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Chapter 30
Coco received word from Bey that all the auction invitations had been sent out.
The auction was scheduled to take place fifteen days later on Sent First Street. The craftsmen had apparently grown accustomed to their work, and their hands had become much faster. All the items had already been completed, and they were now counting the days until the auction. Of course, the craftsmen who had once exploited them had also been invited.
Just imagining the twisted faces of those craftsmen at the auction hall—and the slightly satisfied expressions of the craftsmen from the Demeter Merchant Guild—made Coco excited.
“Revenge! Revenge!”
[Revenge! Revenge!]
“Fun revenge!”
[Fun revenge!]
As Coco got carried away with excitement, Oried was influenced by her mood and enthusiastically repeated her words.
The unfortunate part was that to anyone else, Coco probably looked like a crazy person wandering around muttering about revenge to herself.
And someone approached that “crazy person.”
“Hello, white—”
Ella quickly cut off Adeline’s words and coughed loudly. She had a feeling the word that was about to follow was not exactly a polite one.
“Ahem! Ahem! Ahem!”
Under Ella’s fierce glare, Adeline stopped mid-sentence and shut her mouth. Instead, she simply looked down at Coco, who stood frozen while clutching a cute doll.
She was a small and slender girl, like a thin white rabbit.
Standing together, the imperial princess—who carried the dignified air of royalty with her long black hair—and Coco, who looked pure and white like untouched snow, created a sharp contrast.
She isn’t even scared. When I stare this intensely, most people start trembling and tearing up.
At first Adeline wondered if Coco was a noble who recognized her. But Adeline had even made children Coco’s age cry before. That was why she found Coco interesting—Coco was staring back at her with wide eyes while calmly glancing around.
Unlike what Adeline thought, Coco was simply searching for an escape route from the obviously beautiful but intimidating woman.
Since Adeline was just silently staring at her, Coco assumed the woman wanted her to move aside. She cautiously stepped to the side.
But every time she did, Adeline moved to block her again.
After it happened several times, Coco’s face unconsciously turned miserable.
At a glance, the woman looked quite terrifying.
And that beauty!
Even from a hundred meters away, she looks like the female version of the Northern Grand Duke.
The best strategy was to avoid her.
But unaware of Coco’s desperate thoughts, Adeline kept blocking her path, which drove Coco nearly insane.
“I haven’t done anything yet, so why do you look so miserable?”
Yet? Does that mean she’s planning to?
Coco had no idea what the woman intended to do while staring down at her with such an intense gaze.
But human psychology worked in strange ways—when someone feared you, it made you want to tease them even more.
Especially when someone like Coco initially seemed calm but then showed a new reaction.
Coco tried her best to show that she wasn’t miserable because of Adeline.
“I’m just someone who naturally carries sadness within me.”
“Oh my…!”
That wasn’t the reaction Coco expected.
At the unexpected admiration, Coco’s miserable face immediately returned to a blank expression. Seeing the change, Adeline chuckled.
Hearing that laugh, Coco realized she was in even deeper trouble.
Just as she was wondering how to escape, Jeffrey appeared.
But as if they had met by coincidence, Jeffrey frowned the moment he saw Adeline and tried to run away. Adeline silently grabbed his arm and stopped him.
Coco’s eyes lit up.
“If you don’t have anything to say to me, I’ll be going now. I’m running late for prayer. I would appreciate your understanding.”
Without waiting for an answer, she hugged her doll and ran off as fast as she could.
Watching her retreating back, Adeline clicked her tongue in disappointment.
“I didn’t even tell her she could leave yet. What a shame.”
Jeffrey stared displeased at Coco, who had run away without even glancing at him.
Why does she get thinner every time I see her?
Did the baron couple stop feeding her or something?
Annoyed at himself for worrying about something pointless, Jeffrey tried to erase Coco from his thoughts by picking a fight with Adeline.
“You should fix that habit of bullying people.”
“Not ‘you.’ Call me sister.”
“Your Highness.”
“Sister.”
“Your Highness.”
Jeffrey stubbornly refused to back down.
Adeline rested her cheek on her palm and half-jokingly, half-seriously threatened him.
“Should I put bugs in your pants again like when we were kids?”
“Ah!”
Jeffrey took a step back from her with an irritated expression.
“Act your age already.”
“I’ll take care of that myself. By the way, do you know that kid?”
“No.”
“I happen to be raising a caterpillar these days—”
“Ah! I know! I know!”
Jeffrey knew Adeline wouldn’t stop at mere words. That woman would absolutely shove bugs into his clothes while laughing.
So he reluctantly shared what he knew—leaving out the fact that they had just met.
“She’s a kid who eats three meals a day at the temple.”
“Watch your language.”
Who was she to lecture anyone?
Jeffrey sighed and tried to pull his hand from Adeline’s grip, but she didn’t let go easily. His brows furrowed.
“I’ll deal with it myself. So let go.”
Adeline released him lightly—and then said something that shocked him.
“I heard there’s talk about you and me getting engaged. You’ll be an adult next year, after all.”
In this world, even cousins could marry. Among nobles, it was quite common.
Still, Jeffrey was horrified.
He didn’t like Adeline—who played with bugs every day and took unusual revenge on anyone who displeased her.
Of course, she never crossed certain lines, but he still didn’t want to get involved with her.
