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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
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Chapter 61
There was no reason to think that the appearance of the Queen of Twilight, which had been the talk of Black Friday, had anything to do with me, who was staying in Mielephon.
Thanks to that, I had nothing to worry about in that regard.
But what was exhausting me in real-time was the existence of a lunatic who kept visiting me under the pretext of being confined to the annex.
The thoughts of a lunatic cannot be explained by common sense.
Normally, noble ladies are highly conscious of their image and position.
Wearing a bizarre mascot costume at a grand ball filled with numerous distinguished guests, or blatantly pointing at someone and shouting, "That bastard is a terrible person!"—these are things that noble ladies generally refrain from doing.
But she did them proudly.
Even the cold-faced head of House Mielephon, Catsey, was dumbfounded by her outrageous behavior upon out first meeting.
After that, under Catsey's orders, she was confined to the annex, where, within just a few days, she showed an astonishingly quick adaptability and wedged herself between me and Luna.
To put it nicely, she was bold.
To put it bluntly, she was endlessly shameless.
The first time I saw her was the morning after she arrived at the annex.
She was hanging upside down from the ceiling of my room, staring at me.
"Hehehe... If you seek power, come to me."
And then she just stared blankly at me after saying that nonsense…
If she had been wearing a dress, her skirt would have fallen, revealing her undergarments.
Thankfully, she wasn’t that insane—she was dressed in black, like an assassin.
Luna Basilin, who had slept next to me the night before to help me sleep, woke up, saw her, and shook her head.
"Definitely a lunatic."
She didn’t hold back and called her crazy right to her face.
I also ignored her plea to be rescued because her head was filling with blood.
* * *
"So, are we going to the auction?"
"Excuse me, Lady."
Today was the day of the long-awaited Black Friday auction.
There wasn’t much reason for me to attend personally, but I still wanted to see how things were progressing, so I had informed Misha, my head maid, that I would be going.
With Misha and Luna accompanying me, I was on my way to the auction house when…
I broke into a cold sweat at the presence of the lunatic, who had somehow followed me.
"I’m sorry, but why on earth are you walking around looking like that?"
She was wearing a tattered black robe and a grim reaper mask.
In her hand was a toy scythe, making her look just like the grim reaper from a storybook.
"How is it? Pretty cool, right?"
She said that while wearing the eerie reaper mask, which left me speechless.
Honestly, I couldn't understand why the citizens or guards weren’t reacting to her bizarre appearance.
"The citizens have already given up. It’s not just a one-time thing. By now, it’s practically an annual event."
"I should extend my deepest sympathies to Duke Mielephon."
"……."
Why was she even here?
This morning, she had been dragged away by the maids for lessons.
When she heard that Luna and I were going to the auction, she had thrown a tantrum, rolling on the floor like a child.
But the maids were seasoned warriors.
They had dragged her away as she flailed in protest, so there was no way her lessons had already ended.
"Did you escape?"
"If I get caught, it’s escaping, but if I don’t, doesn’t that mean I’m still in my lesson?"
Was that really something to say in front of a Mielephon maid?
I let out a small laugh, and Misha, who was walking beside me, shut it down with an emotionless voice.
"My lady, I will be reporting this to the Duke."
"Eheii~ Misha, don't do that~."
She sidled up to us and pulled a small pouch from her loose black robe, slipping it into Misha’s hand.
Then she gave one to me and one to Luna as well.
"These are Galaxy Jellies. They’re delicious but oh-so-hard to find."
The way she dragged out her words made it seem like she was trying to bribe us.
Misha and I exchanged glances and shook our heads.
Should we get rid of this?
Even if she looks like that, she’s still a noble lady of House Mielephon.
Luna, however, opened the pouch, took out one of the multicolored jellies, and popped it into her mouth.
After a moment of silence, she nodded.
"Approved."
"Approved, my ass. You lunatics are all the same."
Luna might have been horrified at the lunatic’s antics, but in my eyes, Isna and Luna Basilin were birds of a feather.
The difference was between ignorance and intent.
"Aaaah! Whatever! Just take me with you! I’m so bored these days!"
She was about to throw herself on the ground again if we refused.
The problem was that I didn’t want the news of my visit to the auction to spread.
In an instant, Misha clamped her hand over her mouth.
"Alright, I get it, so please just shut up, my lady. I beg you."
"Huh? Did a maid just tell her lady to shut up?"
