Finally, Escaping the Imperial Capital!
The Grand Auction House stood at the very heart of the Imperial Capital. When I stepped inside the stone building, packed shoulder to shoulder with nobles and merchant magnates gathered from every corner of the Empire, the imperial guard knights who had been waiting in advance took the lead.
"These are honored guests of Her Highness the Crown Princess. Escort them to the top-floor VVIP suite."
The auction house manager bowed at a full ninety degrees and ushered us into the VVIP box of the fourth-floor private balcony, from which the central stage and the entire auction hall spread out below us at a glance.
"Big brother, sit here. I'll be right beside you."
The moment Ophelia swiftly claimed the seat of honor right next to me, Alice ground her teeth and pressed herself tight against my back.
"Master, the moment something you want comes up, just say the word. I'll raise the bidding paddle for you right away."
"This girl shall attend you at your side as well, Darling."
Vivian, too, subtly pressed in over my shoulder and gazed down at the auction floor.
Boom! Boom!
"Now then, ladies and gentlemen! It's time for the highlight of today's auction — the event you've all been waiting for!"
At that moment, the auctioneer's voice rose to a fever pitch, and every light in the hall converged upon the center of the stage.
"Discovered in the northern Ascalon Fief... the perfectly preserved corpse of a One-Horned Dragon — an adolescent specimen on the very verge of adulthood!"
Magic imagery burst forth from the mithril cube placed at the center of the stage, unfurling grandly through the air. The moment the colossal silhouette of the dragon projected in three dimensions, gasps of awe erupted from every corner of the auction house.
"The mana-spewing Dragon Jade has already been removed, and the scales, horns, teeth, wing membranes — even the internal organs — are preserved to near perfection! According to the official appraisal by the Mage Tower, the scales alone could craft at least twenty highest-grade magic tools, and the horns still hold powerful magic intact!"
The auctioneer drew a deep breath and raised his voice.
"The starting bid is... thirty thousand gold!"
The hall rippled with commotion all at once. Thirty thousand gold. Considering that the annual budget of a northern fief hovered around five thousand, it was a jaw-dropping sum.
"Thirty-two thousand!"
"Thirty-five thousand!"
"Forty thousand gold!"
The bids climbed without pause. With the Empire's finest magic-tool and weapons trading companies joining in, along with the great southern lords, the price shot up like a madman.
"Fifty thousand gold!"
"Fifty-five thousand gold!"
Beside me, I heard Alice suck in a sharp breath.
"Master... isn't this enough to pay off our entire fief's debt, rebuild the walls, and refit all our equipment — with plenty left over?"
"Yeah... it'd cover everything we lost in the cold snap, the wall repairs too, and still leave a mountain of spare change."
I muttered back in a daze. Vivian rubbed her cheek against my arm and whispered in an excited voice.
"Darling! At this rate, we could build a whole new manor! A cozy little annex just for Darling and this girl—"
"Vivian, I'll... think about that one."
"Hmph..."
Just then, a heavy voice rolled out from the VIP box on the third floor and echoed through the auction hall.
"Seventy thousand gold."
The hall fell silent as if doused in cold water, and every gaze snapped toward the third floor.
Seated there in person was the head of Ypsilon, the greatest trading company on the continent.
"Ypsilon is bidding directly..."
"Tsk... seventy thousand... absurd, absolutely absurd."
The auctioneer shouted with a trembling voice.
"Seventy thousand gold! We have seventy thousand! Going once... is there no one higher?"
Silence flowed through the hall.
"Seventy thousand gold, going once! Twice! Sold!"
Crack—!
With the crash of the gavel, we became the owners of the largest sum in the entire history of the Ascalon Fief.
"Congratulations, Viscount Ascalon. After commission fees, the sum of sixty-eight thousand gold will be delivered once the post-auction procedures are complete."
An auction house attendant bowed his head and informed us with the utmost courtesy.
It felt like a dream. It was a fortune vast enough to buy brand-new equipment for the entire garrison and patrol, rebuild the fortress walls from the ground up — and still have more than enough left over to raise a new manor besides.
Ophelia quietly took my hand and squeezed it.
