Chapter 247: The Auction House (4)

The opening price was announced, and it was not as high as Ravian had expected.

Five hundred gold coins.

That was far less than the Eighth-Rank beast heart had fetched, but the stone was neither a preserved heart that could be used for cultivation nor a weapon whose quality could be tested before payment. All the audience knew was that it was beautiful, its origins were unknown, and touching it might kill them a few days later.

Even so, three paddles rose before the auctioneer finished repeating the price.

"Six hundred gold coins from seat thirty-seven."

One of the attendants raised his hand toward the opposite side of the hall, prompting another announcement.

"Seven hundred."

This time, Ravian had raised his paddle, though he did not keep it up for long. He waited until the attendant pointed toward their room and confirmed its number, then rested it on his knee and returned his attention to the platform.

Claria slowly turned toward him.

"Ravian, are you really planning to buy that stone?"

"That’s why I raised the paddle." Ravian nodded.

"But the price..." Evelyne said, uncertainty clear in her eyes. "Would you like me to pay for it..."

"No," Ravian immediately refused. "Leave it to me."

Evelyne and Claria looked bewildered by the amount of money available to someone who was supposed to be a penniless orphan. Lysandra alone knew exactly where it had come from.

"You heard what he said about it, didn’t you?" Claria asked.

Ravian looked at her and found more concern than objection in her brown eyes. She was not trying to stop him from buying something expensive; she was thinking about what might happen if he returned to the camp carrying something that had killed hundreds of people.

"I heard him, and I’m not going to touch it just to find out whether he was telling the truth." Ravian gestured toward the box on the platform. "I’ll have them deliver it in its box, and I won’t open it until I know how to handle it. Don’t worry."

Claria did not seem entirely convinced, but Evelyne had settled back into her chair and was watching him with interest.

"I thought you’d buy a manuscript no one could read, or an old book. Something like the rest of the crap they sell here," she said. "I didn’t expect you to choose the one thing that might kill you before you find out what it’s good for."

"There’s still a chance it’ll be useless too." Ravian shrugged.

Evelyne stared at him for a moment, at a loss for words.

"That doesn’t make it any better."

Ravian’s gaze returned to the platform, where the auctioneer carefully placed the stone back in its box before continuing to take bids. The first offer from the elite rooms had heightened the audience’s interest, and some who had been content to watch began raising their paddles as well.

The price reached nine hundred, then twelve hundred, before the number of bidders abruptly dwindled. Some were willing to spend a few hundred on something unknown, but crossing the thousand-coin mark had made them reconsider the money they stood to lose.

’At least some of these people still have functioning brains.’

Ravian did not know what was inside the stone, but he had not forgotten the sensation that settled within him when he first saw it. That was no guarantee of its value, and he knew a feeling alone was not enough reason to spend everything he had.

He had therefore set a limit before raising his paddle for the first time.

Two thousand five hundred gold coins.

Half of the five thousand he had received from House Viola under his agreement with Earl Patrick, alongside his twenty-five percent share of the project.

"Fourteen hundred gold coins."

The voice came from the room to their left.

It belonged to a woman, calm and clear, and Ravian recognized it without much effort.

"She’s the one who bought the heart," Evelyne said, confirming what he had been thinking.

Ravian glanced at the partition separating their room from the neighboring one, then reached for his paddle. He raised it and made his next offer.

"Sixteen hundred."

The attendant relayed his bid, and another soon came from a different room upstairs.

Eighteen hundred.

Ravian did not immediately respond, instead watching the auctioneer. The people in the hall were becoming spectators rather than participants, and even those who had raised their paddles earlier were now looking up, trying to discover who would leave with the stone.

"Two thousand."

It was the same woman’s voice.

"Twenty-two hundred," Ravian said, his eyes never leaving the box on the platform.

Lysandra’s gaze settled on him this time, and she did not look away when he turned toward her.

"Do you know something about it?"

"I want to find out," Ravian replied.

"Is that really your only reason?"

This was not how Ravian usually behaved. He could be reckless, but there was always a reason behind his recklessness.

"It’s the reason I’m bidding," he replied, holding firm to his decision.

Lysandra returned her attention to the platform without questioning him further.

He could not tell her about the sensation that drew him to the stone without inviting questions he was not ready to answer, particularly when he had no explanation himself.

The next bid came from the neighboring room.

"Twenty-four hundred gold coins."

This time, Ravian did not raise his paddle. Instead, he looked at the attendant who remained by the door.

"Twenty-five hundred."

The man relayed the amount, and the auctioneer announced it for the entire hall to hear before looking toward the other rooms.

Ravian waited.

He knew he might lose the stone the moment the woman spoke again, and she would not have to raise the price by much. Even so, he felt no inclination to change his limit. He merely kept his hand on the paddle while Evelyne looked between him and the platform, her excitement renewed by the bidding contest.

But no further offer came.

The auctioneer repeated the amount and asked whether anyone wished to bid higher. An attendant moved near the neighboring room, but no new offer followed. After one final wait, the hammer struck the table.

"Sold to elite room number twelve for two thousand five hundred gold coins."

Ravian finally relaxed his fingers and set the paddle aside with a sigh.

"Well," Evelyne said, looking at him with a small smile. "It seems you got what you wanted."

Ravian nodded in agreement, smiling as he looked at the gleaming box on the platform.

...

Ravian did not allow the employee who came to settle the purchase to present the box to them open.

"I want it in a closed, insulated box, please. There’s no need to take it out and show it to me again," he said, then added before the man could look toward Evelyne, "And the purchase goes under my name. I’m the buyer."

The employee nodded without objection, recorded his details and the amount due, then led them to a side room where purchases were handed over.

There, Ravian produced the money and left two employees to count it while a third stood before the stone’s box. The man kept his gloves on throughout the sealing process, and Ravian made sure the lid was properly secured before stepping forward to collect it.

The stone was no longer visible, but that did nothing to lessen his desire to discover what was inside.

Still...

’Not here.’

He needed somewhere he could control the circumstances, and time to think before doing something foolish again.

The auctioneer personally handed him a receipt. Ravian checked the amount and the item’s number, then put it away and lifted the box by its external handle, ready to leave.

Before he could go, the auctioneer spoke.

"I advise you to keep it closed until you reach the place where you intend to store it, sir."

Ravian looked at the man, then at the gloves he had yet to remove.

"That was already my intention."

With the formalities complete, they left the collection room. The corridor leading toward the entrance had grown busier; some guests carried small boxes, while others waited for their carriages or spoke to the auction house employees about having their purchases delivered.

Ravian kept the box close as they walked, careful not to let it brush against the passing guests. Whatever lay inside could wait until he had somewhere private to examine it.

Ravian had barely reached the end of the corridor when he heard a familiar voice.

"Wait... Ravian?!"

Darius stood beside Elias near one of the tables, while Malrik examined a document in his hand. Kael, their assassin, had positioned himself where he could keep the route outside in view.

They all turned at the call, then their gazes stopped on the three girls behind Ravian.

Darius opened his mouth, looked from Evelyne to Lysandra, then back at Ravian.

"How long have you all been here?"