Reborn As The Minor Villain In A Romance Fantasy Novel

Chapter 257: Priorities

After that initial bid, there were about four more items sold in succession, and Lucius didn’t find any of these ones interesting at all.

The first had been some kind of ancient grimoire with spells that were apparently lost to time, though the demonstration had been underwhelming.

The second was a collection of rare alchemical ingredients that might have been valuable to someone but meant nothing to him. The third was a decorative sword that looked pretty but had no real practical combat value.

However, Amber had bought one item so far during the earlier auction rounds, which was an enchanted light armor piece.

He had to commend it though, despite his skepticism. It had an genuinely amazing design with intricate runic patterns woven into the leather and metal, flowing across the surface like living art.

That was one thing he couldn’t lie about, even if he really didn’t think the armor itself was enchanted enough to provide protection against truly powerful attacks.

It would stop a regular blade or low-level spell, sure, but an S-rank hit would probably go straight through it.

And from what it looked like based on her body language, she had relaxed herself completely in her seat.

He guessed her bidding money had finished already, blown through on that one moderately impressive piece.

"You finished all your money?" He leaned into her chair and whispered discreetly, not wanting the other attendees to hear.

She looked at him with a pout, clearly embarrassed.

She was currently wearing an elaborate peacock mask that covered the upper half of her face, and her hair was in its natural black color and tied upward in an elegant style that exposed her neck.

"So what if I did...?" She whispered back defensively, her voice tight. "Want to tease me about it? I didn’t know the items would be so expensive. Everything here costs more than I expected."

"As I am a benevolent man," Lucius whispered directly in her ear, close enough that his breath tickled her skin, "I will give you a billion royals worth of credit to use for the rest of the auction."

Her eyes widened dramatically behind her mask.

"You can bid up to a billion total and I’ll cover the payment when we’re backstage settling accounts." He continued smoothly.

As for why he made that surprisingly generous suggestion, he had calculated the political optics carefully.

He had already blown up a council meeting building with explosive force and then threatened the council members multiple times during confrontations, which just made him seem like a violent thief that was taking and taking and taking without giving anything back.

So he simply decided to lend Amber one billion royals publicly at this high-society auction, and then afterward the council would feel obligated to thank him for his "generosity" by approving his proposal and spending multiple billions on establishing five Lucius Hotels across major cities.

That was a fair trade in his mind. One billion now for potentially ten billion in future profits.

"Are you serious...?" She whispered out loud, unable to keep the shock from her voice.

She was clearly surprised that Lucius was going out of his way to help her like this. There had to be some kind of catch. It had to be a scam or trick of some kind.

"Scam... it’s definitely a scam." She muttered suspiciously.

Lucius smiled mysteriously and pushed his face closer to Selene on his other side, deliberately ignoring Amber’s paranoia.

"Think what you like." He said casually, leaving Amber to stew in confused thought.

The announcer cleared his throat loudly from the stage, drawing everyone’s attention back to the proceedings as assistants brought in the next item.

Except it wasn’t really an item in the traditional sense, but rather a living creature.

A small pup with striking black and crimson fur that seemed to shimmer under the stage lights. It looked like an adorable furry puppy, sitting elegantly on the display table and looking around with intelligent eyes.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I present the next lot for today’s auction!" The announcer said with building enthusiasm, gesturing dramatically. "It is known as the Blazing Pup, and its mother is an S-rank monster which is known as the Blazing Armageddon!"

Murmurs rippled through the crowd at the legendary name.

"They are one of the few monster species rare and intelligent enough to strike truces with humans," he continued, his voice rising. "It can serve as both a pet and a familiar for Fire Mages, as even a pup this young can spew out flames hotter than that of a military-grade flamethrower!"

He waved his arms with a showman’s flair, building the excitement.

"And remember, if you take care of your pup properly and train it well! There’s absolutely nothing stopping it from reaching S-rank potential! The famous S-rank Awakened known as Blazer has an S-rank Armageddon of his own, yes the very same one that single-handedly melted an entire monster-infested town to the ground two years ago!"

