Chapter 186
But Kainel quietly straightened his posture when he met Ceres’ sharp, half-turned, glaring eyes.
“…Alright. Alright, I got it.”
Ease up a bit… you’re scary…
“Hold up the sign. Don’t put it down—keep holding it up.”
“……?”
…Don’t put it down?
Ceres looked at Kainel in confusion, but he raised the sign higher again.
“Two million!”
At that moment, an enormous amount was shouted out.
“Th-Two million! Number 13, two million!”
…Crazy.
Ceres stared at Kainel in disbelief. Why would he suddenly raise the bid so much? Couldn’t he have increased it gradually?
“Three million!”
“Three hundred ten thousand!”
“Three hundred twenty thousand!”
And at that instant, as soon as the auctioneer finished calling the amount, there were voices rapidly raising the bids in succession—the three voices ringing simultaneously through the auction hall.
‘Those voices…?’
Ceres’ gaze automatically shifted toward the bidders.
The three people sitting close together were unmistakably familiar.
And when Ceres saw the matching purple and silver rings on their hands, she was certain who they were.
‘…What are you three doing?’
It was none other than Duke Elkein, Duke Norah, and Duke Schweiss. Even without the rings, there was no way she could mistake them.
“……! Th-Three hundred twenty thousand!”
“Five million.”
“……!”
Had Kainel also recognized the three of them? Smiling bitterly at the sight, he raised the bid even higher.
“Gah!”
“F-Five million…!”
“Good heavens…”
Gasps spread throughout the room at the massive amount of five million. Had such a large sum ever been offered at this auction before?
“Five hundred ten thousand!”
“Five hundred twenty thousand!”
“Five hundred thirty thousand!”
The three dukes raised their bids as well. Their gazes were no longer on the auctioneer—they were fixed entirely on Kainel. Even behind their partially concealed masks, their eyes were sharp and intense.
‘Should I stop this?’
Even Ceres could sense the dangerous energy emanating from the three of them, aimed directly at Kainel.
“Six million.”
Unfazed, Kainel merely curled his lips into a wider smile as he continued to call out bids, seeming to deliberately provoke them further.
Whoosh!
Bang!
Suddenly, strong gusts of wind and jets of water shot up around Kainel. The ground itself seemed to tremble slightly.
The strange thing was that it had almost no effect on Ceres, who was standing behind him.
“They attacked first, so I guess it’s fair game now, huh?”
He erected a wall of ice to block all the attacks, his smile deepening.
“Hey, we can’t fight here…!”
Before Ceres could even finish her words, countless ice shards flew toward the three dukes.
Seizing the moment, Duke Elkein and Duke Schweiss stood, preparing to unleash their full strength.
“Haah.”
This is bad.
Ceres pressed her temple with a headache, trying to figure out how to handle the situation.
“Whoever you are, let’s move the very pretty lady over there so she doesn’t get hurt.”
“Huh?”
A familiar voice came at that moment. Duke Norah had quietly approached, still wearing his half-concealing mask, and smiled.
Ceres could only gape in disbelief. Pretending not to know him, she let out a helpless sigh.
“No, I’m the one who bought that ring for my daughter! Who the hell is interfering?”
“That guy.”
“See, just by looking at the robe, he’s clearly shady!”
Although the dukes could easily recognize Kainel even under his robe, Duke Elkein and Duke Schweiss took this opportunity to verbally tear into him.
As expected of members of “Fekamo.”
The three dukes had tracked the Marial Marquis’ operations and discovered this illegal auction. Knowing that the auction was the Marquis’ funding source, they came today intending to shut it down.
Then they happened to spot Ceres. How could they not recognize her under the robe?
Ceres had been quietly monitoring the auction all along, curious about why she was here.
And then she showed interest in the rings up for auction! At that moment, all three dukes thought the same thing: “We need to get that ring for our Ceres…”
But then some irritating jerk came along and interfered!
Bang!
Since their initial goal was to destroy the auction anyway, the two dukes unleashed their power without restraint.
They had no concern for the safety of anyone else present. Anyone present could be captured and imprisoned later.
The slaves had already been rescued by waiting subordinates outside.
Right now, the only person whose safety they cared about was Ceres.
‘Ceres, stay safe.’
‘Don’t worry.’
Leaving Ceres in the care of Duke Norah, the other two dukes trashed the auction hall and vented their frustrations on Kainel.
“Argh!”
“W-What the…!”
“Those people…!”
The auction hall descended into chaos in an instant. Water, wind, and ice swirled violently, and everyone began fleeing outside.
“Ten million.”
“……?”
At that moment, Ceres heard a quiet voice. She turned her head and saw a man, half-masked, smiling gently.
“…Ha.”
…What’s with everyone here today?
Seeing the man, Ceres couldn’t suppress a chuckle. His relaxed, otherworldly voice and perfect smile—how could she not recognize him?
‘Why is he here?’
It was none other than Crown Prince Aserian.
“Eeeeek!”
“Ahhh!”
“I-It’s collapsing!”
While everyone fled toward the exit, the Crown Prince calmly approached the auctioneer and snatched the contract from his hands.
Plop.
“Ten million gold.”
“W-What?”
The auctioneer, cowering in fear and unable to escape the flying ice shards, watched dumbfounded as the Crown Prince placed the money down.
“Of course, this money will eventually be reclaimed by the state.”
Smiling faintly while holding the contract, he then approached Ceres, tilting his head in curiosity.
“Does the child like it, or does she want that ring? A wizard wouldn’t want it… she has our Cheyan, after all.”
…What is he talking about?
Even the Crown Prince seemed to have immediately recognized Ceres’ true identity.
She clicked her tongue, displeased with the contract in his hand.
If Altea’s ring was taken like this, what could she do?
‘How do I get that back?’
Altea’s items shouldn’t go just to anyone. Maybe she could pretend she didn’t notice and snatch it back—later, she could deny it.
“The five minutes are up.”
“…Five minutes?”
Suddenly, what’s with five minutes?
“If you don’t want to get tired, you should leave now. Royal soldiers will be here soon.”
The Crown Prince had long known that this illegal auction was connected to the Marial Marquis.
He had intended to observe quietly to see what would happen.
But upon hearing that Ceres had recently come to the auction, he decided it was finally time to intervene.
