{TRIGGER WARNING: The scenes in this chapter may depict sexual assault, domestic violence, stalking, physical violence, and identity-based discrimination and harassment. Please read at your own RISK!!!}
[Abandoned building]
Somewhere far away in the Dravenhart Empire, in a seemingly abandoned building from the outside, an illegal auction for slaves was taking place. No one would suspect that the old abandoned building had an underground basement, where such atrocities are committed.
The theme of the event was a masquerade ball; this was to protect the high-ranking officials who attended. Everyone was already settled in their respective chairs as the event was about to take place.
"Welcome, distinguished guests! Thank you for sparing us your time in attending this humble auction house of mine. I know everyone is already eager to get their most awaited items, so without further ado, we will officially start tonight's auction!" the host excitedly announced.
Everyone clapped and was looking forward to the items to be auctioned.
On the corner of the auction house stood two gentlemen, both wearing white tuxedos and a black mask. They are sitting on their designated chair; they were silently observing the surroundings as the event started.
"We have to make sure that the book lands in our hands. We can't let anyone have our ancestors book," the dark green-haired gentleman said.
"I don't even know how they got their hands on the book when we couldn't even locate it after searching for it for a year now," he added.
The other gentleman with the black hair didn't give any comment and just continued to observe their surroundings. He's more wary and cautious than the other lad and was more well-behaved; the other one was already trying to flirt with the lady on the next table.
"You better stop flirting on such an important event Lord Rin, if you still want to have a future that is," the black-haired guy warned, shooting a death glare to his companion, who immediately held both his hands up as a sign of surrender and sighed heavily.
"Yes! Yes! Of course, Lord Val. I still wanted to see my future babies," Lord Rin, the dark green-haired lad, replied sarcastically.
The bidding started smoothly, and everyone got the things they wanted. The auction house has a lot to offer, from stolen paintings of some known artists in ancient times to high-grade potions, forbidden books, high-grade weapons and armor, and, of course, last but not least, the slave trading.
"And now, this is the last of our forbidden books collection! The Ashen Grimoire of Caelum Veyne! This book is also known as the 'Book of Forbidden Grace'; it contains forbidden healing magic that was created by Caelum Veyne of the Dark Magician Clan thousands of years ago. It contains high-grade spells that can even revive the dead. It was believed to be lost in the Great Battle. We had a hard time getting this one, so the price may start high," the host explained the history of the last forbidden book they've put to the auction.
Lord Rin's and Lord Val's ears perked up upon hearing the host mention the name of the book. Finally, their long wait is over. They have been searching for that book since they've known of its existence about a year ago. The book originally belonged to their clan but was lost in the Great Battle thousands of years ago. It was never seen again for thousands of years and was not even mentioned in history books due to its dark nature.
It was almost forgotten if they didn't find an old ruined temple's scripture mentioning the book. They immediately tried to find the book, but alas, they can't find it anywhere. Not until someone tipped them that it might be auctioned here. That's why they personally went here without hesitation.
"Are you ready?" the host asked.
"Yes!"
"Start it already!"
"Stop delaying it,"
"Okay, okay, ladies and gentlemen! The starting bid is 500,000 gold coins!"
"550,000 gold coins!" Lord Rin raised his bidding card, getting the attention of most people.
"600,000 gold coins!" A lady raised his bidding card, rivaling Lord Rin.
"630,000 gold coins!" Lord Rin turned to wink at the girl, who rolled her eyes.
"680,000 gold coins!" The girl didn't want to give this up either.
"700,000 gold coins!" Lord Rin raised again.
The girl was looking at Lord Rin murderously, which he returned with a flirty smile.
"800,000 gold coins!" the girl added.
Everyone in the room was just looking at the two as they continued to raise the stake.
"Woah, woah! Hahaha, we got our bidders here. We got 800,000 now! 800, 800 going twice. Going thrice..." The host was immediately cut off when Lord Val raised his bidding card.
"2,000,000 gold coins!"
Everyone in the room fell silent and just gawked at Lord Val. Even Lord Rin was shocked from his friend's interruption.
"Lord Val, are we sure about this? I'm not sure if the gold we bring is sufficient enough! We might not get out of here unscratched if we force our way out," Lord Rin whispered to Lord Val, acting like a scared cat.
"Woah! We have our 2,000,000! 2,000,000, no one's going to bid anymore?" the host asked, thrilled.
Even the other girl going up against Lord Rin earlier stayed silent and didn't raise his bidding card anymore.
"Going twice... going thrice! And... SOLD!" The host rings the bell to indicate that the item was sold.
"The Ashen Grimoire is now sold to... What's your name, my lord?" the host asked.
"Val," Val coldly answered.
"The Ashen Grimoire is now sold to Lord Val!"
Everyone applauded as Val received the book that was handed to him personally by the host. The host was actually trying to impress Val and trying to get on his good side. Ever since his time in the auction house, this is the first time he sold a large amount of gold. If he could make this auctioneer frequent in the action house and buy items from them, they could get rich in no time. And they can easily become the number 1 auction house in the black market.
The auctioneer was already imagining things inside his head and was grinning like a fool that Val immediately noticed it. He looked at him emotionlessly; that made the host tremble in fear and withdraw back.
He went back to the stage and continued the auction event.
"I guess we already have what we're looking for. I can't believe the tips we received a few days ago were true. Who would've thought we'd find the book here of all places, after a year of searching for it?" Lord Rin said unbelievably.
"More importantly, why did you throw so much money like that? We could've bought that at a lower price! That lady was almost giving up, you and your patience, really," Rin added, which Val just ignored.
"Let's go, Lord Val! We're done here!" Rin stood up and carried the box containing the book.
"And now ladies and gentlemen, the most awaited highlight of today's event! Let's welcome the fresh and young slaves you've all been waiting for!"
Lord Val suddenly stopped when he spotted a rather unique woman standing on the stage. Of all the ladies there, she was the only one with silver hair, but he couldn't see her face since her hair was covering it. Somehow, he feels something weird towards her, and he doesn't know what.
The woman was wearing a worn out clothes, and she seems too skinny for her own good. She looks so fragile standing there, like a stray cat needing a master to take care of her. If he can just see her face...
"Lord Val, what are you standing there for? Don't tell me you have a fetish with buying slaves?" Rin asked rather shocked.
"You want to die?" Val threatened.
Rin immediately posed a peace sign, afraid that Val will really kill him if he gets real mad. Lord Val immediately went out of the room without looking back and without even waiting for Rin.
"Lord Val, wait up!" Rin shouted, catching up to Val.
Unbeknownst to Val, the lady he was interested in earlier finally looked up, revealing Lady Seraphina.
And the auction went on.
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