The Auction of Silence, it appeals to me.
Most of all, I am quite fond of the fact that no one speaks to me while I sit in the host’s seat. It feels exceedingly safe. The earlier shock has slowly settled, and I have fully regained my composure.
Seated in the front row, I stealthily glance to the side. There, the Duke of Daira and his knight, having been assigned the best seats, are seen whispering something softly. Somehow, the duke’s expression seems somewhat hardened.
What could it be? Is he not pleased with the auction items?
The auction has already reached its midpoint. So far, all the items put up have been sold for more than expected. Of course, not all the money fattens my own purse; some will go towards the operation of the trading company and to cover the costs of this charity party, but still, it’s satisfying.
At that moment, the duke rises from his seat.
For some reason, the knight does not follow and remains in his place. Is he off to the restroom? He had such a serious look earlier; perhaps it was urgent?
I briefly imagine a conversation between the duke and his knight.
‘The restroom calls urgently.’
‘Then please, go ahead.’
‘Yes, I shall return shortly.’
‘Alright, do return soon.’
‘Yes.’
‘Yes, quickly…’
‘Indeed.’
‘Should I accompany you?’
‘No, because you keep answering…’
Somehow, I feel that’s how the duke would have acted. Unable to hold it any longer, he probably stopped responding and dashed to the restroom.
Giggling to myself, the old man beside me looks at me as if I’m odd. I quickly compose my face and pretend to concentrate on the auction. Of course, my mind is filled with other thoughts.
What kind of person is the duke, really? Why did he so easily say to me that he understands everyone has their circumstances? Others, even when they beg earnestly with real issues, don’t even get a sniff in response. Duke Daira is certainly different from other nobles.
Moreover, he consistently called me ‘Count’.
There was no hint of sarcasm. There are plenty who mock my title, bought with substantial contributions to the royal family, and refuse to acknowledge it. Some even blatantly call me ‘Miss Hexen’. Miss? I’ve been a proper count for several years now.
It’s sad, really.
How many infuriating things must happen in noble society for me to be so moved by the duke’s display of basic courtesy?
After the success of Tock-Tock, many nobles clung to me, begging for limited models, while others puffed up their pride and acted superior.
Such egos. Why are there so many who want to outdo others?
Of course, I tend to appease them, even if it’s distasteful. Pride doesn’t bring in money, and there’s no need to be stiff about it, right?
Still, I do wish I had some great honor that would allow me to speak loudly against these arrogant nobles. Now I understand why those with money buy titles and get into politics.
As I idly entertain these thoughts, the auction proceeds rapidly. Without unnecessary chatter, the pace is astonishing.
Several items have already passed, and Duke Daira has not reappeared.
The knight sitting next to me is starting to look anxious.
Could the duke have constipation?
And at that very moment.
“Aaaahhh!”
A woman’s high-pitched scream makes me jump to my feet. The surrounding silence makes the scream all the more distinct. People drop their silence and buzz with questions about what happened.
But I do not stay in my seat.
Without looking back, I run out of the auction hall.
My mind turns white with fear.
It’s Lily’s scream. Something must have happened to Lily.
-
The Duke Euryx Dayra, who had left the auction house, walked down the corridor with a serious expression.
Of course, it wasn’t because he was in a hurry, as Countess Miria Hexen had guessed.
A sinister flow of mana led him. Magic is ultimately the act of sensing, gathering, operating, and stabilizing mana, so the stronger the magician, the more sensitive they are to its flow. Euryx Dayra was also one of the strong magicians sensitive to mana.
‘Something’s strange.’
A massive power was stirring. An ominous premonition made his steps quicken. It was also his duty to control and resolve dangerous magical phenomena.
As he hurriedly turned a corner, Euryx witnessed an unpleasant scene.
It was a corridor not far from the auction house.
“Let me go!”
A woman who looked like a fairy living in a deep forest was resisting fiercely. She was a woman with light silver hair and fresh green eyes like spring leaves. Looking at her clothes, she was a maid, but she was caught by some ruffian.
Euryx was really in a hurry right now, but looking at the situation, it seemed that this was also a really urgent matter. The man who had grabbed the maid raised his voice without even noticing Euryx approaching.
“Listen to me! You have an enormous amount of mana. I’ll help you, so come here!”
“What nonsense are you talking about, let me go!”
The maid resisted with all her might and pushed the man back hard.
Euryx, who had hurriedly run, intervened between them. And he looked down at the man who had been pushed back with a stern face.
“You seem to be a magician, but stop it. What rudeness is this?”
“Are you a magician too?”
The man squinted his eyes without recognizing who Euryx was. Then he pointed his finger at the maid standing behind Euryx.
“So you’re blind! That maid has an enormous amount of mana. If you inject mana and open a little way, she will have tremendous power!”
The words themselves were correct.
Euryx immediately realized that the source of the unstable mana he had been searching for was this maid. If you crumple the empire and put it in a can, it would feel like this. The maid’s body was withering, unable to handle the powerful mana. Perhaps she was not usually healthy.
