My Slain Dragon Bride

Chapter 277. Nothing in This World Comes for Free

One day before the auction, Luri was cleaning Ferda’s office as usual.

Ferda’s office was kept impeccably clean, as befitted his neat personality, so there was hardly anything that needed cleaning.

As usual, all Luri had to do was briefly tend to the secluded corners before leaving.

That was what she intended to do today as well, when she noticed a book lying on his desk.

It was an auction catalog.

Come to think of it, he said they were opening the auction house tomorrow, didn’t he?

On the other hand, she was worried.

Luri had been keeping a close eye on the current state of affairs, so she knew just how dangerous things were.

As far as Luri was concerned, it would only be asking for trouble, so she thought it would be best to abandon the whole thing.

But this is something Lord Ferda is doing...

He was the sort of person who had managed to accomplish things in the end, no matter how many times he had to walk a tightrope.

Luri picked up the catalog and casually looked through the list of items being put up for auction.

Every item listed was nothing more than a magically reproduced illustration.

Aside from the places where they had been discovered, there was almost no information about them.

The first auction was a treasure-hunting auction.

Not only were the items not translated, but their value wasn’t properly known either. At most, one could find out where they had been brought from and what the objects looked like.

Of course, even the treasure-hunting auction had undergone preliminary screening.

Since the items had come from the Land of Demons, anything related to the Demon Race, anything that could cause a major disturbance across the continent, or anything that might be useful to Ferda had all been removed from the auction beforehand.

The remaining items could only be described as questionable curiosities.

Well, it’ll probably be fine.

Thinking that it was a good way to increase the national treasury, she put the catalog down.

That was when—

"Hello~?"

It was Penelope.

Luri narrowed her eyes and asked,

"Why have you crawled in here again?"

"Eh? Crawled in? Isn’t that a little harsh toward a diligent demon like me?!"

"Your neck seems rather stiff these days."

"Neeet? Th-That can’t be! My neck is incredibly flexible, you know?!"

Although her face had gone pale, she didn’t take a single step backward.

Something felt suspicious.

"What are you doing?"

"Huh?"

"You should be running away with your tail between your legs by now. Why are you sneaking around like a frightened prairie dog?"

"A prairie dog? Ohoho! Where could you possibly find such a cute and adorable prairie dog—wait a second. I’m sorry! I won’t act up anymore."

Just as Luri was about to twist Penelope’s neck, Penelope immediately began begging for mercy.

"It’s nothing much. I just wanted to introduce our Maid Chief of Staff to a very nice item."

"I won’t wear any of those scraps of cloth you make."

"You can think about that slowly. First, would you take a look at this?"

The object Penelope pulled out was something familiar to Luri.

It was the auction catalog she had just seen.

"So?"

"What do you mean, ’so’? This is the auction catalog, isn’t it?"

"I just looked at it myself. So what?"

"Oh, come on..."

Penelope smiled sweetly.

"You didn’t really look at the list properly, did you?"

There was something thoroughly wicked about that smile.

Luri nearly twisted Penelope’s neck.

"Doesn’t the title of this one look somewhat familiar?"

All the titles written in the catalog were in their original language.

They were written in a unique ideographic script used only in the East, and very few people were capable of deciphering it.

Yet Luri knew this title.

She hadn’t recognized it at first, but after hearing Penelope’s words and looking at it again, she was certain.

"Don’t tell me..."

The reason was simple.

She had read and reread the translated version countless times, practically chewing it up, tearing it apart, savoring it, and enjoying it. Eventually, she had even secretly gotten her hands on the original and practiced deciphering it.

"That’s right. It’s that book."

Penelope whispered ominously.

"It’s 49 Ways to Tame an Arrogant Maid, Volume 2."

Luri’s pupils shook violently.

"Why is this book here...?"

"Why else? Looks like it was found in the same place?"

Luri really didn’t like Penelope’s tone.

However, she couldn’t simply twist her neck or fold her in half.

Those eyes...

Those eyes knew exactly what Luri wanted.

That was why she was wearing such an insolent smile.

"So what do you want me to do?"

Luri asked in a faintly trembling voice.

She assumed that the moment Penelope revealed her ulterior motive and tried to manipulate her, she would immediately start making demands.

"Nothing much. Don’t you want it?"

"...Is that all?"

"Isn’t it?"

Despite the lukewarm response, Luri couldn’t relax.

"Are you saying that you’re going to get it for me?"

"Huh? Why would I? It’s the Maid Chief of Staff who wants it, not me. Besides, I don’t have any money."

"..."

"I simply wanted to innocently tell our Maid Chief of Staff that an item she would like has appeared at the auction~."

No matter how she heard it, Penelope’s tone was anything but innocent.

Just as Luri expected, Penelope’s mouth continued running.

