Xuan Xi sat down, her gaze moving from the bouquet to the curtains, from the curtains to the delicate embroidery pattern on the seats.
“This is even more luxurious than the carriage you took me to your house in last time.”
“That one of ours is quite old. This is a new model that’s only come out in recent years.” Sigrdrífa sat down next to her.
“Universal Commerce only sends carriages of this caliber for VIP clients.”
“So you come here often?”
Sigrdrífa was silent for a moment.
“I came a few times with my mother when I was little.”
The carriage started moving.
Four horses—no, not horses, some creature Xuan Xi had never seen before—their silver-white manes flowing in the wind, their hooves landing on the ground without a sound.
The carriage was as steady as if it were floating on water.
Xuan Xi looked out through the gap in the curtains.
The carriage passed through the academy’s main gate, through the town at the foot of the mountain, and drove into an area she had never been to before. Neat rows of trees lined the road on both sides, their canopies interlocking to form a green tunnel above.
At the end of the tunnel was a white building, not tall, but very large. Its footprint was bigger than the academy’s main teaching building.
“Is this the place?” Xuan Xi asked.
“Yes.”
The carriage stopped.
The old man opened the door.
Sigrdrífa got off first, then turned around and held out her hand. Xuan Xi placed her hand in hers, held it, and stepped down.
A long queue had already formed at the entrance of the white building.
Men and women dressed in finery waited to enter, some draped in fur shawls, others wearing jeweled necklaces, others leaning on silver canes.
Their gazes swept over Xuan Xi and Sigrdrífa—first looking at Sigrdrífa, with her silver-white hair and amethyst eyes, the mark of the Edelstein Family.
Their gazes instantly turned respectful.
Then they looked at Xuan Xi—rare dark cyan hair, amber-gold eyes, a silver-gray dress. They didn’t recognize her.
There was no family crest on her, only an unfamiliar face. But Sigrdrífa standing by her side explained everything.
Their gazes remained respectful.
“This way, please.” The old man gestured.
He didn’t lead them through the main entrance. Instead, he went around the side of the white building, past an iron gate, and through a corridor covered with a red carpet.
Paintings hung on the walls on either side of the corridor.
Xuan Xi recognized a few of them—they were original copies of famous paintings she had seen in the academy’s history textbooks.
At the end of the corridor was a set of double doors. The old man pushed them open.
The VIP area was on the second floor, a semi-open circular hall.
From here, they could see every corner of the auction stage on the first floor, but the people below couldn’t see up to them. The seats were made of deep red velvet.
Between every two seats was a small round table with tea and refreshments on it.
Xuan Xi walked in and found that someone had already arrived.
Veralis sat on the left side, wearing an ice-blue dress, her light golden fishtail braid hanging over her left shoulder.
When she saw Xuan Xi, she nodded.
“Your family arrived early.” Xuan Xi sat down next to her.
“My mother says arriving early has its advantages.” Veralis’s gaze fell on Xuan Xi’s dress, pausing for a moment. “That dress… is it a gift from Sig’s mother?”
Xuan Xi looked down at her dress. “How did you know?”
“The fabric is silk from the North Sea. In the Western Dragon Domain, only the Edelstein Family uses it.” Veralis picked up her teacup and took a sip.
Elsa poked her head in from the doorway, her short brown hair a mess.
“I’m here, I’m here! I’m not late, am I! I just found a place to park—”
Reggie followed behind her, wearing a dark brown formal suit, a rare sight as he wasn’t in his training uniform.
“The Ashes Family’s carriage had some trouble, so we came with the Steel Mane Family.” Elsa sat down next to Veralis, grabbed a pastry from the table, took a bite, and her eyes immediately lit up.
“Wow! This is delicious!”
“That’s sugar crisp sent from the Human Kingdom by Universal Commerce.” Veralis’s tone was unchanged.
“Human stuff?” Elsa looked at the half-eaten pastry in her hand. “It’s actually pretty good.”
“They know how to do more than just fight; they also know how to cook.” Veralis picked up her teacup, the rim hiding the slight curve at the corner of her mouth.
Xuan Xi watched them, a smile touching her lips. She turned to Sigrdrífa.
“Aren’t you going to sit down?”
Sigrdrífa stood beside her, her silver-white hair gleaming with a cold luster under the lights of the VIP area. Her gaze swept across the entire circular hall.
Only after confirming there was nothing unusual did she sit down next to Xuan Xi.
“What are you checking?” Xuan Xi lowered her voice.
“Safety.”
“This is an auction.”
“Many eyes, many distractions.” Sigrdrífa’s tone was very light, as if stating something obvious.
“A big forest has all kinds of birds.”
“Sige.”
“Yes.”
“Nothing will happen here.”