That piece of trivia made the crowd gasp appreciatively.

"And this pup here," he gestured lovingly at the creature, "is the direct child of that legendary familiar! Verified bloodline, authenticated papers, the whole package!"

That revelation immediately made everyone in the auction hall except Selene and Lucius sit on the very edge of their seats, leaning forward with sudden intense interest.

Lucius personally liked puppies well enough, they were cute and loyal.

However, hearing "S-rank potential" meant that the puppy would be astronomically expensive, probably breaking records. And so far, it wasn’t like any of the girls in his group had expressed interest in wanting it, so he was content to just...

His phone vibrated suddenly in his pocket.

He pulled it out discreetly and saw he’d received a text from Judea. It was a regular text message, not through his Stitch social media account.

He had just bought the phone for her this afternoon after all, setting up her first ever mobile device.

[I want it 🥹]

He stared at the message, then immediately texted back with genuine confusion.

[Where did you learn to use emojis from??]

Her response came within seconds.

[That doesn’t matter... 😖💕 It looks so cute, buy it for me darling]

He hadn’t even finished processing that message when she added another text on top, rapid-fire.

[Use it to commemorate our union yesterday]

Lucius let out a long-suffering sigh, knowing he was already defeated.

[... Fine, but you’ll have to pay me back eventually]

She texted again immediately but he didn’t bother looking at what was probably excessive heart emojis. He placed his phone back in his pocket as the announcer cleared his throat to begin the bidding.

"The starting price is 320 million royals! Please begin your bids!" He announced, gesturing for the crowd to begin.

Immediately, paddles began raising throughout the room like a forest of hands.

"350 million!" A man in the back called out.

"Give it to me for 400 million!" A woman’s voice countered from the left side.

"368 million!" Another voice shouted confidently.

Everyone in the auction hall paused to look at the masked fool who had just said that ridiculous number.

They all knew that biddings were meant to increase progressively, not randomly reduce. Who was this complete idiot who didn’t understand basic auction mechanics?

Several people snickered or shook their heads at the embarrassing display.

"500 million!" One bidder stated firmly, trying to get things back on track.

He had flaming red hair that was visible even from a distance, and everyone in the hall recognized immediately that he was from the Feuerklinge clan.

That was one of the absolute top clans in the entire Avalon country, boasting three active S-ranks in their roster though they didn’t know which specific heir this particular bidder was.

The clan had three sons after all, and they rarely appeared in public together.

But despite the curiosity about his identity, nobody really cared that much in the end. This was a bidding hall, and the fundamental rule was simple: whoever had more money was the one that walked away with the prize.

Bloodline and prestige meant nothing when your wallet was empty.

"700 million!" Another man called out, raising his paddle with a confident smirk visible below his half-mask. He was clearly wealthy and enjoying the competition.

The Feuerklinge heir didn’t shake or show any concern at the increased bid.

"900 million!" The heir countered smoothly, taking a casual sip of matcha tea through a straw as if this was pocket change.

The other man paused, considering whether to continue. The rest of the bidders began lowering their paddles one by one, recognizing they were priced out of this particular competition.

"1.1 billion!" The half-masked man called out again, determination in his voice.

The heir glanced at the man this time with mild interest, still taking another leisurely sip of his matcha.

He stopped drinking and raised his paddle with deliberate slowness.

"1.3 billion!"

There was a crimson-haired young woman sitting next to him at his table, and if Lucius had bothered to look closely, he would have identified her as one of the Heroines from the novel.

She was wearing an elaborate frog mask decorated with emerald gems.

"Big brother... you’re well past the spending limit that the Clan Head gave us for this auction." She said urgently, leaning close so only he could hear. "You’re supposed to be responsible."

Their grandfather had given both of them exactly one billion royals to bid with, regardless of what items they wanted.

It was meant to be split reasonably between the two siblings, but he was already well into using her allocated portion without permission.

