Chapter 24: Chapter 24: “Golden Lion Auction House” and “Ancient Bronze Key” (Please Continue Reading)
Translator: 549690339
“It wouldn’t hurt to broaden your horizons. This time, the auction is being hosted by Elm, and William will be going with you.”
Earl Arthur wasn’t surprised by Milton Cheney’s choice.
He knew his youngest son had been cooped up in the estate for a while now.
In Earl Arthur’s eyes, there was a noticeable change in Vernon over the past few months.
It seemed he had emerged from his mother’s death, transforming into a restless individual at heart.
Thinking of Milton’s mother, his own wife, Earl Arthur’s eyes became complex.
“Father, does our family host an auction every year?”
Milton asked. The memory of his predecessor had no recollection of any auctions.
“Large auctions aren’t held yearly, so it’s natural for you not to know if you don’t usually pay attention to these things.
The Golden Lion Auction House holds small auctions every month. Large ones generally occur every three years; this year it’s earlier.”
Earl Arthur spoke in response to Milton’s question.
As for the reason for the auction’s advancement, he did not say, and Milton did not ask.
“Father, is there a list of the lots for this auction? I’d like to see it in advance.’ “Yes, there is. Elm is in charge of that, you can ask him if you’re interested.”
Hearing Milton’s enquiry, Earl Arthur replied nonchalantly.
Ten days passed in a blink.
On the final day before the auction, Milton and William arrived at the Golden Lion Auction House, located within the Far East Territory.
The Golden Lion Auction House was a large venue owned by the Golden Lion Family.
The architectural style of the auction house was similar to the European medieval style Milton had seen in his previous life.
The characteristic of these buildings was their magnificent grandeur, with large scale lavish decorations.
From the outside, the auction house looked like a large, covered cage.
The entire auction house was three stories high, all built from marble and granite, giving off a primitive aura.
The exterior walls were embellished with intricate carvings and reliefs, manifesting its high cost even from a distance.
Now, Milton was privy to the former glory of the Golden Lion Family.
It seemed like the current Golden Lion Family couldn’t afford such an establishment on its own.
Upon entering the auction house,
compared to the external splendor, the interior was not only uncontained but seemed even more luxurious.
The inner design of the auction house was extremely intricate, filled with numerous carvings and murals, and the ceiling was adorned with highly decorative chandeliers.
Large, primitive chandeliers hung from the high ceiling.
There was a large auction podium in the center of the first floor.
There were numerous seats around the podium for people to sit during the auction.
The grand auction was held on the first floor of the auction house.
As for the second and third floors, there were stages, concert halls, art galleries, and small private rooms.
This was a place for those attending the auction to admire, learn, and rest.
The Golden Lion Auction House could be said to be a perfect fusion of architecture, art, and culture.
Even Milton couldn’t find a fault with it.
In one of the small private rooms on the second floor, Elm handed Milton a list from his hand.
“Young Master, this is the list of auction lots you requested; all of this auction’s lots are listed.”
Seeing Milton accept the list and begin to peruse it carefully, Elm didn’t intend to disturb him, and instead moved to one side to chat softly with William.
Meanwhile, Milton was fully engrossed in the list of auction items.
He scrutinized each auction item one by one, ensuring he didn’t overlook anything.
“Found it!”
Milton’s hope was not in vain; one of the items on the list was what he was looking for.
[Lot No. 42: Ancient Bronze Key]
[Introduction: Of unknown age and antiquity, the design and craftsmanship are very sophisticated, with unknown text and patterns, it has considerable collection value
[Estimated Price: 500 gold coins or possible unsold.]
“Yes, this is the ancient bronze key.”
After seeing this description, Milton Cheney was certain that this was the ancient bronze key he was looking for.
After all, there were no other keys on this list.
Based solely on the text description, this bronze key does not seem special, at most, it could be considered an artistic item of a little collection value.
And its estimated value isn’t high either; compared to other lots on this list, it’s much less significant.
There is even a possibility that it might go unsold, it looks like it’s just something the Golden Lion family threw in to round off their number of auction items.
But having been through two simulated searches, Milton Cheney knows this key is the target of the Black Robe Seekers’ Club.
After spotting the item he was looking for, Milton Cheney did not hesitate and quietly called Elm over:
“Mr. Elm, I’m quite interested in this ancient bronze key, could we cancel the auction and keep it direct?”
Upon hearing Cheney’s words, Elm was a bit surprised.
However, he still took the list from Cheney’s hands and looked at lot number
It didn’t seem to be anything precious or special.
Although a bit perplexed as to why Cheney was interested in this key, he didn’t ask further.
As the second son of the Golden Lion Family, Cheney had this kind of privilege.
He wouldn’t refuse Cheney even if he wanted to withdraw multiple lots finally as all the items listed belonged to the Golden Lion family.
So Elm replied:
“No problem, Young Master. I will inform the auctioneer to withdraw this lot for you. Actually, you could just bid on it during the auction”
Elm thought that since it was Cheney’s first time attending the family’s auction, he might enjoy the experience of bidding so he casually mentioned it.
“No need for that, Mr. Elm. By the way, will the lot list be released before the auction begins?
Cheney naturally refused.
Of course, if he directly bid it would be just the same as in the simulation.
“No, the items are kept confidential throughout the whole process. Only I have this list before the auction begins. Young Master, you are the only exception.
As sometimes we add or withdraw items before the auction begins, so the list is not fixed.
Just like this time, Young Master, when you requested to withdraw a lot. Later, before the auction begins, we will temporarily add another one.”
Elm began to explain to Cheney.
Cheney nodded after hearing it.
It was then that Elm explained that Cheney realised that the lot list was not released in advance.
So it really was a coincidence? The members of the Black Robe Seekers’ Club attended this auction, and then accidentally found the item they had always been looking for at the auction?
This is too much of a coincidence.
But it doesn’t make sense if Elm betrayed the Golden Lion family and leaked the list in advance.
Not to mention Earl Arthur’s absolute trust in Elm.
Even if Elm did betray them and wanted to get this ancient bronze key, it shouldn’t be difficult.
Because the auction itself was managed by Elm, so it would be too easy to privately withdraw a lot.
Moreover, when Cheney told Elm he wanted to keep the ancient bronze key, he was actually paying attention to Elm’s reaction.
Elm’s reaction wasn’t that of someone who knew the special significance of the key.
After a while, a guard handed a box over to Elm and then Elm handed the box to Cheney.
When Cheney opened the wooden box, inside was an ancient, bronze key.
Just by looking at it, this looks like a very ordinary bronze key.
There are even some verdigris rust stains on the key.
At most, a pattern on it that looks like a petal seems a bit unique, but Cheney couldn’t figure out what was special about it.
There is none of the ‘treasure’ feel from the novels of his previous life.
While waiting for the auction to start, Cheney was fiddling with the bronze key in his palm.
PS: Didn’t expect someone to vote monthly tickets, Milo is too moved, thank you [Casual Peace] for the monthly ticket, love you!
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