Chapter 32: Just the two of us
A clown adorned with fake feathers appeared, shouting loudly. Read the translation on itsladygrey.com.
Burning torches and candlesticks illuminated the stage. Drunken nobles whistled and cheered.
“Before we start the slave auction, I’d like to introduce an exciting appetizer!”
“What are you doing?! We’re here to buy slaves, not goods!”
“Haha, I know! But you’ll soon change your mind.” The clown laughed significantly and walked as if he was dancing. Then he brought a small box with a golden lock on it. He placed it on a platform, performed a flamboyant gesture like a magic spell, and quickly opened the lid with a ‘ta-da’. “Do you see it?”
A small commotion arose among the nobles.
What the clown lifted up was a pure white skull. There was a dark wound between the eyebrow bone revealing that the owner of the skull had died after being attacked on the head by someone.
“What is that?” The disgruntled nobles asked in a curious voice.
A human skull might be worth nothing to the owner of this auction house, but the fact that the skull appeared in the secret auction house, which was considered the best pastime event, meant that the dead person was a very famous person when the person was alive.
Grinning, the clown lifted the skull high.
“It’s the head of Hugo I”
The noisy auction house suddenly fell silent. Read the translation on itsladygrey.com.
Hugo I.
Adeline could not hide her surprise. Why was the head of Hugo I, which should be resting in the imperial tomb, here?
Hugo I was recorded as the king who killed the most people in the history of the continent. It would be no exaggeration to say that Sol-Marma was a city that prospered from the bodies of the people he killed. He killed all eight of his brothers to become king. He killed his brothers’ mother and wife. Anyone who was related by blood to his brothers, all of the collateral relatives, was hunted down and killed.
It was also the work of Hugo I that the Marma’s palace was expanded to the level of a city. He also built the largest arena and tallest tower in the capital Sol-Marma, and created the road of prosperity stretching from the South to the North. Hundreds of thousands of slaves were sacrificed for these projects.
A throne built on the blood of the lowly. Hugo I, who ascended to the top, must have fallen into hell.
The Lion King, noticing Adeline staring silently at the skull, asked, “Do you want me to buy that for you?”
“What are you doing?”
“I thought you’d want it.”
“It’s just expensive trash.” Adeline turned her gaze from the terrible skull.
The auction continued smoothly.
Hugo I’s skull was just a bit of a special commodity, but the rest was nod different from an ordinary slave auction. Free warriors and northern barbarians, all chained up, were traded at high prices.
Her heart and throat stung like being stabbed with an awl every second.
“Now, it’s the last thing you’ve been waiting for so long!”
The atmosphere grew increasingly uncomfortable, and the heated atmosphere became more concentrated in one place.
A woman walked out slowly, her face covered with a white cloth and her hands and ankles chained.
The gypsy.
There seemed to be no injuries. She was an expensive slave, so those people wouldn’t have starved or beaten her. Read the translation on itsladygrey.com.
“Do you know the mysterious gypsies wandering the deserts of Odium? They live in small packs of 15 to 100 people, never staying in one place for long, and they only move in the barren desert following the stars in the night sky!”
“So noisy! I know that much!”
“There is only one guides in each group. The guide, the prophet, and….”
“So how much is it?”
“A legendary fortune teller, known as the mother of all guides! Do you know the Starkeeper? Everything she says has a reason. She has a magical ability to predict the future! With such a talented slave, you wouldn’t even envy a king. Be prepared—she will see everything with her eyes, even the moment of your death…” His tone was theatrical, almost childish, but it was effective.
The nobles rubbed their palms together greedily and leaned forward.
“As long as she has pretty face… I will buy it no matter how much it costs.”
Hearing this, the clown grinned and removed the cloth covering the woman’s face. Her short, blonde hair, cut like a man’s, fluttered. Each strand was as thin and wavy as thread. Though her short hair could have been a disadvantage, the nobles were captivated by her eyes, each a different color.
“Oh oh! A very rare slave!”
“I will buy that! 500.000 gold coins!”
“What! I’m going to buy that gypsy. You’ve already taken two people with you!”
“Then offer for a higher price!”
The nobles talked loudly, keeping each other in check. Read the translation on itsladygrey.com.
Adeline could not take her eyes off the gypsy’s eyes the moment the clown unwrapped the white cloth. Her right eye was a golden color that looked as sweet as honey, whileher left eye was a creepy cold grey.
Starkeeper.
Adeline tried to call the gypsy by moving only her lips.
Their eyes met. Among all these people, the Starkeeper looked directly at Adeline.
“300,000.” Adeline raised one of her hands while resting her head on the Lion King’s shoulder and her legs on his thighs.
The clown hosting the auction extended his red lips on both sides. It was a disgusting smile.
“We have distinguished guests over here.”
300,000 gold coins was an incredibly large sum.
“This is the highest bid since our auction house opened.”
“Seems like you’ve only been selling cheap products until now.”
“HA HA HA! We don’t dare to receive this recognition from the disitinguished guest….”
“300,000. Keep going with the auction.”
The entire auction house was dead quiet. The once scorching heat cooled down. The nobles were astonished when they saw Adeline suddenly appear. 300,000 was a large sum, but some of them were not incapable of offering more than that. However, no one raised their hand. She was the princess of the country. The person behind Adeline Vita was Hugo VI, the Emperor of Thousand Year Empire Marma.
“This… 300,000. Great.”
The clown, smacking his lips, approached Adeline, holding the end of the chain restraining the gypsy’s wrist.
The Lion King’s breathing became noticeably rough as if he was an animal being dragged.
Adeline rose from her seat and took the chain directly from the clown’s hand. “Go to the Imperial Palace for the payment.”
“What?”
“If the financial manager asks, say this: The princess wants to give a precious gift to the Lion King and this is the amount of money she must use.”
She left, giving a short smile at the stunned clown, then disappeared. Read the translation on itsladygrey.com.
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