inconvenient in this auction house. It will also ruin my plans.”

Abigail said in a very peaceful voice.

“Don’t worry, Lady, I can’t let life and plans get eaten together. I’ll keep him safe.”

“You’ll keep him safe?”

“Yes, that’ll be easy.”

“Okay.”

Abigail’s words were very reliable. Seria smiled then approached Lesche. Once she became aware of it, she realized that all the eyes of the people around her were looking closely at them. She didn’t care and grabbed Lesche’s hand.

“Honey.”

Lesche turned and looked at Seria.

“Let’s go.”

Her voice came out more resolute than she thought. But it didn’t matter, because people would have heard enough. It didn’t take long for the red eyes under the mask to look at her. Lesche suddenly lowered his head towards her. Seria was a little confused because Lesche kissed her with the veil on their faces. But it wasn’t a long kiss and Lesche retreated.

“… Why are you kissing me so suddenly? There are many eyes here.”

“I thought you meant I could kiss you.”

“Oh my God.”n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Seria cleared her throat. Lesche seemed to be smiling secretly behind his white veil. He grabbed Seria’s hand and stepped closer.

“You wanted to show off that we’re a couple, didn’t you?”

“That’s right.”

“I see gazes shift to Alliot.”

“Did you know that? You knew, didn’t you?”

Lesche was a knight, so it was really amazing to see him so nonchalant without a care in the world, even with dozens of pairs of eyes on him like that.

“Bibi is going to protect Alliot.”

“Hmm?”

Hearing that, Lesche turned around. Seria followed his gaze. As if the god of timing had descended, Abigail just started talking to Alliot in a tone that was out of the ordinary.

“Sir. Please don’t worry so much.”

As if to confirm the owners of the pouring gaze, Alliot, who had been quiet, shifted his gaze.

“Worried about what?”

Abigail’s lower stomach tightened.

“Your ‘night performance’! But there must be a cure.”

“My night performance?”

‘Did I hear it wrong?’ (Seria)

Alliot, who seemed to be more shocked than Seria, was smacked  in the ear once.

But that was Abigail. She did not care at all and declared it seriously and solemnly for others to hear.

“Heya! You will soon have a holy relic that will treat your condition…”

“….”

“My master told me that it would be able to cure your chronic impotence!”

“….”

It must not be an illusion that the area had gone completely quiet. The hot lustful eyes for Alliot cooled down in an instant….Through the masks and veils, Seria quickly turned her head away and let Alliot’s face turn white as flour.

“Lady…..”

Seria pretended not to notice that Lesche was laughing, while his shoulders shook.

“She indeed protected him.”

“…!”

“Let’s go in.”

“Oh, right.”

The entrance door opened. The place where the holy relics auction was held was a very large hall. The ceiling was also very high as if it was made from the second floor. Following the guidance of the auctioneer, they were seated in the front row.

***

“I saw them in their seats.”

“I see.”

It was the report the man had been waiting for.

The man let out a long breath. In the dark room, the smoke from the cigar rose and gradually disappeared.

“Whooo…”

The man stared at the scattered smoke and asked.

“Did he really come here to buy holy relics? With his wife?”

“Yes, I’m sure.”

“That’s the funniest thing I’ve heard in years.”

“I’ve been hearing this for years. His predecessors were crazy about their wives, and this man is crazy about his wife too…..It is the history of Grand Duke Berg that is affected by the Grand Duchess.”

The man chuckled.

“So if my mother had been a Grand Duchess, it would have been more peaceful. It’s a futile assumption though.”

“…”

“Hey, listen to me carefully.”

“I’m listening.”

“The Grand Dukes of Berg are unlucky. They only pick the nicest women anywhere and make them Grand Duchess. The previous generation took the cleverest woman from the upper class of the academy to serve as Grand Duchess, and this time it’s Stern. Berg snatches up women like a demon when he needs them.”

The man uttered a vulgar swear word and dropped the cigar on the floor. The man who had put out the fire by smashing it with his shoe continued.

“Did you release all the sorcerers?”

“Yes, they are all waiting for orders to be given.”

“Can anyone in this empire imagine that so many auction houses are in my hands?”

A smile splashed across his pale cheeks.

“I have only one question. What should I do with the people?”

