Chapter 51: An Unexpected Item

“Today must be the day of the auction.”

“Yes, that’s correct, Marquis.”

Marquis Fabian spoke as he reviewed the documents.

Recently, he had been quietly plotting behind the scenes.

With Rohan becoming the Crown Prince and the constant agitation from the nobles, he’d been developing a headache.

On top of that, his daughter Emilia had started stirring up trouble lately, making it even harder for him to act freely.

But who was he?

No matter how quiet he appeared on the surface, beneath it all, he was busier than anyone else.

If it was for the ‘Great Undertaking’ he sought to accomplish, there was not a single moment to rest.

“So, what about the new recruit?”

With a light, offhanded question, the attending servant smiled as he replied.

“It seems we’ve caught a big one this time.”

“A big one?”

Marquis tilted his head slightly.

“What, did you happen to snare a royal?”

“Gasp! How did you know? Yes, a royal. Not just any—Her Highness the Princess herself.”

The attendant replied, his face glowing with excitement.

As if he were already prepared to receive praise.

But the moment Marquis Fabian heard that, his face twisted in displeasure.

“Did I hear you wrong just now? Surely you’re not talking about the princess I know.”

“Uh… Y-yes, I believe so. Princess Isabel, Your Excellency. Is something w-wrong?”

As the flustered attendant stammered his words—

Bang!

The Marquis slammed his desk and stood up.

“You worthless fools!”

“Y-Your Excellency!”

“If Her Highness is participating, you should have reported to me at once!”

“N-no… That is—”

The attendant’s face went pale.

“No time for this—I’ll go to Croshen immediately. Prepare the carriage!”

“Yes, right away!”

The Marquis hastily donned his coat and strode out, his nervous attendant scrambling out after him.

‘Damn it.’

Of all people, it had to be Princess Isabel!

A chill ran down the back of his neck, and he broke out in goosebumps.

This always happened when he had a bad premonition.

“I have a bad feeling about this.”

On the surface, she was a reckless, spoiled princess who didn’t get involved in politics.

But the Marquis knew all too well that she was as political as they came.

“To Croshen, now!”

His body seemed to throw itself into the carriage.

---

“Wow, so a place like this really exists.”

Isabel looked around in wonder.

From the outside, it looked like a teahouse, but after passing through a secret door, the interior was a completely different world.

Through a covert passage, she arrived at the auction house.

That was the true nature of this teahouse.

Inside, about ten tables were arranged, and at the center stood the auction podium, covered in velvet.

The nobles who had been waiting started settling into their seats as if this was routine.

Guided by Miranda, Isabel took a table in a secluded corner.

She made sure to check her mask from time to time, making sure it hadn’t slipped off.

‘Rohan, I hope you’re doing well.’

Inside, she carried both anticipation and worry for Rohan, who must have already started his task outside.

After a short while, a bell rang, cutting through the darkness.

“We sincerely thank our esteemed guests for attending. At our auction, we rigorously select only the finest items to never let you down...”

The host’s opening remarks began.

“Now, thank you for your patience. The first item of today’s auction is…!”

The first auction item, wrapped in a silk veil, appeared on the stage.

---

Meanwhile.

Rohan was up on a nearby rooftop.

“So that’s where we’re heading?”

In the direction Retina pointed, there was a small watchtower.

From below, it was completely hidden—built to serve as the lookout for the auction house.

Rohan narrowed his eyes at the tower.

“There are two guards up there.”

“That’s nothing.”

Almost before she finished speaking.

Retina’s body moved like lightning.

Her black cloak sliced through the air, and in the next instant, the two guards atop the tower collapsed before they could even blink.

“Oh.”

“All done.”

Retina dusted off her hands and, in a flash, stood before Rohan again.

“Aren’t Elphirians not supposed to harm humans? Isn’t that your rule?”

“I didn’t harm them. I just let them sleep for a bit.”

“…”

He wasn’t sure what difference that made, but Rohan was thankful nonetheless.

“All right, let’s go.”

“Huh?”

“Let’s move!”

Before Rohan could fully process what was happening, Retina grabbed him and soared through the air.

“Ugh.”

Landing on the tower, Rohan staggered, clutching his throat.

“Could you at least warn me before you do something like that? And did you have to grab me by the collar…? That’s a bit much, isn’t it?”

Retina giggled, clearly amused by his reaction.

“If we go down here, it should be the auction hall, right?”

The two moved quickly through the tower and carefully descended the interior stairs.

The wooden steps groaned with age, but each of them kept their footfalls as silent as possible.

‘This must be the area right next to the podium.’

Halfway down, Rohan spotted a door leading straight to the side of the stage.

He opened it slightly, and, finding a narrow space hidden in the darkness, slipped inside.

Retina followed right after.

A dark, cramped corner beside the stage.

Crouched there, the two peeked into the auction hall.

Behind the large curtain, an item veiled in cloth was placed on the stage.

It was so dim and everyone wore masks that it was impossible to tell where Isabel was sitting.

“Now, the second item!”

With the host’s words, the veil was lifted.

It revealed an old, worn-looking crown.

“This next piece is…”

“Good. It hasn’t been going on for long.”

Rohan whispered, holding his breath, and Retina nodded.

“All right, next up…”

The auction was proceeding quietly and swiftly, and the two waited for their moment.

