The Grand Auction had turned into a graveyard.
What began as excitement slowly died into stunned silence as lot after lot was snatched away at absurdly inflated prices.
Small merchants who had scraped together their life savings, noble families hoping to secure a better future for their children — all of them watched their dreams crushed in real time.
Every price was doubled, then tripled.
Kael showed no mercy.
Some desperate merchants even stood up and pleaded openly.
“Your Highness, please… that ring was meant for my daughter’s wedding!”
“Prince Kael, have pity — we cannot match these prices!”
Kael simply smiled softly and raised the bid again.
In the royal box, Aurora’s face burned with humiliation.
Every time Kael’s calm voice echoed through the hall, it felt like a fresh slap across her cheek.
He didn’t even spare the items clearly designed for women.
When a delicate starlight tiara appeared, he immediately bid an outrageous sum and turned to her with that innocent smile.
“This one is for you, dear Cousin.”
Aurora wanted the ground to swallow her whole.
The more eyes turned upward toward their box, the smaller she felt.
She could practically hear the empire laughing at her tomorrow.
Kael leaned back in his seat with deep satisfaction.
Many assumed he was simply mocking everyone with the princess’s wealth.
Only he knew the truth.
Let them remember my name.
He wasn’t just buying treasures — he was engraving himself into their memories.
A single high bid could be forgotten, but this… this reckless, shameless spending spree would haunt every merchant and noble present for years.
Whenever they recalled this auction, they would remember the “trash prince” who turned their hopes to dust.
And he was testing Aurora.
He wanted to see exactly when the proud Crown Princess would finally snap in public.
Most importantly, he was sowing seeds of resentment toward the royal family.
Every overpriced loss created a new quiet enemy who would one day be useful.
The auction continued.
Just as the crowd assumed Kael would claim the next item — a rare defensive amulet — a resentful merchant in the main hall finally lost control and shouted a counter-bid.
“Three hundred and fifty thousand!”
The price had already tripled the item’s true value.
The merchant’s plan was obvious: force the prince to overpay even more and then mock him publicly for being an idiot.
But no counter-bid came from the royal box.
Silence.
The merchant’s eyes gleamed with triumph as he turned around, expecting Kael to raise again.
The succubus host began the countdown with her melodic voice.
“Three hundred and fifty thousand going once…”
The merchant’s smile faltered.
“Going twice…”
Realization hit him like a hammer.
He had been played.
“Wait! Stop!” he shouted desperately.
“I don’t need it! I withdraw my bid!”
But the succubus’s gavel came down with a crisp, final crack.
“Sold to Lord Meric of House Thorne for three hundred and fifty thousand gold crowns!”
The merchant’s face turned deathly pale.
From the royal box, Kael’s laughter rang out — loud, clear, and unmistakably satisfied.
It carried across the entire hall, making dozens of heads turn upward in shock.
In the common seating area, Astrid leaned closer to Elarion, her voice barely above a whisper.
“Wow… isn’t Aurora indulging her brother a little too much?”
His fists remained clenched on his knees as he listened to the murmurs spreading through the lower noble circles around them.
“It seems the rumors about the prince were not accurate, huh…” one viscount muttered to his companion.
“I mean, look at the princess. She didn’t even stop him once.”
“Do you think the Emperor is considering marrying the princess to the prince? The hero may be powerful, but he’s still not of the Vossarian bloodline, right?”
The whispers grew bolder with every item Kael claimed.
Unlike the powerful dukes and marquesses tucked away in their private boxes, the lower nobles sat close enough that Elarion could hear every word clearly.
Each comment landed like a blade.
Elarion sat motionless in the common seats, hood pulled low, every muscle in his body locked tight.
Astrid’s hand on his still trembled slightly from the effort of holding him back, but he barely felt it.
The whispers around him cut deeper than any blade he had ever faced.
Each word landed like a hammer on his chest.
Marry her to Kael?
The thought alone made his stomach churn violently.
Aurora — his promised wife, the woman he had loved since he was a boy watching her carriage pass through the streets — was now being openly discussed as if she belonged to that worthless, mana-less trash.
His golden aura flickered dangerously under his skin, threatening to burst free.
He forced it down, teeth grinding together until his jaw ached.
This is my fault.
The curse.
The purification.
The goddess’s cruel decree.
He had allowed Aurora to walk into this nightmare because he was too weak to protect her himself.
Every time Kael’s calm voice rang out from the royal box, claiming another item at an insane price, it felt like a public declaration: I own her now.
She’s paying for my whims while the whole empire watches.
Elarion’s eyes burned as he stared up at the royal box.
Why aren’t you stopping him, Aurora?
The question tore at him.
Do you really have no choice… or have you started to accept this?
Jealousy, hot and ugly, flooded his veins.
He remembered the way she had looked at him that morning in the gown — shy, hopeful, asking if she looked beautiful.