Sigrdrífa didn’t answer, but her hand, resting on the armrest, moved an inch closer to Xuan Xi’s.
The crowd on the first floor began to enter.
Men and women in lavish attire took their seats in front of the auction stage.
The sounds of conversation, laughter, and clinking glasses mingled together, drifting up from below to form a layer of buzzing background noise.
Xuan Xi’s gaze swept over their faces and suddenly stopped.
“That person…” She pointed to a figure in the corner of the first floor.
Sigrdrífa followed her finger. “The Wolf Family.”
Rex Wolf stood in the corner of the first floor, with short silver-gray hair and a deep blue formal suit.
There was a coldness in his eyes and brows similar to Sigrdrífa’s.
His gaze wasn’t on the auction stage but on the second floor—on Sigrdrífa.
“The Wolf Family?” Xuan Xi remembered the name the Duke had mentioned.
“It’s the one from the letter.” Sigrdrífa’s tone was flat. “His father wants to arrange a match between us.”
Xuan Xi’s gaze settled on Rex Wolf. Silver-gray hair, amethyst eyes—a bit similar to Sigrdrífa. “He’s not bad-looking.”
Sigrdrífa didn’t look at her. “Yes.”
“What about his personality?”
“I don’t know.”
“Do you like this type?”
Sigrdrífa turned her head. Her amethyst eyes met Xuan Xi’s amber-gold eyes. “I don’t like him.”
“Why?”
“Because he wasn’t my choice.”
Xuan Xi’s lips curved into a smile. She picked up her teacup and took a sip. The tea was warm, not hot.
A few more people entered the first floor. Xuan Xi recognized two of them—an elder of the Steel Mane Family, Reggie’s father. The other was—
“Is that Elsa’s sister?” Xuan Xi asked.
Elsa leaned over to look.
“Yeah, she’s the current head of the Ashes Family. Even though she’s been running things well since she took over, the Ashes Family still lags quite a bit behind those traditional families.”
“Your sister looks so young.”
“She’s twenty years older than me, though.”
Xuan Xi quietly took another sip of her tea.
More people filtered into the venue. A woman in a deep blue dress walked in. She had light golden hair and ice-blue eyes—identical to Veralis. It was Veralis’s mother. Behind her was a man Xuan Xi hadn’t seen before, with short silver-gray hair, but his eyes and brows weren’t similar to Veralis’s at all.
“Your father?” Xuan Xi asked.
“Yes.” Veralis’s tone was as calm as ever.
“Didn’t you say he was—”
“Deceased.” Veralis’s voice had no waver. “That’s my stepfather.”
Xuan Xi opened her mouth. She knew Veralis’s father had died, and her mother had later married someone else. Veralis lived alone at Frostmark Manor, cooked for herself, and organized her mother’s notes by herself. When she said, “Living alone, you have to learn to take care of yourself,” her tone had been so calm, as calm as if she were talking about something very ordinary.
“Is your stepfather good to you?” Xuan Xi asked.
Veralis was silent for a moment. “He’s alright.” She picked up her teacup but didn’t drink.
Reggie leaned over from the side. “My father is downstairs too.”
Xuan Xi followed his gaze.
The head of the Steel Mane Family was sitting in the front row on the first floor. He had silver-gray hair and amber eyes, just like Reggie.
He was talking to an old man Xuan Xi didn’t recognize.
“Who is that?” Xuan Xi asked.
“An elder of the Ashes Family,” Elsa answered. “My sister’s assistant.”
Xuan Xi didn’t ask any more questions.
Sigrdrífa’s finger lightly tapped the armrest.
Xuan Xi turned her head and found that she was looking at the entrance on the first floor—an old man with silver-white hair was entering, followed by several attendants in dark blue uniforms.
“Who is that?” Xuan Xi asked.
“An elder of the Edelstein Family,” Sigrdrífa said.
“Sent by my mother.”
“What for?”
“To see you.”
Xuan Xi was startled. Sigrdrífa picked up her teacup, hiding her expression.
“My mother said she wants the family members to get to know you.”
“Get to know me?”
“Yes. As Xuan Xi.” Sigrdrífa finished speaking, then added softly in her heart, ‘Of course, if you wanted, you could do it as Xuan Xi Edelstein.’ But Xuan Xi didn’t hear this last part.
The elder sat down on the first floor and didn’t look up at the second floor again.
But Xuan Xi felt another pair of eyes—not the elder’s, but from a different direction downstairs.
Rex Wolf was still standing there, his silver-gray hair, his amethyst eyes, looking at the second floor, at Sigrdrífa, and at her.
A cold gaze, purely observing its target.
Xuan Xi didn’t look away. She gave a slight nod.
Rex Wolf also nodded, then averted his gaze.
The auction began.
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