"Besides, it’s practically impossible to get into that place, isn’t it? Even if you wanted to send a proxy, only people with invitations are allowed inside. It’s not exactly easy for anyone else to get in."

"That’s right."

"But! Even with all those obstacles and hardships ahead of me! This Penelope succeeded!"

She pulled a neatly folded piece of paper from her bosom.

"Ta-da! As luck would have it~ something happened that made one of the nobles unable to attend, you see?"

What she showed Luri was an invitation, as well as an auction ticket that could serve as proof of identity.

Luri could immediately predict the next scenario.

Penelope was undoubtedly going to hold that ticket hostage and start listing her demands one after another.

"If you’re planning to blackmail me with that, you’d better give up right—"

"I’ll give it to you!"

"...Pardon?"

Penelope obediently handed the invitation to Luri.

Luri was utterly confused.

She alternated her gaze between Penelope and the invitation before narrowing her eyes.

"You’re just giving it to me?"

"Yes."

"...Without asking for anything?"

"How could I possibly blackmail our Maid Chief of Staff?"

The only thing Luri felt was a sense of incongruity.

Just as she was about to feel relieved, an uneasiness crept over her—the kind that made her feel as though Penelope would suddenly plunge in and smack her over the back of the head.

Nevertheless, Luri reached toward the invitation.

The moment she was about to take it—

"But before that."

Penelope opened her mouth again.

"Don’t you think our Maid Chief of Staff should change her clothes?"

"...What do you mean?"

"Well, think about it. Wealthy collectors, merchants, and nobles will all be attending. Wouldn’t it ruin the atmosphere if a little girl dressed like a maid sat down among them?"

"They’ll think I’m an existence they absolutely must not provoke."

Luri could make that happen.

"Th-That’s certainly one way to look at it, but causing a commotion like that wouldn’t be good, would it? More importantly, Lord Ferda would find out, wouldn’t he?"

"Ugh..."

"Wouldn’t that lead to all sorts of troublesome complications?"

Luri couldn’t refute her.

She wasn’t an invited guest, after all. She was an uninvited guest using someone else’s invitation to get inside.

"What exactly are you trying to say?"

"That’s what I’m saying. Your disguise has to be perfect."

"I can disguise myself as a young noble lady."

"You can’t."

"I can."

"No, I mean you really can’t. You could pass as a dependable warrior, but as a delicate young lady whom everyone would want to protect? Absolutely not! Even if you died, you couldn’t pull it off."

Should I just kill her?

"If you’re doing this just to pick a fight, I’ll cut your head off right now."

"That’s not what I mean! I’m saying that since you can’t act like a young noble lady, at least your appearance needs to be perfect!"

"That’s easy."

"Really?"

"I can—"

Luri’s voice gradually faded.

She began retracing everything she had done.

What had she actually done when she had seriously begun working as a maid in this castle?

Until then, she had mostly just cleaned.

Valdrova was a dragon, and dragons possessed dignity simply by existing, so there was no need for them to adorn themselves.

It was only recently, after she acquired a fiancé named Ferda, that she had begun learning about the qualities expected of a young noble lady.

She had studied alongside Valdrova, learning mostly by watching from the sidelines.

There had been only one thought in her mind at the time.

Being a young noble lady really doesn’t suit me at all.

She was far more accustomed to rolling around in mud than being treated like a precious daughter.

The only flowing clothes she had ever worn were maid uniforms, and she had considered them both the beginning and the end of her experience with such clothing.

Me, dressed like a young noble lady?

Luri slowly shifted her gaze toward the mirror.

Luri Silverwind, the warrior.

Luri Silverwind, the maid.

Could that same Luri become a young noble lady?

The moment she imagined it, her stomach churned.

Should I give up?

Her instinctive thought was to abandon the whole thing.

But she couldn’t give up so easily.

She was curious about what kind of punishment Pellan would inflict on Lulu, and fantasies about it had been haunting her day and night.

Whenever those fantasies deepened, she repeatedly writhed in self-loathing.

At this point, she would rather find out the truth once and for all.

At least, that was what Luri believed.

"So... what am I supposed to do?"

Penelope’s eyes changed.

That lowly, insignificant third-rate demon now possessed a gaze that rivaled even a Great Demon.

"You see, I happen to know someone who can turn you into a perfect young noble lady from head to toe."

"Who?"

"Oh, come on. You know her very well, Maid Chief of Staff."

Luri pretended not to know, but she already did.

Wasn’t there one perfectly groomed doll-like young lady in this castle?

Secretary Mori.

Although she had never said it aloud, whenever Luri saw her, she always thought that Mori looked just like a noble young lady.

The problem was that Mori didn’t make herself look that way.

"Which of the two...?"

Both options were terrible.

No, if one of them was simply at rock bottom, the other was someone who proved that there was an even deeper bottom beneath the bottom.

