The Illegal Auction
A boy curled up in the tall grass, trying to coax himself to sleep.
Small and gaunt, his half-lidded eyes reflected the vast expanse of the night sky.
A pale moon hung aloft amid streaking shooting stars and twinkling pinpricks of light. Though so much time had washed past since that day, the heavens remained heartlessly, unfeelingly beautiful.
History had reduced the boy's past to a single, callous phrase: child of a defeated nation.
Or perhaps, the youngest prince of a kingdom that had dared break its treaties with the Empire and thrown a futile tantrum. From another perspective, he was the final surviving bloodline of a ruined royal house.
Yet now, he was nothing more than a vagabond. The boy cast his mind back toward the hazy, fading memories of the palace—to a time when his stride was short, his speech clumsy, and he could not have survived a single day without the hands of those around him.
So much had changed.
He could no longer afford to linger inside dust-covered memories. He had to wander, occasionally steal, and claw his way through an endless expanse of solitude, holding fast to the stubborn belief that something meaningful awaited him at the end of the road.
Right then—
Growl...
His hollow stomach let out a pathetic cry. He was thoroughly used to the sensation, yet the breathtaking canopy of stars only deepened his misery. He resented the resplendent sky for contrasting so sharply with his wretched state.
"Ah..."
A sudden wave of self-loathing washed over him. Was he really so pathetic that he had to blame the sky simply because there was no one else left to hate? Venting his own weakness on something so futile... at this rate, he could scarcely fathom why he had bothered clinging to life for this long.
Just close your eyes.
When dawn breaks, get up and walk again.
Survive with raw grit, and one day, grant a grand reward to the self who endured both yesterday and today.
He harbored such lofty ambitions in his chest, yet that night, the boy had no inkling that the deep darkness surrounding him was about to stretch far longer than usual.
It was an ordinary morning when an exceptionally exalted, uninvited guest knocked on the orphanage door without the slightest warning.
"Hey! Are you in there?"
The man pounding on the wood was none other than the master of the surrounding territory—the Court Count, who by all rights should have been residing in the Imperial Palace at this very moment.
Faced with the sudden arrival of our ultimate landlord, I scrambled over in a panic and threw the door wide.
"Welcome, Count. Have you come to see Yurian... ah, I mean, 'that person'?"
"Ah, um. Checking in on the Prince while I'm at it... handling some other affairs... anyway, yes."
Unable to discern the flustered Count's true intentions, I invited him inside as calmly as I could manage.
"Shall I brew you a cup of tea first?"
"Please, do."
The Count sent his escort away before stepping across the threshold alone. Glancing around the room with a bashful expression, he cleared his throat.
"I was aware of it, of course, but it is far more cramped than I envisioned. Had I known, perhaps I should have invested a bit more..."
"If that led to your funds being traced, it would cause trouble on multiple fronts, wouldn't it?"
"That... is true enough."
Even now, we were receiving a modest living stipend in exchange for looking after Yurian. But there was a limit to what we could take; if the numbers swelled too much, more than a few suspicious gazes would turn in our direction.
Once I guided the Count to a chair at the table, I offered a suggestion.
"Shall I call him down?"
"Just call him Yurian, as you do in your letters. Having spent so much time in the Imperial Palace, I fear even the walls might have ears."
"Understood."
The Count nodded in agreement.
I promptly rounded up the children and brought them before the Count, who was just raising his teacup.
"It has been some time, Lord Yurian."
"You may speak casually. The director addresses me as such, so it would look far stranger if the Count alone insisted on honorifics."
"That is... well, yes. I-I understand."
Though the Count agreed readily enough, his answer carried an awkward stiffness. Even so, his eyes busily scanned Yurian from head to toe, checking whether anything was amiss.
"Have you been doing well... I mean, are you getting along all right?"
"Life here is tolerable enough. In fact, I often find this modest orphanage feels far more spacious than the grand Imperial Palace."
Yurian's appraisal was surprisingly generous. I could not help staring at him with a proud, beaming gaze.
Oho...
To think that despite all his prickly quips and attempts to embarrass me on ordinary days, he harbored such warm sentiments underneath. Now I had even more ammunition to tease him with later.
Meanwhile, after exchanging a few pleasantries with Yurian, the Count finally turned his gaze toward the little girl hiding behind my back.
"Hmm. Is that child a recent arrival?"
"Well, yes. Tina, why don't you greet our landlor—I mean, the Count?"
"H-Hello... My name is Tina... I'm ten years old..."
Tina seemed utterly overwhelmed by the presence of a stranger. Truth be told, she had spent her entire life on edge around humans, so the fact that she managed an introduction at all was worthy of applause.
The Count offered her a warm, grandfatherly smile.
"You are the same age as Yurian, then. Please get along well with him."
"...Yes. I will."
Tina bowed politely with her tiny hands pressed against her stomach. The Count appeared utterly captivated by the charming display.
"What an adorable child you have taken in. Her eyes in particular are so lovely, they seem almost beyond human."
