For the first time, Penelope raised her paddle.
“Fifteen thousand gold!”
Unlike Penelope, who was excited, the nobles around her seemed indifferent.
Penelope was confident.
‘Who else would buy something so expensive and impractical but me?’
She chuckled inwardly, feeling smug.
But as if to mock her confidence, someone in the front raised their paddle.
“Twenty thousand gold.”
Penelope narrowed her eyes. The bidder was a man wearing a hooded robe.
Unwilling to back down, she raised her paddle again.
“Twenty-five thousand gold.”
The hooded man immediately followed.
“Thirty thousand gold. Any other bids?”
Penelope bit her lower lip. For someone to spend this much on a magic tome, they had to be a mage. No doubt about it.
‘I won’t lose. My precious mage is just as extraordinary.’
She raised her paddle again, and so did the hooded man. The bidding quickly escalated into an intense duel between the two.
“Fifty thousand gold. Fifty thousand gold! From now on, bids will increase by twenty thousand gold each.”
Penelope gritted her teeth and raised her paddle.
“Seventy thousand gold!”
She shot a triumphant look at the mage, who seemed to notice her glare and turned slightly to glance back at her.
The hooded man raised his paddle twice in quick succession.
“One hundred and ten thousand gold.”
He raised it twice more.
“One hundred and fifty thousand gold.”
Then, another two raises, followed by one.
“One hundred and ninety thousand, two hundred and ten thousand gold! Two hundred and ten thousand gold!”
The hooded man crossed his arms and looked back at Penelope smugly, as if daring her to keep going. His confident attitude irritated her to no end.
But then, something about the glimpse of his face beneath the hood struck her as strangely familiar.
Penelope gasped quietly.
‘It couldn’t be...’
“The magic tome by Ino is sold for a final bid of two hundred and ten thousand gold!” the auctioneer announced, banging his gavel.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Startled, Penelope snapped out of her thoughts. While she had been distracted by the hooded man, the auction had concluded, and the tome had been sold.
The auctioneer wiped the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief and announced, “We’ll now take a one-hour break before resuming the auction this afternoon.”
Penelope sat there in a daze, watching as the attendants carried the magic tome away.
‘That was supposed to be Ahwin’s gift...’
It felt as if the gift had just been stolen—by none other than Ahwin himself.
The hooded man—Ahwin—suddenly stood up from his seat and dashed off toward the storage room where the auctioned items were kept. His overly cheerful stride was unmistakable.
‘Seriously, he has absolutely no sense!’
***
It might have been a sudden and irrational thought, but Penelope couldn’t shake the feeling that something had been stolen from her.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.
‘How ridiculous. Losing Ahwin’s gift to Ahwin himself.’
Even though the outcome wasn’t necessarily bad, she still felt a sting of injustice. Now she had to rack her brain all over again to figure out what to give him as a gift.
"What a mess. And it was my first auction, too."
"You must be so disappointed, Baroness. I hope you succeed in the next auction!" Emily offered her heartfelt encouragement.
Penelope quickly regained her composure and adjusted her expression.
"Thank you. Your kind words really lift my spirits."
Emily, sensing an opportunity, glanced at Penelope and cautiously asked, "If I may ask, why were you bidding on the magic tome?"
"Oh, that? I was considering giving it as a gift to someone I know. But it’s fine now. There’s no need for me to win it anymore."
"I see..."
Seemingly at a loss for words, Emily glanced around before standing up.
"Oh, look! There’s food over there. I was getting hungry anyway. I’ll go grab some for us."
Emily quickly made her way to the table where the food was displayed.
Now, it was just Penelope and Yvette at the table.
"..."
Penelope glanced at Yvette, who was sitting silently with her gaze lowered.
‘Lady Corindel has always been reserved since the first time we met. It’s hard to tell what she’s thinking.’
Unlike Emily, whose fondness for Penelope was apparent, Yvette’s thoughts were a mystery. Her porcelain complexion, deep green eyes, and luscious red hair gave her a strikingly classic and elegant beauty. Yet, when she kept her face expressionless and lips sealed, she seemed even more aloof.
At that moment, Yvette broke the silence.
"I decided to come today... just in case. I thought you might attend."
"Is that so? What an honor," Penelope replied, though her heart skipped a beat.
‘Why does that sound like flirting?’
Feeling slightly unsettled, Penelope stared at Yvette, who seemed to avoid her gaze. Her cheeks, Penelope noted, appeared slightly flushed—perhaps a trick of the light.
"I didn’t realize you were interested in antique auctions," Yvette said softly.
"I’m not, really. I came because others were attending."
"Then I must be taking up your time. Is there someone you’d like to meet? If it’s someone I know, I could introduce you," Yvette said, her words quick and hushed before she lowered her head again.
Penelope blinked, startled.
‘Introducing me to another noble? That’s not something an unmarried young lady like Yvette should offer to do.’
It was improper for an unmarried noblewoman to arrange introductions for someone else, especially for a married or betrothed individual. Knowing this, Penelope found herself at a loss for words and simply stared at Yvette.
By now, Yvette was nervously fiddling with her dress, twisting the fabric in her hands.
"Lady Corindel, you’ll ruin your dress," Penelope pointed out.
"Call me Yvette! I’d be grateful if you could call me that..." Yvette suddenly blurted out, her voice initially loud but trailing off as she finished. Her face was now completely red.
Penelope squinted slightly, watching as Yvette’s eyes darted around. She was clearly either overly excited or incredibly nervous.
‘She’s embarrassed, isn’t she?’
It was strange to see Yvette, who always appeared composed and confident around other noblewomen, looking so flustered. Perhaps she hadn’t had many chances to grow close to her peers.
Smiling softly, Penelope said, "Alright, Yvette. You can call me Penelope in return."
"I wouldn’t dare..."
"Pardon?"
"I mean, I’ll call you Lady Penelope," Yvette stammered before glancing up at Penelope and clearing her throat awkwardly.
Penelope fought the urge to laugh.
‘She’s unexpectedly adorable.’
"What’s so funny?" Emily suddenly asked, having returned to the table. Behind her, a servant carried a tray of food.
Yvette smiled shyly. "We just agreed to call each other by our first names."
"Really? Then me too! Please call me Emily, Baroness!"
"Of course, Emily. You can call me Penelope," Penelope replied.
Emily’s face lit up like the moon as she turned to Yvette, who nodded enthusiastically. The two shared a meaningful look, one Penelope felt left out of.
‘What is this? I want in on this too.’
Penelope couldn’t help but feel like she’d made some delightfully peculiar new friends.
"Shall we try some of the food I brought?" Emily asked.
"Let’s," Penelope agreed.
The three women shared the food amicably. It seemed Rianel had gone to great lengths, as the dishes were all exceptionally flavorful.
By the time most of the plates were empty, something unexpected happened. Yvette suddenly froze and then stood up, her face pale as if she’d just encountered a bear on a mountain trail.
"I... I should get going."
"Already? The afternoon auction hasn’t started yet," Penelope pointed out.
"I just remembered I have an appointment. I’ll see you next time."
Yvette blurted out a clumsy excuse and turned to leave. However, she didn’t make it far.
"Yvette, there you are. Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?"
"...Madam."
"I sent you an invitation, but when you didn’t show up, I was worried something had happened," said a woman in a warm yet commanding tone.
Yvette lowered her gaze, clutching her hands tightly. Her complexion turned ghostly pale, making it clear she had wanted to avoid this woman at all costs.
‘Who is that?’