The Failure Marquis Is A Genius [EN]: Chapter 66

Chapter 9. Relic: Fiancée Scoundrel

The southern sea of Liang.

This place, usually deserted due to high waves, was unusually crowded with carriages today, creating a bustling scene.

The men who stepped out of the carriages all sported well-groomed hair and mustaches and wore elegant attire. The women donned dazzling jewelry and eye-catching dresses.

Although everyone wore masks, concealing their faces, it was easy to tell from their appearance alone that they were influential figures in their respective towns.

Sion and I had also arrived in Haman’s carriage and were just stepping out at the entrance.

As the location demanded, Sion wore a grape-colored dress that complemented her hair.

The fan she held and the butterfly-shaped mask covering her eyes and the bridge of her nose were all purple.

Perhaps it was because her hair color was so unique and her skin so fair, but her beauty shone brightly even with her face covered by a mask.

“Shall we, milady?”

For this moment, we were not a noble young master and his maid, but a noble lady and her escorting partner.

I placed a hand behind my back, bent at the waist, and extended my right hand. Sion, who was about to step out, blushed like a ripe tomato.

“Ah… yes!”

Her unusually loud reply drew unnecessary attention. I poked her in the side, and she lowered her head, seemingly subdued.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright. Your beauty is hindering the mission, so lower your mask further.”

“!!!”

“And stop blushing. It’s best not to attract unnecessary attention.”

I linked arms with Sion, who was fanning herself as if her cheeks were on fire, and arrived at the entrance of the underwater cave.

Two burly men guarding the entrance stopped us and politely stated their business.

“Welcome to the Full Moon Market. Please show your pass.”

The pass to enter this place was a pendant with a red tassel issued by the Liang Merchants’ Guild.

I presented the pendant I had taken from Haman’s office to them.

“Confirmed. Once you enter, a staff member will guide you.”

We entered without any issues.

As the guard had said, a slender beauty wearing a rabbit mask was waiting inside.

“This way, please.”

We followed the guide.

The underwater cave was quite large.

The path was winding, and I thought that those with poor sense of direction might get lost.

The interior was lit with luminous stones instead of torches, making it as bright as day even at night.

Considering that one of those luminous stones was worth a commoner’s monthly income, it was truly an extravagant display.

“Heh heh heh! I wonder what the slaves coming in this time will be like?”

“I hope there’s a good one.”

“I heard there’s an incredibly special item among the slaves this time?”

“That’s probably just a rumor. The organizers are probably spreading false rumors to raise the auction price.”

“No, I heard it from a reliable guy.”

I overheard the conversation of nobles passing by. These were the kind of people who treated humans as slaves and objects. I couldn’t help but frown.

“Shall we kill them?”

Sion, sensing my murderous intent, whispered quietly in my ear.

“There’s no need. Today will be the last day that slaves are traded in Liang’s black market anyway.”

Besides, they think they’ve hidden their identities by wearing masks, but that’s not the case.

Haman, the guild leader who was the manager, had identified all the buyers visiting this place and recorded them in a ledger.

That list is in my possession, so when it’s revealed someday, those nobles will either be disgraced or punished. The important thing was to identify the Twilight spies participating in today’s black market and capture them all.

Moreover, once the black market closed, I had to escort the remaining slaves and secure some good items, so I was surprisingly busy.

“You can sit here and enjoy the auction. Please feel free to ask if you need anything.”

The staff left behind expensive-looking fine wine, sparkling wine glasses, and lightly baked mozzarella cheese.

Sion, who was unusually nervous, naturally reached for the wine glass, which was unlike her.

“It might be poisoned.”

She, who used to test the food and drinks brought to me with a silver needle, had even forgotten to do that today and was about to down the wine in one gulp.

It seemed she couldn’t quite adapt to wearing a noble dress instead of a maid’s uniform and patrol uniform.

I gave Sion some calm advice.

“If you continue to follow me, there may come a time when you have to play an even more noble role than now. So get used to this role as well.”

I wonder if my advice had an effect.

Sion straightened her back and slightly raised her chin, looking much calmer.

She, who already boasted a cold and aloof appearance, looked every bit the haughty noble lady when she struck the right pose.

“Good. Maintain that atmosphere.”

While I was spending time with Sion.

The stage opened, and the lights focused on one side.

There, a man who appeared to be the host for today, wearing white gloves, greeted the audience with an exaggerated expression.

“Greetings! Welcome to the esteemed guests of the Full Moon Market. My name is Alfredo.”

