Chapter 122: A den of hell III
The sound of the drums rolling echoed throughout the entire room. Lights flickered with anticipation, and the red curtain opened up, finally revealing what was hidden behind it.
At this point, Dorian had settled down in the VIP seat he just bought, with Maria and Seraphina accompanying him there as well.
The moment he got there, he had already identified three nobles seated in the VIP section with the use of his Analysis skill.
The first was Baron Lord Forgriam Telia.
The second was the first son of the Count, Yalin Gared.
The third was the governor of the entire eastern trading border, Sir Alex Law.
The rest were of higher or equal power to the nobles mentioned so far.
Actually, Forgriam was the only lower-class noble granted access to the VIP lounge, other than Dorian, of course.
Others were comfortable in the lower seats, cheering and singing as the female mascot walked out of the curtains to address them.
In that moment, one would think of the nobles as kids cheering for their favorite idol, rather than powerful men meant to serve the people and the kingdom.
The more he observed their shitty responses to the event, the more disgusted Dorian became.
Soon, even he could not ignore the scene happening at the center stage, where the red curtain had opened up to.
Standing at the center stage was a figure, very likely to be a woman, her face covered under a black veil, revealing only a bit of her mesmerizing purple eyes.
In her hand was a small microphone, powered by a red magic circle to amplify her voice in order for everyone in the room to hear with comfort.
A smile soon etched on her face.
"Gentlemen of the house, welcome back to this event. I can see you were all excited to join us here today as usual," she began, her voice soft and seductive.
"As you know, an unforeseen incident happened with the Head Master, and the entire event had to be postponed till today. You have my sympathies, especially since I know many of you powerful men had to make up excuses in order to make it here today without arousing any suspicion."
"Yes!"
"No more postponing without warning!"
"Yeah!"
The nobles all began to voice their dissatisfaction with what happened, all while some of them turned their attention towards Baron Lord Telia.
Dorian glared.
’Telia is the one in charge here? The one they call the Head Master?’ he sighed. ’This entire thing makes no sense. I can clearly see multiple Counts in the crowd, so why the hell would anyone willingly follow a Baron of all people? Is it just a disguise or something? Only idiot nobles disguise themselves as something lesser.’
He paused, noticing Maria had moved her lips to his ear.
"Master, I just received word from Aces. They found the other elves locked inside the hidden warehouses, making a total of seven hidden prisons found so far."
Dorian sighed once again.
’Since I intend to end everything tonight, there is no reason for me to hold back. Thankfully, because of the Bond title, I can share my skills with my wives. Anything that is happening outside can be communicated telepathically.’ He then replied after assessing his thoughts,
"Sure. Tell them to release them all but keep them in a hidden, safe place until I give the word."
"Understood." Maria moved her eyes away. She could instantly tell by the expression on Dorian’s face that he was indeed in no mood to smile.
His blank and stoic expression, which he normally only ever uses when he wants to scam a person, was glued to his face, refusing to melt.
While she liked seeing him like this, she couldn’t exactly tell him that to his face.
So, she chose to observe, anticipating whatever move he could possibly pull next.
Suddenly, the loud voice echoed from the woman, disrupting the angry cheers from the people.
"Ladies and gentlemen, please, we do not want to raise too much noise in order not to attract attention to our humble gathering," the veiled woman tried to calm them down, and it worked.
Every single noble that had been raising their voices now had their mouths closed and smiles etched on their faces.
Seraphina picked up on it almost instantly. "Mind control?" she thought out loud, enough for Dorian to hear.
’Mind control? Another skill used by Mages.’ He then looked at the crowd, seeing their eyes glowing with wild hunger.
[The skill Analysis has been activated.]
[Target identified.]
[Name: Lord Orlain of the West Territory.]
[Current status: Mind Manipulation and Intoxication.]
[More info: The spell casted on this individual is one that consciously increases their desire the longer they remain within range of the spell. Side effects of the spell are as follows: Addiction, loss of rational thinking, and heightened drives.]
’In other words, the people who came here for the sole purpose of purchasing and buying elves now have to deal with the fact there is a high chance they will become addicted to that very reason.’
[Affirmative.]
’Good. You managed to make this even more sick for me.’
Mid-thought, he turned his gaze back to the veiled woman to listen to what she had to say, or rather, see where the event was leading before he made his judgment.
Once the veiled woman picked up on the fact the nobles present before her had calmed down as requested, she pushed on.
"Thank you." A creepy yet silent smile appeared on her face after those words.
"As an apology for yesterday’s drama, the Head Master has decided to throw in a little show for you. Unlike our usual bidding, this time, it’s simply a show. You pay, and we do."
Murmurs echoed, wondering what she meant by that.
Then, without uttering a single word, she stepped to the side, giving way for security guards to walk onto the stage, dragging several people dressed in perfectly neat, beautiful dresses, with sacks over their faces.
Seeing this, Dorian could not help but lean forward to get a good look at the new set of people showing themselves to the ground.
Right after that, the guards began removing the sacks, one by one, revealing the faces of beautiful elves all wearing makeup.
Their hair was styled well, and even their skin was glowing with high-quality oil.
The moment the elves were presented, everyone began cheering loudly, reaching for their bags and purses to pull out their money.
"About damn time!"
"This is what I am here for!"
"Yesss!"
Their voices rang out as they barked like animals. Dorian watched, his eyes narrowed, as the lustful gazes of the nobles fell upon the captive elves.
He could feel the disgust rising in his throat. These so-called powerful men, acting like ravenous beasts.
The veiled woman, observing the frenzy she had created, smirked.
"As you can see, gentlemen, these are the finest specimens we have acquired," she announced, her voice dripping with mock sweetness.
"Each one a unique beauty, carefully prepared for your viewing pleasure. And tonight, we offer a special exhibition. Instead of an auction, we invite you to simply enjoy the show."
She gestured to the guards, who then began to untie the elves from their restraints.
A new wave of cheers erupted from the crowd, a mix of anticipation and depraved excitement.
Dorian, however, remained still, his blank expression remained, but the glint in his eyes spoke volumes.
...
[A/N]
There won’t be authors note for a while. So please continue to support this work as you have, the growth has truly been rewarding, even though I haven’t really lived up to the expectations.
Thank you for reading.