NOVEL NEXT Chapter 497: Unexpected Arrival
"Ladies and gentlemen!" boomed a voice from the direction of the instruments. It was most certainly a voice that was amplified by magic, making it perfectly clear despite the acoustics of the vast amphitheater. "Her Royal Highness, Felicity Primrose Amabelle Valorian, Third Princess to the Crown of the Vraven Kingdom, has arrived. Stand and bow in honor of her presence!"
Muted silence fell over the hall in an instant. The idle chatter, the murmurs of speculation, and even the distant sounds of rustling gowns and polished shoes came to an abrupt halt. The only sound left was Jasmine's muted yelp as she practically jumped in her seat. Her trembling hand squeezed mine tighter than ever.
To be fair, she wasn't the only one thrown off. Even I hadn't expected this outcome. The Scarlet Lilies or the duke's daughters were one thing… but a literal princess of royal blood?
I glanced at Jasmine out of the corner of my eye before giving her juicy thighs another reassuring squeeze. "Everything is fine, Blue…" I murmured into her ear, but, to be honest, I had to steady myself too. This turn of events was... unusual, to say the least.
Royalty attending a common auction? It made no sense. Yes, this one was a once-in-a-year event, but it even allowed commoners inside. It wasn't some ultra-prestigious event, it just earned itself a great reputation for offering an amazing variety of items among its auctioned goodies.
Dukes and duchesses rarely made appearances at these kinds of events because they had better channels to acquire rare artifacts and treasures. A princess should have access to resources and networks beyond what this auction could provide. What could possibly compel her to come here in person?
"We have to rise!" Jasmine whispered urgently once she managed to calm herself. Around us, everyone else had already done so and were in the middle of bowing in the direction of the princess's approaching footsteps. Even the Scarlet Lilies stood and inclined their heads with solemn grace, and the same was true for the bratty twins.
We followed suit, standing and bowing as was mandated, while my two elves had to get on their knees and genuflect. Greeting royalty by having the presence of slaves was already heavily frowned upon, but in this case, it couldn't be helped. I couldn't be blamed for not accounting for a random visit of the princess. In instances like this, the only acceptable solution available to slave owners was to have their slaves show complete reverence to members of the royal family.
I didn't like this one bit, but it had to be done. This was not a place where I could afford to start a commotion.
The silence in the air was only broken by the steady rhythm of footsteps echoing through the chamber.
It was an unmistakable progression.
The first set of steps were light, dainty even, which must've belonged to the princess herself. They were followed closely by four slightly heavier steps and lastly came the unmistakable thuds of heavy boots - six pairs of them.
The rhythmic procession grew louder as the footsteps drew nearer and nearer with each passing second. Tension thickened in the air as if the entire amphitheater was holding its collective breath.
Finally, the footsteps stopped.
… Right next to me.
… Oh dear.
"Miss Lilith! Hello!" She cheered when she recognized the woman sitting behind me.
"Hey there, little one." Well, at long last, I heard the living legend's voice. It was a nice, melodic one.
Lilith refused to reply to my greeting, but it seemed that she didn't do the same for the princess... Ouch.
While one might think the seemingly close relationship between the two to be strange and perhaps even add more credibility to the theory of Lilith being Morgana's hidden sister, that wasn't necessarily the case here.
Lilith had been a high ranked adventurer for centuries, it's not a far fetch to think that she accepted personal commissions from the royal family, and thus she could've met Felicity during such visits.
*Khm!* An older woman coughed into her palms, eliciting a muted yelp from the princess who quickly caught herself.
"Be seated, loyal citizens of the Vraven Kingdom."
The voice that gave the command was high-pitched and soft, but it also carried a practiced authority that was likely beaten into her by her instructors over years of training her regal decorum.
I raised my head, letting my gaze fall upon the figure at the center of all this spectacle who gracefully seated herself on the lush red couch. She looked surprisingly young, I would guess her to be around thirteen years old, her real age was not disclosed by the royal family.
However, she was definitely a real child. Even if one reaches high levels as a kid, they will continue aging until they reach their young adult form, which is usually around 17-20 years.
There were no X00-year-old lolis in Thalorind, the concept itself didn't exist.
I saw the princess' vibrant violet hair glow under the enchanted light of the chandeliers and her amethyst eyes which studied the podium where the auction will be taking place with great intensity. She didn't glance around the audience even for a single second. Princess Felicity was dressed in a delicate white lace-trimmed gown, making her exude an air of purity. Honestly, her attire wasn't as outstanding as one would expect.
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Several ladies, Jasmine included, wore more regal dresses. I could only guess why she decided to underdress, but maybe it was due to her thinking it to be a casual event - which it was - or due to her very youthful age, perhaps she wasn't forced to dress in overly obnoxious dresses. Maybe Daddy Alexios and Mommy Morgana allowed their little daughter to wear more comfortable clothes for the time being.
I could now also ascertain who the extra footsteps belonged to. Four maids in pristine uniforms busied themselves around her as they brought out cookies and tea while also dusting the sparkling clean furniture down as if it wasn't up to their standard. It was probably the oldest of the four who coughed into her palm before.
Around her in six strategic spots stood six Aegis Vanguards, her bodyguards.
Aegis Vanguard was the highest and most honorable rank a soldier could achieve, they were the bodyguards of the royal family, basically the Vraven Kingdom's equivalent of the Secret Service.
Back at the kingdom's outpost where we stole the Geim and the legendary veiling artifact as well as where I unlocked the Primordial Villain class and met Iris for the first time, there were five of these people.
However, due to Blossom's machinations, namely, her getting horny when thinking about me and thus leaking some of her lady juices into her panties, forced a large pack of werewolves into heat who started chasing her, and thus she led them to the outpost. We managed to complete our goals without coming into confrontation with the Aegis Vanguard who were busy fighting against the enraged horde of monsters.
Be that as it may, the current situation was truly a nightmare. Just thinking about how the next few hours will look like gave me a headache. I was stranded with hostiles surrounding me.
From my right, the bratty twins, from my left, the freaking third princess with six menacing Aegis Vanguards observing my every move, ahead of me the glimmering podium which will become the main attraction very soon, and behind me Lilith and her Scarlet Lilies, who were more or less the superstars of this world.
If that wasn't enough, from below me I sensed the immense weight of Thalorind as it was busy supplying all life on its giant surface, and from above me, I could practically feel the unjust, hypocritical gaze of a lousy woman who was carefully observing and judging my moves, the Goddess.
Thus I was surrounded on all fronts, quite literally!
…
I eyed the third princess a bit longer. It wasn't rude on my part, we were seated in the first row for a reason. In Thalorind, staring at someone who was in the middle of flexing their power - having six Aegis Vanguards vigilantly bodyguarding a dainty teen girl was a giant flex - wasn't a rude gesture. It could even be said to be fitting the local etiquette.
The fact that she was seated in my row meant that she had at least 500 gold coins on her person, as that was the cost of getting first-row VIP treatment, which just went to show how much my 800 gold truly was, I was well above the minimum range.