Vince turned his head to see the lady who wanted to take him as a slave.
His eyes fell on a silver-haired woman whose glowing beauty seemed to shine even in the darkness.
She wore a long-sleeved black dress that reached a couple of inches above her knees. Her small waist was cinched with a silver armor corset, and a thin white lace adorned her collar, with a gemstone in the middle of the ribbon. She wore white high boots with golden details that reached up to her knees. Over her dress was a long white cape with a fur-lined collar.
She smiled sweetly at him, and Vince felt his heart skip a beat.
It was the kind of smile that was so demure, so alluring, and innocently seductive.
Oh God, was she even real? Vince found it hard to move or even blink.
Even when the lady walked past him, he remained unmoving for a few seconds. Then he snapped out of his reverie and averted his gaze in front of him.
The silver-haired lady was now standing a few steps ahead of him, smiling at the audience.
Then she looked at the announcer.
"As I said, I will take Mr. Rosen as my slave, Kirk."
The announcer looked as astounded as everyone else. He smiled widely at the lady and gave her a curt bow.
"Of course, Lady Raine! You will have Vince Rosen as your slave!"
Kirk looked at the crowd. "Isn't this surprising, ladies and gentlemen? Who would have thought that Demon City's beloved Lady Raine would participate in today's event? I am sure you are as surprised as I am! Hahaha!"
The chattering in the crowd continued.
"Why would a royal lady like her choose such a useless slave?"
"How I wish I had joined the Selection too! Maybe Lady Raine would have noticed me as well…"
"Is it because he's handsome? But she has a lot of handsome admirers across all the cities."
In the center of the hall, Vince couldn't take his eyes off the silver-haired lady.
She looked to be about his age. She was tall, must be around 175 cm at least, and she seemed so sweet and kind, like someone who couldn't even kill a mosquito. And the way she smiled so brightly, it was enough to brighten a bad day. She didn't just look like a ray of sunshine, she was the sunshine herself.
In the middle of it all, another voice caught everyone's attention.
"I also want him as my slave!"
When the people turned to see where the words came from, the hall fell silent.
Vince was shocked as well. He had been about to lose hope earlier, but then the silver-haired lady appeared out of nowhere. And now there was another one, but this time, it was a redhead lady.
She stood from the southern part of the hall and walked away from her table. Most of her dress was burgundy, flowing down to the floor, but it had long slits on both legs, stopping at her thighs.
She wore long black boots that reached her knees, with sharp, high heels. Her waist was cinched with a black corset over her dress, and black sleeves draped down her exposed shoulders. She had a choker necklace with a drop of ruby as its pendant.
"Holy horse, what is happening? Lady Raine and now Lady Scarlett???"
Vince heard the announcer beside him mutter to himself, and he wondered who these two ladies were.
As the redhead lady walked toward the center of the hall, Vince noticed her crimson eyes and realized she was a vampire.
She was beautiful, but her beauty was dark and feminine, the kind that looked dangerous and seductive, like she knew her strength and never tried to hide it. She looked hot-tempered too.
To Vince, the silver-haired lady and the red-head were equally beautiful, but their beauties contrasted sharply.
Vince looked at the silver-haired lady and noticed that the charming smile on her face was now gone. Her bright hazel eyes had turned hollow and cold, and the air around her had become icy, as if she had turned into a completely different person from how she was a moment ago.
"For people who tend to be on opposing sides, it is surprising to find that we have the same taste in men, Lady Scarlett," the silver-haired lady said in a rather amiable tone, with a small smile touching her lips, though the smile didn't reach her eyes.
"What can I say, I love surprising people. I hope you don't mind if I compete with you, Raine. After all, the Selection is open to all noble and royal ladies in our kingdom," Scarlett said, stopping several steps away from her.
Raine was calm, but her eyes were hostile and sharp toward the redhead lady.
"Of course, I don't mind. I also took part in ensuring that everything would go smoothly in today's event. After all, our city is hosting it for this century. It is a pleasure to have your participation."
Looking at the two women, Vince's lips parted.
What on earth was happening?
Was he dreaming? Was it real that these two drop-dead gorgeous ladies were fighting over him? It was borderline impossible!
"Your city has done nothing but be hospitable to us from Vampire City, and I appreciate that, Lady Raine," Scarlett smiled, but it was a teasing smile. "Now, how about we ask the gentleman whom he will serve?"
It was part of the rules that when two or more ladies wanted a particular man in the Selection, the man had the freedom to choose which lady he would become a mate or a slave to.
Now that the two ladies' eyes were on him, Vince swallowed hard.
It shouldn't be that hard to choose one of them, right? But why did he feel a strong pressure on his shoulders from their stares? It felt like if he refused one of them, he would meet a dire end.
The blond announcer said to Vince with a nervous smile, "I'm sure you already know Lady Raine and Lady Scarlett, young man."
Still, Kirk chose to speak a few things about the ladies to help the man decide.
"As we all know, both ladies are royals. Lady Raine is the Captain of Demon City's guardians. She is very beautiful, smart, and is considered the goddess of Demon City."
Some were oblivious to how fondly the announcer spoke of the silver-haired lady, but Scarlett knew that Kirk Ludzegar's loyalty belonged to his fellow demon.
Seeing the vampire's glare at him, Kirk immediately added, "O-of course, Lady Scarlett doesn't fall short. She is of royal blood, very beautiful as well, and she is the Captain of Vampire City's guardians."
The slight furrowing of Raine's brows hinted at her annoyance, but her expression quickly smoothed, and she turned to Vince with a smile.
"I changed my mind."
Vince met her gaze, his face marred with confusion. What did she mean by that? Did she mean to say that she no longer wanted to take him as her slave?
The sweet and innocent smile remained on her face, but a glint of mischief crossed her eyes.
"I want you to be my mate instead, not a slave."