Chapter 11: Gilishon City Auction!

The Emerald Palace is Falsbane Kingdom’s seat of power.

A majestic, gleaming castle perched high atop a steep hill overlooking the capital of Gilishon. Surrounding the palace grounds were towering, opulent mansions belonging to high nobility, along with the most luxurious inns in the realm.

Currently, Gilishon’s streets were packed with commoners and local nobles, all eager to catch a glimpse of the powerful noble families, foreign dignitaries, and high-value merchants who had arrived for the Gilishon City Auction.

The auction started 200 years ago as a simple market for local adventurers to sell off dungeon loot. Over time, it evolved into the most prestigious magical artifact auction in the eastern Magic Continent.

Since the event was so massive, the proceedings took place over four days.

Countless noble families had already booked every premier inn encircling the Emerald Palace, yet none of these prominent figures were the reason the entire royal family and their grand entourage were currently standing under the hot sun in the castle courtyard.

King Aldrius stood at the forefront.

Beside him, an anxious Grand Chamberlain Hershant.

His royal consorts and their sons.

Oh, and Adonis too.

King Aldrius looked visibly tense and his hands fidgeted as he stared at the sky.

Seeing her husband’s trembling posture, First Queen Esmarie gently placed a hand on his arm.

"Calm down, my King. We can survive these four days. All we have to do is ensure we do not offend the Dunamis family."

Hearing her words only made the King feel more hopeless. He glanced at Esmarie, then shifted his eyes toward Adonis. Standing alongside his brothers, Adonis yawned casually with half-lidded, sleepy eyes.

Third Queen Lucelia felt the King’s fears. To her, Adonis was nothing more than the black sheep of the royal family... a talentless stain on their proud name. She clicked her tongue and marched straight over to the boy.

"Look at you, yawning like a lazy stray!"

Lucelia hissed softly.

"Behave yourself today and do not dare disgrace our name in front of our guests! You have no talent, yet you act as if you are above everyone else here."

Adonis barely even looked at her as he smirked slightly.

"If being quiet is a disgrace, Royal Mother, then I suppose your loud screeching must be our kingdom’s greatest virtue."

Third Prince Leander and the other brothers scoffed.

To them, this arrogant attitude proved exactly why Adonis was the outcast of the family. The only one among his brothers who remained silent was Fourth Prince Bradley, who simply kept his head down and said nothing.

Ping!

[Note: Queen Lucelia harbors deep hatred toward Host.]

[Reason: Your late mother and Queen Minerva monopolized King Aldrius’s affection, starving Lucelia and the older consorts of love. Furthermore, Host’s divine beauty outshines her own son’s achievements, making her glad you awakened a ’trash’ class.]

[Extra Detail: In the earlier narrative drafts, Queen Lucelia developed an extreme, unhinged physical attraction to Host, nearly assaulting you in private before you turned her down.]

Adonis raised an eyebrow in his mind.

’Ohhh. That makes a lot of sense.’

Before Lucelia could snap back, Minerva intervened, placing herself firmly between them.

"Enough, Lucelia. The Dunamis family has arrived."

The Falsbane royal family looked up, and the commoners in the streets below gasped in shock.

The sky above Gilishon had turned dark. A massive flight of dragons was cutting through the clouds, blanketing the city in shadows. Dragon’s weren’t native to Falsbane, so the sight was an extraordinary and terrifying one.

Down in the streets, commoners pointed excitedly toward the heavens.

"Look at the skies! Are those... actual dragons?!"

"Incredible... House Dunamis really is fierce!"

"They look like royalties of war!"

Leading the flight was a flock of lesser dragons ridden by fierce Marsofian nobility in heavy cloaks, pauldrons, and gauntlets fashioned from the hides and bones of slain beasts. At the very rear of the formation flew a great, mountain-sized dragon whose massive wings tore through the clouds like smoke.

Riding atop the creature was Fangfather Darius alongside the house elders, who looked more like bloodthirsty warmongers than refined nobles.

Right beside the great dragon was Korgan and Lady Prussia who rode on her black-scaled wyvern.

The flight of dragons descended into the royal courtyard.

DUMM—!

But the landing of the great dragon was even heavier.

DUUUUUUMMM—!

Adonis winced, fanning the dust away from his face.

’Ugh, these guys are way too dramatic.’

Fangfather Darius stepped down from his massive mount. Just looking at his ferocious, wolf-like, scarred face caused King Aldrius’s knees to buckle. The King nearly collapsed into a bow right there, but First Queen Esmarie and Third Queen Lucelia quickly grabbed his hands, subtly holding him upright to ease his terror.

Darius walked over to Aldrius.

The two leaders stared at each other in tense silence.

Darius’s face was cold as stone, while Aldrius was shaking and covered in sweat.

