"Don't touch me," Maya uttered to the woman trying to hug her, her tone full of venom.
'Yep, that's definitely not her mother,' Alex thought inwardly, observing the scene.
From the way Maya had spoken about her mother, both he and Amelia had gathered that the young woman was very close to her. It was certain that she wouldn't reject her like this, especially in front of so many people.
"I see that you're still cold to me, sweetheart," the woman sighed, her expression hurt. "I've been so worried since your disappearance. It's not nice of you to refuse even a hug," she added in a sad tone, tears forming at the corner of her eyes.
"Yeah, I'm sure you were devastated and cried the whole time," Maya spat sarcastically.
"Mm," the woman nodded as she wiped her tears, "it was indeed a dark time for me and the whole family, but at least you're back," she flashed Maya a strained smile.
The woman, whose name Alex still didn't know, glanced past Maya. Noticing Alex and Amelia, she asked curiously, "Might I know who your friends are?"
"That's none of your business, Frieda," Maya retorted coldly. "If you're done crying, let us enter."
"I'm sorry, little Maya, but unless I know their identities, I can't allow them to pass," the woman, Frieda, shook her head apologetically. "Since your disappearance, we've tightened security around the cities under our control, and without knowing who your friends are, I can't let them in."
"I can vouch for them," Maya insisted, "they are not dangerous and are here for business, not trouble."
"Even so, that's not possible," Frieda shook her head again. "I can't let you enter."
"You can't let me enter?" Maya repeated, disbelief mixed with disdain. "I'm the heiress of the family, you can't deny me anything here."
"True," Frieda chuckled, "I certainly can't deny you anything, but it's different for them," she pointed at Alex and Amelia. "I can refuse them entry to the city even if I know who they are. As the one overseeing this year's auction, if I deem them a threat to its success, not even you can make them enter."
When Maya heard that Frieda was the one overseeing this year's auction, her expression darkened. *Has something happened to Mother while I was gone?* she wondered, unease creeping through her.
Meanwhile, Alex, standing behind her, felt the situation spiraling out of control. *If this keeps up, we might actually be denied entry,* he thought, growing tense.
At that moment, a calm but authoritative voice echoed from behind Alex.
"Did you just say we can't enter?"
Glancing back, Alex saw Charles Drickon, the noble he had once threatened to kill if he dared to order him around, descending from the second carriage. His sharp gaze was locked onto Frieda.
'Great timing,' Alex mused, his lips curling into a faint smile. 'Let's see if she still refuses after seeing all the nobles with us.' He was certain that the one tasked with overseeing the auction wouldn't want to antagonize a whole group of nobles.
As expected, the moment Frieda saw and recognized the noble youths descending from the carriage, her face showed a brief flicker of shock, but she quickly regained her composure.
With a gracious smile, Frieda nodded to the nobles. "Of course, the young masters and ladies may enter."
"In fact, I will personally escort you to the emissaries of your respective families," she added, her voice softening in politeness, but then her eyes slid back to Alex, and her tone grew colder. "...However, that doesn't mean I will allow them to enter," she continued, nodding toward Alex and Amelia. "Not unless they agree to take off their masks."
'Bitch!' Alex cursed inwardly, beginning to understand why Maya hated this woman. Still, he kept his composure.
Just as he cleared his throat, preparing to speak, another feminine voice—far more commanding and authoritative than Frieda's—rang out from behind her.
"If Maya can vouch for them, I see no reason to deny their entry."
Instantly recognizing the voice, Frieda turned sharply, her confidence visibly wavering as she looked up at the imposing figure of a tall woman towering over her.
The woman in question stood as tall as Alex, around 190 cm, with an impressively curvaceous figure. Her thick hips and perfectly sculpted hourglass body gave her an alluring presence, and her breasts—almost as large as Talia's—commanded attention. Despite the conservative attire she wore, the heavy, ample chest beneath her clothes moved with a hypnotic sway, capable of captivating any man's gaze.
