Chapter 650
Chapter 650
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 650
Chapter Title: Spy
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1.
The backstage area where payments for bids were settled and goods handed over.
"What the hell is this money nonsense?"
The Witch of Silence, Rosie Alu, shot Rinne a look as if she were staring at something utterly preposterous.
Almak Club auctions fundamentally kept sellers and buyers from making contact.
When buying from a royal box, the buyer's identity was kept strictly confidential.
That was just how things worked in Hexennacht—no one trusted anyone.
Sure, Clipport had formed a new cabinet and was cracking down hard on internal conflicts within the "An," but it was still far too early to call it a stable era.
That was why the Witch of the Sword and the Witch of Silence were facing each other to exchange the contract and payment confirmation—because they were joint sellers of the item.
"You're paying fees on top of this. If you were gonna blow cash like that, why not just hand over Red Window? I could've let the Witch of Mercury slide."
Rosie signed the payment confirmation receipt and handed it to Rinne.
After the last "Labyrinth" project, they'd split the spoils based on contribution.
Rinne got a 30% stake in all rights to Alice Even Haiyan, plus ownership of Si-woo and Red Branch.
Rosie took the remaining 70% stake, along with Manya and Malisha.
"Eh, I don't care as long as I get paid. But seriously, what the hell are you thinking?"
"Thinking about what?"
"Come on. 'Rabbit Hunt' is on ice, sure, but who knows when it'll restart? You really planning to take Tiferet Duke's disciple as your disciple?"
Rosie had crossed paths with Rinne plenty of times, but she couldn't make heads or tails of her actions right now.
"Yes."
"Figures you'd splash cash like that. He that impressive?"
Which only made it all the more intriguing.
A male witch—that alone was a curiosity.
But what kind of magic had he worked to snag a disciple spot from bait in less than a week?
And how had this stoic Rinne tossed a 20th Hierarchy witch to him like a toy?
"No idea."
Rosie's expression twisted ever so slightly.
It sounded like Rinne just didn't want to spill the truth.
But Rosie had no intention of prying.
They were just business partners, not close enough to bare their souls.
"Where are those other two witches you nabbed back then?"
Seizing the moment, she pounced.
"Safe at home. Why? Want to borrow them? Wanna trade for a day with the male witch?"
"What's the deal with you three?"
"Seemed pretty tight-knit. The Witch of Mercury was super protective of the other two. When they got split up for separate sales this time, those two bawled their eyes out. Nearly caved and sold them as a set."
Rinne brushed off the swap proposal with one ear and pondered for a moment before speaking.
"Sell those two to me."
"What? No way! I'm swamped—haven't even sampled them yet."
"I'll pay top dollar. You can keep them for a while if you want."
Rinne picked up the pen she'd used for signing and scribbled across a blank check.
It was double the expected price—far too tempting to refuse.
"...Ooh. I can keep them?"
"Yes."
"Even if I do this and that with them?"
"As long as you don't break them."
"Aw~ That's not my thing anyway. Okay, okay."
Her mind rattling like an abacus, Rosie flashed a grin and offered a handshake.
"Thanks for the great deal!"
2.
Alice was utterly cowed.
She'd prided herself on surviving a brutal world since becoming an exile.
She'd clashed with public enemies plenty of times and nearly died hunting homunculi more than once.
Saying she never got scared would be a lie.
But she'd always shaken it off quick.
She had to rake in cash hand over fist to make tomorrow more fun.
But now, with that bizarre artifact around her neck sealing her magic completely.
Now, turned into merchandise amid the public enemies and dangerous exiles swarming Hexennacht.
She'd learned that the mental fortitude she'd called her own was nothing but arrogance.
The future unfolding before her terrified her.
On stage, the humiliation had taken a backseat to raw fear.
The dim audience seats beyond the glaring spotlight.
Those eyes gleaming with base desire from within.
One of those greedy stares had bought Alice.
What would become of her?
As the host said, toyed with as a sex slave until boredom set in, then dismantled for research?
The future was pitch-black darkness, not an inch visible ahead.
Even now, Manya and Malisha—those immature fools—came to mind.
Her lovers, who'd clung to her arms sobbing when Alice alone was dragged to auction from their mansion confinement.
If she'd known, she'd have treated them better.
Wouldn't have talked nonsense about jumping the male witch.
Regret pounded her chest like lead.
Having fetched such an exorbitant price as premium merchandise, she'd passed through the Witch of Gold Coin's oversight and reached the top floor.
