Sophia, upon hearing Enya’s words, lowered her gaze slightly, her long lashes trembling just a bit. After standing there in a daze for a while, she sat back down in her chair.
She chose to trust her senior.
But beneath Sophia’s veil, those deep blue eyes kept fixed on the stage, on that block draped with red cloth, worry faintly shining in her gaze.
Enya’s eyes widened a little, a faint golden gleam flickering within them. Soon, her human-like round pupils slowly shifted into a pair of golden-red vertical slits.
Though a spell had been cast on that red cloth to block prying eyes, it was no match for Enya’s sight.
On stage, the Host slowly walked to the side of the red-draped block, bent down and pinched the edge of the fabric on the ground.
With a sudden flourish, he straightened and flung the light red cloth into the air.
With the cloth lifted, what was revealed beneath were rows of black iron rods, forming a cage.
Kneeling inside the cage was a girl with pale cyan hair, dressed scantily, her head bowed low. Her hands were shackled with special manacles, resting weakly on her rounded thighs.
Peeking out from her pale cyan hair was a pair of ears—ears quite unlike those of a Human.
They were long and pointed.
At the moment, they drooped down, reflecting their owner’s dejection.
“Ladies and gentlemen, what we have here is a Forest Elf from the Northern Continent.”
The Host held a stick in his hand, poking it through the cage to lift the Forest Elf girl’s chin, displaying her delicate and clear features for all to see.
The Forest Elf girl turned her head away, her gaze fixed on the floor, a look of disgust flashing across her face.
“Vile Human!” (Elvish)
No one present understood Elvish, but the Host could guess from the girl’s emotional fluctuations that she was cursing him.
He didn’t mind at all.
In fact, he found it rather amusing, thinking that listening to such a crisp and gentle voice constantly cursing at him was a rather pleasant experience.
The Host set down his thin black stick and circled the cage, then turned his gaze to the windows reserved for Human noblewomen.
“Esteemed guests, this Forest Elf girl was just acquired a few days ago by Golden Town, after she got lost in the Northern Mountains.”
“I’m sure you’ve all seen how exquisite this Forest Elf girl’s appearance is. It’s said that the Elven Kingdom is full of beauties like her!”
“And their youthful beauty lasts a thousand years. Buy one home, and it could be passed down for generations.”
“Forest Elves are renowned for their Rebirth Magic and beautiful singing voices.
“They are also devout followers of the Nature God. I don’t need to say more—surely all you honored guests have heard that the Forest Elf King’s realm is called a paradise on earth.”
“Sadly, the Northern Mountains divide north and south, and the Elves’ strong aversion to outsiders keeps all from entering the Forest Elf Kingdom to see for themselves.”
“Now, for just five thousand gold coins, you can buy a Forest Elf, and experience for yourself the fragrance belonging to the Nature God!”
When the Host finished speaking, he bowed deeply to the audience.
In Box Nine, the Noblewoman in the blue dress stood straight up from her chair, her eyes wide as she stared at the pitiable Elf girl in the cage.
Even caged, with every movement restricted, the girl’s face showed unwavering resolve, her proud eyes striking all her favorite notes.
The Noblewoman in the blue dress clenched her fists, bit her lip, and said, “I must have her!”
The maid dressed in a revealing maid’s outfit wore a look of grievance, but dared not show any dissatisfaction to her mistress.
In Box Twenty-One, Soren looked from the Forest Elf on stage to his son at his side, and said calmly, “What do you think?”
“Huh?”
Roland was momentarily stunned.
Soren frowned slightly and said, “All those noble ladies I introduced you to, you wouldn’t even say a word to them. Those young, beautiful maids I arranged for you, you never gave a single glance.”
The head of the Ophield Family looked at his son and sighed deeply.
Roland’s smile froze on his face.
But he offered no explanation to his father. Instead, he turned his gaze toward the window of Box Seven, though he knew there were two ladies there.
A bit curious, perhaps?
But what if those two ladies were interested in the physiological structure of Elves…
Selling living beings at auction was rare, but not unheard of.
But to auction an Elf—this was truly the first time he’d seen such a thing in Golden Town of White Stone City.
Normally, these auctions were driven by demand—each treasure brought out was already desired by someone, so almost nothing went unsold.
