After discovering this was the same world as the first event, I started participating in as many auctions as possible.
As long as I knew they were selling members of the Snow White Wolves Tribe, it was worth it at least sending someone.
Not only that, I've also investigated rumors and retrieved quite a few of them from the streets.
I even went as far as negotiating directly with nobles who were known to have bought or acquired one of them.
Sadly, while I tried to use only my own resources, there were times when this simply wasn't possible. There were tables I couldn't even sit at without using the Evretis family name.
this chapter is mv|le|mp|y r
Because of that, a few rumors started spreading about them looking to start a collection.
There was also a lot of speculation about their reasons, however, they were promptly shut down by Duke Albris, who decided to go with the narrative that his daughter, Isabella, was the one interested in acquiring them.
Given the direction the speculations were going, I was sure this poor excuse wouldn't stick, but surprisingly, it was widely accepted that this was just another one of her meaningless and impulsive actions.
It seemed like this happened because she already had a bad reputation established in high society, but I still felt this was unfortunate since I didn't want to tarnish her image even more.
Still, the fact that I was looking to acquire as many Snow White Wolves as possible was known to the Evretis, and Albris saw this as an opportunity.
At first, it was innocent and friendly. He offered information and even sent representatives using his own budget to gain favor with me.
This worked well for us both, however, being in that position didn't satisfy him.
He thought he had finally found something to bind me with, so his attempt at gaining favor quickly changed gears, and eventually, he tried to use them as hostages.
Unfortunately for him, I was not interested in playing this silly game.
From the beginning, I was prepared to use any means necessary to obtain them, and Albris discovered this in the worst way possible during his first and only attempt at using them to get to me.
Since I thought he had learned his lessons, I was genuinely surprised when her brothers Lennard and Albert invited us to participate in an auction during Isabella's first-semester break, at the start of this world's winter,
Compared to their father, the two of them had been much more honest and willing towards Isabella, so I decided to give them the benefit of the doubt.
With Isabella also joining us, the chances of either of them doing anything unreasonable also fell drastically.
And so, we traveled north from the capital, towards a particularly well-known and luxurious store.
The place didn't seem all that spacious from the outside, which led me to think it was the type of store that focuses more on quality than quantity.
However, the first floor was surprisingly packed with plenty of interesting and rare items.
They showcased a bunch of different jewels, dresses, paintings, and vases. There were even some interesting-looking spell books and magic tools.
I was surprised by the variety, but the prices caught my attention the most.
Even the least expensive items were costly enough that the yearly income of small businesses or even high-level adventurers couldn't afford.
It was truly bewildering.
Clerk: "Are you perhaps interested in Gigini's works, sir? If you follow me, there is a particular piece..."
I was only looking at the prices.
Out of curiosity, I started searching for the most expensive one.
But once I took a good look at the painting I was checking the price of, I understood why they were so expensive.
They all depicted a different type of scenery, but all of them shared this otherworldly charm that invited me in.
I couldn't imagine how much work was necessary to get such a result, so even though I felt like the prices were outrageous, I couldn't really criticize the work or put my own price on it.
Clerk: "Would you like to take this one?"
However, even though I felt that and recognized the value of the work...
I wasn't willing to pay that much. There were other things I had to prioritize.
Miwen: "Would you look at that? It's almost time for the auction..."
Clerk: "Hm? It won't start for another 30 minutes-"
Pamela cared about her children and the family. But that wasn't including Isabella at all.
With time, her attempts to ignore her existence started to become justification and validation for those working in the house to do the same, or even worse.
Eventually, it became the house's culture.
For someone on the inside, going against the prevalent culture could be seen as challenging the authority maintaining it.
It would be hard for Lennard to do it considering his position as heir to Albris. One misstep and he could lose everything.
While the same wasn't true for Albert, his position was even more delicate.
It's cruel, but when we consider his position, it could be said that he's just Lennard's spare.
As Isabella's treatment worsened, she obviously started to push back, leading to her situation and reputation.
Her mistakes made it so that even when she wasn't to blame, the blame still fell on her, simply because of the pattern of repetition.
It must've made it even more difficult for the two of them to act. Not only because Isabella was causing her own misfortune, making it hard to declare her completely innocent, but also because defending her would instantly tarnish their own reputation.
In this situation, stepping up to help her could easily backfire and worsen the dynamic.
Miwen: "I would still have stepped up though. It's a brother's responsibility."
It's not really fair since our positions are completely different, but when it came to my sister, I would trouble everyone around me to help her.
Even the girl herself.
To me, no sacrifice was too big when it came to her.
Albert: "Things escalated beyond the point of no return. Even if I knew Isabella wasn't acting with malice, her actions were undeniably causing harm to everyone around. But I wish you would extend your forgiveness to the rest of my family. Like the two of us, no one was-"
Miwen: "To blame? I disagree."
Albert: "...Accepting her into the family tarnished my father's reputation at the time. The dissent was one of the main reasons why he chose to enter a union under Terith. He sacrificed a lot for Isabella. As for my mother... While she didn't take care of Isabella properly, you must understand that she was also hurt by everything that happened.
As a woman who always did her best for the house, being cheated on hurt her a lot, and she couldn't bear to treat Isabella the same way she did her own children."
I'm sure he knew better.
This was just a plea.
Miwen: "...What are you so worried about? It's not like I can do anything about that anyway. My only focus at this moment is to help Isabella achieve-"
Albert: "You're building an army. And there's only one thing I can think you would use it for."
So he circled back... As I thought, he's quite sharp.
He has no way of knowing what my history with Hamperlon is, so he jumped to a similar conclusion, but with a different target.
Miwen: "Haha. Would you believe me if I said that I'm doing it out of the good in my heart?"
Albert: "Not at all. Or else, you wouldn't target their race. The ones without a home... What are you planning to offer them?"
Miwen: "Me? I have nothing to offer. However, I do have some people I feel need to be punished. But you shouldn't worry about that. If you truly believe no one is to blame, that is."
Things became quite awkward after that.
I could tell he was trying to read me. Trying to figure out exactly what I meant and what I was going to do.
But this led him nowhere.
Albert: "I'm thankful for what you have done for Isabella. That will remain true. You can choose whatever you want this time, it'll be on me. But this doesn't mean I won't stop you if you mean harm to my family."
That's a good attitude.
I wish he had it since the start.
Things would certainly be a lot easier were that the case.
Still, even though we had a bit of a discussion, the auction went on as normal.
I bid on all the Snow White Wolves, and even though their price had been inflated due to the Evretis' newly found interest in them, being accompanied by them made others a bit more afraid of being disrespectful, shortening all of the bid wars.