"Five hundred gold coins!" Pichu shouted, raising his hand. He had the affable, prosperous look of a born merchant, but his bid instantly crushed the spirits of the many wine-lovers who had wanted to bid. This direct two-hundred-gold jump was a clear signal that he wouldn't let anyone else compete.
"Interesting." Lucas raised an eyebrow. A price of five hundred gold coins for ten bottles... the value was clearly in the transparent glass bottles. He was definitely after the glazed crystal bottles. If it were just the wine, selling one bottle for twenty gold coins would already be remarkable. The remaining three hundred gold coins of the bid were purely the price for the bottles.
After waiting a moment and seeing no other bids, Dahlia had no choice but to strike the wooden gavel. "Five hundred gold coins, going once... going twice... sold! Congratulations again to this gentleman, for once again acquiring a desirable auction item."
Dahlia took a sip of water. Her palms were sweating. After all, she was responsible for auctioning so many valuable items. Her eyes glanced toward Lord Lucas, and she felt genuinely moved by the amount of trust he had placed in her.
"Next is the fourth auction item: a set of exquisite ceramic tableware... The starting bid is twenty gold coins."
"The fine ceramic tableware, sold for forty-two gold coins!"
"..."
"The twelfth auction item is a tea of which only 1.1 pounds is produced per year. Lord Lucas has provided 0.5 pounds of this tea for auction. The starting bid: ten gold coins!"
"..."
In the end, the 0.5 pound of tea was sold for twenty-five gold coins. The buyer was, once again, Pichu. He had also visited the teahouse yesterday, had taken a great liking to the tea, and had even purchased a top-tier tea tray for twenty gold coins.
"The thirteenth auction item. Since we have tea, we must, of course, have a tea set! This one is made entirely of ceramic." Dahlia held up a teacup and continued, "This entire set—the cups, the teapot, and all matching pieces—was fired together in the same kiln. In other words, this is the only tea set of its kind in the world. There is no second, identical set."
"What's the price!" Pichu shouted, his eyes gleaming. He had become completely obsessed with this tea. After drinking it yesterday, he had felt incredibly refreshed; that heavy, greasy feeling was gone, his chest felt lighter, and even his bowel movements had become smoother.
"The starting bid is fifty gold coins," Dahlia replied with a faint smile.
"One hundred gold coins!" Pichu shouted without a moment's hesitation.
"One hundred and ten gold coins!" Scott stood up and shouted. He also coveted the tea set, but he intended to present it to the Fourth Prince.
"One hundred and twenty gold coins!" Raymond, not to be outdone, added ten gold coins. His thoughts were the same as Scott's; he wanted to present it to the First Prince.
"One hundred and fifty gold coins!" Patrick raised his hand and shouted. He had, of course, realized what the other two were planning.
Scott: "One hundred and sixty gold coins!"
Raymond: "One hundred and seventy gold coins!"
"Two hundred gold coins!" Patrick shot the other two a disdainful glance.
"Two hundred and thirty gold coins!" Scott, clearly provoked, immediately shot back.
"Two hundred and fifty gold coins!" Raymond glared.
"Three hundred gold coins!" Patrick's expression turned grave as he shouted; this price was making even him nervous.
"Sigh..." Pichu didn't bid again. He sat back down in silence. He wasn't concerned about the three viscounts themselves, but he was wary of the princes backing them.
"Three hundred and ten gold coins." Scott's expression was calm. He had brought his entire fortune with him, and besides, Kevin could lend him more. Therefore, he wasn't the least bit intimidated.
"Three hundred and twenty gold coins!" Raymond shouted, gritting his teeth. A cold sweat broke out on his forehead; this price was his absolute limit. As for the funds the First Prince had given him, he didn't dare touch them—that money was earmarked for the perfume recipe.
"Three hundred and fifty gold coins! If you bid again, it's yours!" Patrick's expression was ugly. He had the same concern as Raymond: he could not, under any circumstances, touch the funds given to him by the Second Prince.
"Three hundred and fifty-one gold coins." Scott tilted his head back, sweeping an arrogant and contemptuous gaze over Raymond and Patrick.
"Hmph!" Patrick, his face dark, turned his head away. He had lost face today.
"Dammit." Raymond gritted his teeth in frustration. If he hadn't bought that pearl earlier, he wouldn't be short of funds now.
"Three hundred and fifty-one gold coins, going once... going twice... sold!" Dahlia barely suppressed her laughter as she brought the gavel down. She gave the smug-looking Scott an odd glance. What was there to be so proud of, buying a tea set at such an exorbitant price?
In this round of competitive bidding, the biggest winner was, of course, Lucas. Didn't you see the fox-eared girl smiling slyly?
"Master, we made a killing on that one," Annie giggled, covering her mouth.
That tea set was worth one hundred gold coins at most. But thanks to the contest of pride between Raymond, Scott, and Patrick, it sold for several times its value. It was an absolute windfall.
"They weren't buying it for themselves," Lucas pointed out. He had seen it clearly. "The three of them were only competing to curry favor with their masters. There's no way they'd be willing to spend three hundred and fifty-one gold coins on a tea set for their own use."
"Oh? So it was to suck up to them." Annie understood immediately. She wrinkled her nose and pouted, "Still, that's really stupid."
"Heehee..." Elisa giggled, covering her mouth. The fox-eared girl's antics were amusing.
"Elisa, get ready. It will be your turn to go up soon. This time, we'll take care of that problem of yours," Lucas said, turning his head to the elf.
"Ah?" Elisa was stunned for a moment. Realizing what he meant, her face turned serious and she nodded. "I will not disappoint you, Lord Lucas."
"Don't be nervous. This is just a test. If it doesn't work, I have other methods," Lucas said gently. The next step was to resolve the matter of the bounty on the elf's head, a plan he had spent a long time thinking about. Originally, he had wanted to just trap and kill all the bounty hunters. But he realized that plan was filled with too many uncertainties, so he added this preliminary step to test the waters first. This way was safer.
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