Alfredo.

Alfredo was also listed as a Twilight follower in Guild Leader Haman’s documents.

In addition to him, Twilight followers disguised as merchants and nobles were preparing to smuggle out useful slaves everywhere.

And since I knew exactly who the disguised guys were through the list Haman had written, my job was clear.

‘I’ll buy all the slaves that the Twilight guys are trying to secure.’

Thanks to the mountain of gold I brought from the Dragon Lair, I had more money than I could spend. If I used it properly, the Twilight guys would have a complete failure today.

“Now, let me introduce the first item! A rare cactus brought directly from the desert kingdom far away!! The starting price is 10 gold, and the bidding increment is from 1 gold.”

As expected, no special items came out in the early stages of the auction. The Twilight spies didn’t even glance at such items. In the end, the rare cactus was won by a middle-aged noble who liked eccentric plants.

“Next, let me introduce the seventh item! A strong young man salvaged from the Calon Empire!! The starting price is 100 gold, and the bidding increment is from 10 gold.”

Finally, a slave appeared. It was definitely more popular than the first item, the cactus, and the atmosphere heated up. Several nobles raised their paddles and called out bids.

“110 gold.”

“120 gold.”

“130 gold.”

The man, with his hands and feet bound in chains and his back full of whip marks, didn’t seem to have received humane treatment. The nobles scrutinized him up and down, assessing his value as if they were appraising an object. Just seeing this scene explained why slavery had disappeared from Earth.

Sion looked at the auction house with a dissatisfied expression. As a former maid, she would feel even more repulsed by this kind of madness. I shared her feelings, but I didn’t step forward.

Saving one or two slaves here right now wouldn’t solve the problem. I had infiltrated this place to root out the fundamental cause, so I decided to be patient.

And…

“190 gold.”

“200 gold.”

Finally, someone called out 200 gold. At the same time, the surroundings became quiet. The psychological resistance amount that people had set for this man was 200 gold.

However, I focused on the man who had just bid, rather than the amount. The merchant who called out 200 gold was clearly a Twilight follower listed in the ledger. The Twilight Church must have judged that the man was worth securing.

If so, I couldn’t just stand by.

“300 gold.”

“!!!”

I raised the paddle and increased the price by a whopping 100 gold. The Twilight follower, disguised as a plausible wealthy noble, flinched as if embarrassed. After looking at me for a moment, he lowered his paddle as if giving up the competition.

“300 gold! Is there anyone for 300 gold? Then it’s sold. Please pick up the auctioned item after the auction is over.”

Bang, bang, bang!

The auction hammer struck the floor three times, signaling that the slave had been sold.

I knew why the spy dispatched by the Twilight follower had given up the competition.

They each had a limited amount of money, so it was difficult to bid more than the set amount.

In the meantime, since I had raised the price so recklessly, they intended to focus on securing other slaves without competing.

But that was an act of underestimating my financial situation.

The next slave was a young woman, and when the Twilight follower raised his paddle, I also raised my paddle as if I wouldn’t be outdone.

“340 gold…”

“500 gold.”

Why so stingy, raising it by 10 gold each time?

You have to raise it by 100 units at a time.

In fact, I held back from raising it by 1000 units because I didn’t know what was coming next.

The Twilight follower disguised as a merchant looked at me once again.

The guy who had been outbid twice glared at me with a stinging gaze, but I whistled and pretended not to notice.

After thinking for a moment, the Twilight follower lowered his paddle once again.

He must have thought that my money bag wasn’t infinite and gave up the competition.

“Sold for 500 gold!”

But what a pity.

This is just the beginning.

“700 gold! Sold!”

“550 gold! Sold!”

“A whopping 1800 gold! Sold! Sold! Solddd!!”

I could see the Twilight followers hiding in various parts of the auction house squirming in discomfort.

I didn’t attract much attention even while sweeping up the slaves like this, because I didn’t step in at all when other nobles were competing.

I only called out 100 to 1000 gold more when the Twilight merchant or noble called out the last bid.

Ordinary people who had never had their items directly taken away just thought of me as a peculiar buyer and moved on.

However, the Twilight merchants and nobles who had their slaves snatched away right in front of their eyes were in a state of despair.

“The murderous intent is quite stinging.”

“Just leave them alone. We’ll see their faces after the auction anyway.”

Slaves were coming out as items in succession, and then items came out in the middle.

The Twilight followers mainly bought slaves, so I had no reason to buy items.

But this time, the item that came out was a bit unusual.