Like Frieda, she possessed the same fiery orange hair and striking orange eyes. However, the most remarkable feature was her uncanny resemblance to Maya. She appeared slightly older, though not by much. If she were shorter, younger, and wearing glasses, one might easily mistake her for Maya's twin sister.
At a glance, anyone could tell she was closely related to Maya, and they would be correct—this woman was none other than Maya's mother.
Unlike her daughter, though, she exuded a fierce, commanding aura. Her beauty was undeniable, but it wasn't the kind that invited admiration. Instead, most people would instinctively lower their gaze, unsettled by her intensity.
When Alex's eyes fell upon this striking woman, he froze momentarily.
At that moment, for the second time in his life, he felt an overwhelming sense of familiarity with this woman. It was a strange, almost unsettling sensation, as if her presence triggered something deep within his memory. Though he was sure they had never met before, the feeling that he had always known her persisted. It wasn't just a passing resemblance or a fleeting thought—there was something profoundly familiar about her aura, her stance, even the way she carried herself.
The only time he had felt this sensation was when he had encountered his first wife: Lilia. Much like what had happened with Lilia, Alex felt himself falling in love at first sight.
The feeling of falling in love with someone he was just encountering for the first time was confusing for him at best, and utterly overwhelming at worst. However, the feeling couldn't be mistaken; it was pure and sincere love.
There wasn't just feelings of love, though. There was an equally incommensurable lust and desire to make this woman his that coursed through his body, almost making him lose control of himself.
Thankfully, he was wearing his smoke armor because, right at this moment, a noticeable bulge formed in his pants. His dick was so hard that it could probably crush a boulder, violently pulsing with a need that was almost impossible to ignore.
Alex wasn't worried about his erection being seen, though. He was far too busy wrestling with the more dangerous urge to grab Maya's mother, pin her to the ground, and have his way with her, fucking her in all the known positions to man.
Noticing her brother's trembling, Amelia glanced at Alex curiously, a silent question flashing in her eyes. She could see that his gaze was fixed entirely on the woman, so she too shifted her attention to Freya.
Meanwhile, Frieda's confident smile faltered ever so slightly at the sight of Freya, though she quickly recovered, plastering a cordial expression on her face. "Oh, Freya, what are you doing here? If memory serves me right, today you should—"
"None of your business," Freya cut her off coldly, dismissing her with the same words her daughter had used earlier.
Frieda's lips tightened in a brief flash of displeasure, but she forced herself to stay composed, expertly masking her disdain for Freya. "Well, you don't have to answer that," Frieda continued, her voice still laced with a hint of righteousness. "But as I've told Maya, I am the one overseeing this year's auction. If I believe someone poses a threat to the event's proper flow, I have the authority to deny their entry. Even you, the matriarch, can't overrule me on this. The elders placed me in charge and granted me full power to act as I see fit."
In response, Freya let out a cold chuckle, a smile of disdain creeping across her face. The look she gave Frieda was one of pure contempt, as though she found her words amusing and utterly beneath her.
"I think you don't understand something here," Freya said, stepping forward, her imposing figure looming over Frieda. "I am the matriarch and head of the Drazen family. My orders are law. I have never needed, nor will I ever need, your permission. When I give a command, you execute it, plain and simple."
The moment Freya spoke , every ounce of Frieda's bravado evaporated in an instant, her confidence shattered like fragile glass.
Biting her tongue to stop herself from cowering in front of Freya, Frieda shot her a defiant look that seemed to convey "we are not done" before reluctantly turning back to the group of nobles.
Forcing a polite smile, she said, "If you will follow me, young masters and ladies, I'll escort you to your families' emissaries currently staying in the city."
The nobles nodded in agreement and began following after Frieda, heading towards the city gates. Daisy hesitated momentarily but eventually decided to join them.
Alex, however, was too entranced by Freya to pay them any mind. Even if he had noticed, he wouldn't have tried to stop them. He had already bound them with soul contracts. If any of them had even entertained the idea of disappearing before settling their debts upon reaching Drisidd, death would be their only outcome.
Once Frieda and the group of nobles had disappeared from view, both Maya and Freya spat in unison, "Flat-chested snake."