“By the way, you mentioned you were curious about something in this job, right? Mind telling me what it is?”

As he watched the auction, Rohan carefully asked Retina.

She was silent for a moment, then turned her head.

Her eyes were deeper and more serious than before.

“...It’s because of the missing Elphirians.”

“Missing?”

“Yeah. There’ve been reports from Silvaren that Elphirian children have been disappearing recently.”

“…”

“I mean, it wasn’t unheard of for Elphirians to run away from Silvaren before. But there are some who’ve vanished without a trace or warning, so it doesn’t seem like the usual case of running away.”

“...So you suspected illegal auctions.”

“That’s right.”

Retina gazed at the veil being moved onto the stage as she spoke.

“A child I knew disappeared recently, too.”

“Hm.”

Elphirians were beautiful by nature.

And there were even records in history of open trading of Elphirians by other races.

So, this suspicion couldn’t be dismissed out of hand.

‘Back then, it was pure chance that I learned about this illegal auction.’

He had discovered it only while tracking the Marquis, but by then, the auction had already vanished.

There was no way to know just what had been traded within those walls.

“Ever since the ‘Hundred Years War’ between humans and other races, the trafficking of non-humans has been strictly forbidden. If your suspicion is right, and that’s happening here…”

Rohan’s eyes sharpened.

‘This could back the Marquis into an even tighter corner than I thought.’

The Hundred Years War.

A distant memory now, but the war had started because of the indiscriminate trafficking of non-humans by humans.

The Prana Union still refused to easily let humans visit, or had even shut their doors entirely, all because of that.

“We’ll have to delay the timing a bit.”

“What?”

“If an Elphirian comes up for auction, we have to see it through to the end, don’t you think?”

“...Are you serious?”

Retina’s eyes trembled slightly.

“Of course. If I were the seller, the first thing I’d do if things got dicey would be to hide the Elphirian. If that happens, we might never get to the truth.”

Rohan smiled softly.

“I owe you more favors than I can count, so let’s call this repayment.”

“…!”

Retina held her breath for a moment, then nodded.

“Alright.”

On the auction floor, the host’s voice was growing more enthusiastic.

“Now, everyone, the fifth item today is a replica of the ‘Emperor’s Signet Ring.’ It’s said to be indistinguishable from the real thing, and is engraved with a special seal that allows it to function like an actual royal key.”

A murmur swept the room.

“Starting bid, 20 gold crowns!”

The nobles’ hands shot up in succession.

Rohan rested his chin on his hand and grinned.

“What a ridiculous item.”

The auction was slowly drawing to a close.

And then…

“Since we have such special guests today, we’ll present a truly extraordinary item!”

The host was clearly building up suspense from the start.

“Please, take a good look at this item.”

Rattle, rattle!

Something large, shrouded in a veil and mounted on wheels, was brought to the center of the stage.

“I guarantee you, you won’t see something like this anywhere else.”

With a sly smile, the host yanked off the veil.

At that very moment, the room exploded into commotion.

Naturally so.

“Heavens!”

“...Isn’t that an Elphirian?!”

Someone shouted.

What had been hidden beneath the veil was a young Elphirian girl, huddled inside an iron cage.

Pale skin, semi-transparent silver hair, luminous green irises.

Her beautiful and exotic appearance made her identity instantly clear.

She was hugging her knees, trembling inside the cage.

She wore only a thin dress, with thick ropes binding her wrists.

The girl, crushed by fear, stared fixedly at the floor.

“…Lyla?”

Beside him, Retina’s voice trembled low but sharp.

Rage and despair mingled in her tone.

“Someone you know? Wait, was it the child from before…?”

Retina gritted her teeth and nodded at Rohan’s words.

“She was at the Silvaren embassy. Every time I saw her, she was always so sweet to me…”

Her hands were trembling, fingers curled around her sword’s hilt.

“I’ll kill those bastards…”

She looked ready to leap out and draw her blade that instant, but Rohan urgently grabbed her hand.

“Retina.”

“…!”

“Killing everyone here won’t fix this. We’re here to catch the ones who arranged all of this in the first place.”

Retina finally regained her composure as she met Rohan’s dark, clear gaze.

It was then.

Someone hurried onto the stage and whispered urgently to the host.

“Uh… Everyone? I’m terribly sorry, but it seems we have to end the auction here for today.”

“What? What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“How can you show off such an amazing item and not even let us bid?”

The nobles’ complaints rang out in a clamor.

“Retina, now’s our chance.”

At Rohan’s words, Retina’s eyes changed and she vanished.

Moments later—

Fweeeeee…!

A shrill whistle sounded from somewhere on the auction house roof.

The strange metallic noise vibrated through the ceiling and reverberated inside.

“W-what’s that sound?”

“Is that an alarm?!”

As the nobles murmured and stood up—

Clank, clank!

With the sound of metal scraping, the auction hall doors burst open.

“From this point on, anyone who moves should be prepared to lose something. One piece at a time.”

A man’s solemn voice echoed through the hall.

“But first, let me introduce myself.”

Boom!

His massive sword struck the floor, bursting into red flames.

“I am Martin Ronesis, commander of the Boronia Knights serving His Highness the Crown Prince.”

Above his flame-wreathed blade, Martin’s eyes blazed with intensity.