Chapter 140: Wealthy

After hearing the number thirty thousand, Roland’s gaze fell upon the voluptuous figure of that alluring lady in the blue dress.

Hmm, not bad.

But he wasn’t particularly interested—he was merely amazed that this beautiful Madam would be willing to spend so much money just to torment an Elven girl.

“Thirty thousand gold coins… This Elf really is valuable.”

If this news got out, would some people risk it all, cross the northern mountains, and try to capture those little Elves on the border of the Elven Kingdom?

Then, bring them into the human world to sell?

Soren glanced at Roland and spoke in a cold tone.

“We absolutely cannot do such a thing. That’s the Westwind Empire’s red line—especially with Princess Vivienne’s sphere of influence right next to White Stone City.”

“And besides, she has a relationship with the Lord of Red Pine City, Asades, that no one can quite figure out. Am I wrong?”

Roland certainly knew that in the Westwind Empire, anyone caught trafficking people would be nailed to the wall alive, regardless of whether you trafficked your own kind or another race—the punishment was always the same: ‘nailed to the wall and left to dry’ in such a cruel manner.

Looking at that alluring Madam, the brown-haired youth asked,

“What exactly does Madam Margaret do?”

Soren didn’t answer, but even not answering counted as a kind of answer. Roland nodded lightly, and continued watching the spectacle unfold.

In the other private boxes, people gossiped with those around them about Madam Margaret in her blue dress—about her affairs and her notorious reputation.

This lady in the blue dress, Madam Margaret, actually had some subtle ties with certain pleasure houses.

Rumor had it, she also had dealings with some powers to the east.

Here, ‘the east’ referred to the area east of White Stone City—beyond it lay Qingshui City.

And once you crossed Qingshui City, on the other side you’d find the largest Marquis’s Cities and over ten Count’s Cities of the Northland States.

Inside Box Thirteen, Ronald narrowed his eyes at Madam Margaret—he hadn’t expected this noble lady to have such tastes.

After a moment’s thought, he decided not to increase his bid any further.

Meanwhile, in Room Seven, Sophia grew restless after hearing someone shout out thirty thousand. She kept wanting to get up from the soft cushion of her chair.

She looked across the small round table at Enya, and called out in a soft voice,

“Senior…”

They’d already spent quite a bit before—did Senior still have more?

It’s only money, isn’t it?

Big sister has plenty!

Besides, who said you always have to pay with your own money?

Enya smirked, waving her hand lightly to tell Sophia not to worry, then turned calmly to the Maid standing by the railing and spoke,

“Sixty thousand.”

“S-s-sixty thousand?!”

The Maid was shocked too. It was rare for anything at this auction to fetch even ten thousand.

There weren’t too few people worth more than ten thousand gold, but most of that included fixed assets.

But someone like this lady, who could toss out ten thousand gold with a wave of her hand—she’d never seen such a thing in her life!

So, she froze on the spot.

She’d never said the word ‘sixty thousand’ before!

“Ahem.”

Enya covered her lips and gave a gentle cough.

The Maid quickly snapped out of it, turned to face the Host on stage, gathered her magic into her throat, and, with the help of a special amplification spell, shouted loudly,

“Sixty thousand!”

As soon as she spoke, the once lively hall fell instantly silent.

In Room Nine, Madam Margaret looked toward the window of Room Seven, her gaze fixed on the gray-haired woman who slowly stepped from the shadows.

A bright, charming smile appeared on her face.

“A fine young girl, as well.”

Though Madam Margaret couldn’t see through Enya’s ‘thousand faces’ disguise, she could sense from Enya’s calm demeanor that this was no ordinary person.

With a soft hum, she turned back to her chair, ordering the Maid to continue serving her, her fingers tapping gently on the tabletop.

Sixty thousand gold coins—even without any more bids, this price wasn’t something Madam Margaret could easily swallow with her current wealth.

Though that Elf girl did make her feel a burning hunger, she chose to forcibly suppress her burgeoning desire.

Madam Margaret gave up on competing with Enya, but that didn’t mean she was finished!

If possible, Madam Margaret wanted to acquire not just the gray-haired scholar, but also the mysterious woman who concealed her face.

