Marquis Rosell with a goatee remained in his forward-thrusting killing stance.
Frozen in midair.
He just held his sword there.
The ferocious expression on his face solidified.
He became a lifelike, icy statue.
The hall was dead silent.
All the nobles stared at this freshly baked “work of art.”
They even lowered their breathing, afraid they might be next.
Only now did they truly understand.
The cat-eared loli on the stage swinging her little legs.
Was no pet at all.
She was someone who held the power of life and death over them.
And a little demon king who completely ignored the rules.
Lilia relished the effect of the entire hall falling silent.
She stepped out from behind Lilith.
She cleared her throat, and her milky voice broke the silence.
“Ahem, let’s continue. Where were we? Oh, right, ‘Wraiththorn’!”
Her gaze swept across the audience below.
Finally, it landed on Duke Varian’s ashen face.
“Thirty thousand Magic Crystal Coins! That’s Duke Varian’s bid! Any higher? Meow?”
Below the stage, the nobles all kept their heads lowered, wishing they could bury their faces in the carpet.
Raise the bid?
Who would dare?
Hadn’t they seen the unlucky sod who turned himself into a statue?
Duke Varian was put on the spot.
If he bought this dagger,
he would completely offend the entire clan behind Marquis Rosell,
and also empty his own treasury.
But if he didn’t buy it…
He snuck a glance at the little thing on stage smiling sweetly at him.
His heart twinged with pain.
“Thirty thousand once!”
“Thirty thousand twice!”
Lilia’s voice
struck Varian’s heart with each word.
Varian closed his eyes, his body heavily slumped back into his chair, completely resigned.
“Sold! Meow!”
Lilia’s little hammer finally fell heavily.
“Congratulations, Duke Varian, for recognizing true worth once again! Someone, deliver this treasure to His Grace!”
Two City Guard soldiers carefully skirted around the “Rosell Statue.”
They carried the dagger radiating an ominous aura
and placed it squarely on the table in front of Varian.
Right next to the shiny golden chamber pot.
Varian looked at these two “treasures” on the table, and a bitter taste filled his throat.
He had spent thirty thousand Magic Crystal Coins to buy a huge trouble that could cost him his life.
And Lilia’s auction was clearly just warming up.
“Alright, alright, next! ‘Nerve Cord of the Abyssal Worm’!”
“They say a whip made from it can make someone so blissful their soul leaves their body!”
“A must-have for every household! Starting bid, ten thousand! Meow!”
Below, a fat Baron’s whole body trembled.
He tremblingly raised his hand.
“I… I bid eleven thousand…”
“Fifteen thousand!”
Duke Varian’s voice had become numb.
The fat Baron’s face instantly fell, and he slumped back down.
“Next! ‘Wings of the Weeping Fairy’!”
“Grind them into powder and mix with wine, and you can see your ancestors for eighteen generations! Starting bid, eight thousand! Meow!”
A heavily made-up Countess, with powder flaking off her face.
“I… nine thousand…”
“Twelve thousand!”
Duke Varian followed expressionlessly.
…
From then on, the auction became a two-person show between Lilia and Duke Varian.
Every time Lilia brought out a piece of loot and pointed out an unlucky soul,
that unlucky soul would nervously quote a base price.
Then Duke Varian would use an absurdly high price
to forcibly “snatch” the item into his own hands.
The table in front of him was already piled high with all kinds of shady objects.
He was completely broken.
From initial anger, to numbness, now to emptiness.
He wasn’t spending money;
he was cutting his own flesh with a knife.
And the surrounding nobles
had completely changed their looks toward him.
Some were sympathetic, some were watching the show,
but more were filled with resentment, vigilance, and distance.
This old fox.
Today he was taking all the dirty goods of everyone onto himself.
What did he intend to do?
Was he going to use these things
to blackmail all of them?
Lilia watched these former allies start to suspect each other.
Her heart was blooming with joy.
This was the effect she wanted!
Let you snakes and rats share one den!
Today, I’ll make you dogs bite dogs, covered in fur!
“Alright, alright, everyone!”
Lilia knocked on the table.
She drew everyone’s attention.
“After this lively bidding, our ‘charity’ funds have become quite substantial!”
She glanced at the ledger Lilith handed her.
The number made her happily swish her cat tail.
“But! How can a perfect auction be complete without a grand finale? Meow?”
She revealed a mysterious smile.
Then she gently clapped her hands.
“Now, please welcome tonight’s final and most precious item! Meow!”
As her voice fell, a side door of the hall opened.
Four heavily armored City Guard soldiers
carried a huge iron cage covered in thick black cloth, walking heavily up.
“CLANG!”
The cage was set heavily on the auction stage with a dull thud.
Everyone’s hearts leaped.
What kind of thing needed such a big cage?
Some powerful demon beast?
Lilia jumped down from her big chair and ran over to the cage.
She reached out her little hand and grabbed a corner of the black cloth.
Then, under the breath-holding gazes of everyone, she yanked it back!
“Ahhh—!”
A piercing scream suddenly exploded from inside the cage!
It wasn’t a demon beast in the cage at all.
It was a person!
A person beaten black and blue, covered in wounds, curled up in a corner of the cage!
When the nobles below saw that swollen but still recognizable face,
the crowd burst into uproar!
Everyone, including the already numb Duke Varian, leaped from their chairs! They couldn’t believe their eyes.
Because the half-dead guy locked in the cage was none other than
Viscount Draku, whose house had been razed and family exterminated by Lilia just a few days ago!
He was still alive!
This little devil had actually put an Imperial Viscount
into a cage like livestock and carried him onto the auction stage!
“Everyone, quiet, quiet! Meow!”
Lilia raised her little hand, signaling the boiling crowd to calm down.
She walked to the cage and used her little hammer
to lightly tap the thick iron bars, making a “ding ding” sound.
“See this, everyone? This is our grand finale tonight!”
She pointed at Draku, trembling with fear inside the cage, and introduced enthusiastically.
“Former Viscount Draku, alive and fresh! Meow!”
“Although this Viscount committed a minor mistake,”
“considering all the property he ‘contributed’ to the Empire,”
“His Majesty the merciful specifically instructed me to give him a chance to ‘turn over a new leaf’!”
“So, today, we are not auctioning off his person.”
Lilia grinned, revealing two sharp little fangs.
“We are auctioning… the ‘ownership’ of the rest of his life! Meow!”
“Whoever bids on him, he becomes that person’s personal slave from now on!”
“Have him serve tea and water, have him wash and cook, have him bark like a dog, and he’ll bark like a dog!”
“A genuine Imperial Viscount slave! This kind of deal doesn’t come around every day!”
Lilia finished speaking, raised her little hammer, and scanned the room.
She announced the starting price, which was arguably the most humiliating price in history.
“Starting bid, one Magic Crystal Coin! Now, begin the bidding! Meow!”