"What does it matter? I'm part of this household too. If you have a problem, take it up with the lord, my lady."
It had only been a few days since I met you.
But in those few days, it felt like countless hours had passed, and I, who never aged, suddenly felt as if I had grown old.
One thing had become clear.
Even if I was the one who initiated this engagement, I must break it someday.
The location of the auction house supposedly changes periodically.
There was a set rotation, but considering the fact that multiple auction houses existed within a single territory, it was clear that this was no ordinary business.
Following the information provided by Black Friday, I entered the auction house, where a man I had previously met was waiting for me in a robe.
"Welcome, young master."
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
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"It's been a while."
It had only been about a week, but if you asked whether that was a short time, I wouldn’t say so.
"I hope I’m not too late."
"You've arrived at the perfect time. Please follow me... I-Isna, the Duke’s daughter...!"
"Hehe."
Even though she was dressed like the Grim Reaper, concealing her face and figure, he recognized her instantly.
She must have been quite famous.
"D-Does the Duke’s daughter intend to participate as well?"
"Yes!"
Seeing her answer so cheerfully, the man let out a sigh.
"I-I shall escort you."
He led us to a completely enclosed carriage.
Once we boarded, the door locked, and we traveled for about an hour.
We eventually arrived inside a building.
It seemed they wanted to keep the location hidden—even bringing the carriage indoors was a rare experience.
"I don't see anyone around."
"For anonymity, we ensure that customers do not encounter one another. Please take these. As for the Duke’s daughter… I suppose she can remain as she is."
What he handed me was an animal-shaped mask.
Not just a face mask, but a full-head covering.
"The auction will be conducted from private rooms. You will be able to see the real-time bidding amounts, but there will be no interaction between participants, so there is no need to worry."
Now this is what I call maintaining anonymity.
The mask seemed somewhat pointless, but since it was part of the process, I complied.
I calmly accepted it.
Following him, we descended into the basement of the building and walked for another twenty minutes before arriving at a luxurious room.
The room was spacious enough for about eight people to sit comfortably and was furnished with elegant sofas, a bed, wine, tea, and desserts.
"As a VIP, we have prepared the finest room for you."
"I appreciate the consideration."
"When the auction begins, a magic artifact will project the display onto this wall. The rooms of auction participants are identified only by numbers, and bid amounts will appear on the screen. As for this other screen…"
"It shows the auction items and their descriptions, correct?"
"Yes. Also, once the auction begins, the door will remain locked until the auction ends. If you wish to leave, we will send someone to unlock it for you."
He bowed politely.
"If you need anything, simply ring the bell on the wall, and we will provide it for you."
"Understood."
"Would you like to participate in the auction?"
"I don’t think so, but…"
"Just in case, we have prepared a credit of 45 million sel for you. However, anything beyond this amount is beyond my authority, so I ask for your understanding."
Since they were offering, there was no reason to refuse.
The man adjusted the bidding interface and handed it to me.
"Please enjoy your time."
"Whew~."
As soon as the man left and the door locked, Isna, still dressed in her Grim Reaper robe and mask, jumped onto the plush round bed.
"My lady! I’ve told you time and again not to act so improperly in public!"
"Oh, come on. There’s no one here."
Misha, usually unfazed, pressed her fingers against her temple, looking exasperated.
"Leon, I found the catalog."
At that moment, Luna, who had been searching around, brought me a book bound in luxurious material.
"They used magic to update the contents? That’s clever."
It was certainly expensive, but considering the ever-changing auction items, rather than printing a new book every time, they must have enchanted it to update automatically.
Inside, a variety of items were listed.
From simple accessories to potions, artifacts, rare goods, and even high-quality monster parts.
The reputation of this as the continent’s finest auction house seemed well-earned.
"Fuu… Fuu…"
Just then, I heard heavy breathing beside me.
When I turned my head, the Grim Reaper’s masked face was staring at me, exhaling a faint blue smoke.
"What is it?"
"There aren't any slaves this time, right?"
"Slaves? No, there aren’t. Did you need one?"
I hadn’t taken her as someone who supported slavery.
"Then that's fine. There was an incident where they dealt in illegal slaves and got burned by the imperial family’s wrath."
Her expression unreadable, she nodded and sprawled back onto the bed.
Can an engaged woman really act this carefree in front of her fiancé?
Even if it wasn’t intentional, it seemed Duke Catsey was determined to turn this fake engagement into a real one.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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