Chapter 36

“50 million gold!”

“No, 60 million gold!”

Unlike the auction during the day, where there was a lot of hesitation, voices from all over the place were already shouting large amounts at the start of the night auction.

The color gradually faded from Izren’s face. Gazing at his whitening face, Hilvenzia put up her mask satisfactorily.

‘Escort Knight, whose purpose is unknown.’

If they can’t keep it away from Jayna because of the Tower Lord’s order, then she will just make him quit on his own.

It was at the moment when her mouth was drawing a strange line.

“Hilvenzia-nim. There’s something I want.”

Hilvenzia looked down, startled by the voice she shouldn’t have heard.

Jayna was still leaning against the shoulder of Hilvenzia. Just as she wanted.

But Jayna, who must be asleep due to the sleeping powder, was only blinking her sleepy eyes.

“Buy me those hybrid slaves.”

“What are you going to do with buying them?”

“You know it too Hilvenzia-nim. I feel the same with them.”

Izren’s shoulders flinched and trembled at her words, but Jayna didn’t care and continued.

“Didn’t you hear that I begged Michael-nim to tell the Tower Lord about Izren, applying as a knight?”

“……”

“Maybe if the people here had known who I was, I would have been up on that stage as a hybrid slave as well.”

Hilvenzia shut her mouth to Jayna’s words. Before she knew it, her facial expression disappeared from her face.

‘I thought this girl was just a dragon. She is a hybrid?’

He didn’t know what it meant, because he doesn’t know much about her.

But at this moment, Izren wanted to know more about Jayna. Even if he is a puppet who moves at the command of the Tower Lord.

Because the girl in front of him was trying to save the mixed-blooded slaves who were merely stones rather than any kind of jewel.

“OK, Jayna. I understand what you mean, but you don’t have to worry.”

“What?”

“Because there is a justice knight here other than me.”

Following Hilvenzia’s gaze, Jayna also turned her gaze over to a spot.

There sat the woman in the ponytail who had competed with Hilvenzia earlier.

“It’s fun, but I can’t allow it anymore.”

The woman’s voice, oddly enough, was strangely loud amid the noisy place surrounding them.

It didn’t seem like Jayna was the only one who felt it. Everyone was now paying attention to her.

“To buy and sell slaves in an empire where human trafficking is not permitted…”

The auction house, which became quiet due to the woman’s voice, was suddenly filled with heat.

“What? What did you just say?”

“If you don’t have money, just stay in a corner. Who are you to talk?”

People who had been enthusiastic about crossbreeds’ auctions poured out sharp words at her, saying that she had ruined the atmosphere.

But the woman didn’t budge.

She was not affected by the pouring criticism. Indeed, it doesn’t matter what they say.

“I am Eliael Izney Delide, The First Commander of the Imperial Army.”

Elia confidently straightened her shoulders and pulled out two swords from behind her back.

“I’ll arrest you all for trafficking.”

Kwang!

The closed-door opened, and the pouring knights surrounded the exit firmly. The auction participants panicked, but there was nowhere to escape.

“You’re always so cool.”

In the meantime, Hilvenzia leaned into a chair with crossing her long legs. It was a habit of hers that shows didn’t care about this mess at all.

Then a knight approached her causing her to open her eyes.

“In accordance with the Imperial Law, you are arrested-“

“Didn’t Her Highness tell you about me?”

“What is it?”

Soon the knight backed off in surprise.

“A-are you Hilvenzia-nim? Please excuse my rudeness!”

The auction house became quiet as soon as all the people were arrested.

Hilvenzia clapped slowly as Princess Elia approached her.

“You’re still great.”

“Hilvenzia Rotien.”

Hilvenzia’s expression slightly cracked.

“Rotien” was a title given to an excellent alchemist as a meaning of respect, but Princess Elia never called ” Rotien” in the sense of respect. And Hilvenzia knew that too.

“When are you going to make a move worthy of ‘Rotien’?”

“I’m the one who told you about this illegal human trafficking.”

“Because you are still cunning.”

Then Princess Elia frowned, looking at Jayna next to Hilvenzia.

“Did you actually bring a child to a place like this? Well, I’m not surprised anymore.”