"Congratulations, big brother. You won't have to worry about the fief's finances for a good long while now."
"Thanks, Ophelia. Looks like I've suddenly got a mountain of things I can do."
Ophelia flashed a warm smile.
With the hall still burning hot from the dragon corpse sale, the items I had earmarked in advance ascended to the stage one after another.
"Next lot! The Honesty Perfume! Anyone sprayed with this perfume will speak their innermost thoughts, stripped of every lie, for three full hours! Do note, however, that the effects vary depending on the target's magic resistance! Starting bid, fifty gold!"
At the auctioneer's description, bidding paddles rose here and there.
"Fifty-five gold!"
"Sixty gold!"
I raised my paddle without hesitation.
"Seventy gold."
The moment my voice rang out, Alice and Vivian's eyes locked onto me in unison.
"Master...? Why on earth would you suddenly buy something like that..?"
"Darling, surely you are not planning to spray it on this girl...?"
"No, it just... looked like fun. Figured it might come in handy someday."
At my awkward excuse, the suspicion in their eyes deepened into something far stranger.
Ophelia gave a soft snort and whispered close to my ear.
"Big brother, you're not planning to use it on me, are you? I already show you everything in my heart, so there'd be no need."
"I told you, no. It's purely for my collection."
After a modest little bidding war, the perfume landed in my hands for eighty-five gold.
Next, the Hunter's Trinket that Alice had been coveting made its appearance.
"Next up is the Hunter's Trinket! A magic tool that lets you track the location of anyone bearing its mark, anytime and anywhere — and clench the trinket tight, and you can feel the target's very heartbeat in real time! Starting bid, eighty gold!"
Alice's eyes flashed, unsettlingly fast.
"Master, that... you must buy me that, no matter what."
"I know, I know, so calm down."
The moment the bidding opened, she cried out.
"One hundred gold!"
But a paddle shot up from the VIP seats on the lower floor.
"One hundred twenty gold!"
I turned to look and saw a lavishly dressed young nobleman twisting his lips into a smirk as he met my gaze. Then, as if laughing at me, he raised his paddle again.
"One hundred fifty gold!"
I answered in kind, refusing to lose.
"One hundred eighty gold!"
The moment the aristocrat sneered and lifted his paddle to bid again, Ophelia rose smoothly to her feet and rested her hand on the balcony railing.
"You there, young lord of the Count's house? Just so there's no misunderstanding — the gentleman you're bidding against happens to be my most treasured guest, the Crown Princess of this Empire. If you intend to keep raising the price, I may have to enter the auction in the name of the Imperial family myself... Would that be quite all right with you?"
The instant Ophelia's cool, stately voice sank low through the hall, the auction house went quiet as if splashed with ice water.
The nobleman across the way turned white as a sheet and hastily lowered his paddle, head bowing.
"F-forgive me, Your Highness the Crown Princess! I didn't recognize you!"
The auctioneer hurried to bring the gavel down.
"One hundred eighty gold! Sold for one hundred eighty!"
Alice clasped my hands in both of hers, wearing the expression of someone who had just won the whole world.
"Thank you so much, Master! Now I can check on you every single moment, wherever you are!"
...Hold on a second. They said it was for hunting beasts — she bought it to track me?
Feeling cold sweat trickle down my spine, I turned my eyes to the next lot. It was the Warmth Memory Cloak that Vivian had wanted.
"Next is the Warmth Memory Cloak! A magic tool that stores the wearer's body heat with mana, allowing that exact warmth to be revived whenever desired! Starting bid, sixty gold!"
Vivian tugged my arm and pressed it against her ample chest, pleading in a low murmur.
"Darling, this simply must become this girl's. To be able to feel that warm warmth of yours whenever I please... why, the mere thought sets my body aflame ♡"
"Okay, okay, I get it, so just get your chest off me... Eighty gold!"
Without any real interference, it sold safely to me for eighty gold.
Last of all, the Echoing Conch that Rita — and Vivian and Alice, apparently — had requested rose onto the stage.
"Next is the Echoing Conch! A magic tool that captures sound with mana and repeats it in an endless loop! Starting bid, thirty gold!"
"Forty gold."
