"Any other questions?" Ms. Bunny looked at her watch and asked briskly. She wanted to go back to discuss the strategy for the next few hours with the other announcer who was going to take over for the night.
"I have one," Alana raised her hand in a cutesy manner and whispered as if she was afraid of Ms. Bunny.
Emma frowned at her behavior. Alana had been acting haughtily the whole night and now seeing her pretending to be weak and vulnerable left a nauseous taste in Emma's mouth.
Unconsciously, Emma had been paying attention to Alana throughout the night. She didn't want to admit but she was a bit scared for the baby in Alana's tummy.
"What?" Ms. Bunny bit the inside of her mouth and asked professionally. She didn't want to snap at this girl for not getting to the point.
"What happens if the pen you give us doesn't work?" Alana looked here and there as if distressed and bit her lower lip as she asked.
Emma noticed the difference in her actions and realized that she was acting. But why would she pretend now? Why not from the start? Emma observed the people surrounding her and didn't find any new faces that might compel Alana to act as if she was an innocent, submissive, and dependent woman.
Although Emma was confused by her, she didn't show it on her face.
On the other hand, Ms. Bunny was irked by this stupid question. She fought hard not to roll her eyes at Alana's question, "Miss, You can get as many pens as you want from the staff present in the Naelon Hall. If your pen doesn't work, you ask for a new pen. I hope this answers your question." Albeit annoyed, Ms. Bunny smiled and replied enthusiastically.
"Well, I must retire for the night," Ms. Bunny looked at her watch once again and said aloud. "If you have further queries, you can ask the workers in the Naelon Hall to guide and assist you. Hope you enjoy your stay here!"
Ms. Bunny didn't stop after saying this and turned on her heels before briskly walking away.
After she left, one of the workers led the group inside the Hall.
As soon as Emma entered, the first thing she noticed was the floor-to-ceiling glass windows overlooking the sea. The entire front wall was made up of single-paned glass that lacked any joints.
Because of this, the glass looked smooth and ethereal. Emma was also impressed by the size of this Hall. This was by far the most spacious Hall she had been to on this cruise.
It was painted in an elegant light yellow color which complimented the bright yellow lights which illuminated the corners of the Hall.
Overall, the Hall gave a luxurious, lofty, elegant vibe which was perfect to hold events like balls or in this case an auction.
Emma didn't speed toward the encased items which were placed at a 1-meter distance from each other. Instead, she took in the layout of the Hall. She wanted to memorize the exit in case of an emergency.
She knew that this Hall's peaceful environment wouldn't last for long. She observed the doors to the Hall and was surprised to find only two.
She was used to Halls having more than 4 doors to ensure ventilation and help with overcrowding but that wasn't the case here as there were only 2 doors. One where they came from and another on the east side of the Hall which went unnoticed at first glance because its edges blended in with the walls.
Emma wasn't sure if it was intentional or not but she decided to stay close to the second door so she could ensure her safety in case of a mishap.
Before Emma could further inspect the Hall, a sudden gasp of wonder attracted her attention.
Turning her head toward the person who gasped so loudly, Emma saw that he was surrounded by a crowd.
'The fight has already begun? Shouldn't they take some time to at least explore their choices and determine the item they want to bid on?' Emma was bewildered by the scene that took place as soon as they came to the auction Hall.
She tucked her hair behind her ear and walked toward the area where many people had gathered.
All of them had the same expression on their face, Fascination. Emma observed the emotions displayed on their faces and followed their gazes.
There she saw it. The thing which had caused such a commotion in the first place. It was a tiara that was encased in a glass dome.
Emma read the description placed over the tiara which read "Crown Princess Haellen's Ruby Diamond Tiara". The market value written below was an appalling $239 million. Emma's jaw dropped at this.
Not because of the price but because of its presence here. This item was not written in the pamphlet they got which listed the auctioned objects.
Emma was taken aback by this event. All in all, she had not expected the organizer to be so generous with them. She looked around and saw a lot of objects there that were not mentioned in the brochure.
A shudder went down Emma's spine as she tried to control her fear. The presence of these items may seem like a lottery win for some but in fact, it was truly horrifying to see these objects placed in the auction.
It would mean that people would be willing to go to greater lengths to secure a piece and since it is human nature to be greedy, they might even become more ruthless to get rid of their competition as compared to before.
"Wow, the organizer must be feeling generous today. I didn't expect to be so lucky. Haha," A middle-aged man wearing a blue tuxedo and a bowtie said in a joyful voice.
Many people agreed with his words and nodded. While others were already plotting against their competitors and were thinking about their next actions.
Emma stayed away from the areas of the maximum swarm and stood on the outside. She had no intention to get closer to the auctioned items or write her name below one of them.
These people were just the tip of the iceberg; more people would come after a while, and then this Hall would turn into a battleground for socialites.
As she was walking on the edges of the room while watching the artifacts from a distance, she failed to notice that someone else was standing next to the pillar.
Unconsciously, Emma bumped straight into the person who was standing there. Before she could recover from the impact, she was stupefied to see that the other woman had taken the brunt of her collision and was now groaning on the ground.
Emma immediately offered her hand to the older lady and helped her get to her feet.
"Are you blind? You didn't see me standing here? Do I look like a wall?" The hot-tempered woman said in an accusative tone.
"I'm sorry. I was not paying attention to where I was going and accidentally bumped into you," Emma apologized as it was her fault for not watching her steps and instead causing such an unfortunate accident to happen.
She hastily glanced around in case Ms. Betty had watched her act so brazenly but was relieved to find that she was much more interested in the artifacts than her, a random stranger whom she made small talk with.
The other woman was happy to hear Emma acknowledge her mistake without any fuss and was about to let this matter go but when she saw Emma looking around carelessly, she thought that Emma was pacifying her with a half-hearted apology and here she was even thinking of accepting it.
"Look here, young lady! I don't care that you don't feel guilty for making me fall, but I'm not letting you go until you pay for my dress which was dirtied." The lady wasn't going to leave this matter easily.
"Yes, I'll pay for dry cleaning. How much is it?" Emma wanted to get out of this situation straight away. Hence, she said in a hurried tone which sounded dismissive to the older lady.
The lady huffed out an annoyed breath as she glared at Emma. "Do I look like a cheap woman to you? Do you think you can wash your hands off of this by simply giving me cheap pennies?"
Emma was stupefied at her sudden outburst and alarmed by the older woman's loud voice. Thanks to her loud voice, a lot of people looked over to where they were standing.
Emma gritted her teeth and said, "I'm extremely sorry for colliding with you. It was my fault for not keeping my eyes on the ground and inconveniencing you. If you like, I can pay for your dress as a way to show my deepest regret at this unfortunate situation." At the end of her comment, Emma felt like she should be a writer of cosplay considering how well-versed she was.