Chapter 453 - 252: Stepping Up

"Fifty thousand pounds?"

Pound let out an involuntary gasp, and Windsor’s hand, which was gripping his arm, tightened.

Hilde maintained his usual humorless smile. "Indeed, fifty thousand pounds, Mr. Pound. But I imagine that’s hardly an issue for an Old Race of the Constantine Family. After all, two descendants of your clan have been burning bright on the Inner Side lately... Oh, by the way, Mr. Pound, will you be paying in British Pounds, USD, or Gold?"

’This bastard is trying to fleece me!’ Pound could see that Hilde and his companions were acting with impunity. He had been completely cornered by their words.

But seeing the growing crowd of onlookers, including many renowned young ladies from various Old Blood Clans, he knew that losing his own face would be a small matter, but losing the prestige of the Constantine Clan would be a grave one.

Besides... his gaze fell upon the hostess. The woman in the red dress had her head bowed, her body trembling. ’Is she scared?’

His heart softened, then hardened like iron. He cleared his throat, shot his sister Windsor a reassuring look, and said, feigning composure:

"Fifty thousand pounds just because you say so? I need to see the invoice for your suit. Who knows if you’re not just trying to extort me!"

"Here’s the invoice." The young master next to Hilde produced it. "We just picked it up on the way to the auction. In fact, Mr. Pound, we’ve even rounded the amount down a bit. After all, I figured a famous and extravagant figure of the Inner Side like yourself wouldn’t sweat a few hundred pounds."

"Am I right, Mr. Pound?" The last part of his sentence rose in pitch, jolting Pound from his daze.

On the Inner Side, an Alchemist once conducted an experiment that was neither scientific nor entirely fantastical.

It sought to determine how the nervous systems and bodies of men and women react under immense pressure, and what the main differences were.

The final results, aside from commonalities like rapid breathing and accelerated heart rate, showed that the main distinction was that women tended to shed "little pearls" when pressure mounted.

Men, on the other hand, were prone to breaking out in a cold sweat.

Pound was beginning to break out in a cold sweat. He didn’t have that kind of money. Frankly, he never would have imagined a suit worn by these descendants of the Old Blood could be so expensive... ’Has the Constantine Clan truly fallen this far?’

He glanced at his sister for help. Windsor had already let go of his coattails, and her face, once as delicate as a flower, had gone pale.

She sent a message to Pound with her Spiritual Power: "Brother... I told you that you shouldn’t have stepped forward... Why?"

Pound thought ’I’m sorry,’ and replied aloud, "It’s only fifty thousand pounds, Windsor. Go to my carriage and bring me the Swiss Bank Card I left there."

He turned to Hilde and explained, "You know how it is. I prefer to use a card for transfers; I don’t carry much cash."

Hilde indicated his understanding.

’If I remember correctly, my brother Pound’s credit card does have an overdraft limit of one hundred thousand US Dollars.’

Although she desperately wanted to ask her brother, Pound, if it was really worth going this far for a woman he’d never met, Windsor was still obedient. She gathered her skirts and was about to run back to their rented Griffin Carriage when she was stopped by a Guard at the main entrance, who informed her that the doors could not be opened without an order from the auction’s upper management.

Windsor questioned him for a moment, even playing up her status as an Old Race of the Constantine Clan, but it was no use.

When she asked why the area around the auction house was completely sealed off, the reply was that he was not authorized to disclose that information.

In the end, Windsor could only return helplessly to the auction hall, hesitating at the edge of the encircling crowd.

Fifty thousand pounds... Their living expenses for a whole month were only five or six thousand pounds, and that had to cover rent in Edinburgh and their expenses as Wizards...

Windsor subconsciously bit her lip. Her slender, fair fingers were clenched together, her knuckles white.

She knew perfectly well that the three million pounds her brother Pound had been given to represent the clan at this auction was completely spent. Even if there was a little left, it would be no more than several thousand pounds.

What he had left was probably just his living expenses for next month—no, he might not even have that. Her brother Pound had always been a spendthrift, often taking on odd jobs as an Intern Wizard from the London Tower to earn extra cash when he ran out of money. Afraid of losing face for the Constantine Clan, he always acted arrogant to the point of hubris in public.

For instance, the reason she and her brother Pound were the ones who so often attended banquets on behalf of the Constantine Family was simply because their other siblings, aware of the Constantine Family’s reputation and status on the Inner Side, didn’t want to attend and be needlessly snubbed.

For each banquet, the clan would approve funds for reimbursement. Aside from necessary expenses like an Attendant and a Griffin Carriage, Pound would often manage to skim a little off the top.

But it was just a drop in the bucket, not nearly enough to pay off a huge sum like fifty thousand pounds on short notice.

Windsor touched her Shelter Stone Necklace. Though she had some savings from her usually frugal lifestyle, she had been setting that money aside to hire an Alchemist to upgrade her Magic Staff...

"Miss Windsor, your brother seems to be a bit short on cash... As his sister, shouldn’t you be supporting him? Or is it that the two of you simply can’t come up with that much money at all?"

A somewhat caustic female voice came from beside her. Windsor turned her head and saw Miss Claire and her retinue.

Claire was fanning herself with a feathered fan, looking immensely pleased with herself. For some reason, these fans—once popular only during the Renaissance—had recently come back into fashion among the daughters of renowned nobles, wealthy merchants, and magnates on the Inner Side.