Now that same gown was being paraded next to the man who had taken her purity.
The man who was currently spending what seemed to be her personal fortune like it was nothing.
She told me it was just a talk… just a quick conversation.
The lie — or the half-truth — burned worse than the curse itself.
He hated how powerless he felt.
He was the chosen hero of the Goddess, the one who had slain demon lords and saved countless lives.
Yet here he sat, hidden like a thief, watching the woman he loved be slowly dismantled in front of the entire empire’s elite.
And the worst part?
Deep down, a small, treacherous voice whispered: Maybe they’re right.
Maybe the Emperor really is considering Kael.
At least he has the bloodline.
Elarion squeezed his eyes shut, breathing hard through his nose.
No.
I won’t let that happen.
I will break this curse.
I will get stronger.
And when I do…
His fists trembled.
…I will make sure Kael Vossarian never touches her again.
Astrid’s hand tightened on his.
“Elarion… breathe.”
He exhaled shakily, forcing the golden sparks back under his skin.
But the fire in his chest refused to die.
“Well, well! Prince Kael!” The young duke’s son stood at the railing, a mocking grin on his face.
“Congratulations on your generous spending today! Such bold taste! But tell me — can you keep this up with the top ten lots still to come? Or will the princess finally put a leash on her little brother?”
Laughter erupted from several other top noble boxes.
Powerful voices joined in, dripping with taunt.
“Indeed, Prince. The real treasures haven’t even appeared yet.”
“Don’t disappoint us now after such a strong start!”
“Let’s see if the Vossarian blood still runs thin after all.”
Back in the royal box, Kael turned to Aurora with genuine curiosity.
“What are the top ten items?”
Aurora’s temper finally cracked.
“You fool… did you really think a Grand Auction like this only sells mediocre items worth a few hundred thousand?!”
Diana placed a gentle hand on Kael’s arm and leaned in closer, her voice soft and explanatory.
“Don’t be so harsh, Aurora. Since the prince has never participated before, it’s only natural that he doesn’t know.”
She smiled at Kael.
“We keep the best for last, my Prince. The top ten are the rarest and most costly lots of the entire auction. The minimum starting price for each is one million gold crowns.”
Kael let out a low whistle.
“A million gold coins…” He turned to Aurora with that same soft, innocent smile.
“It won’t be a problem for you, right, cousin? What is a million gold to the Crown Princess of Grandora?”
The crystal glass in Aurora’s hand shattered with a sharp crack.
Wine spilled across the table as she glared at him.
“You bastard… do you think I have direct access to the imperial treasury or something?!”
Diana’s purple eyes narrowed slightly.
As I suspected… this is coming from Aurora’s personal wealth.
She glanced at Kael again.
There’s more to this than it seems.
I must inform Father immediately.
Aurora’s voice dropped to a dangerous whisper.
“Only two. You get two items from the top ten. Any more than that and I swear I will make a scene right here in front of the entire empire.”
Kael simply smiled and turned his gaze back toward the stage, his voice low enough for only Aurora to hear.
“I wonder if my future brother-in-law has already heard about our little date…”
The succubus host raised her hands with theatrical grace, her crimson tail curling elegantly behind her as a new pedestal rose from the stage floor in a swirl of golden light.
“Honored guests,” she announced, her voice like velvet and honey, “we now begin the Top Ten — the true treasures of this Grand Auction. For the first of these legendary items…”
A breathtaking crown floated above the pedestal, shimmering as if it had captured fragments of the night sky itself.
The Starweaver’s Diadem was forged from pure crystallized starlight and threads of divine platinum.
Countless tiny living stars orbited a central radiant gem that pulsed with soft, ethereal light.
It was said to dramatically enhance the wearer’s natural beauty and presence to an almost divine level, grant masterful control over starlight mana, and create powerful defensive barriers capable of withstanding even Supreme-rank attacks.
The hall fell into a collective hush for a single heartbeat… then exploded.
Bidding erupted like wildfire.
“One million two hundred thousand!” a powerful merchant lord roared from a VIP box.
“Two million!” countered a duke’s representative instantly.
“Two million five hundred thousand!” shouted another noble from the opposite side.
The price skyrocketed at a dizzying pace.
Voices overlapped in a frenzy as the empire’s wealthiest and most influential bidders fought viciously for the piece.
Within seconds, the bids had already climbed past four million gold crowns, far exceeding what most had anticipated for even the opening lot of the Top Ten.
Kael, who had leaned forward with parted lips, ready to speak, slowly closed his mouth.
His violet eyes narrowed with quiet interest as he watched the chaos unfold below.
In the royal box, Diana’s smile widened with clear satisfaction.
Aurora, however, sat frozen, her face pale.
Every frantic bid felt like another public reminder of how deeply Kael had already dragged her name into this spectacle.
The succubus host simply smiled serenely, letting the frenzy build for a few more moments before raising her hand to guide the next round of bidding.