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Chapter 14: The Magical Artifact Auction
🕑 Added 2025-01-09 20:00:48 +0000 UTCCharlot was slightly surprised and said, “Miss Annie! Why are you here so early? I was just about to take care of some personal business. Your carriage is over there; thank you for letting me borrow it.”
Annie nodded at another coachman on the carriage. That coachman jumped down and moved the carriage left here overnight out of the way.
She said to Charlot, “Where are you going? Let me give you a ride.”
Charlot greatly envied those who traveled by carriage. Riding in a carriage was far more comfortable than walking, especially on rainy days when traveling on foot was nothing short of a disaster.
He could afford a carriage, but owning one required a courtyard to park it, a stable for the horse, and hiring a coachman. The associated costs were too much for a first-class civil servant ranked forty-one, or even thirty-seven, to bear. It was a lifestyle marked by class disparity.
He replied, “A friend asked me to sell a magical artifact.”
Annie’s eyes lit up as she said, “I happen to know of a magical artifact auction.”
Charlot felt a faint sense of joy. He had no real connections; if he wanted to sell something, his only option was second-hand goods shops, which generally offered low prices. Magical artifact auctions, however, often fetched several times higher prices.
Such gatherings were events for the elite. The hosts were usually people of considerable status, and only fabulously wealthy merchants or high-ranking nobles were invited.
The Mecklenburg family was wealthy, but still not rich enough to meet the standards of these auctions. As the second son of the Mecklenburg family, Charlot couldn’t even get his foot in the door.
Annie extended her delicate hand in an inviting gesture.
Charlot hesitated only briefly before opening the door for Annie and inviting her into the carriage. He then climbed in himself.
This carriage was a bit simpler than the one from the previous day, but it was still spacious enough to seat seven or eight people.
Charlot sat opposite Annie and asked, “Miss Annie, don’t you have classes today?”
As a third-year student, her studies should have been demanding. Charlot asked casually, intending to start a conversation.
Annie answered with a hint of pride, “I’ve already completed my core credits. I only have a few internship classes left, so my schedule is quite flexible. I don’t need to go to school every day.”
Charlot suddenly realized that he shouldn’t view the world of an academic overachiever through the eyes of an ordinary student.
During Huang Haisheng’s university days, he had been endlessly stressed, working hard to complete assignments under his professors’ guidance, constantly worried about having enough credits to graduate, unable to relax even a little. As the saying went in the mathematics department: “When pushed to the limit, humans can do anything—except math.”
Charlot Mecklenburg’s university experience had been much the same. He graduated from Leman Public Academy and was admitted to the Behemoth National Institute, where he had taken electives like Lamia Breathing Techniques, but he only barely managed to form a power seed by the time he graduated, never breaking through. During four years at Sheffield University, he had also failed to awaken, ultimately only stepping into the extraordinary realm through summoning a dark god.
Compared to Annie Bretagne, who reached extraordinary status in her first year on her own power, Charlot was clearly outclassed.
Annie Bretagne appeared far more composed today than yesterday. This young lady was quite tall—by Earth’s measurements, she stood at approximately 170 cm. Even accounting for shoe thickness, she was no shorter than 168 cm, making her a tall girl.
Today, she wore tortoiseshell-framed glasses instead of a long dress. Her knee-high boots, leather hunting pants, and a form-fitting jacket highlighted her long legs perfectly. Her smooth golden hair was tied into a ponytail that hung behind her head, exuding an air of elegance and decisiveness. Beside her seat lay a tricorn hat.
After some pleasantries, Charlot asked, “Miss Annie, do you have other plans for today? If I’ve caused you to change your schedule, I would feel terribly sorry.”
Annie hesitated briefly before answering, “I’m also going to the magical artifact auction.”
Then, in a low voice, she added, “But there’s something I must explain to you, Mr. Mecklenburg. I’m not attending the auction to make a purchase, but because…the person who killed my aunt will be there today.”
Charlot was stunned. “Mr. Yanmills is attending? Shouldn’t we report this to the city patrol guards?”
Annie bit her lip and said, “The host of the magical artifact auction is the Duchess of Messau. The city patrol guards cannot enter the venue.”
Charlot immediately understood. While the Fars Empire was a society governed by law, it operated on a vastly different system from what Huang Haisheng had known in his previous life.
In Huang Haisheng’s old world, no high-ranking official would dare openly entertain a fugitive. In this world, however, the law was nothing more than a piece of scrap paper in the face of nobility.
Power was above the law!
The city patrol guards would never offend a duchess like the Duchess of Messau over a fugitive, especially one as influential as her.
Charlot had heard many rumors about the Duchess of Messau, all of which boiled down to one fact: she commanded one-sixth of the empire’s navy.
The Northern Fleet was the hereditary force of the Messau family, loyal not to the emperor but to the Messau lineage.
If not for Zimourman Axel Robin’s return with the Pirate King’s fleet and the losses the Duchess of Messau suffered while exploring the Raging Sea, the Northern Fleet would, at its peak, have comprised half of the Imperial Navy.
As Charlot pondered whether his small item might be unworthy of such a high-end auction, he was interrupted by Annie’s apologetic voice. “I’m sorry to involve you in this, Mr. Mecklenburg, but I really need your help.”
Charlot was puzzled. “How can I help?”
He couldn’t see how getting involved at the Duchess of Messau’s auction was a good idea. Even with the influence of the Bretagne family, such actions were unwise.
Annie whispered, “He knows me, but he doesn’t know you. You can help me approach him and place this tracking beetle on him. That way, even if he leaves the auction, I can still track him.”
Annie Bretagne opened her hand to reveal a small black beetle. The beetle was lifelike, but it wasn’t a living creature; it was a magical alchemical creation, complete with gears as fine as threads.
Charlot didn’t understand how magical alchemical creations operated. While Earth’s technology could achieve similar feats, the principles were clear and scientific. Magical alchemical creations, however, were shrouded in mystery, their workings still lacking a complete theoretical foundation. This world indeed held its own marvels.
The task seemed simple enough and unlikely to cause trouble. Charlot readily agreed, smiling as he said, “I’m happy to be of service to you, Miss Annie.”
After discussing some of the finer points of the plan, the carriage arrived in front of an old residence.
Charlot hadn’t expected the magical artifact auction to be held in the Alexander District.
He had always assumed it would take place in Val-de-Vas but never imagined it would be in the Alexander District, and so close to the Savings Union apartments.
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