There were no acquaintances of Xia De at this banquet, so he did not linger, carrying his wine glass directly into the restaurant on the second floor.
This was the larger auction hall for tonight's charity auction. Ten items were auctioned per session, with a 15-minute break between each session, and it was currently the break time after a session had concluded. As soon as Xia De entered the door, a middle-aged woman in a lady's clerical uniform came up to him:
"Are you Mr. Hamilton, representing Miss Jialinna for the next auction?"
She asked softly. Xia De nodded, knowing that this ordinary person in front of him was also arranged here in advance by Miss Jialinna. The Duchess was worried that Xia De, having never participated in such an auction, might encounter some mishap.
The auction process was simple: guests booked a specific session in advance, and upon arriving at the restaurant on time, they would receive a wooden number plate. Once the auction began, they could bid using the number plate. Before the auction started, there was time to view the ten items for that session.
"That person..."
The woman said softly as Xia De took the number plate from her hand.
"Your three o'clock direction, black formal wear, gold buttons, a small mustache, and wearing a black top hat."
She lowered her voice, confirmed no one was around, and then whispered a reminder:
"The metamorphosis ring is on his finger."
Xia De nodded, then naturally separated from the woman. He looked down at his number plate; it was even varnished, looking like a tool borrowed from an auction house.
The man standing by the wall, looking at the oil painting at his three o'clock direction, was tonight's target. His true name was Steve Ivent, and his true identity was a Cultists who believed in the Blood Feast Lord. The Ring of Metamorphosis was unexpectedly stolen during its transfer by the Peace Church, and the one who stole the metamorphosis ring was naturally an undercover agent planted by the church among the Cultists.
The metamorphosis ring itself was not kept by the respectable undercover Mr., but was prepared by the Cultists to be returned to the Mercury Blood. Returning such an important relic would naturally not happen in a dangerous setting like today, so the metamorphosis ring was kept by the cult's Ring術士, Steve Ivent.
He was actually a woman, and had been wanted by the Orthodox Church for many years. She used the power of the metamorphosis ring to transform into a man to appear in public.
However, the Witches, burdened by curses, had an unexpected sensitivity to gender. Miss Jialinna easily determined who held the metamorphosis ring. According to her:
"When a male uses the metamorphosis ring to become a woman, it still gives me a very disgusted feeling. And when a female uses the metamorphosis ring to become a male, the feeling of disgust still exists. The former is like seeing a rotten corpse, the latter is like seeing rotten excrement. The disguise of the Ring of Metamorphosis is useless in front of me."
Therefore, it wasn't that Miss Jialinna could steal intelligence from within the Cultists; it was purely the use of the Ring of Metamorphosis that allowed her to know who the target was.
Xia De looked around, then took the number plate and went to the floor-to-ceiling window of the banquet hall to examine the exhibits for the next auction. His real intention was to approach Steve Ivent.
Of course, Xia De would not rashly strike up a conversation with a stranger. Seeing that the target was standing next to the third auction item, he first walked to the first auction item, pretending to examine it.
The first item in the next session was a dark red long dress hanging on a wooden stand. Although the dress itself was pretty, and the jeweled buttons and decorations were tempting, the dress's age was older than Xia De's current body. This was a formal gown worn by the queen of the previous generation. She had worn this dress to attend a dinner on April 3, 1819, common era, with the then King of Delarion, and the king's speech at that dinner was considered the beginning of the 30-year full-scale war between the two major human kingdoms of the Old Continent.
This dress probably had some historical value, but Xia De couldn't figure out how the starting price of 80 pounds was determined.
Just as a Noblewoman also came to examine the dress, he turned to look at the second auction item.
The second auction item was a handwritten old book, placed in a glass cabinet by the window. The title, "Delarion Ancient Fairy Tales Collection," was written in cursive letters on the cover, but due to its age, no matter how carefully preserved, the ink had faded considerably.
According to the brief introduction posted on the glass cabinet, this book was 60 years old and was the childhood reading material of Duke Maihar Maupassant, who lived half a century ago. For people in 1863, it was an old book in very good condition.
At that time, the Maupassant family still held the title of Duke, and thus were very wealthy. The Writer of the handwritten book was a famous Writer of that era, and he left behind a collection of essays, "summer night collection," which is still very famous today. Miss Louisa's award-winning work, "Midsummer Night's Wish," was reportedly inspired by this collection of essays.
"Starting price 30 pounds, I knew that all the items in this auction would be overbid."
Xia De said this deliberately, his voice neither too loud nor too soft, but ensuring that Mr. Ivent, standing nearby, could hear him.
After looking at the old book, he then looked at the third auction item. It was an oil painting hanging on the wall, and the colors of the paint were so vibrant that they were annoying. This painting was called "Harvest Field," depicting autumn rice fields with gold, yellow, and red.
The painter had put a considerable amount of emotion into the painting, so much so that when Xia De glanced at it, he immediately felt a chilling sensation from the mad colors, yet he couldn't explain the origin of this feeling.
"This is probably the charm of art."
Xia De said, glancing at the side. Mr. Ivent was focused on the painting and did not speak, so Xia De looked at the tag with the starting price:
"Tsk, tsk, 160 pounds."
"This price, strictly speaking, is not high."
The middle-aged "man" finally spoke. He squinted at the painting on the wall, his expression somewhat intoxicated:
"An artist's thoughts can be conveyed through their work, and The Writer who painted this painting perfectly expressed their anxiety, unease, and panic using warm tones rather than cool tones, which is absolutely a groundbreaking achievement. Although this painting only sold for 174 pounds at the Biford Auction House five years ago, its artistic value is much higher than those nonsensical abstract paintings. (Note)"
Fortunately, the people present were mostly wealthy individuals who didn't understand art very well. If such words were spoken in an art academy or a museum, it would have caused an uproar long ago.
"So, sir, you have a deep study of oil paintings?"
Xia De asked, seizing the opportunity. Ivent nodded. Although he was still looking at the oil painting, he had already started a conversation with Xia De:
"I am not a Delarion native. In my hometown, I actually worked in art collection and preservation."
This profession in this world seemed to easily cultivate lunatics and Cultists, people with mental abnormalities, belonging to an alternative "high-risk profession."