While Kardiel was recollecting his memories, the auction resumed.
Certainly, the last room seemed to be where the core items of this black market were being presented, as the price range was clearly different from the previous rooms.
The starting prices were more than ten times higher.
Among them were jewels that had disappeared decades or centuries ago, like the lost brooch of Princess Hortensia.
The Imperial descendant Raphanel began to show displeasure from that point, but the real start of the black market auction was from then on.
“The next item is a collection of 100 prized dolls from a certain doll artist. The anecdote that 100 blonde women inspired his work is very famous. 100 dolls that are still alive and breathing! We’ll start at 50,000 lats.”
In addition, accessories made of chilling materials and pills made from ingredients that were disgusting just to hear about were also put up for auction. But that wasn’t all.
“The next item is a boy born with a demonic and ugly appearance. As you can see, he has a deformed appearance that is terrible even to look at. We’ll start at 50,000 lats.”
“The next item is the entire body of a strong man who received special training. You can use all parts of the body, from bone components to blood and eyeballs, whenever and however much you want. We’ll start at 50,000 lats.”
Kardiel had to swallow his nausea every time an item was introduced. And he painfully realized why this place was a black market.
It wasn’t simply because illegal items were being sold. All sorts of things were being auctioned here.
They were horrible things he had never even imagined before.
They were also things that couldn’t be obtained outside no matter how much money or high status one had.
It wasn’t because the items were rare.
What they were buying and selling went beyond simple products, it was a concept.
A place where things that can’t be priced, like human dignity or freedom, are thoroughly violated and commercialized.
This was exactly such a place.
‘A black market?’
It would be more appropriate to call it hell. Only demons could do such things.
“…Yes! This item has also been sold to the beautiful lady for 500,000 lats!”
Ridiculously, not one of those terrible items went unsold.
Particularly noticeable was Mistress Dorothea, who was winning many items. It seemed her self-proclaimed reputation in this field was not wrong.
‘500,000 lats is the average price of a house in the capital…’
It was astounding to see Dorothea already paying hundreds of thousands of lats on the spot.
Remembering that Lieselotte’s silver fox muffler was 40,000 lats made it even more so.
‘Well, it doesn’t matter.’
What mattered wasn’t those ‘items’. Kardiel and his companions watched this terrible demon’s auction while biting their lips.
The item they were waiting for appeared after several more items had passed.
“Thank you for your patience. The final item is a relic from the magic era a thousand years ago, a mysterious ointment said to regenerate any wound or scar!”
Finally, the item Kardiel’s group had been waiting for was displayed behind the auctioneer.
It was a jeweled box about the size of a palm. At first glance, there was nothing special about it.
However, when the auctioneer opened the lid to show the contents, the translucent ointment sparkled truly magically.
The problem was that the ointment seemed to have been used.
“Looks like a secondhand item.”
Sergei’s voice muttered lowly. Not only that, but small murmurs could be heard here and there.
The auctioneer, as if aware of everyone’s impressions, brazenly continued his explanation.
“First of all, as this is a product that is no longer produced, please understand that our auction house has conducted prior testing to confirm its performance. The reason we can confidently present it is simple. If it doesn’t work, we’ll give you a 100% refund, so feel free to bid!”
The conclusion was that they had tested the product, but it made sense.
What mattered to them was the performance of the ointment. As long as it worked, it didn’t necessarily have to be a new product.
“Now, let’s start the auction for today’s highlight, the ‘Magic Ointment’. The starting price is…”
And finally, the starting price was revealed.
“The starting price is 5 million lats.”
“Oh, five hundred?”
“Huh!”
“…!”
Simultaneously, cries of astonishment burst from the mouths of the group.
Even for a magical item, this was too much. No one had expected the starting price to be 5 million.
‘The amount I can afford…’
Cold sweat trickled down Kardiel’s spine.
He had expected it to be expensive, but this price range beyond imagination made his lips dry.
“Five million one hundred thousand.”
“Five million two hundred thousand.”
“Five million five hundred thousand!”
“Six million!”
Shouts raising the price of the ointment could be heard from here and there. Meanwhile, the group’s gazes converged on one spot.
It was the Imperial descendant Raphanel’s servant. The servant explained in a cowed voice.
“T-the prices so far weren’t this high. Usually, they started at 500,000 and ended around 5 million…”
“Since it’s no longer in production, I guess this is the market price.”
“It’s more expensive than we expected.”
“…”
What should we do? Though no conversation took place, the same thought lingered in the minds of the group, doing complex calculations.
“Eight million five hundred thousand!”
“E-eight million five hundred fifty thousand!”
“Ugh, eight million six hundred thousand!”
While they were quietly watching, the auction price had already soared to 8.6 million.
Those who had given up early on seemed to have switched to an attitude of just watching how high the price would go, as there were no more words from them.
As a result, the auction price seemed to be settling at a certain level, with the rate of increase no longer being so high.
‘At this rate…’
It was an amount he could afford. Just as Kardiel was about to raise his hand to participate in the auction.
“Ten million.”
A gentle female voice from right next to him focused everyone in the auction house. It was Mistress Dorothea.
“Ten million, ten million lats have been offered!”
The surroundings buzzed with chatter.
To raise the auction price so suddenly like this, those who had been competing intermittently spat briefly with curses. They were giving up on the auction.
‘Just who is that woman.’
How much money does she have?
Kardiel glanced at Mistress Dorothea with irritation in his eyes.
She had her arms crossed with an extremely relaxed expression.
By this point, he was curious about her true identity.
What kind of work does she do to use an amount equivalent to a month’s operating expenses of a decent-sized territory for entertainment?
