The King's Lover
Chapter 74: Bids

Chapter 74: Bids

"The auction will begin, starting at five thousand gold coins!" the masked man said.

Rose’s eyes nearly bulged from her sockets. She could count how many times she had seen a gold coin. She could count it on her right hand only, and only the baron owned gold coins in Edenville. With a gold coin, she could take her mother to the best physician in all of Edenville for a week, and here she was getting sold for five thousand pieces of gold.

No one in their right mind would pay that kind of money for a simple peasant simply because she had lived in the castle for a few days. No one was that crazy.

"Oh, we have a bidder. Five thousand, Lord Wolf. Anyone else?"

A bidder? Rose nearly pushed her head through the tiny space in between the bars. There was no way someone would pay that amount for her. She looked into the audience and saw a man seated in the crowd. She couldn’t see his face, of course, because of the mask, and even if he wasn’t wearing the mask, she was too far away.

However, it wasn’t the man who did the bidding; rather, it was the woman who sat close enough to touch him, but it was clear to anyone that she did it on his behalf as she kept whispering in his ear.

Rose was terrified to her toes. If anyone was willing to pay five thousand coins for her, she didn’t want to imagine what they would do to her. No one here seemed like a good choice.

"Oh, another bidder. Six thousand coins, Lord Bear."

Rose almost slammed her head against the bars. Six thousand. Why was it going even higher? Five thousand was already an exorbitant price. Now, six thousand. .com

"Seven thousand, Lady Fox. A nice bid."

"Eight thousand, Lady Phoenix."

"Ten thousand coins from Lord Wolf."

Who were these people, and why were they doing something so reckless? Rose could tell they weren’t using their original names, but their names were the least of her worries. It was how the price kept going up.

"Lady Phoenix and Lord Bear have dropped out of the bid, leaving us with Lady Fox and Lord Wolf. Ah, twelve thousand coins, Lady Fox."

There was a little bit of silence, and even Rose held her breath as she waited, praying this was the last bid. It was already a ridiculous price. There was no way she could escape from someone who paid twelve thousand pieces for her. She couldn’t even pay that debt in this lifetime.

"Twenty thousand gold coins!" the masked host yelled out, even he couldn’t contain his surprise. "L-Lord Wolf has just bid twenty thousand gold coins for the redhead."

Gasps ran through the hall, and the masked men and women in the audience looked from one person to another as whispers floated through the space.

The masked man was giddy with excitement. None of the goods ever put on display had ever been auctioned for this many coins, at least not recently. Besides, they were an illegal business; they couldn’t do their transactions so openly.

"Going once, going—Lady Fox has bid twenty-two thousand coins. This is unexpected."

The crowd was going wild, and Rose strained her neck as she tried to see. She had a glimpse of the man called Lord Wolf, but try as she might, she couldn’t see Lady Fox.

She didn’t know who she should cheer for. None of them sounded like a good option. Anyone willing to buy a person was suspicious, and she didn’t want anything to do with them, but Rose didn’t have any say. All she could do was watch while they bargained to sell and buy her.

"Twenty-five thousand coins, Lord Wolf. This is spectacular. As you can see, ladies and gentlemen, this is truly the main event of the day."

Lady Fox was seated in the right corner, her hands folded into fists as she looked at the redhead on stage and then back at Lord Wolf. He wouldn’t look in her direction, but the mistress on his arm kept sending a glance or two her way.

Twenty-five thousand was already a ridiculous price, and at this point, she couldn’t help but feel he was taunting her. However, she wasn’t going to give in.

"Thirty thousand gold coins!" The masked host sounded like he might faint as he said these words. "Lady Fox has bid thirty thousand coins on the redhead. Lord Wolf, what do you say to this?"

The crowd’s whispers got even louder, and chaos almost started in the hall.

"Going once, going—Lord Wolf has conceded. Is anyone willing to bid a higher price for the redhead? No? And the redhead has been sold to Lady Fox for thirty thousand gold coins. Please move to the private room to pay for your purchase while we prepare her for you. Should you prefer to take her in your carriage or have her sent to your residence, that can be arranged."

Someone walked up to Lady Fox and started to lead her away. Rose still couldn’t catch a glimpse of her then. She also noticed that Lady Fox wasn’t the only one being led away. She wondered if these other people had also purchased something.

"Thank you all once again for coming to our masked auction and paying such wonderful prices. We will see you all next time. As soon as you make your payment or decide how it will be done, you shall get your purchase. Good night."

Rose yelped as the floor under her opened, and she fell through the ground. The cage landed with a loud sound as she hit the floor, and Rose feared she might have broken something. How could they throw her from such a distance in a metal cage? However, with a quick inspection and no pain, Rose determined that she was, in fact, all right, and the fall just stung a little—it didn’t hurt.

"I can’t believe someone paid thirty thousand gold pieces for her," a voice was saying.