In Box Thirteen, Ronald’s face darkened—he hadn’t expected Enya to actually call out a bid of sixty thousand gold coins.

He couldn’t help but wonder—could those two women really afford that much?

What if they won, but couldn’t pay?

Golden Town isn’t a place for charity, or it wouldn’t have lasted so long in a city like White Stone City, where powerful factions are everywhere.

If you couldn’t pay, you’d have to make up for it with something else. And if you had nothing of value, you’d be collateral yourself.

Golden Town not only ran casinos, but also auctions, information exchanges, and even loan sharking.

Basically, anything that made money fast, they’d do.

As for what they did with all that money—no one in White Stone City had ever found out.

Ronald had seen Lady Xuelun’s methods before, and though Lady Xuelun was just a lowly casino manager, her personal strength was always a mystery—no one knew her true power.

And the boss behind the scenes was even more enigmatic, always pretending to be a mere Rank One Mage. Who knew what their real strength was?

All of them were masters of hiding their true selves!

“Should I keep bidding or not?”

Ronald had originally wanted to make things difficult for Enya, but with the numbers at this level, if Enya stopped, he’d have to take on the burden himself.

And that would be more than just a major loss.

An ordinary Forest Elf girl was no one important among the Elves, just an ordinary Elf.

Not worth six thousand gold coins.

What if this was her trap for me?

“What if… If I raise it by one or two thousand, and she gives up, wouldn’t I become the clown?”

The black-faced guard lifted his head slightly and said to the pondering Ronald,

“Lord Ronald, please stay calm.” “Shut up, you useless thing!”

Ronald’s face turned grim.

He often lost his cool and did impulsive things—otherwise, his elder brother wouldn’t have put this black-faced guard at his side.

Both as a guard and as a check to stop him from getting into too much trouble.

He’d long since been annoyed by the black-faced guard, but since the man belonged to his elder brother, Ronald couldn’t order him around too much.

That’s why, when the black-faced guard failed to use his senses to probe the identities of the two women in Box Seven and was struck back in spirit, Ronald kept mocking him as useless.

To get messed up by a woman like that—useless, isn’t it?

After much thought, Ronald finally chose to remain calm, not raising his bid further, and sat in silence until the auction Host announced the result.

“Number Seven, sixty thousand gold coins, third and final call!”

“Congratulations to our honored guest in Room Seven, for purchasing this Elf girl at a price of sixty thousand gold coins! She now belongs to you!”

The Host glanced at the Elf girl in the cage after seeing the final bid.

At this moment, the Elf girl was gazing up at the gray-haired woman standing on the balcony.

“The soul’s scent isn’t unpleasant… It’s actually fragrant…”

The Elf girl’s eyes widened a bit.

She’d already given up hope.

The shackles on her hands kept draining her magic; as soon as her core mana recovered, it was used up again, leaving her in a constant state of exhaustion.

She couldn’t use any magic at all, nor could she break free of the iron cage.

She’d even thought that if she got the chance, she’d end her life—at least then, she wouldn’t fail her mother, nor the Saintess, nor the Empress.

But now, seeing the soul with that comforting scent, the one that made her feel at ease, the girl let go of her thoughts of death.

“Who… is she?”

Two Maids came forward, draping a red cloth over the cage to block the Forest Elf girl’s view.

Then they carefully lifted the cage and carried it away.

After the Elf girl, there were still plenty of treasures up for auction, but after that fierce yet bloodless battle, everyone was already satisfied—everything that came after seemed dull in comparison.

In Room Seven, Sophia looked at Enya’s back;

She couldn’t help but squeeze her small hands.

She’d actually let her senior spend so much money…

Enya turned around and slowly walked up to Sophia.

“My young lady is in a bad mood?”

“Um…”

Sophia glanced at Enya’s gentle smile, but was too embarrassed to meet those pure golden eyes, lowering her head instead.

Enya reached out and took Sophia’s hand.

“Smile! You look much prettier when you do.”

“Really?”

“At least it’s not fake.”

Sophia could feel the warmth and softness that belonged only to Enya in the hand that held hers.

“Thank you, Senior.”