Chapter 16

“Money makes people go wild.”

“Greed makes people go wild.”

“Competitive spirit makes people go wild.”

“Desire for showoff makes people go wild.”

It was only natural for an auction house, the melting pot of such elements, to be a cauldron of desire.

Especially when that auction house was located in Albert, the pleasure city where all sorts of criminals and corrupt nobles gathered—a level of ugliness that’s hard to put into words.

The fervor of the crowd was clearly felt by the girl in the ‘waiting room’ behind the auction house.

“Hoo… Hoo…”

The heir of Friedel. The only daughter of the kingdom’s greatest sword. The ‘young lady’ that Roni was desperately trying to rescue.

With various titles, the girl was desperately taking deep breaths.

If she didn’t, she wouldn’t be able to keep her sanity.

It made perfect sense.

Even as a ‘guest’ in that auction house, the malice and excitement swirling around would make anyone nauseous, but the girl was there as a ‘product.’

In a little while, she’d be sold like an object to a stranger, who she’d never even seen before, feeling terrified if that wasn’t abnormal.

‘That message… It definitely said today was the day of action.’

The message delivered to her on the day she was handed over to the lord’s castle. The only last hope left for her was that message promising to rescue her using Roni’s name.

The message mentioned a ‘potion’—that mysterious red gem.

Swallowing something that the bizarre ‘bone mouse,’ which moved as if it were alive, had carried inside its body, was an incredibly unsettling thing to do, but the girl had no other choice.

All she could do was wait.

‘…Is it not yet?’

The girl was anxious.

Before she knew it, the auction had exceeded the midway point, and nearly 80% of the goods that once filled the waiting room had disappeared.

Even if her turn was last, the remaining time wasn’t long.

What if the operation had failed?

Or were they planning to rescue her after she got sold, not before?

As she spent time cursing the unknown person who hadn’t shared any specific plans, it happened.

Swish.

Suddenly, something purple caught the corner of her eye.

What is this? As the girl stared at the smoke, she soon realized a shocking fact.

When did this start? The swirling purple smoke had filled the ground of the waiting room.

“What the heck is this?! Where is it coming from?”

“Don’t open the door, no, don’t! If it leaks out to the stage, we’re all dead! Open the back door! The back door!”

Initially ankle-high, the smoke soon became thick enough to cover her vision in the blink of an eye, and screams and yells erupted throughout the waiting room.

‘Now’s the time!’

The girl’s face lit up with color.

Finally, she thought the rescue operation had begun and tried to rise from her curled-up position.

No, she tried to.

‘Huh?’

Thud, the girl fell back to the ground.

A horrible dizziness spun her vision.

“Cough! Cough!”

Something surged up from deep inside her, and she instinctively vomited it out.

It was a bright, brilliant red blood.

What in the world is happening?

What’s going on?

No one answered the girl’s questions.

She lost consciousness right there.

And whether she passed out or not, the red blood she had vomited began to fulfill its purpose.

The blood, bubbling like stew in a cauldron, grew larger and eventually morphed into the shape of a girl.

Not only a simple form, but it astonishingly replicated the girl’s skin, hair, and even the clothes she wore.

“Cough! Cough! Damn it, who did this…!”

Finally, as the smoke cleared, one of the auction staff approached the mass that had transformed into the girl’s shape.

Seeing the bloody mass, the staff let out a sigh of relief.

“Hey! The main product is safe!?”

“Yeah! Damn, I was worried someone had swiped it.”

“We still haven’t found the culprit who spread the smoke, so don’t let your guard down. If anything happens to that lady, we’re all dead at the lord’s hands.”

“You don’t need to scare me; I know, damn it.”

Apparently reassured that the ‘product’ was safe, the staff chatted casually.

It was truly an odd sight.

The girl sprawled on the ground seemed completely invisible to them.

Shortly after that.

When the highlight of the auction arrived, the staff dragged off the bloody mass that had taken on the girl’s form.

Guards were needed to protect something.

There was no need to guard an empty waiting room.

With the need for manpower to find the perpetrator of the purple smoke, the waiting room, once filled with slaves and staff, was left deserted.

Leaving behind the girl, peacefully sleeping inside…

And in the corner of the waiting room, a small bone mouse that was hiding.

Dropping from between the bone mouse’s ribcage, a purple orb crumbled to pieces the moment it touched the ground.

It was unimaginable for the auction staff, who were frantically searching for the origin of the purple smoke, to think it was here.

The bone mouse lightly leapt through the opening we had, and with its tail, it flicked the girl’s cheek.

The girl’s eyelids fluttered, and gradually, her tightly shut eyes began to open.

“Ugh, uhmm, eek!?”

The girl instinctively reacted as normal people would when waking up with a bone mouse sitting on her face.

She screamed and reflexively swatted the bone mouse off her face.

Spinning in mid-air, the bone mouse landed gracefully on the ground as if it were doing a circus act, displaying unnecessary skills as if it had done aerial flips before.

Tap, tap.

The bone mouse rattled its jaw at the girl as if protesting and gestured for her to follow it.

It was a clear and decisive movement; even a girl with no experience in communicating with rodents could easily understand.

With cautious intent, the girl began to follow the bone mouse.