“Young Lord… no, Lord Kardiel. And Sir Sergei. What will you do?”
“…”
The Imperial descendant Raphanel asked cautiously. Not only Kardiel but also Sergei had complicated expressions.
Especially Kardiel’s sense of futility was indescribable.
Ten million was far beyond the available amount they had discussed before coming to the black market.
‘If I combine the extra money I personally have…’
But even that wouldn’t be enough. The moment that dubious woman called out the next number, he would have to lower his tail and body to that level.
‘Of course, the Daiern Duchy owns much more money than that.’
But that was wealth that the current Kardiel couldn’t access.
No matter how much he was the actual owner of the Daiern Duchy, right now he was just a young lord, so he needed Lieselotte’s permission.
There’s no way that would be possible at this point.
‘It can’t be helped.’
Although Kardiel was concerned about the burn on Euphemina’s arm, he couldn’t be greedy for something beyond his means.
It was right to give up on the ointment. He should just think that it was never something he could get his hands on in the first place.
“Eleven million.”
That’s when it happened.
The voice came from right beside him. The group’s gaze reflexively focused.
“Sergei co… Uncle?”
“…?”
The person who raised his hand to increase the auction price was none other than Sergei.
“I have this much to spare.”
He lowered his calm voice as he cast a gentle gaze towards Kardiel.
“Yes, eleven million. Eleven million has been offered!”
Meanwhile, the auctioneer reacted to Sergei’s voice and called out the updated auction price.
The auction house buzzed, focusing on Sergei who had updated the already astronomical amount.
Then Mistress Dorothea snorted as if mocking.
“Twelve million.”
“Thirteen million.”
“…!”
Sergei’s voice followed without hesitation. Dorothea frowned deeply and glared this way.
“…Fourteen million!”
“Fifteen million.”
The auction price soared to a point where it seemed questionable if this was okay.
Dorothea, who had been glaring with vicious eyes, now uncrossed her arms that had been relaxed and stomped her foot threateningly.
It was clearly a signal to stop, but Sergei didn’t even twitch an eyebrow.
But Sergei’s ability, unfortunately, ended there.
“Twenty million!”
Dorothea once again boldly updated the auction price.
Only then did Sergei exhale a long, shallow sigh and slightly shake his head.
After all, how much money could a scholar of the Tower of Honor have?
Nevertheless, Kardiel felt somewhat choked up.
This uncle whom he had been so wary and cautious of.
Yet he was willing to give everything he had for him and Euphemina.
“That’s enough now. Don’t push yourself.”
“I’m sorry. This is beyond my means as well.”
Still, he was grateful for the thought. Just as Kardiel was about to say so.
“So, you need that ointment to that extent, don’t you?”
“Hm?”
A determined light flickered in the golden eyes of the Imperial descendant Raphanel.
“Out of respect for the Regent… no, for Lady Lieselotte, I have been learning and preparing something on my own.”
After uttering these incomprehensible words, he pulled up the corners of his mouth into a long smile stretching to his cheekbones.
It was a smile like that of an innocent boy.
Before anyone could ask what he meant by his previous words, he raised his hand.
“Fifty million lats!”
My Arch-enemy Sealed My Memory and Said That He is My Husband
This is an incredibly captivating story that you absolutely shouldn’t miss! I’ll give a brief introduction here, and below you’ll find a detailed synopsis of the plot.
The female lead is a fierce and powerful demon king. The male lead is a once-in-a-millennium celestial lord, admired by the entire cultivation world.
They are equally matched, legendary rivals who have battled for centuries.
In the final duel, the female lead is gravely injured. The male lead saves her, seals her memories, and hides her true identity. He tells her that he is her fiancé. His entire life has been flawless—except for the one thing he never expected, never controlled, and never wanted to control: falling for his greatest enemy. She is his inner demon, his obsession.
When the female lead regains her memories, she is furious at his deception.
She makes his life a living hell.
And somehow, the male lead—possibly a total masochist—doesn’t mind at all. In fact, he’s happy she’s paying attention to him.
Yep, we’re back to my favorite trope: male lead suffering. If you love this kind of story, jump into the pit with me now!!!
Intro
Dong Xia lost her memory.
Her handsome and extremely powerful fiancé Li Qing comforted her: “It’s okay if you can’t remember. I’ll always be with you.”
Everyone thought Dong Xia’s ancestors must have burned incense to get such a perfect fiancé. He was the number one person in the immortal realm, yet he remained chaste and only loved her.
…
The day before marrying her fiancé, Dong Xia finally remembered everything.
She wasn’t suffering from memory loss at all.
Her arch-enemy had made her fake her death, destroyed her cultivation, replaced her memories, and pretended to be her deeply in love fiancé.
No wonder he said, “It’s okay if you can’t remember”!
Dong Xia laughed coldly as she pulled out her long knife: Li Qing, prepare to die 🙂
*
Li Qing, as the supreme being of the immortal realm, was the people’s shining beacon.
The only unknown stain in his life was his affection for Dong Xia, the ruler of the demon realm.
In the final battle of the war between immortals and demons, the sky collapsed and the earth shattered. The ruler of the demon realm was finally slain under the sword of the supreme being of the immortal realm, and everyone in the immortal realm applauded.
The cultivation world lost a ruler of the demon realm.
And in the back mountain of Li Qing’s cave dwelling, he secretly hid away a fiancée.
Notes:
1. The female lead is white on the outside, black on the inside, and the queen of flattery; the male lead repeatedly tests the edge of darkness, a VIP guest at the crematorium.
2. Fantasy cultivation world setting.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]