"Especially since that puppy is literally the one that the Clan Head personally gave to the Loosebelt Auction House to sell in the first place." She added with exasperation. "We’re buying back our own clan’s merchandise!"

He looked at her with obvious disdain and snorted dismissively.

"Quiet... woman. We can’t let such an important pup leave the clan’s control and fall into enemy hands." He said condescendingly. "Who knows whether our rivals are lurking around this auction specifically to acquire it? This is strategic."

He waved his hand dismissively at her concerns.

"Besides, Clan Head will reimburse everything at the end of the day anyway, so you shouldn’t be worried about temporary overspending." He added with absolute confidence.

The half-masked man raised his paddle again defiantly.

"1.5 billion!" His voice carried frustration now.

The heir stopped mid-sip of his matcha for a moment, considering then, against his sister’s increasingly desperate wishes and her hand grabbing his arm, he raised his paddle once more.

"1.8 billion!" He declared with finality.

There was immediate silence throughout the auction hall. Even the half-masked man who had been bidding so aggressively quieted down completely, his paddle lowering in defeat.

The announcer seized the moment. "1.8 billion going once..."

Lucius calmly raised his Number 2 paddle, holding it high.

"2.5 billion!" He called out clearly, sealing the deal at the very last possible moment.

The entire auction hall erupted in shocked murmurs and gasps.

"2.5 billion going once..." The announcer said, barely believing the number himself.

"Going twice..."

Nobody else moved. Nobody else could match that astronomical figure.

"The Blazing Pup has been sold for 2.5 billion royals to Number 2!" He slammed his gavel with finality.

’Ah, I haven’t even touched the surface of my available money.’ Lucius thought with satisfaction. It was really nice to be genuinely wealthy, capable of drowning out the hopes and dreams of other bidders who were simply too poor to compete at his level.

It made him feel amazing, if he was being honest.

They carefully took the pup to the backstage area for safekeeping, and the next lot was brought out.

A Beastkin woman entered the stage, and the entire energy of the room shifted immediately.

She was wearing an immaculate maid outfit that fit her perfectly, and she had gigantic breasts that strained against the fabric.

She curtseyed gracefully and professionally to the assembled crowd.

Immediately, most of the men in the audience sat up straighter with renewed interest, including Lucius who felt his attention completely captured.

She was a fox-type Beastkin, which meant she had beautiful fox ears and what he could see was probably a fluffy tail hidden by her dress.

That made her very specifically his type, hitting every single preference he had.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is Lilliane Feuerfuchs!" The announcer introduced with enthusiasm. "Her parents have decided to legally sell her contract over to a new Master, with her full consent and legal documentation, of course."

He gestured to paperwork being displayed on a screen.

"She’s fit and ready for any job you want her for, professionally trained in household management, combat support, and personal assistance and she even has a Peak rank affinity for Lightning magic and a Gold rank affinity for Fire magic! A dual-element specialist!"

That was genuinely impressive. Peak and Gold affinities were rare.

"Her starting price is 400 million royals!" He announced.

"1 billion!" Someone immediately called out without hesitation.

What followed was an absolute frenzy of bids, voices overlapping as the price extended rapidly to 3 billion within seconds.

The same people who apparently couldn’t pull out more than 1 billion for a legendary monster pup were suddenly billionaires when an attractive Beastkin woman was involved.

The disparity was honestly disgusting, but predictable.

The crimson-haired heroine in the frog mask looked at Number 2’s position, watching Lucius carefully.

He had saved her and her brother from financial disaster at the auction by outbidding them on the pup, preventing them from bankrupting themselves.

’He surely isn’t like these other perverted men, right...?’ She thought hopefully. ’He spent so much on that adorable puppy, so he must be a good person with proper priorities.’

However, Lucius raised his paddle without hesitation.

"5 billion!" He finalized with a satisfied sigh, his voice carrying across the stunned silent hall. "Final offer."

This was genuinely a dream come true for him. A beautiful fox-girl Beastkin maid with massive breasts and dual magical affinities?

Perfect.