“What’s going to happen to the child if we leave him like that?”
“To draw out all of the water magic artificially gathered in the heart, the large amount of blood surrounding it needs to be extracted. If the child goes through that process, he won’t be able to endure and will die.”
The more I listened, the more my face, hidden behind a black mask, contorted in horror.
“No, how can they do such a terrible thing to a child? And I heard that all the Xenos royals were killed. Maybe he’s just an ordinary child.”
A deep-seated disdain boiled up from within, permeating my voice. Before I could finish speaking, the host spoke again.
“Since this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and some of you may doubt the authenticity of Nectar’s source, we will prove it before your very eyes with Capel Guild’s honor on the line.”
Right after that, the attendants brought a glass container as large as the mobile cage.
It was a deep and wide cylindrical tank that could accommodate an adult man.
Inside, clear water shimmered as if it might overflow at any moment. Everyone watched with suspicion.
A man brought the child out of the cage. He lifted the child onto his shoulder and approached the glass container. He was going to throw him into the water.
“What is this madness?”
All of a sudden, the noise around me got louder. My enraged outcry was drowned out by the gasps and exclamations of the onlookers.
Then I felt someone’s gaze on me.
Amidst the commotion, I turned my head slightly and saw a man with a blue mask observing me intently.
At that moment, the sound of the child splashing into the water reached my ears.
As the child fell into the glass container, some of the water spilled out, causing a stir in the crowd.
I was so startled that I stood up, but Logan, who was next to me, restrained me.
He lowered his head and whispered,
“Capel is obsessed with capturing any remaining spies. If you intervene now, not only will you fail to save the child, but you’ll also draw unnecessary suspicion.”
In this situation, I knew that displaying any suspicious behavior could not only put me at risk but also jeopardize the Priodos organization.
The glass container was too large and deep for the small child.
Bound tightly by ropes, the child continued to struggle but couldn’t make it to the surface.
Despite witnessing this distressing scene, none of the people present made any move to intervene.
Their faces are covered, but their curiosity and excitement radiate through their masks.
The child’s efforts to break free were slowing down noticeably.
I was about to shake off Logan’s hand and move forward when suddenly the tense atmosphere fell silent.
A faint blue light began to emanate around the child’s heart. The intense light pulled the child’s body upward, and with a gasp, the child emerged from the water, crying and sobbing.
A few seconds later, a simultaneous roar erupted from the crowd, as if they were at an athletic event.
“Wow!”
“It’s a nectar! A real nectar has appeared!”
“Start the auction right away!”
People were so excited by the sight that they couldn’t believe their eyes. Then the host rang the bell to start the auction.
“The opening bid is 1 million Knets.”
1 million Knets. It was an amount that I could only scrape together with great effort.
Even if I pooled all the money I had, I couldn’t afford to rescue the child.
One after another, bidders began to raise their offers.
“1.1 million Knets!”
“1.2 million Knets!”
“1.3 million Knets!”
As soon as the bidding started, they kept raising the price as if 1 million knets was nothing. It was an amount that was incomparable to my previous charity auction.
Watching the soaked and crying child, I felt my throat go dry, and my hands were sweaty.
Then, for the first time, the group of people wearing blue masks gathered around a table and bid.
“2 million Knets and Melbourne’s pearls.”
The room fell silent. No one at any other table made a higher bid.
Melbourne’s pearls seemed to be an incredibly valuable item.
As someone who knew little about magical items, Logan explained briefly what Melbourne’s pearls were.
“Melbourne’s Pearls are magical items primarily used by women to maintain their external beauty. Queens, empresses, and high-ranking ladies from around the world often seek them. It may not be as valuable as a nectar, but it’s a very expensive item.”
Although I didn’t know the exact market value, it was clear that the crowd, which had been shouting higher bids earlier, fell silent when Melbourne’s Pearls were mentioned.
Their attitude suggested that the child they called as Nectar was likely to be sold to the group with blue masks.
However, a little later, one of the groups wearing red masks shouted:
“2 million Knets and the Radiance of Nenrol.”
The group wearing blue masks turned their gaze to the group wearing red masks. I could not see their faces, but I could feel the tense air currents between them.
“To offer the Radiance of Nenrol as well, today we might just be here as spectators.”