The Fangfather shook his head.

"You lack the madness your father, King Laplace, used to carry in his eyes. What a disappointment. My father slayed dragons and horrors the human mind cannot fathom... yet he feared him like a child fears a bad dream."

The arrogant talk made the royal consorts boil, but seeing their husband shaking so violently reminded them to keep their mouths shut. Besides, Grand Chamberlain Hershant had already explicitly warned everyone not to provoke Darius under any circumstances.

It was only four days.

The young princes, however, could not hold back.

"How dare you speak to our father like that?!"

Third Prince Leander shouted, stepping forward.

First Prince Godfrey immediately joined in.

"Watch your mouth in our domain!"

Darius raised an eyebrow at the boys. Just as King Aldrius opened his mouth to anxiously apologize on their behalf, Darius burst into a booming laugh.

"Gahaha! Well, well! It seems these boys have far more guts than you do, Aldrius!"

Adonis remained entirely silent throughout the drama, his eyes were on Prussia, who stood still like a pretty statue. Sensing his gaze, Prussia glanced over. Adonis offered a small nod, and she gave him a subtle, cold nod in return.

’Hmm, she’s actually not so bad...’

Ping!

[Prussia Dunamis has developed deep disgust toward Host! Unlike your brothers who stood up for their father, you stood by doing nothing. Affection level has tanked to -20!]

Adonis’s brow twitched. He frowned slightly.

"Tch. Bitch."

[Prussia’s affection level dropped to -35!]

Adonis squeezed his eyes shut in frustration.

’Are you serious right now?!’

Darius slapped the King heavily on the chest, almost knocking the breath out of him.

"Why don’t we head inside for the welcome gala? We’ve wasted enough time out here in the dust, no?"

King Aldrius took a deep, shaky breath and agreed.

Falsbane royal family, elders of House Dunamis, and their young nobles began making their way inside. Representatives from Soron and Naxos were already waiting in the Grand Ballroom, making King Aldrius and Chamberlain Hershant anxious to start host duties.

However, Darius suddenly gripped Aldrius’s shoulders to hold him back while others filed inside.

"A quick word, King. We both know the Immortal Dragon Egg is in this year’s inventory."

Chamberlain Hershant tried to step in to defend his monarch.

"Lord Darius, the auction is a neutral—"

Darius instantly unleashed a killing wave of bloodlust that turned Hershant to a block of ice.

Darius leaned close to the frozen King’s ear.

"There will be bloody consequences if anyone in this realm dares to challenge House Dunamis for that egg. Sure, you’re a useless king, Aldrius... but you can at least ensure your people stay out of our way, right?"

King Aldrius nodded shakily.

...

Inside the Grand Ballroom.

The welcome ball had officially commenced.

Nobles and foreign delegates mingled and enjoyed the fine wine, food, and small talk. The royal queens put on smiles, doing their best to entertain the high-profile guests, while King Aldrius dragged his five sons behind closed doors.

"We are in trouble!"

The King paced back and forth furiously.

"None of you are to provoke House Dunamis! No matter the circumstances! Do you understand?!"

The princes weren’t convinced one bit.

"Father, why must we fear them so much?"

"Aren’t we supposed to be equal partners in the Alliance of Magic Nations? Since when do we fear them?"

"It’s quite frankly embarrassing..."

Among them, only Adonis remained quiet, leaning against a pillar and suppressing another yawn.

The constant chatter finally made the King snap.

"SILENCE!"

He slammed his fist onto a wooden table.

Grand Chamberlain Hershant stepped forward to calm the hyperventilating monarch.

King Aldrius rubbed his temples, breathing heavily.

"We cannot continue to act like dogs to House Dunamis. The only way to secure our kingdom’s future is to force a personal tie with them by any means."

He looked at his sons.

"Darius’s daughter, Prussia, is of marriageable age. One of you MUST charm her. If one of you can secure her hand, our family will finally be safe."

The princes exchanged hesitant glances.

Lady Prussia was undoubtedly a top-tier beauty on the continent, but she was also terrifyingly dangerous. Falsbane men were refined and soft by comparison... none of them wanted to risk getting their necks snapped by a dragon-riding warrioress.

One by one, the princes quietly declined or made excuses.

Only Adonis remained silent.

Chamberlain Hershant stroked his chin, speaking aloud to the room.

"Currently, Second Prince Cassius holds the strongest claim to the throne. However... His Majesty decrees that whichever prince manages to secure Lady Prussia’s hand will immediately be granted the highest stake to inherit the crown."

King Aldrius’s eyes suddenly locked onto the quiet Fifth Prince standing in the corner.

"And that... includes you, boy."

Adonis froze mid-yawn, pointing a finger at his own chest.

"Eh?"