By the time she arrived at a mansion exuding Japanese vibes past the bamboo grove.
Alice had steeled her resolve.
Even if the sky fell, there'd be a way out.
It wasn't over yet.
If she ended up strapped to an experiment table without a fight, that'd be the end—but for now, she was still standing on her own two feet, breathing.
Alone, the worst was death.
But Alice had lovers she was responsible for.
Dying a pointless dog's death here wouldn't help Manya or Malisha at all.
Fortunately, they'd dressed her in fine garb and done her makeup pretty to maximize the price.
She'd make a good impression on the buyer.
She'd toss her pride out the window and play cute if she had to—just to win their heart and secure a stable life for the other two somehow.
"Eek?"
Entering the room with fierce determination, eyes wide, Alice was so shocked she didn't even know what face she was making.
A mirror would probably show something hilariously grotesque.
Fine.
The last witch she'd seen before capture was the Witch of Silence and the Witch of the Sword.
So it wasn't that weird for the Witch of the Sword to be the buyer.
Maybe insiders trading back and forth to pump the price for bigger profits later.
"Hello?"
But who the hell was this?
Standing beside the Witch of the Sword was Si-woo.
The male witch she'd tried to subdue and sell, only to nearly get shaken down herself.
He didn't look like a slave treated like Alice, stuck to Rinne's side.
Right now, he looked right at home, perfectly relaxed.
"I really took a liking to you back then, but you kept trying to leave, which bummed me out. Funny how fate works, huh."
"You, no, I mean, um, you..."
Her cool composure vanished.
She floundered, unable to even settle on how to address him, let alone grasp what had happened.
"Thank you so much, Master."
"Enough."
Overhearing their brief exchange evaporated the last 2% of rationality lingering at the bottom of her skull.
Master? Master? Maaasteeer?
She'd heard Tiferet Duke was his master, and now he was fawning over Rinne calling her Master?
Had he switched masters in the meantime?
Or had he been a Clipport operative from the start, hiding behind a good-guy facade?
Unable to make sense of it, Alice stood rigid—until an arm draped over her shoulder.
"I was worried you'd gone through hell in the meantime. You can relax now. Master bought you as a gift for me."
Goosebumps erupted at the serpentine embrace.
Alice wasn't stupid.
His clipped tone pieced the situation together for her.
Stripping away past and future, the present was simple: Alice sold as a slave to him, courtesy of the Witch of the Sword.
She didn't know when it started, but they were master and disciple.
Tracing the logic back to his opening line narrowed her eyes.
He'd taken a liking back then, but she'd kept trying to leave?
"...Thank you."
"Let's get along from now on. Oh, you'll be staying here and attending to me."
"Yes."
"Why so stiff? Loosen up—talk casual."
"Yeah..."
Something was off.
Taken a liking to her?
Bummed because she'd tried to leave?
There was no such history between them.
After she'd subdued him, all Alice had wanted was to bail, while Si-woo had clung desperately for compensation.
His words didn't add up.
"Mind if I wash up first...? Master, can I use the hot spring?"
"Go ahead."
"Huh?"
"I'll send the witch later. Go on."
"...Yes, got it."
Si-woo left looking a touch flustered, shoved out the door, leaving Alice alone with Rinne.
Seeing them together had nearly made her hair stand on end, but a one-on-one with Rinne wasn't any comfier.
"Alice Even Haiyan."
"Yes."
She straightened her posture and tried to sound as composed as possible.
It failed. Her voice cracked and trembled at the end.
"Manya. Malisha."
At the names from Rinne's lips, Alice looked up in shock.
"I've got them."
"...They're, they're... safe, right?"
It had taken two days from mansion to auction block.
She hadn't been able to relax for a second, fretting over what might've happened to them.
"For now."
She couldn't keep up the act any longer.
Tension drained, her legs buckled.
"Wh-what do you want me to do?"
Unlike Si-woo's baffling words, she quickly read Rinne's intent.
This was blackmail laced with temptation.
"Monitor his every move and report to me every night."
It wasn't your standard master-disciple setup after all.
Some tangled circumstances Alice didn't know about were at play.
Still, Rinne—the real power in this mansion, who could do whatever she wanted with Si-woo—going behind his back like this was suspicious.
And as Alice's head spun more, Rinne made one further demand.
"Seduce him and sleep with him within three days. Bring back proof—his semen."