"Ahaha, our Tina is indeed less like a human and more like an angel."
"Indeed she is."
His instincts were as razor-sharp as a polished blade. To think he could intuit that she had strayed halfway past the bounds of humanity. Even though her eyes had softened to look nearly identical to a human's after her draconic instincts were wiped away...
Just as I let out a light chuckle, the Count gave me a meaningful look and lowered his voice.
"Ahem. I would like to speak with you privately now, if you don't mind."
"Ah, of course. Yurian, Tina, why don't you two go play upstairs on the second floor?"
"Understood."
"Okay!"
Even though the Count had phrased it casually, Yurian looked as if he had already deduced the context. He had picked up on the man's desire to discuss sensitive matters in a heartbeat.
Once the children's presence faded completely, the Count steepled his fingers atop the table.
"The way the wind is blowing... it is not looking good."
"Are you referring to matters in the Imperial Palace?"
"Precisely. I was so consumed by political strife that I neglected to look after my own territory. Had I known things would come to this, I should have prepared measures on this front long ago..."
"Pardon me for saying so, but honestly, the people here live quite comfortably. I'm not sure what the problem could be."
The standard of living in this domain was markedly higher than in neighboring territories. Taxes were far from oppressive, and I had never once heard a resident curse their lord's name.
"The issue does not lie with the commoners. Rather... my political rivals are framing me as a shameless scoundrel who turns a blind eye to flagrant lawlessness."
"Lawlessness?"
"Yes. Unbeknownst to me, there are wretched scoundrels daring to operate an illegal auction within my borders."
"......Ah!"
The moment the words left his mouth, Tina flashed through my mind. To be precise, I remembered the seven hunters who had trudged up the mountain to capture her. They had attempted to snatch her to sell off, only to suffer a vicious counterattack and end up knocked out cold. I was the one who tied them up and handed them over the following morning, but...
"I caught wind of rumors regarding a vampire or some such nonsense. An absurdity, naturally, yet there were vermin foolish enough to try hunting it anyway. But the trouble truly began when custody of those bastards fell outside my jurisdiction."
Uh... wait...
"Those scum confessed that the venue for their illegal auctions is located right here in my territory...!"
T-This wasn't part of the plan...
I had assumed that even if they captured Tina, they would flee to some other domain. After all, the Count's territory was so peaceful that I never dreamed an underground auction could thrive here.
Wait, could it be thriving precisely because it's so peaceful...?
It was the classic dark beneath the lamp. If they had deliberately exploited that blind spot, it was a masterful stroke of misdirection.
While cold sweat gathered at the nape of my neck, the Count pressed on, his voice thick with indignation.
"...And so, out of nowhere, I was branded a criminal who abetted illegal auctions. Until this mess is resolved, I cannot even show my face in the Imperial Palace."
"Aha... ah... aha... um..."
In short, the predicament the Count found himself trapped in was a snowball that had started rolling because I saved Tina. Yet the Count was the first to wave it aside.
"I am aware that you were the one who captured and handed over those human hunters. But I have no intention of holding you accountable. You merely fulfilled your duty as an inhabitant of my land."
"Count..."
Truthfully, I was moved. How could any person completely decouple their reason from their emotions? Furthermore, given the vast gulf in our social standing, he harbored not an ounce of resentment toward the person who had inadvertently backed him into a corner—purely because he believed it was the righteous stance to take.
Guess I have no choice...
I never disliked upright people. Above all else, for the sake of Yurian and Tina, I needed to roll up my sleeves and step into the fray.
"Count, have you pinpointed the auction's location?"
"I came rushing here right after getting blindsided, so not yet. If word gets out, those vermin will relocate their base... I am at my wits' end trying to figure out how to handle this."
"I see. Then that is where we ought to begin."
"Begin? You mean... you?"
"Well, I owe you in many ways, and I feel somewhat responsible for the situation... Above all else," I said, putting on a deliberately theatrical air, "an illegal auction isn't exactly wholesome for the children's emotional development, is it? We have to clean it up quickly. I am, after all, a proper orphanage director."
"Ha, haha... Right. Indeed..."
The Count let out a stunned, hollow laugh, tilting his benevolently gleaming bald head toward me.
"Frankly, I have no idea what you intend to do or how you could possibly assist. But I shall give you my word. If this ordeal is resolved smoothly through your efforts... I shall treat you as my greatest benefactor."
"Until when?"
"Need you even ask? For as long as our ties endure—indefinitely."
"You truly are generous."
To tell the truth, saving his son's hairline alone was worthy of lifelong benefactor status, but why complain? If the Count had my back, I would be another step further away from any bad endings. This was an exceptionally profitable bargain.
"Since matters have settled this way... may I inquire as to what you plan to do?"
"Well. It's nothing grand, but for starters..." I blurted out the first thought that crossed my mind. "Shall I offer up a fervent prayer?"
If my faith reached high enough, the Lord God would surely provide an answer.