Bought by someone…

‘Not only is he stealing the female s*ave I reserved, but he’s also going to use my money to bid on her!?’

Kǎ Dá Lā roared internally, yet his face remained a picture of utmost subservience.

“I understand, Your Highness.”

He lowered his head as he replied.

There was nothing he could do; the man before him was the Fourth Prince of the realm, while he was merely a humble Lord.

A purchased title, a Lord in name only, held no true power within the nation’s hierarchy.

“Very well.” Albert nodded, then propped his cheek on his right hand, a look of impatience etched on his face. “The auction is your responsibility. I shall rest for a while. Oh, and you are to secure her, no matter the cost. Otherwise, you understand the consequences.”

Having delivered his instructions, Albert closed his eyes, feigning sleep.

‘No matter the cost… those costs are all *mine* to bear!’

Witnessing Albert’s repose, Kǎ Dá Lā’s carefully maintained composure began to slip, revealing a look of exasperation. Just then, however, he felt an intense surge of killing intent engulf him.

“!!!”

Just as he braced himself for death, the murderous aura swiftly dissipated.

Kǎ Dá Lā broke out in a cold sweat, as if he had just been pulled from a frigid pond. He looked up, only to find a swordsman behind Albert regarding him with a warning gaze.

“Hmph!”

The swordsman let out a soft snort, and Kǎ Dá Lā, having narrowly escaped death, breathed a sigh of relief.

– His recent transgression had not been pursued.

Though resentment still simmered within him, Kǎ Dá Lā dared not show it in the slightest.

Mentally resolving to seek out a few female slaves to vent his frustrations on later that evening, Kǎ Dá Lā quickly composed himself and plunged into the task Albert had assigned him, hoping to complete it swiftly and depart from this wretched place.

****

Meanwhile, Fú Nī Yà’s price had climbed to around forty thousand amidst the relentless bidding.

“Forty thousand Ducat gold coins, once! Forty thousand Ducat gold coins, twice! Forty thousand—”

“Forty-one thousand!”

Kǎ Dá Lā raised his bidding paddle high, announcing his offer.

His bid was clearly reluctant, evident in the meager one-thousand coin increment.

His voice, however, caused many in the auction hall to pause abruptly, their gazes shifting towards the highest box, reserved for royalty, where Albert was seated.

While aware of a royal presence at today’s auction, they had certainly not anticipated someone from the imperial family specifically attending to bid on a half-elf s*ave girl.

‘Did the person in that box not fear disgracing the royal family?’

Many wondered this silently, but a considerable number extinguished any thoughts of continuing to bid.

– Even if it was disgraceful, they were still royalty, not someone to be provoked.

Yet, it was a well-known truth that the world was never short of ‘iron-headed fools’ (TL Note: A Chinese slang term referring to someone who is stubbornly reckless or dares to challenge powerful figures).

“Forty-one thousand Ducat gold coins! Is there any further bid?”

“I bid forty-five thousand!”

As the auctioneer loudly inquired, someone suddenly called out from another box not far away.

The hall immediately fell silent, and pairs of eyes began to sweep towards that box. Everyone wanted to know which fool, oblivious to their own mortality, dared to challenge the imperial family.

The occupant of that box, obligingly, drew open the curtains.

Immediately, a guard stepped to the window, displaying the family’s crest.

Observing the blue and white checkered background of the crest, adorned with a golden and a red lion, everyone nodded in understanding.

‘So that’s it.’

‘It’s the Chancellor’s son.’

The Chancellor had recently had a minor disagreement with His Imperial Majesty, resigning in a fit of pique. Still fuming, it was understandable for his son to deliberately come here and ‘put sand in the eyes’ (TL Note: A Chinese idiom meaning to cause trouble or spite someone) of the imperial family.

Should things go awry, he could simply retreat to his fiefdom; the Chancellor still held the title of Governor of the Bali Province, and the Emperor would hardly dispatch an imperial legion just to punish him.

Kǎ Dá Lā, however, felt even more depressed upon witnessing this scene.

‘It’s over; I’m going to bleed money.’

Gritting his teeth, he immediately raised the bid by five thousand gold coins.

“Fifty thousand!”

Kǎ Dá Lā, a frequent attendee of auctions, knew that if he didn’t quickly increase the bid to deter his rival, the bidding war would become endless.