Izren, who saw Hilvenzia put Jayna to sleep before the hybrid slaves came to the stage, looked at Hilvenzia, but she continued to smile languidly.

Jayna slowly blinked her big eyes, trying to keep them from closing.

She was able to stay awake even after inhaling the sleeping powder because she had a strange feeling of spinning and her nerves were on the edge.

But it was the sleep powder of Hilvenzia, not anyone else. Even Jayna, who is a dragon, couldn’t last long.

‘I want to solve the misunderstanding…’

Jayna seized her mind and continued to speak slowly.

“Hilvenzia-nim put me to sleep. I just woke up early.”

“You…”

“My name is Jayna.”

“Are you ‘that’ child?”

Elia looked at Jayna gently and opened her mouth as if to say something.

“Well, Your Royal Highness…”

But then, a hurried knight whispered something in Princess Elia’s ear. Elia soon nodded and said to Jayna.

“I hope to see you at the palace soon. I’ll send you an invitation as soon as possible.”

Princess Elia turned away without hearing Jayna’s answer.

The words of Princess Elia, famous for being a member of the royal family, and also the hero who saved the world, were just like a royal order.

“It’s an honorable thing. It’s probably the first time that Her Highness Elia has invited someone.”

“Why didn’t you make any excuses?”

Jayna said, looking up at Hilvenzia.

“Because I didn’t have to.”

“Even though Her Highness misunderstood you, Hilvenzia-nim?”

“How did you know that?”

“I saw in a book in the tower Library that Hilvenzia invented a healing reagent during the reign of the Evil King.”

“You’ve read and managed to remember that. But it is not important.”

Princess Elia had no good feelings for Hilvenzia.

It was because when the curse of the Devil King spread throughout the continent, it was said that Hilvenzia was so afraid to do anything and eventually hid on her own. But the truth was, Hilvenzia knows her ability as a poison and curse expert will not work against the beast and the evil king.

So instead, Hilvenzia worked on ‘healing reagent’ research and eventually made the first reagent.

‘Healing reagent.’

The reagent, which can heal almost any wound unless it is a fatal wound, was a very high-priced item that only she, Hilvenzia could make.

The reason why Hilvenzia learned that the trade of slaves of the different races was taking place at the auction house was that she had put up healing reagents as auction items.

Jayna, who knew about it through the original work, was feeling sorry for her.

When Jayna looked at her as if she knew everything, she(Hilvenzia) recalled memories of her childhood.

‘Success.’

The days when she had to run tirelessly just to finish her research.

But no one wants to acknowledge her efforts. They just point out that she’s a coward.

That’s why Hilvenzia didn’t want to show her hard-won research results to others.

It was the same with the Tower Lord, who placed a powerful curse on himself.

‘However…’

If she had revealed the reagent to the world and made it well-known, maybe Jayna wouldn’t need to risk her life for saving people.

As Hilvenzia lowered her eyes, shadows fell under her long eyelashes.

Her white and thin fingers tapped slowly on the chair and stopped at some point.

‘I already know the answer.’

Hilvenzia smiled and stroked Jayna’s head.

Realizing that the child, who she thought was just interesting at first, finally changed her mind.

***

Hilvenzia was not the only one who changed that day.

After returning from the auction house, Izren, who was quietly following Jayna, suddenly spoke softly to her in front of the door.

“I, I’m learning the Imperial language because of you.”

“What?”

Jayna had a puzzled look on her face because she didn’t understand what he meant. However, Izren kept his mouth shut as if he had no intention of explaining it in detail.

Izren didn’t have any intention to learn the Imperial language deeply.

Because even if he speaks the same language in the Empire, he will still be an eternal stranger to them.

And also because he didn’t want to understand the words that were insulting him.

However, at this moment, Izren regretted neglecting the Imperial language in the past.

Why did she sacrifice her own life to save those people, and why she tried to save the Neandras, putting aside the gold and silver treasures in front of her.

He had a lot of questions to ask the girl in front of him, but he can’t.

“I’m Izren. Izren Danarod of the Neandra tribe, a Suin.”

When Izren introduced himself in awkward Imperial language, Jayna, who stared up at him with clear eyes, slowly opened her mouth.

“The Dragons call me Ashrid, but just call me Jayna. That’s the name my mother gave me.”