The radiance of nenrol also seemed to be an item as valuable as Melbourne’s pearls. Following Melbourne’s pearl, a staff member of the auction explained what the radiance of Nenrol is.
“The Radiance of Nenrol was an addictive substance that can provide extreme pleasure. Once addicted, it was almost impossible to break free.”
The exact value was hard to determine, but both items, Melbourne’s Pearls and the Radiance of Nenrol were highly sought-after and valuable.
The decision of which item’s worth would be prioritized was solely up to Capel Group’s discretion.
As the host hesitated and appeared to be torn between the two offers, a strange tension hung in the air.
All eyes were on him, never leaving him for a moment.
“Melbourne’s Pearls and the Radiance of Nenrol… Excellent items,”
The host looked as if he were about to make a bargain, but then the group with red masks raised their hands once again and called out:
“Add another 1 million Knets.”
Gasps and murmurs rippled through the crowd. Another 1 million Knets on top of the previous bid was a significant amount. The group with red masks seemed determined to acquire nectar at any cost. The host, as if waiting for this moment, spoke with a pleased tone,
“Oh, it seems the value of Nectar has exceeded our expectations. Today’s auction atmosphere is livelier than usual. Is there anything higher?”
He glanced at the group with blue masks, but they either slammed the table in frustration or sighed, indicating their unwillingness to bid any higher.
The 2 million Knets and Melbourne’s pearls seemed to be their limit. The man with the blue mask who had been looking at me also clenched his fist and appeared frustrated.
The host rang the bell, and a clear sound echoed through the auction house.
“3 million Knets and the Radiance of Nenrol. The nectar is sold to the Red Masked Organization.”
The auction came to an end. Only the successful bidders from the Red Mask Organization remained.
For security reasons, exiting was tightly controlled. The Yellow Mask group was the first to be called, and they stood up to leave.
After some time passed and it was our turn to leave, Logan quietly whispered to me,
“We need to go now.”
Members of the Capel Guild organization with weapons guided us out. My steps were heavy as I left the auction house. I have to find another way now.
As we moved away from the auction house and into the forest, Logan spoke cautiously.
“The Radiance of Nenrol was recently taken to Delua. The Red Organization probably has some connection to that place.”
“Delua?”
“I have some clues, so we will look into the child’s whereabouts separately.”
There was nothing I could do here now. It was better to return to the Imperial Palace and use my influence to investigate the child’s whereabouts.
My heart was heavy, but I nodded and moved away. Soon, we reach the center of the forest after leaving the auction hall.
‘Why is there no one here?’
Even though we had reached the place where we had seen the blindfolded child, there was no sign of anyone. Something seemed odd about it, so we continued walking, feeling uneasy.
In the middle of the path, I noticed a black mask lying on the ground. I had no idea why a mask would be here.
Logan, sensing something suspicious, gave orders to his subordinates.
“Search the forest immediately.”
They split into teams and set off to find the missing member of the organization and the child. There weren’t enough men to search the forest, and it was a long way back to the Priodos headquarters.
I also decided to help search for the missing individuals instead of going back to the carriage.
━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━
We wandered around for a while, but there was no sign of the child or the other member of the organization. I began to wonder if they had already left the forest.
At one point, we came across a path that split into three. We decided it was better to split up than to waste time running around together.
“Since we don’t have time, it would be best to search individually from here.”
Logan handed me a small horn made of oak.
“If you find anything, use this to send a signal. It’s a magical tool that only we can hear.”
He seemed quite anxious as well, likely due to their missing comrade. We agreed to meet back at the same spot at a set time and continued on our separate paths.
I walked for some time, and then I heard an unfamiliar clanging noise.
It sounded close, but when I looked around, all I could see were grass and trees. I followed the sound slowly and cautiously.
Then, the faint noise became more distinct, and I realized it was coming from somewhere nearby. I closed my eyes and listened.
‘It seems to be coming from below…’
I tapped the ground gently with my foot. It made a hollow, echoing sound as if I were tapping an empty box.
Feeling a growing sense of unease, I cleared away the dirt and leaves covering the ground. At the same spot I had tapped, I uncovered a square floor door with a handle.
As soon as the entrance to an underground tunnel got disclosed, the mysterious noise grew louder.
