Free Web NovelChapter 179: Chapter 178: Auction [8]
Chapter 179 – Auction [8]
Cassius watched with a wry smile as Raven disappeared the moment he heard about Anesthesia’s departure.
’It seems I need to revise the advice I was going to give you.’
His smile deepened before he finally shifted his attention toward Isolde. He observed her carefully, trying to check whether anything had gone wrong during her mission. However, the young woman let nothing show on her face.
She drank a full bottle of water in one go, not minding her manners in front of Cassius at all, then sighed with contentment and relief as the cool water went down her throat.
"We ended up alone after all." Cassius broke the silence, turning his attention back to the auction. "And Meadow is finishing up soon, I think."
"A successful launch?" Isolde replied, getting closer to Cassius and letting her head fall on his left shoulder.
"It seems like it." He said, then paused. "Want to talk about it now?"
"Give me a few minutes, husband." She murmured, briefly closing her eyes. "Let’s watch the end of the auction first while I organise my thoughts."
"As you wish, darling."
They fell silent, watching through the glass-like window as Meadow, who looked absolutely stunning as always, continued her presentation.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I did not expect this auction to run so long." She said, her voice calm and confident, wearing a welcoming and amused smile. "And as my First Brother, River Wealth, loves so desperately to say: an auction that runs too long is an auction that lacks bold and wealthy people. Are you not bold?"
"We are!"
"Are you not wealthy?"
"We are!"
"Then show me! These pieces of Cristo Steel could become your lifeline in a dangerous situation. This is a steel that can literally negate essence. Take a moment and think about the implications of that. Moment over! Now it is time to act. However, I have decided to change things slightly."
Meadow paused and turned toward Omm, who had been watching and trying to learn as much as possible by observing. However, the moment Meadow looked at him mid-speech, the young Shepherd immediately felt something was wrong.
"I may have forgotten to introduce you to the young man standing here, please forgive my rashness and allow me to redeem myself." Her right hand stretched out and pressed a runic amplifier onto Omm’s suit to carry his voice. "This young man is called Omm Min Jambar, my personal assistant. He will be the one presenting the items from the next Auction onward. I had intended to let him observe today. But, ladies and gentlemen, I have just decided to do otherwise."
"Poor Omm." Cassius said immediately, already feeling bad for him. Isolde chuckled.
And Omm himself, on stage in front of everyone, felt like crying. But he said nothing, his ears flooded by his own heartbeat screaming inside them, making it difficult to clearly hear what Meadow was saying.
"We are currently at 70,000,000 SN from the highest bidder, Mrs. Snow of the Mountain Merchant. Some other bidders are still willing to go higher. However, I have suddenly come to feel that money seems quite lacklustre at this point. I also realised that trying to be wealthier in terms of money than my mother is something I doubt even the gods could achieve. So let us ask Omm what the true nature of this bid should be."
Everyone was taken aback by the sudden twist, not expecting it in the slightest.
Meadow was grinning internally. To her, this Company was nothing but a facade. If money was what they wanted, she could fund the Company out of her own pocket for hundreds of years.
Because of that, Meadow was free to do as she pleased, and people would still come, simply because she was Willow’s daughter.
And Meadow intended to use that advantage to its absolute fullest.
That was why she had asked herself: why let them bid money when they could bid with something more valuable? Why be like every other Auction House?
Then an idea had come to her, and alongside it, the urge to put her Shepherd in a challenging situation. It was a strange impulse, but Meadow followed her instincts.
Now everyone was looking at Omm in confused expectation, waiting for him to speak. The young man was so nervous that his mouth opened instinctively after a few seconds of silence and simply began on its own:
"I begin by thanking and praising the Lord for allowing me to be here, my parents for their countless support throughout my life, and Miss Wealth, who believed in me when I did not believe in myself."
Dead silence.
Omm’s voice was different from Meadow’s. Where Meadow was energetic, confident and carrying an unmistakable note of arrogance, Omm’s voice was steady and inviting, and seemed to echo somewhere deep inside every single person in the auction hall.
"As Miss Wealth has just said, money may not be the answer this time." He said, trying to construct something as he spoke. "It is embarrassing to admit, but we have too much of it for it to hold any further value. And please understand us, we are here to be different, to be unique. So here is what I propose: instead of money, why not bid with something else?"
He attempted a smile.
"A precious jewel you find especially beautiful and believe would catch my Miss’s attention. A recipe that might make her eyes shine with wonder. Or perhaps, good men, perhaps you can go further and tell us something interesting: a piece of information she might value, information about rare materials, monsters, or even..."
His smile was innocent, harmless and achingly honest.
"...simply any information you consider worth something. I do not discriminate, and my Miss even less so. So..."
He exhaled and gestured elegantly with his gloved hands.
"Shall we begin again, good men? Who will make the first bid? Let me give you something to start with: what might Miss Wealth possibly enjoy? You don’t know her, but you can always try."
Meadow watched Omm with surprise in her pink eyes behind her glasses. Her lips pulled slowly into a wide smile, her heart beating with quiet excitement.
She turned her attention to the spectators, smiling even wider.
"Well, you heard my assistant."
She stood beside him, arms folded across her chest.
"Shall we... good men?"
And immediately, they began. This time with far more energy than before. After all, now that it was no longer a matter of who had the most money — but who could please the youngest heiress of the Wealth family the most — everyone had a chance to win.
So they all tried. The auction grew livelier.
And somewhere inside a VIP room hidden from everyone else, three men — all dark-skinned, wearing luxurious suits — watched the scene unfold with varying degrees of emotion.
"Heh. Sister looks like mother just now. I almost thought I was seeing a younger version of her."
"Mother would have been proud."
"Indeed. And who is the young man beside her? Omm, she said? He is interesting. He has something important for a Merchant. What did mother call it again?"
"Charisma, you mean, River?"
"Yes. But the boy has more than that. His eyes...look at his eyes, Clover, and tell me what you see."
"Too far away, brother. And I am not wearing my glasses." Clover said leisurely, his legs up on the table. "Ask Sea."
"Don’t ask me." Sea said immediately with an annoyed tone, crossing his thick arms over his chest. "The most important thing is whether you recorded her speech. We need to send it to mother. Don’t forget she asked for it."
"You are such a killjoy, Sea. Go away."
"Don’t talk to me, Clover."
River sighed, looked at his two brothers and turned his attention back to Meadow.
"Just stay quiet and watch. And yes, Sea, I recorded her opening remarks and already sent them to mother."
"Did she reply?" Clover asked, raising an eyebrow.
River nodded, looking at his phone. "The moment I sent it."
"What did she say?"
River smiled, reading the message again with amusement.
"She said, and I quote: ’Did this little brat just say she wanted to surpass me? Let her know she doesn’t even know half of what I own.’"
Both Clover and Sea’s lips twitched, faces exasperated.
"Don’t tell little sister. She might get depressed."
"A secret between us?"
"Yes, a secret."
"Now let’s watch how it ends." freewebnovёl.ƈom
"And this time, Clover, you better keep your mouth shut and stop squealing in excitement like a child." Sea hissed in warning.
Clover smiled with obvious provocation.
"Watch me. I will sneeze like a girl seeking attention every few seconds just to see what you do about it, Sea."
The two brothers began to argue again. River ignored them, watching his little sister with the expression of someone far too accustomed to this.
’I am never attending one of these with them again.’
He drank from his soda.
’Never again.’
—End of Chapter 179—