***

As the blonde girl stepped onto the stage, the auction house’s heat became so intense it felt like it might physically burn up.

“Ladies and gentlemen! Finally, we’ve reached the highlight of today’s auction!”

With a satisfied smile, the host continued in a lively tone.

“A member of the Lion Duke family, considered the greatest warrior clan of the continent! Though she hails from a branch family rather than the main house… just look! This vivid blonde hair and enchanting purple eyes! Blonde hair is common, while purple eyes are rare, but having both together belongs solely to those who share blood with the Lion Duke! This proves that the girl has inherited the blood of a great ancestor!”

The host’s words drew murmurs of astonishment from the crowd.

“Wow, so the rumor about Friedel’s heir being sold as a slave was true.”

“The colors are astonishingly bright. It’s like a jewel’s eyes.”

“Hmm, isn’t the risk too great? The clan’s power in the Empire is far from insignificant.”

Understanding the hesitation from the guests, the host raised his voice even higher.

“It is said that the legendary hero, the Lion Duke, possessed a very special physique. Overwhelming physical abilities and resilience against any illness! Their descendants have inherited some of that strength, which is why they have been praised as the greatest warrior clan for so long. And blood can always be newly inherited!”

The insinuation in the host’s words was clear and enough to stir greed among the participants.

Voices expressing hopes to purchase rang out, and the auction price gradually climbed higher.

Watching this scene, Dorothea wore a cynical expression.

‘Good thing Roni didn’t bring her home.’

If Roni saw her owner sold off like a mere market commodity, she’d undoubtedly be shattered.

She might even lash out and kill everyone present.

Though Roni was endlessly respectful towards Dorothea and the Tin Knight, she was also a fierce warrior capable of coldly taking down a thief or two.

That was something Dorothea didn’t desire.

Smashing everything and gaining a notorious name wasn’t her style, and if things went that way, Dorothea wouldn’t receive the auctioned product she had gotten with the money from Columbo.

Looking at the girl on stage—or rather, the ‘something that took the form of the girl’—Dorothea wore a faint smile.

***

After the auction ended.

The lord of Albert City struggled to suppress a growing grin.

“Hahaha, I didn’t expect this many passionate participants. Once news reaches the Lion Duke’s main house, they won’t let it slide easily. They must really want this badly.”

The price the girl sold for was significant, but what truly pleased the lord was seeing participants risking everything to secure her.

Deriving satisfaction from witnessing the disgrace of those who touted ‘noble blood’ was one of the lord’s vile pleasures.

In that sense, he might even thank Columbo for providing such a delightful scene…

“My lord. Columbo continues to request to meet with you.”

“Just placate him and send him back.”

—That was one thing, and this was another.

If the girl sold for a price that satisfied the lord, he would support Columbo’s ‘independence.’

That was the deal between them, and indeed, the girl was sold for a high price.

What remained was for the lord to keep his promise, but he had no intention of doing that.

It wasn’t out of disrespect but rather acknowledgment that drove his decision.

‘Though I’m bending down now, he’ll eventually outgrow me.’

Of course, it would take quite a bit of time for Columbo to reach that level, and the already old lord was unlikely to be alive by then… but there was no need to provide food for the young wolf so easily.

From Columbo’s perspective, he must have thought the lord wouldn’t act so petty as to cut ties after signing a contract, but traditionally, thieves are brazen, and they only become bolder with age.

It went without saying that an old thief was no exception.

‘Well, he won’t back down without a fight. It won’t be dull for a while—’

—Crash!

“S-stop! Intruders!”

The sudden commotion snapped the lord out of his contemplation.

Wondering what was going on, he looked out the window toward the front gate and saw Columbo and his crew attempting to break in by slaying the guards.

However, their efforts were in vain.

The lord had put in considerable effort to protect himself, and many skilled fighters were stationed within the castle.

Two heavily armored knights firmly blocked the main gate, and as soldiers came rushing in, Columbo’s band found themselves unable to move.

“Boss! Why are we doing this?!”

“W-wait! I didn’t know! I’m not involved!”

Some of the thieves were yelling in panic, but the castle soldiers ignored them, calmly decimating the thieves.

Realizing they had no escape, the band resisted with tears but were simply outmatched.

Columbo and some of the leaders displayed some bravery, but that didn’t last long.

Soon, they too became cold corpses in front of the soldiers’ blades.

The lord clicked his tongue as he watched this unfold.

“…Did I overestimate them? They couldn’t even endure a moment of humiliation.”

Perhaps the thieves thought the lord would try to silence them due to what they might expect, but even so, it was a too hasty and foolish act.

Feeling disheartened by the decline of his own judgment, the lord didn’t forget his duties.

“Take care of the Columbo thieves in the territory. Clearly show the riffraff of the city what it means to draw steel against me.”

“Yes.”

After the vassal who bowed his head left the room, the lord sank into thought.

For some reason, he couldn’t shake the feeling of being manipulated, but those thoughts didn’t linger long.

After all, the lord wouldn’t suffer any losses from this incident.

A day later.

It was only after hearing complaints from a customer that the girl sold at auction had turned into a puddle of blood that the lord realized the origin of his discomfort.

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