“Going once… going twice…”
The auctioneer’s voice rang out.
“Sold for one hundred gold to Lady Vivienne and Amara of the illustrious Greenvale family!” he declared with exaggerated enthusiasm.
The twins erupted in laughter and Vivienne stood from her seat as she was holding her chin high as if she’d just conquered an empire.
“Bring her here now!” she barked.
This wasn’t customary. Slaves and items were typically returned to inventory and handed over after the auction’s conclusion, but Vivienne seemingly disagreed with such practices.
The handlers scrambled to comply, ushering the trembling girl toward her new owner. Eira’s wide, tear-streaked eyes darted between the crowd and Vivienne as she very reluctantly walked to her new owner.
I watched from the side as the contract magic took effect. Flashing symbols briefly encircled her iron collar, binding her to Vivienne.
Eira fell to her knees as if the weight of her new reality crushed her. Quiet sobs escaped her lips, they were barely audible over Vivienne’s smug chuckles.
“Don’t cry… I’ll take good care of you…” Vivienne purred as she pulled the girl up and onto her lap as though she were a prized possession and began stroking Eira’s hair. The girl flinched but remained silent, though her sniffles never ceased as her tears pooled on her maid skirt.
Vivienne locked eyes with me and her lips curled into a victorious smile. No words were spoken, but her gaze said everything: I won.
Even the way in which she placed Eira on her lap heavily mimicked how I was holding Seraphiel in mine.
I didn’t make a move, only observed the woman.
My answer to their actions might come late, but it’ll come.
The auction continued. The remaining maids were sold to nobles and rich merchants of varying status. None drew the kind of attention or tension Eira’s bidding war had. I tested the waters by bidding for some of them just to see if the twins would attack me blindly all the time, and they did the first two times, but afterward, they ceased such activities, instead deciding to play around with the frightened Eira.
It seemed they understood that should they bid for everything I did, their money would run out before the truly rare items were brought out as they’d already spent 180 gold. These normal slaves were just the starting point, after all.
At last, the final maid was brought into the spotlight.
An old woman stepped forward, with a pristine straight posture despite her age. Her gray hair was neatly tied into a low bun, and her plain yet immaculate uniform spoke of great professionalism.
“Esteemed bidders, our final offering from Lady Mariette is no ordinary slave. Clarisse is a skilled trainer of maids and household staff. Formerly in the employ of Lady Mariette herself, she has spent years turning rough diamonds into shining gems. Her wisdom and expertise are unparalleled. A true asset to any house seeking excellence in service!”
This was the woman who caught my attention as soon as the ten maids were brought to the podium.
My six maids were very good-hearted girls and women, they worked diligently and did their utmost to become good enough that they bring no shame upon their lord and savior. In Thalorind, as well as back on Earth, one’s maids were a reflection of themselves. Immaculate maids signaled power and wealth, while unruly ones spoke volumes of one’s cheapness or inability to acquire talents.
I didn’t truly care about these things, to me, it was enough to have my heart warmed up when I saw their joyous smiles after all they’d been through. However, if I wanted to become a prominent member of the ruling class, which was happening with my establishing my little settlement in the form of Miri Town and all that, I had to have excellent maids to signal my competence.
Each of six of my maids was from the humblest of backgrounds, Anna and Beatrice were potato farmers and the rest led similarly peasant-like lives beforehand. Thus far, my girls with noble backgrounds, such as Ayame, taught them – and I also suspected Lucille to have a hand in their training, though she still didn’t admit her noble lineage or her history. I only knew her to be a noble-born woman because my mommies instantly noticed it when I showed them my memories of her.
Be that as it may, noble women such as them could never hope to replace a proper veteran maid in teaching new maids. I wanted this Clarisse woman for that. I debated a bit, but after eyeing her for a while, I had a strong feeling in my mind that she wasn’t a vile person who trained kids to be sex slaves. I’ll know for sure once I speak with her.
I won’t elongate the bidding process, I got her for 2 gold. While it might seem strange for none to strongly contest my bid, the fact of the matter was that nobles already had their maids and the older ones could act as trainers for the newer ones. As for the upstarts who might not have an established servant system in their homes, they would rather just buy young maids who were already trained, like the previous eight sold women. They didn’t have the funds or patience to have maids trained.
Clarisse eyed me as the host declared my first victory of the night. She didn’t show a single semblance of emotions on her features, and after a single second, she bowed in my direction in the proper manner a lady should, after which she was escorted back.
“Bastard known as Black, you certainly have an acquired taste in women…” Vivienne giggled haughtily.
Find adventures on empire
“I didn’t buy her for that, but even if I did, it would’ve still been much less shameful than buying a literal child for one’s own pleasure.”
“Hehehe!! I like them untainted, both by men and by the world itself, is there an issue with that? The crown certainly doesn’t think so, aren’t you a noble? You should know our laws like the back of your palm.”
Another wince came from my left side where the princess sat.
Vivienne was right, the law was archaic by 21st-century Earth standards, and thus one was treated like an adult from age 15. It was a bit disgusting because even the Soul Records or the universe itself sent them a signal that most humans become adults at around 20 years of age because that’s when you can greatly slow down your physical aging by leveling up.
However, human society didn’t seem to agree.
The slaver woman must’ve waited for Eira to turn 15 before she put her up for auction, as even slaves couldn’t be sexually abused if they were children. At least so did the law say, what happened behind the closed doors of the deranged noble families was another matter entirely.
The event continued. Pleasure slaves were next on the chopping block, I bought none. I already had five official women, and my harem would be at least 10 members big if we added all the future wives I’d already decided to conquer. Honestly, instead of more women, I should buy a time manipulator artifact that will let me spend enough time with each of them. The last thing I needed was more women.
