The rest of the auction dragged painfully slow in Lizzie's opinion. A case of being presented with a golden goose too early into the night, every other item brought out to be sold looked dull in comparison to the shine of the female lead. This is why the rule to live by is to save the best for last, each participant was waiting for something better to come out and wow them even more. However they were only left with disappointment at each new child forcibly pushed out. The auctioneer did his best but most were uninterested. Although it was nice to see those who had taken them in such a predicament, it did not bring much joy to Lizzie. They would still get paid and those buying the children snagged new servants at a surprisingly affordable price. Some kids left at price tags as low fifty…well whatever the currency in this world was. Lizzie actually had no idea if these people used dollars, yen, maybe peso? The original story never mentioned it and all the participants just yelled out the amount, never the amount of what.
Didn't their teachers tell them to label their work? Fifty what? Goats?
Lizzie wondered, it even caused her to laugh under her breath as she imagined the great Duke Earnest arriving with one hundred million goats to pay for Beth. Hopefully he still had a few left over for her. That was if he was coming back for her. So much time had passed, Lizzie's hope sunk lower and lower at each second slipping into oblivion. Perhaps her last few seconds of somewhat freedom. She was a few kids from the figurative guillotine and her mind was bursting with all sorts of observations. Once one subject ended by pushing reality into her face, Lizzie would scoop another one out of the stream of consciousness that bubbled up with one thought in particular.
I want to go home.
Who knew anything could be worse than there? Perhaps this was all to teach her to appreciate her living situation back there, like some isekai version of Saw. If that's the case it worked, god did it work. The shabby apartment door that ate her key and did not lock from the inside were heaven's gates. The air mattress that cradled her sleepless nights looked as if angel's themselves had sewn it with golden thread, kissing it tenderly after every stitch. Such a fantasy was so compelling, Lizzie was tempted to live in it forever if possible. That big guy from before would not have that though, he certainly seemed to love pushing children into their doom.
"You're next." He said with a psychic look in his eye.
No! I'm good! I want to get off the ride!
Lizzie struggled but it was futile. She often fondly looked back on her childhood years of innocence and joy, who knew being a child again only brought more problems with it? Though this was nothing like the orphanage she grew up in, there she was allowed to go outside.
Dragged onto the stage like the children before her, pulled in by the auctioneer to be asked her name, and stuck standing like a cow in front of a crowd of butchers. Lizzie's eyes scanned the crowd quickly, looking for any semblance of Beth's shining presence. Even that duke would do, though she had no idea what he looked like in real life. In her past life she had briefly read the duke's introduction and formulated her own image of him in her mind. It didn't help that his image was not on the cover.
Who would not put the guy in the title on the cover? Please be here, please be here!
Lizzie's fingers dug deeper into her palms as lazy bets were thrown out.
"Fifty-five." One said, lifting their hand lightly.
"We have fifty-five!" The auctioneer yelled out desperately, "Any others? Look at this face! Not only that, she's strong and healthy for her age!"
Soft muttering peppered throughout the crowd, a bit of whining being the only thing that stood out. One of the children must have been crying is what Lizzie thought. She was the one who wanted to cry.
"I don't know, sixty." Another participant piped in after a few minutes of silence.
Come on! If I'm going to lose my life at least treat it as such. I know Beth is incredible, but I know about the future of this world! At least pay a bit more for me if I have to be sold like this! For my ego's sake!
Just as Lizzie found her resolve shaking along with her legs, a familiar voice cut through the crowd.
"Sixty-one."
Lizzie would know that voice anywhere! She had committed it to memory the moment she heard it and in some off chance she would be able to hear it at her own auction. It seems the rest of the crowd remembered it as well and kept silent as they knew none of them would be able to match him. They hadn't really wanted Lizzie anyway.
You did save some goats for me!
Lizzie cried in her heart. Beth had really pulled through; she didn't doubt it for a minute! Besides there was no way anyone would go against the second most important person in the novel, it was in the bag!
The auctioneer's heart lifted as well. His eyes darted towards the voice of 100 million that he so fondly remembered from the start of the auction. Having the best view on the stage due to being an adult with an adult height, the auctioneer had spotted Duke Earnest immediately. Except a mask covering most of the duke's recognizable features forced the auctioneer to only guess who this mysterious rich man was. If anyone had really wanted to know, they could have looked closer at said mask. Scripted along the side was the undeniable crest of Duke Earnest's house--a fine black stallion's back pressed against a downward facing sword. Despite wanting to hide his identity, Duke Earnest had not thought too hard about it. If anything had gone wrong, he could just have everyone in the place killed after all.
"Ha, sixty-two." Another patron said with a smug tone of voice. This particular patron had been the one to bet two thousand on Beth and was quite peeved to have such a lovely lady snatched from him. Repairing his ego was his goal. Undermining the man who took his prize in this round of auctioning seemed good enough for the time being.
Who the hell are you!? Who has the balls to go against the cold-hearted duke?
Lizzie scanned the crowd more irritable now. It was over for whoever that voice came from, she would gnaw their ankles off if they bought her.
Silence fell on the crowd. The participates growing intrigued as to who would win this battle. Would it be horse face or pompous prideless? Some even considered throwing out a bet for the sheer fun of it, but decided being an audience was better in case either of these men were a higher class than they considered.
"Ah sixty-two! We have sixty-two! Hard to beat, hard to beat! Anyone else want to place a bet?" The auctioneer rubbed his hands before patting Lizzie's back, silently praising her for catching rich horse face's eye.
Silence continued to hold the crowd. It seemed Mr. Pompous Prideless would be satisfied quicker than he anticipated. The auctioneer held out his breath in hopes the 100 million voice would speak once more.
"A-Anyone?" The auctioneer cleared his throat.
The patron who bet sixty-two looked quite annoyed at how long this was taking, very clearly huffing and stomping his foot to signal the auctioneer to crown him the victor. Lizzie's face fell.
Wait, you're not seriously giving up right? Is your precious arm too tired to be raised to make another bet? You have to at least have sixty-three more of whatever currency this place has! Aren't you rich? Did you spend too much on Beth? I told you 100 million was absurd and unnecessary!
Lizzie's mind raced with all sorts of possible reasons for Duke Earnest's disinterest once again. Perhaps he decided it was not worth all the hassle to fight for a child he did not even come for. Lizzie knew she was not Duke Earnest's first, second, or third choice, but still! How heartless could one person be? He brought her hopes up only to crash them into the ground and grind it into sand. Lizzie desperately wished for the auctioneer to continue his stalling. This wish was futile though as the auctioneer still had merchandise to sell. Just as he had given up and decided to call it a sale, Duke Earnest finally spoke up once again.
"Sixty-three." He gritted out.
Soft murmuring of excitement befell the crowd. When the egotistical patron was about to match his bet one higher, Duke Earnest groaned and grabbed something next to him with irritation. A quiet voice could be heard beside him, now held up off the ground as it pestered him to raise his bet. Some members of the audience who could not see the small child, wondered if they had too much champagne and were hearing the horse masked man's inner demons.
"One hundred...thousand" He almost ground his teeth to dust with that statement. The child he held up by its coat now satisfied with that amount.
Lizzie's confusion was overshadowed with joy. The auctioneer brightened as well. The egotistical patron was still willing to battle with wallets. He smiled as he glanced at the amount he brought, planning to either win or bet so much that the 100 million voice would have to spend an outrageous amount of money again. However, as this patron's eyes drifted back up to the stage, his voice was caught in his throat as he saw the black stallion's eyes a few inches away from his own. No further bets were heard.
"Sold!" The auctioneer exclaimed happily.