If every item had a buyer, then who was this Elf for? Roland thought of the two ladies in Box Seven.
One, with gray hair and dressed like a scholar, was apparently a Human female—though it couldn’t be ruled out that she was using a high-level disguise spell.
The other, always wearing a hood and hiding her face with a special magical item…
Quite mysterious, indeed.
In Box Thirteen, Ronald squinted at the stage, interest piqued by the sorrowful beauty of the Elf girl in the cage.
Ronald never lacked for women, but Human women’s beauty had its limits—there were always some imperfections, whether in body or face.
But Elves were different!
Elves were born beautiful, their beauty a gift from the gods. That exquisite face, those elegant lines of her body—no Human woman could compare.
And, rumor had it, all Forest Elves were devout believers in the Nature God, living lives of self-restraint like Human nuns of the goddess’ church.
Elf plus nun, tsk tsk…
As these thoughts crossed Ronald’s mind, the resentment from having a section of Dragon Spine Bone snatched from him faded.
Just then, from the window of Box Seven, the maid called out her price to the Host on stage.
“Ten thousand!”
The Host on stage was startled—he hadn’t expected someone to immediately double the starting price. The wealth behind Box Seven was clearly formidable!
The economy of White Stone City was far better than Red Pine City’s—after all, there were mines here, and the lord was adept at squeezing the common folk.
But to spend ten thousand gold like this—even for a Forest Elf, rare as they were in the Human world—was astonishing.
Such wealth! Such extravagance!
Before the Host could repeat Enya’s offer, another voice rang out from Box Thirteen—the maid there shouted, “Twenty thousand!”
In Box Twenty-One, the Ophield Family father and son watched the two parties raise the stakes and couldn’t help but take up their tea, settling in to enjoy the spectacle.
Soren took a sip of tea and said, “Seems like this will be a fight to the bitter end. Son, is it too late to withdraw now?”
“How could it be?”
Roland tucked his chin in, making a comically pouty face, nearly making the overly relaxed maid at his side laugh out loud.
Soren set down his teacup.
When the porcelain cup’s base touched the saucer, the crisp sound rang loudly, particularly conspicuous in the quiet room.
The maid was startled, her face turning pale in an instant. Fortunately, Soren meant nothing by it; he simply said to Roland, “Those two women might have quite the background.”
In Box Thirteen, Ronald wore a vicious grin—he didn’t particularly need an Elf.
But this was a perfect chance to spite those two mysterious women—how could he pass it up?
So he doubled the price, raising it from five thousand straight to twenty thousand. That rare section of Dragon Spine Bone had only gone for twenty thousand, and that was after several rounds of bidding.
Now, Ronald had instantly pushed the price to the same level, just to make things difficult for the two in Box Seven.
In the other private boxes, those with status in White Stone City heard that a single Forest Elf was fetching twenty thousand gold and were all shocked.
With that kind of money, wouldn’t it be better to keep several mistresses and never get tired of them? One might not even be able to spend it all before exhausting oneself!
But they weren’t fools—they quickly realized that Baron Ronald Tang En was deliberately making things hard for Box Seven.
They settled in to watch the show, eager to see just how deep the pockets of this number could be, and whether they could snatch up two auction items, each worth over twenty thousand.
But just before Box Seven could respond, Box Nine suddenly called out a bid.
“Thirty thousand!”
With those words, everyone’s attention shifted from the window of Box Seven to Box Nine, where the Noblewoman in the blue dress stood at the railing, her gaze fixed intently on the Forest Elf girl.
Within the special cage, the Forest Elf girl lifted her head to the source of that burning gaze. A flicker of utter resolve shone in her beautiful eyes.
If these filthy Humans touched her, it would be a defilement of the body she had vowed to dedicate to the Mother of All Things, the Nature God.
It would be a betrayal of her faith!
When an Elf dies, she turns to motes of dust, returning to nature’s embrace.
In her heart, she silently prayed.
“Saintess, Empress, Princess, please rest assured—I will never let the faith in the Nature God be disgraced!”
The sudden bid from Box Nine set off a wave of discussion among the city’s elites in their private boxes.
Of course, they all knew the identity of the Noblewoman in the blue dress, and knowing who she was, they could easily guess the sort of peculiar tastes she had.
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