Chapter 187: Luring the Young Maiden

Chapter 187

Luring the Young Maiden

"Uh, currently the Sacred Church of the Ares Kingdom has offered 3 million gold coins. Does anyone wish to place a higher bid?" The auctioneer was slightly puzzled. In truth, he thought that such an item should have been met with opposition. Who would have thought the church would jump in to join the bidding?

"Thank you very much for the generosity of the Sacred Church. However, the Rhea Kingdom is also interested in that collar. Since we are very keen on taming beasts, if we suddenly had a device that saved us the trouble of training them, it would be much more beneficial to us. Therefore, on behalf of the Emperor of the Rhea Kingdom, I bid 5 million gold coins."

"Even though it’s said that it can be used on the former city owner beasts, it still has benefits for other kingdoms. We don’t have to use it only on beasts. If used on wrongdoers who have committed many evils but possess enough power to be more useful to the kingdom than being executed, it can also serve well. The Hestia Kingdom bids 6 million gold coins."

The more people that bid, the higher the price soared. Most of them tried to speak up to make themselves look good. However, everyone knew that obtaining this item would be immensely beneficial!

Those who initially opposed it seemed as if their tears were about to turn into blood. The head of the Cherine family, who had opposed it at first, bit his lip in trembling frustration. Just thinking that other families might obtain it and make good use of it, in the end, only the Cherine family might be at a loss.

"We, the Cherine family, bid 10 million gold coi...."

"The Jarlon family bids 15 million gold coins."

“Pwoosh!!” As the auction continued, no matter how hard the Cherine or Hart families tried to bid, they received no attention at all. They still lacked confidence in the bidding, while many other families were determined to acquire this slave collar!

The bidding was fierce, with the price escalating continuously. It took over 30 minutes for the bidding on the first collar to finally stop at a price of 200 billion gold coins per piece. The second collar went for a staggering 1 trillion gold coins per piece, making it one of the highest-priced items in the auction.

When the auction ended, the excitement among the crowd did not. Everyone stayed to discuss what had transpired. Many people wanted to meet the head of the Setter family to talk about potential exchanges. As Aman had mentioned earlier, with so many items coming from his elder brother, the ambush on the Fernal family was not a big deal.

The Sacred Church sent someone to invite the eldest young lord of the Setter family, claiming to have a message from God. Owen didn’t believe much in this, but he followed because they had contacted him first.

"Go rest. I’ll still be around the family for the next 2 days, and I’ll come to see you then," Owen told Ellie before leaving. It wasn’t just the eldest young lord that people lined up to talk to; the head of the Setter family, the second young lord, and even the butler had people wanting to speak with them.

Ellie was no exception. However, before anyone could ask to see her privately, they heard Owen’s preventing words, so no one dared disturbing the lady of the Setter family after he had told her to rest.

"Lady Ellie, would you prefer to rest in your bedroom or go sit in the flower garden?" Selin asked with a smile. Ellie glanced at the two young women, sensing they might also face some trouble. She waved to Selin, as if she didn’t mind much.

"The flower garden sounds good. I’d like to have some tea with the two sisters." Hearing Ellie’s words, Aya’s eyes sparkled. Rather than staying to face the guests, she’d much prefer to follow her future sister-in-law to the garden. This time, Athena wholeheartedly agreed.

The group of people waiting to approach the two young girls left dejected. Both young ladies and gentlemen were ordered by their families to befriend the two girls, but many approached Aya and Athena merely because they were the sisters of the future family head. There was no genuine sincerity in their actions.

The two young girls followed Ellie to the flower garden. Knowing that their eldest brother had given permission, they felt much more relaxed. Moreover, they had already spent time in the garden with their future sister-in-law the previous day, and she hadn’t made them feel uncomfortable at all. On the contrary...Ellie’s focus on her books allowed the girls to play freely.

"My lady, there are children peeking at you." Since today was the day of the Setter family’s auction, the children were excused from their studies temporarily. All the adults were busy with their tasks, leaving no one to supervise the children, which was why they could be seen wandering around today.

The Setter family mansion was enormous, and the flower garden in its center used to be nothing more than a collection of stones and bricks, giving it a rather desolate feel. That was until the eldest young lord of the family transformed it into the family’s sole source of color, drastically improving its appearance.

Originally, it wasn’t just Aya and Athena who were interested in seeing the grand flower garden. Children of both genders, along with many of the residents, all wanted to visit the garden. However, they could only admire it from afar.

Everyone knew how precious this flower garden was! If anyone wandered in carelessly, they might end up owing the Setter family a debt they couldn’t repay in their lifetime!

Following Selin’s signal, Ellie noticed a group of 4 or 5 young girls peeking from a smaller mansion. Many of these children came from branch families and were brought to the main family estate if they showed talent, staying until they were ready to attend the institute before returning to their hometowns. Others were descendants of the fighters residing in the main Setter family. Therefore, the smaller mansion housed quite a lot of people, but they generally avoided disturbing the main mansion.

“Are those children friends of Aya and Athena’s?” Ellie asked the two girls. Aya looked over and shook her head, then turned back to sip her tea and glance at her book, showing little interest. Athena, on the other hand, explained to Ellie.