“I feel like throwing up. As if I’d marry you.”
Pretending to gag, Jeffrey stormed off.
“How cute.”
Jeffrey hated the idea, but Adeline liked him, much like she liked her younger brother Diego.
Even though he was only two years younger, she cherished him greatly.
She didn’t mind that Jeffrey didn’t like her.
Had she ever seen a younger brother who liked his older sister?
“Anyway, Ella, where is the prayer room that white rabbit went to?”
“I won’t tell you.”
“I won’t cause trouble. I promise.”
Since Adeline always kept her promises somehow, Ella reluctantly pointed in the direction Coco had run.
Meanwhile, Coco was praying fervently in the prayer room.
She had been so busy lately that she had skipped her prayers, so she prayed more earnestly than ever.
For that child’s safety.
And to meet them again.
At that moment, Oried suddenly grabbed Coco’s arm and pulled her.
When Coco opened her eyes, she saw a woman entering the prayer room. She quickly lowered her head.
It’s that noblewoman from earlier!
Before Coco could grab Oried, it had already climbed onto her head and settled there.
Avoiding the woman who seemed to be searching for her, Coco quietly circled around and slipped out through the door.
Seeing this, Ella called out to Adeline and pointed toward the door.
“Your Highness.”
Coco froze for a moment.
Your Highness?
If someone was called “Your Highness”… could it be the princess?
She roughly knew the imperial family’s structure: the emperor and empress, and their children—the crown prince and princess.
If she really is the princess, then the Northern Grand Duke must be the crown prince?
That made sense. This was a novel, after all. The male lead being a crown prince would fit perfectly. She had also heard the other one was a grand duke’s son.
Since rumors rarely bothered describing appearances, Coco didn’t know what the imperial family or nobles looked like.
She wanted to confirm it again, but she was afraid to look back. The moment she turned around, the woman might beckon her.
Not wanting to get involved, Coco started running.
“Oh? She’s running.”
Hey, I can hear you!
Coco shouted in her mind as she ran faster.
Then she slipped on the marble floor and fell flat.
Everyone nearby jumped in surprise and looked at her.
Behind them, Adeline burst into loud laughter.
Coco suddenly saw a pair of feet in front of her.
When she looked up, a large hand was extended toward her.
Headwin Whitmore smiled faintly, offering his hand.
But Coco ignored it and stood up by herself.
As if he had expected that, Headwin withdrew his hand and spoke softly so only she could hear.
“If you’re bored, you should go play outside.”
“Does it look like I fell because I was bored?”
“Isn’t that the case?”
“Let’s just say it is.”
I’m busy right now. I don’t have time to deal with you.
Ignoring her aching knee, Coco ran away again.
Headwin watched her limping figure for quite some time.
Seeing this, Adeline stroked her chin thoughtfully.
“That seminary student… that’s Headwin Whitmore, right?”
“Yes. I heard that once he graduates, he’ll become a high priest immediately.”
“He must be quite talented if no one complains about such treatment.”
He was so beautiful that he almost looked like an angel descended from heaven.
Yet somehow he also had a subtle sensual charm.
Even though his priest robes covered him completely, he somehow still looked alluring—like someone who could enchant others.
Having finally seen the famous Headwin, Adeline commented,
“I thought my siblings were the most beautiful people around. But here’s another pretty one.”
“Now I understand why people praise his looks so much.”
Ella had been staring blankly at Headwin as well before suddenly snapping back to her senses.
After all, whenever she looked away for too long, Adeline tended to cause trouble.
“By the way, why do you scare Miss Coco so much?”
“I didn’t do anything.”
“Your Highness, most people are scared just from the way you look at them.”
“How disappointing. None of them have any courage.”
Adeline clicked her tongue regretfully.
Though she was thin and unkempt, that girl had been white and cute.
She even looked soft, like a fluffy cloud.
“I’d like to meet her again sometime.”
“No.”
Ella rejected the idea firmly.
A massive hall bathed in golden light.
A crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling, while arched windows decorated with intricate designs allowed sunlight to shine onto the gleaming marble floor.
There were no excessive decorations so people could focus on the artworks.
At the center of the hall stood a circular stage, surrounded by chairs and tables arranged in perfect alignment.
On the tables were wine glasses and round numbered paddles for bidding.
Right below the stage stood a lectern for the auction host.
Behind it, inside transparent glass cases, were Alexandrite items carved for sale in shops—not the auction items themselves.
The lighting inside the cases could change depending on whether the day or night button—specially created with magic—was pressed.
This was prepared to demonstrate Alexandrite’s greatest feature: its color changing under different lighting.
Near the entrance stood numerous attendants handing out guide booklets.
The host returned to his position and checked the amplification artifact one last time.
The staff also took their places.
The craftsmen waited nervously in the waiting room, drinking water repeatedly and unable to sit still.
Bey reassured them not to be too nervous before leaving the waiting room.
He entered another room to check the auction items one more time, then came back out.
“Make sure absolutely no one enters.”
“Yes, Vice Guild Master.”
Knights and mages guarded the room containing the jewels.
Bey looked over the massive hall one last time.
Since he had personally overseen the preparations, nothing was lacking.
Bey clapped his hands twice.
Everyone’s attention turned toward him.
Then Bey spoke firmly.
“Open the doors!”
His booming voice announced the magnificent debut of the Demeter Guild.