“Kill all the men. Leave the women alive.”

“Yes, sir.”

***

An auction house with no catalog provided.

It was a natural thing to do in such an illegal place. The reason was that they didn’t want the items they were dealing with inside to leak out. They also didn’t want it to become evidence. So, Seria had no choice but to purchase immediately after hearing the holy relics introduced by the host.

Seria tried to sense the divine power of the holy relics as they were presented. It wasn’t accurate but it was usually spot on.

There were many precious bargains.

Still, she needed a strong relic to trick Lina.

Before Lina went back to her world, the words she said when she saw Seria’s circlet kept bothering her (Seria) since the original Lina wasn’t such a crazy girl.

But it was strange. Lina acted like she always wanted the circlet Seria had. And Lina would say things that even a crazy noble wouldn’t dare to say.

At the time, Seria didn’t really think much, but after seeing the Oracle in the temple….

She wondered if Lina might have received a revelation from God about this circlet. Anyway, Lina was a Saint. Even though she was in a state of doubt about her divine power, she was still a Saint.

So no matter how much she had to pay, Seria had to prepare a holy relic with very strong divine power and then carefully place it in the basement of the green manor.

It was around the time when about ten holy relics passed. Abigail, who was sitting behind Seria, whispered.

“Miss, I thought you were going to buy only one item.”

“Yes. It will be a make or break item.”

“What does it mean?”

“No, it’s not a big deal. The more I look at it, the more I want to buy it.”

There was not a single mistake in Linon’s words.

She had just bought six out of ten holy relics, making her the biggest fish in the auction house. The presenter was also busy smiling and looking at her proudly. She felt like his mouth was going to split open over his ears.

“Now for a very precious treasure that even has the nickname ‘Moonlight in the Desert’! It’s a very rare holy relic in the form of a ring.”

The moment when a small holy relic came up to the stage. Seria’s eyes opened wide.

That was it.

It was a holy relic with overwhelmingly strong sacred power. And coincidentally, the design was a bit similar to the circlet. It was made of a different material, but it had a pentagonal pattern (star shaped). It seemed like a set.

(The circlet and the ring both have star shapes)

“The sacred power is strong.”

Seria didn’t do the bidding right away. She watched others bid at a reasonable price. The auctioneer was immediately pleased.

“This customer here will bid 3… Oh, it’s taken at 3.5! Let’s try 4…. 4.5 is served! Another 5…5.5 is served! ”

What is it? What is this dirty play?

Seria craned her neck to look at the table to her left, which was holding up the bidding board. Of course, she couldn’t see the faces very well. All the tables had been placed separately, probably for personal protection, because they had partitioned them with a cloth that resembled a long canopy.

She continued to raise the amount from a small amount to 0.5…

She wrote a new number on the bidding board and lifted it.

“10! 10 is up!”

Suddenly the amount nearly doubled, and a light murmur passed once, and then another 10.5 was called out on the other side.  Lesche, who was sitting with a light support of his chin, watched her auction with amusement , and said,

“Say whatever numbers you like.”

“Still, I don’t want to be ripped off. It’s my money, you know.”

Lesche tilted his chin.

“You have my private money, too.”

“You want me to use your private money?”

“Isn’t all of a husband’s private wealth his wife’s?”

Seria frowned, not answering.  Lesche asked,

“What do you have in mind?”

“I was wondering how I could tell you in a good way that your private property is mine too.”

Lesche ended up bowing his head and burst into laughter. Seria then erased the numbers on the bidding board and wrote a new one.

“Twenty, ladies and gentlemen, we have a twenty!”

It was thrilling. Everyone looked at her wondering how rich she must be. And the buzz got much louder. She got quite a bit of money as a Stern. The auctioneer breathed heavily.

“Is there anyone else who would like to bid?”

But there couldn’t be anyone. The auctioneer standing next to the presenter lifted the auction stick.

“Sold to 20!”

Clap! Clap! Clap!

The sound of applause spread.

Standing up in a flash, Seria lifted the hat brim slightly and swept through the surroundings. She knew that among the people sitting, there were quite a few who wondered who she was, as she could see the silhouettes moving back and forth through her hidden veil.

It was the same with the oddly aged person who was defeated while competing with her.