But the problem was not the maid’s mana.
Euryx asked with a headache.
“Don’t you know there’s a proper procedure?”
At a glance, the maid’s clothes were disheveled. In such a violent situation, the maid would not have tried to take off her clothes herself, so it seemed that she had become like this after a severe struggle.
“A stranger appears and says he will inject mana and takes you away, would you follow? You should have sent an official document to the Count’s house and proceeded with the work.”
“Are you criticizing me? I tried to help because she looked sick! But she dares to refuse my help?”
The man shouted as if he was really wronged. Euryx hated this kind of people. Who would follow someone who grabs a passerby and says, “I’ll make you a magician.”
It was natural to refuse, but ‘she dared to refuse my help.’
“Stop it. I will remember you and report you to the magic trial.”
Euryx carefully looked at the man’s face. The man’s face was neat and his impression was not bad. Looking at his clothes, he seemed to be a well-bred young magician. He was a brat who couldn’t distinguish front and back because he was caught in an absurd sense of nobility.
As soon as the story of the magic trial came out, the man’s complexion changed completely.
He looked up and down Euryx, calculating whether he was a target to rush into, and turned his head, grinding his teeth. He immediately changed his target to the maid.
“Do you think the same? Huh? Do you think I did something wrong?”
The maid kept her mouth shut and did not answer. Euryx frowned at the man’s pathetic behavior and led the maid to leave the place.
But at that moment, the man shouted in a voice filled with evil.
“If you become a magician, you can quit this damn maid job! I was trying to help a poor commoner!”
The man rushed at the maid. Thanks to Euryx’s immediate block, the three became a lump and rolled on the floor.
The man did not miss the opportunity and injected his mana into the maid’s body. The tremendous mana rampage began at that moment.
“Aaaaaah!”
A painful scream burst from the maid’s mouth. The maid foamed at the mouth and flailed her limbs.
It was a severe seizure.
Euryx gritted his teeth and glared at the man. But there was no time to get angry at what reckless thing he had done. The man, whose face had turned pale, began to crawl away on all fours, looking at the rampaging maid. Euryx chose to calm the maid instead of following him.
First of all, he had to save this person’s life. Sometimes there are people who can’t use magic but only have mana. The path of mana is blocked. Another magician can find it and open the way, but that is a very dangerous job. The man just tried to inject mana, which should be carefully done over several hours like curing a disease, recklessly. Mana exploded from the maid’s body and raged wildly.
Ordinary people wouldn’t feel it, but Euryx could sense the danger.
For now, he had to calm this person down with his mana.
‘It’s my first time trying mana artificial respiration.’
Euryx held the flailing maid’s body and forced her to stop. Looking at the maid gasping for breath with her neck bent back, he lost all hesitation and hesitation.
He pressed down on the maid’s body as if to crush it and blocked the maid’s nose. Then, preparing to bite his tongue in a patient with a seizure, he overlapped his lips.
He quickly injected mana as if blowing breath into the opened mouth.
It was a task that required a high degree of mental concentration, and cold sweat sprouted all over his body. Although it was a romantic posture as if kissing, in fact, mana artificial respiration was a very unpleasant task.
Euryx grimaced at the disgusting feeling of vomiting his intestines and feeding it to the maid. Moreover, the mana that the maid had was rampaging, rejecting the intrusion of unfamiliar mana. Each time, Euryx felt nauseous as if he was swallowing vomited intestines again.
If it goes on like this, he felt like he couldn’t stand it and would really vomit.
But as he wrestled with cold sweat, he saw results.
The maid’s seizures began to gradually subside. The urgent fire seemed to have been extinguished at that moment.
“Lily! Lilyyy!”
With a loud shout, someone charged like an angry bull. Euryx briefly dropped his lips and turned his head. He was dizzy from using mana heavily, but he could immediately tell that the one coming was Count Hexen. Count Hexen ran at full speed, shouting fiercely.
“What did you do to Lily, you bastard!”
The maid’s disheveled clothes, the maid lying on the floor unconscious, the scream, the kiss. Euryx immediately realized what misunderstanding he had received.
Before he could explain that it wasn’t, Count Hexen picked up a porcelain ornament decorated in the corridor. Then he hit the duke’s head straight down. It was a smooth connecting action like flowing water.
“People like you should die! I thought you were a good person!”
Euryx lost his balance and fell. Count Hexen’s face was stained with hatred and anger.
In a short time, he saw various expressions of that person. He wanted to explain that it wasn’t, but his head was too hot and painful.
The last thing Euryx, who was losing consciousness, saw was the face of Count Hexen, who was holding the limp maid’s body and crying out loud.
“Lily, don’t die! Don’t die, please don’t dieee!”
Looking at the count, who was quickly covered in tears and snot, Euryx thought for the last time.
‘She’s not dead…’
The world darkened and consciousness completely disappeared.
The charity party ended immediately.
Everything was a mess.
Only the broken porcelain pieces were shining meaninglessly.