“Fifty-five thousand.” The opposing side continued to bid.

“Sixty thousand.” Kǎ Dá Lā gritted his teeth, matching the bid.

“Seventy thousand!” The voice from the opposing box was overtly provocative.

“Eighty-five thousand!” With another exaggerated increase, Kǎ Dá Lā’s hand trembled slightly. He had only brought just over a hundred thousand gold coins with him this time; if he truly intended to purchase this half-elf, he would effectively be out of the running for any subsequent items.

Yet, he had no choice.

“Ninety thousand!”

“One hundred thousand!”

Kǎ Dá Lā gritted his teeth and called out again.

The crowd below watched the two men’s bidding in astonishment. Typically, a half-elf s*ave girl would fetch between thirty to fifty thousand gold coins; even with Fú Nī Yà’s exceptional beauty, her value would only reach sixty or seventy thousand. One hundred thousand gold coins was, by any measure, a significant overpayment.

A prolonged silence descended upon the hall, the opposing box seemingly having no intention of bidding further. Fú Nī Yà, feeling a touch bewildered, looked up towards Albert’s box. ‘Was she truly about to be bought by this man?’

‘What would he do to her?’

‘That sort of thing?’

The mere thought of being pressed beneath a man one day filled Fú Nī Yà with a visceral sense of revulsion.

‘She would not yield.’

Just as Fú Nī Yà steeled her resolve, the man in the opposing box, after a long silence, let out a scoff and spoke towards Albert’s direction: “You win… Your Imperial Highness.”

Upon hearing the voice from across the way, Albert opened his eyes, a similar smile gracing his lips as he replied, “Of course I won, Ludwig.”

As his words fell, the old butler Wǎ ěr drew open the box curtains, revealing Albert’s figure.

The man named Ludwig wore a look of utter astonishment.

“F-Fourth Prince… Your Highness…?”

“Ludwig, you still fall short compared to your father, Duke Maximilian.”

Hearing Albert’s words and seeing Kǎ Dá Lā standing beside him, Ludwig immediately understood Albert’s scheme.

Albert himself had not yet been granted a fief, and thus, he absolutely would not possess enough gold coins to purchase this half-elf. The only way to acquire her was to have the Lord Kǎ Dá Lā, standing beside him, pay for it.

However, Kǎ Dá Lā himself had no vested interest with Albert; for him to pay, Albert had most likely resorted to outright extortion.

While simple and crude, the ‘table manners’ (TL Note: A Chinese idiom referring to how one conducts oneself, especially in gaining benefits, often implying greed or impropriety) were rather unsightly, and it would easily incur Kǎ Dá Lā’s hatred.

Following the logic that an enemy of one’s enemy is a friend, Ludwig’s current inflation of Fú Nī Yà’s price was, in effect, helping Albert reduce the wealth of his ‘friend’ Kǎ Dá Lā, thereby weakening any potential threat Kǎ Dá Lā posed to Albert.

Although this amount of gold was negligible to Kǎ Dá Lā, a weakening was still a weakening, and it remained a fact that Ludwig had lost this round.

“You fellow, you’ve grown quite a bit cleverer these past few days…”

Ludwig’s face cycled between shades of green and white before he finally spoke through gritted teeth.

“Thank you for the compliment.”

Albert offered a faint smile, yet felt no pride.

Having lived several decades longer, it would be a true failure if he couldn’t outwit a young man like Ludwig.

Instructing Wǎ ěr to bring Fú Nī Yà over, Albert stretched, preparing to depart. Only Fú Nī Yà, the future Calamity Witch, was worth his attention at this auction; from his perspective, all other items were utterly useless.

Before leaving, he glanced at Kǎ Dá Lā and spoke.

“If you wish for revenge, you may seek out the man named Ludwig in the opposing box. Of course, I wouldn’t advise it, for I have been displeased with you for quite some time. Should you become my adversary, I would then have a legitimate reason to dispose of you.”

Albert’s words sent shivers through Kǎ Dá Lā’s entire body.

‘The Empire’s Fourth Prince has been displeased with him for a long time?’

‘Why?’

Kǎ Dá Lā was bewildered, but he instinctively knelt, speaking with utmost humility.

“Your Highness, how could I ever dare to be your enemy?”

“That’s good then.”

Albert nodded in satisfaction and exited the box.