After a bit of light competition, the conch came into my hands for fifty-five gold as well.
As I packed the items away into my pouch, Alice and Vivian exchanged meaningful smiles.
"I wonder what Rita means to record on it?"
"Ufufu, this girl knows full well. The child cannot sleep a wink without hearing Darling's voice every night."
You two are the ones who programmed her to buy it...
When we returned safely to the guest palace after wrapping up the auction, the magic tools we'd won today were lined up across the table, and in my hand was the freshly issued transaction certificate.
Sixty-seven thousand six hundred gold.
No matter how many times I reread the number written on the paper, it refused to feel real.
I don't think it'll sink in until I actually open the vault and see it with my own eyes.
Alice fiddled with the Hunter's Trinket, grinning ear to ear over and over.
"Master, they say leaving the mark requires direct contact with the target's bare skin. Would you kindly extend your hand for a moment?"
"Hold on, Alice. That can wait... let's take it slow."
Vivian, having draped her newly won cloak over her shoulders, glued herself to my side.
"Darling, it seems this cloak must be worn by you in order to store your true warmth. Might you be able to do so right this instant?"
"Vivian, that too... can wait."
Ophelia, seated on the sofa across from us, watched the scene and smiled gently.
"You're as popular as ever, big brother. When you go down to the northern fief, you'll buy a gift for me too, won't you?"
"Ophelia, you're the Crown Princess. The richest person in the Empire is asking me to buy her a present..."
"The meaning is in the fact that you buy it yourself, big brother."
Just then, a respectful knock sounded at the door of the guest palace.
"Your Highness, Viscount Ascalon. A command from His Majesty the Emperor has arrived."
The door opened and the head steward entered to deliver the message.
"Viscount Ascalon, I bring His Majesty's command. At first light tomorrow, an imperial escort will accompany Her Highness and yourself. Furthermore, the territory support supplies and treasury funds as promised will be dispatched shortly — though given the sheer volume of goods, it will be some time before they arrive."
"Understood. Please convey my deepest gratitude to His Majesty."
As the steward withdrew, Ophelia rose lightly from her seat.
"Tomorrow, at last. Big brother, I'll go finish my preparations for the journey as well. See you tomorrow morning."
The moment Ophelia stepped out of the guest palace, Alice and Vivian's gazes nailed me in place like arrows.
"Master, you're truly telling me that starting tomorrow, you'll be living under the same roof as that imperial brat?"
"Darling, this girl has not prepared her heart for this in the slightest..."
"It can't be helped, you two. It's the Emperor's direct command — and besides, Ophelia was practically one of the family back when she was little."
At my words, Alice stuck out her lips and protested as if she'd been wronged.
"Family, he says! If we're splitting hairs, I'm your official wife, Vivian is your beloved concubine, Rita is your daughter, and Lupa is... hmm, your guardian swordswoman, I suppose! So what exactly is that imperial princess supposed to be?!"
"Ophelia is... a cute little sister. No wait — you're all twenty years old anyway. Why on earth is Rita your daughter?"
"And what about you, Master? Is it perfectly fine for a thirty-three-year-old man to play father to a pack of twenty-year-olds?"
"...That's a little different."
The moment Alice flared up, Vivian perked her fox ears and chimed in.
"Quite right, Darling! The look in Her Highness the Crown Princess's eyes is, I assure you, most decidedly not the eyes of a little sister. This girl's fox instincts will guarantee it!"
"Enough, both of you. I understand you don't trust Ophelia... and honestly, I can't promise nothing will happen either... but the water's already spilled."
The moment I drew a firm line, the two of them went "hmph" and fell silent.
A short while later, Alice murmured quietly, the rims of her eyes flushed red.
"Even if you say so, Master... I don't trust that woman. The moment she gets a chance, she'll absolutely try to monopolize you all to herself."
Vivian nodded too, her tail sliding slyly around my thigh.
"This girl agrees. So then, Darling — the moment we reach the north, Alice and I shall guard you thoroughly at your side."
Guarding me, or keeping me under surveillance...
I sighed inwardly and packed my things into my bag. Tomorrow, at long last, I would return to the Ascalon Fief in the north.
Rita... I hope you're doing all right...