"They are our classmates, but we wouldn’t call them friends. Whenever we’re in class, everyone just keeps to themselves."

"Hmm? In the same class but not friends?"

"Yes. That’s because they hold a lot of prejudice against us. They often say that our skills are only due to the resources we receive. And when we struggle with certain subjects, they criticize us, saying we don’t deserve to be part of the main family."

"Oh, is that so?" Ellie narrowed her eyes thoughtfully. She knew children wouldn’t develop such peculiar thoughts on their own. Seeing that neither of the girls seemed like the type to provoke others, she concluded the problem must stem from the parents’ influence rather than the two girls themselves.

Many children, before coming here, had been thoroughly indoctrinated by their guardians, as if fearing that they would become subordinates to the main family after coming here. In reality, the main family had always supported them, providing opportunities to learn the same things taught to their own children.

“In that case...Selin, go invite them to join our tea party. You can say that the two young ladies invited them.”

“Eh? Sister Ellie, I don’t want them to join us at all. I don’t like them, and they don’t like me either. It’s better if we all just stay separate!” Aya was utterly displeased, protesting immediately upon hearing Ellie’s instructions to Selin.

“..............” Athena remained silent, keeping her head down in her book, her expression was not showing any sign of approval.

“I understand how you feel, but do you realize you were born with the status of “Young Ladies of the Setter Family”? Your duties and responsibilities are higher than everyone else’s, but you will ignore that and let this conflict continue?”

“Uh.....” Aya was taken aback, and Athena looked up as well.

“These children come here with prejudices against the main family, prejudices instilled by their parents. They might not even understand what it truly means to be taken advantage of. They don’t even know what is the “power” that the main family has.”

"Do you not understand why the main family has to gather all these children here for education? It is to show them the “power” that the branch families will never possess. Your duty is to instill respect in them, not to allow them to do whatever they want to us."

"If you cannot be good friends with them, then be their masters. Make them understand that the main family is not weak and will not be bullied by their greater numbers."

"Aren’t you curious why your second young lord is feared by everyone, whether from the main or branch families? It’s because he always demonstrates his power for everyone to see. When he was to become the family head, who dared to challenge his worthiness?...Or when the eldest young lord recovered, no one dared to vie for power with him either. That’s because everyone witnessed the strength of the main family."

"And yet you two are merely a minority in your class. Doesn’t that seem too weak? From now on, change your mindset. Those who can be friends should be made into friends, and give them valuable gifts sincerely. But those who should only be followers of the main family, make them understand their place."

Ellie offered her advice. The two girls already had everything they needed: intelligence and cunning. It was unfortunate they hadn’t used these within the family. Normally, their approach was correct, but...their timid demeanor frustrated Ellie greatly.

"Do you want us to behave rudely? To be like those people...?" Athena argued, but Ellie waved her hand dismissively.

"Why do you respect me? Why are you afraid of me even though I haven’t been rude to you?"

"That’s because you are our sister-in-law, an important person to our eldest brother. So we..."

"And aren’t you important to the eldest young lord? You are his sisters. Why don’t others fear you?"

"Uh, because I am still young..." Athena hesitantly replied, which made Ellie laugh involuntarily.

"How many years younger than me are you? I’m 17 this year. One of you is turning 13, and the other is 14, right? In just 3 years, you’ll be my age. So, when will you become respectable? If things continue like this, when you enter the institute, only you two will be all alone while everyone else is in large groups. You’ll be the isolated young ladies, easy to bully."

"We won’t allow ourselves to be bullied." Aya protested loudly, and Ellie believed they wouldn’t let themselves be bullied. However, when it came to certain issues, especially those stemming from within the Setter family itself, they might just let them slide.

"Really? So, you’ll punish members of the Setter family in front of other families? Tarnish the family’s reputation just because you couldn’t handle internal matters?"

"That...."

"I know someone who never uses harsh words or shows a fierce demeanor. She just speaks calmly, and her words become a sword at people’s throats. I’m sure you know her."

"Who?"

"Duchess Vida from the Jarlon family."

"Ah, I know her. She’s the prince’s fiancée. Her elegance is incredibly high, and my sister aspires to be like her." Aya pointed to her sister, who bowed her head in embarrassment.

It’s true that Athena looked up to Lady Vida as a role model, but she never intended to broadcast it like this!

"Good. Then before you can become a dignified young lady admired by others, you should practice with the people in this family. When you become true young ladies of the main family, respected genuinely by other children in the family, then you’ll be like Duchess Vida. You won’t need to say anything; just a wave of your finger, and people will be ready to teach others on your behalf."

"You aren’t the same as you were before. Duchess Vida’s status as the prince’s fiancée might have seemed higher before, but now you are part of the Setter family, watched by every kingdom. Start changing yourselves now."

Ellie earnestly coaxed the two girls, and all her advice and words were closely observed by Selin. The head maid couldn’t help but smile as she watched the three young ladies converse.

In truth, if Lady Aya and Lady Athena had a mother who knew how to guide and teach them properly, things might have turned out better. Unfortunately, their mother didn’t know how to command respect from others; she only knew how to fight and manage a small hunting unit. In the end, the two young ladies had to learn to fend for themselves, which could never be as effective as having someone to guide them!