The guard quickly explained the situation, causing my Aunt to furrow her brows.
Not many people dare to make trouble in this place. After all, it's common knowledge that I, a prince, am the owner of the auction house. Someone that dares to make trouble here is either someone powerful, or a fool.
But a fool would have been kicked by the guards long ago, so he clearly was someone powerful.
I already had an idea about what was happening, so I went to the entrance quickly. Aunt Dayana and Daisy were still frowning, but they sighed and followed after me.
Once there, I quickly found the source of the commotion. A young man was screaming at the clerks while holding an antique vase on his hand. Two soldiers and an old man were standing behind him and a group of people had surrounded them and were muttering softly about the situation.
"I need an explanation!" The young man shouted with a mocking gaze. "I bought this vase here a few days ago and you told me that it was the original, but it's clearly a fake. How are you going to explain it?!"
"S-Sir, calm down. The rules said that once an object is taken out of the auction house, then we are not responsible for it."
"Are you insinuating that I'm making it up?! How do you dare! Men, catch this woman." The young man pointed at the woman and ordered the soldiers. Instantly, the soldiers stepped forward to grab the clerk.
The woman's face turned pale white. She tried to stutter something, but she could not speak due to the fear. But when the two guards were about to grab the woman, I appeared.
"Stop!" I spoke with an ice-cold tone. Instantly, all the voices in the surroundings fell silent. But the soldiers did not stop. They continued advancing as though I was not there.
My expression turned ugly instantly. Without hesitation, I unsheathed my sword and took a step forward.
The two soldiers were just at the third layer of mana, so they paled when they saw my attack. However, the young man behind them smirked and attacked at the same time. "Don't stop, I want that woman dead!"
The soldiers obeyed and continued attacking the woman.
His sword flashed and confronted mine, but I sneered and parried it away, then, with a step forward, I slashed the two soldiers.
""Ah!"" The two soldiers cried in pain and fell two the ground. I did not kill them, but their wounds were serious. If not treated soon, they would die.
Once the two soldiers were subjugated, I looked at the young man.
"Al, who do you think you are capturing my people in my place?" I spoke coldly, making all the people around shiver.
The young man put on a startled expression. He could not believe that I bested him so easily even though his mana layer was one level higher.
But that expression quickly turned ugly. He looked at me angrily and pointed at the soldiers.
"You... You hurt my men!"
"They were attacking one of my clerks. What? Do you expect me that I look without doing nothing while they kill her?"
"I was punishing her! I was seeking an explanation about something I bought here, but this commoner dared to insult me, so I had the right to ask my men to catch her!"
"Y-Your highness, i-it's not like that! He wa–"
"Stop, I already know. Don't worry, I'll take care of this situation." I nodded towards the clerk to calm her down before staring coldly to the young man.
Al Riea is a nephew of the empress. He is a young man of around 20 years of age, son of Carson Riea, a powerful general of the empire and brother of Lilia Riea, the empress.
As you can imagine, our relationship is pretty bad. He always tried to find problems with me at each opportunity, but he never was successful.
Despite it, however, he never dared to attack my men openly. Furthermore, he is accusing me of selling fake goods. Although most people will understand that it's a lie, our reputation will be affected regardless.
It's obvious that the reason because he came was due to the announcement of yesterday. It looks like some people cannot wait to see me fall.
"Explain, what is the problem with the vase." I frowned and ordered harshly. Al grunted in displeasure, but quickly spoke.
"You see, I bought this vase a few days ago, but when I observed it in detail this morning, I realized that it was fake. Imagine my surprise when I discovered it; after all, your auction has a reputation. I can't believe that you dare to sell a fake. Maybe that is the reason because Clara did not want to marry you." He then smiled maliciously.
I wrinkled my brows. I needed just a look to know that the vase was fake. Of course, we did not sell a fake. He probably got a fake somewhere and brought it here.
Moreover, he mentioned the name of my fiancée. It's obvious that he wants to make use of this opportunity to embarrass me.
I intensified my glare and moved my mana through my body. Al retreated involuntarily, but he quickly realized his mistake and tightened his fist in fury.
"You know that once the goods are taken outside the auction house we are not responsible for them, right? Moreover, you had the vase a few days. Why did you not notice anything until now?"
"As I told you, I just checked this morning. Besides, I'm sure you can make an exception for a family like mine." He replied mockingly. We both knew that it was nothing more than a trick to harm the reputation of my business. This was nothing more than a farce.
However, I wanted to play with him.
"Are you sure that the vase is fake?"
"Of course, you can examine it. Also, you must give me an explanation about my men's injuries." He replied confidently.
I took the vase and observed it carefully. Then, under the astonished stares of the surroundings, I threw it against the ground.
The vase crashed and broke in hundred of pieces. Everybody looked at me with frozen gazes, but I ignored them. With a calm expression, I grabbed a piece of the vase and showed it to the surroundings.
"Five-hundred-years-old clay. It looks genuine for me. What do you think? I passed the piece at one of the clerks casually. The clerk put on a startled expression but quickly received it. "Y-You are right, Your highness. I-It's genuine."
"... Huh?" Al could not understand what was happening.
I passed the piece of clay to the old man behind him. The old man examined it and quickly, his face turned pale.
"Y-Young master, i-it's genuine."
"Impossible! I'm sure it was fake!" Al replied. He looked at the piece of clay, but soon, his expression turned unsightly.
"I think you forgot to bring the fake and brought the original instead, young master Al." I chuckled softly and mocked him. "A shame, I destroyed it thinking it was fake. Well, you can't fault me for that, right?"
Al looked at me with a dark expression, but then, he waved his hand.
"Let's go! Someone carry the injured out!"
"Wait a moment!" I interrupted him.
"What do you want?!" He asked.
"Do you think you can cause trouble here without any consequence?"
Al's expression changed. But before he could react, my sword flashed.
In the next second, the heads of the two soldiers fell to the ground. Then, the sword pierced the heart of the old man behind Al.
Finally, the tip of my sword stopped before the young man's neck.
Al's face turned pale. An expression of fear appeared on his face, but I simply chuckled and retracted my sword. "How useless."
I did not care about showing strength greater than the fourth layer. After all, my fight against the captain was witnessed for a few people, so it will not take long before the nobles learn that I showed strength equivalent to the sixth layer.
It probably will give me a bit of breathing room.
Al stepped back continuously with a frightened expression. Then, he turned around and escaped quickly. I chuckled again and looked at the surroundings. Coughing a pair of times, I raised my voice and spoke to the people watching the spectacle.
"Everybody, this farce has ended. Please don't block the entrance."
A few seconds later, almost everybody was gone.