“Let me introduce the thirty-second item!! I think this item might be liked by women. The starting price is 1000 gold, and the bidding increment is from 100 gold.”

A starting price that makes your jaw drop.

What kind of item is it?

The host placed something covered with a thick cloth on the platform.

Then the cloth was removed, revealing the contents inside.

“Ah…”

“Beautiful.”

The men exclaimed.

On the other hand, the women were still.

They were so surprised that their mouths were wide open, and they couldn’t even react.

The dazzling diamond light brightly illuminated the surroundings.

The cleanly cut, transparent teardrop-shaped gem flaunted its beauty to the world without any hint of imperfection from any angle of 360 degrees.

“Some of the esteemed guests here may know, but mermaids actually live somewhere on the continent. I happened to have the opportunity to obtain the tears of a mermaid belonging to the higher species among them.”

Tears of a mermaid.

The name itself is elegant.

It was quite fascinating, but I had no intention of buying it.

That is, until the voice of the Heavenly Demon pierced my consciousness.

-That item contains considerable internal energy.

“What do you mean?”

-It’s not just a simple gem. It’s more accurate to say that it’s a spiritual essence that has crystallized by condensing pure energy. In our terms, it’s like solidified aquamarine petroleum.

“In short, you’re saying that consuming it will help with mana.”

-Probably. You won’t be able to easily find such a precious item anywhere else.

While I was talking with the Heavenly Demon, the auction house was almost on fire.

Mainly women in dresses were raising the auction price, using all sorts of tricks.

“1800 gold!”

“2200 gold!”

“2500 gold!”

2500 gold is equivalent to the annual operating cost of a small and medium-sized territory.

However, the amount of 2500 gold was not important to the women who were intoxicated by the beauty of the jewel.

They were eager to make the radiance emanating from the tears of the mermaid their own as soon as possible, and their eyes turned red.

“2500 gold! Is there anyone for more? 2500 gold!”

“2600 gold.”

My voice silenced the venue.

The noble who called out 2500 gold bit her lip.

She was wearing a mask, but just looking at her outward appearance, she was an extravagant middle-aged woman.

She was angry at me for calling out a higher price, and she glared at me with fierce eyes.

“Why is a man like you obsessed with such a jewel? Such a jewel should go to a beautiful woman like me to make a good picture. So cancel your bid.”

It was an unreasonable request.

Originally, if a participant caused a disturbance like this, the host should step in and mediate.

So I glanced at the platform, but Alfredo was deliberately looking elsewhere and pretending not to notice.

That guy is also a Twilight follower, so he’s deliberately neglecting the troublesome customer because he’s annoyed that I’ve been snatching slaves throughout the auction.

I couldn’t help but smile when I saw his petty and insignificant behavior.

“Oops.”

I felt it as soon as I smiled.

I had unintentionally ended up ridiculing the woman.

The woman, who had been on edge since earlier, pointed at me with the end of her fan, even more heated by my smirk.

“Hey, do you think my words are funny? You should be glad you met me here. I can’t reveal my identity, but if you met me on the street…”

“3000 gold.”

I cut off the woman’s words and raised the price.

Alfredo, the host who hadn’t expected my actions, hurriedly opened his mouth.

“Are you raising the price further? The other party has not yet bid more than 2500 gold.”

I slowly got up from my seat, receiving everyone’s attention.

I leisurely picked up a wine glass and quenched my thirst.

I looked back and forth between Alfredo and the noble woman with a languid gaze, and then took off the mask of Sion next to me.

“!!!”

Even Sion was startled by my sudden action and trembled as she looked at me.

The lights of the auction house focused on me and Sion. Especially on Sion, who had taken off her mask.

Sion, who had suddenly revealed her bare face in front of the crowd, stiffened as if she was very nervous. I lightly placed my hand on her shoulder and said.

“What good is a jewel if it doesn’t have the beauty to match it? In that sense, my beloved fiancée is much more suitable for the tears of the mermaid than you are.”

Sion’s appearance added credibility to my claim. The face of the middle-aged woman, who had been suddenly insulted, turned red. I gave her the final blow.

“I can spend more than 3000 gold for a jewel that suits my fiancée. If you wish, you can call out a higher price.”

A handsome man sacrifices everything for his fiancée.

That alone made the eyes of the watching ladies dazed, and the men applauded.

Of course, I wasn’t doing it for Sion, but to absorb the tears of the mermaid and increase my mana pool.

Anyway, the picture was good.