The swordsman standing behind him also followed Albert out.

However, upon reaching the doorway, the swordsman suddenly turned and cast a warning glance at Kǎ Dá Lā.

Enveloped by that murderous aura, Kǎ Dá Lā felt as if he had plummeted into an ice cellar.

****

“Jo, you overstepped.”

After walking for a while down the auction hall’s corridor, Albert suddenly addressed the guard behind him.

The guard, named Jo, bowed slightly and replied.

“My apologies, Your Highness. I merely perceived him as a potential threat to you and wished to issue a warning.”

“A threat? It’s better if there *are* threats…” Albert waved his hand dismissively, saying under Jo’s puzzled gaze, “These are merely appetizers. If one cannot even resolve such simple matters, how can they contend with future difficulties?”

“The future? You think too far ahead, Your Highness.”

“Perhaps, but it’s not a bad thing to think a little more, is it?” Albert questioned.

“You are always so thoughtful.”

Jo replied after a moment’s thought.

“Enough of this,” Albert shook his head, quickening his pace. “Let us meet Miss Fú Nī Yà.”

At the mention of Fú Nī Yà, Jo’s expression once again turned to one of confusion.

He couldn’t fathom what purpose that half-elf girl could serve his Highness.

Yet, thinking was not his duty; he merely needed to execute Albert’s will.

****

Elsewhere, Fú Nī Yà was led by the old butler Wǎ ěr to a room within the auction house.

Beside the old butler stood a respectful staff member. A royal butler was often a noble themselves; Wǎ ěr, for instance, was a viscount who owned a small town as his fief.

Fú Nī Yà sat on a soft sofa, her hands anxiously gripping and rubbing the hem of her linen dress, unsure of what future awaited her.

“Miss Fú Nī Yà, you need not worry unduly.”

Observing Fú Nī Yà’s demeanor, the old butler spoke in his slightly reedy voice.

“Need not worry?”

Fú Nī Yà subtly raised her head, glancing at the old butler. His grizzled, walrus-like mustache, gaunt cheeks, and benevolent gaze perfectly matched her initial impression of a butler.

Seeing that the old butler seemed approachable, Fú Nī Yà cautiously probed.

“Um… what does your Prince Highness intend to do with me, having bought me?”

“That, this old man does not know.”

The old butler shook his head as he spoke.

“You don’t know…” Seeing the old butler was amenable, Fú Nī Yà thought for a moment and then tried another indirect approach. “Then, what is your Prince Highness’s reputation like?”

“Reputation?”

The old butler furrowed his brow curiously.

“That is to say, does he typically engage in acts like bullying men and seizing women, or forcibly abducting common girls?”

“What if I do, and what if I don’t?”

Albert, having approached Fú Nī Yà from behind at some unknown moment, questioned her with a subtle, lingering tone.

“Eek!”

Fú Nī Yà jumped in fright, quickly turning around.

“If you dare to do *that* to me, I will never forgive you, even in death!”

“You insolent wretch, you shall not insult His Highness’s reputation!”

Jo, standing behind Albert, drew his sword and shouted loudly, but Albert promptly stopped him.

Stroking his chin, Albert, evidently recalling matters from his previous life, nodded in agreement.

“I believe you possess such capabilities.”

“Huh?”

Fú Nī Yà tilted her head, unsure how to respond.

‘What kind of mind does this man have?’

‘Normally, a righteous character would declare, “I would never do such a thing; I merely wish to grant you freedom,” before nobly departing the auction house. A villain, on the other hand, would cackle “Heheheh” and immediately proceed with their nefarious intentions.’

‘”I believe you possess such capabilities” – what kind of answer is that?’

Albert, oblivious to Fú Nī Yà’s mental turmoil, turned his head and spoke to the silently waiting staff member.

“Give me the key to the s*ave collar.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

The staff member nodded subserviently, then handed Albert a ring-shaped object.

Albert casually slipped it onto his right middle finger, exhaling a sigh of relief.

The matter of the Calamity Witch was, in a way, half-resolved.

“As for the gold coins, you can collect them from Kǎ Dá Lā,” Albert said casually, then looked back at Fú Nī Yà.

Noticing the linen clothes she wore, Albert pondered for a moment before speaking.

“Let’s return to the manor first; she needs a change of clothes.”