Luri desperately hoped it would be the former.

"Administrator Isabella."

She had gotten the latter.

"Give me a chance to change my choice. I’d rather go to the Witch."

"I don’t think that’s going to be possible~."

"Why?"

"Perhaps you could say it’s a difference in the degree of desire? The Witch likes it, but apparently not enough to risk her life."

"...That crazy woman risked her life?"

"She practically spent her entire fortune, didn’t she?"

"...Why would she spend her entire fortune?"

"Because getting that invitation was a little difficult?"

Luri covered her face with both hands.

Once again, she realized that nothing in this world came for free.

This was a nightmare.

This is a nightmare.

She had believed she had overcome the illusion brought on by her trauma, only to find that such a nightmare could happen again.

"Give up."

Penelope said that.

***

"There’s no light here."

"Huu..."

It was a sigh that sounded as though her remaining soul were escaping her body.

The two hours she had spent with Isabella had been absolutely horrific.

It felt as though she had been subjected to the magic of a Necromancer that sucked out souls and vitality.

Luri was astonished that a human-shaped being could make such disgraceful noises, and she nearly fainted after realizing that there was no limit to the depths of desire.

How does that girl Mori endure this?

She had seen the very edge of the abyss, to the point that it wouldn’t have been strange if a nonexistent ego had suddenly formed within her and charged straight into it.

Luri discreetly turned her head and looked into the mirror.

Despite that harrowing experience, her reflection looked like a flawless young noble lady.

If only her expression wasn’t completely dead inside, she would have been perfect.

I went through all that trouble getting dressed. I can’t ruin it now.

She had sold her soul to a demon, so she couldn’t afford to mess things up any further.

Upon arriving in front of the auction house, Luri slapped her cheeks and composed her expression.

She moved her body just as she had been taught.

Shoulders back.

Graceful steps.

Even the way she raised her hand mask was delicate.

Playing the role of a young noble lady, she entered the auction house.

"Welcome, Lady Lulu Feldragon."

Of all names, it had to be the heroine of 49 Ways to Tame an Arrogant Maid.

Only the Administrator could change the guest list, and there was no doubt that Penelope had chosen that name.

"Th-thank you."

Luri answered in a high-pitched voice, deliberately raising her tone.

Her face naturally flushed, and her movements became timid.

Anyone looking at her would have thought she was a young noble lady who had been raised as delicately as possible.

Luri quickly regained her composure.

She tried to create the right image through self-hypnosis.

She was on a battlefield right now.

Luri was charging forward to retake a strategic high ground.

What kind of crazy woman would enter a battlefield just to find an erotic novel?

She immediately returned to her senses.

Luri found her seat.

She was practically the only child there.

Even though the seats were arranged like a theater with a slope, the auctioneer was difficult to see.

I want to blow that man’s head off.

But she couldn’t.

She was a young noble lady who could barely get a single word out.

While she was struggling with that, the gentleman sitting beside her politely spoke.

"The seating arrangement isn’t very favorable, so it must be difficult to watch, isn’t it? I have an extra cushion. Would you like to use it, Young Lady?"

The unfamiliar feeling of helplessness left Luri completely speechless.

Her face flushed once again, and she nodded.

The changed height of her seat made Luri feel more comfortable, and the gentleman smiled warmly at the sight.

Time passed, and the auction began.

"We shall begin with Lot Number 1. The starting bid is 30 Golden! 30 Golden!"

The auction was heated from the very beginning.

There were people who collected things simply because they could.

Others didn’t even know whether an item was valuable, but if there was a chance that it was, they couldn’t stand the thought of someone else getting it.

They raised their hands and called out prices, desperate to get their hands on the items.

The first auction item sold for a staggering 1,000 Golden.

It was a vase that looked completely useless.

Could I even afford something like that?

That anxiety lasted only for a moment.

As the auction continued, none of the subsequent items generated an atmosphere as heated as the first.

Unless an item looked like a weapon or a magical artifact, the bidding wars didn’t become particularly intense.

"We’ll now move on to Lot Number 32!"

And what appeared was a single book.

Luri still couldn’t read the characters, but she remembered their shape perfectly.

"The starting price is 10 Golden!"

It wasn’t a Magic Grimoire, and even its place of origin was unclear, so there wasn’t much interest from the bidders.

Just before it was about to be sold for 50 Golden, Luri raised her hand.

"Number 162, 60 Golden. Number 162, 60 Golden. Are there any higher bids?! Five, four, three, two, one..."

Just as the hammer was about to fall—

"Number 1, 70 Golden! Number 1 has bid 70 Golden!"

Someone had suddenly entered the bidding.

Number 1...

The person who had received the highest priority invitation to this auction house.

Luri subtly raised her head and looked toward the VIP section.

A gray-haired man was raising his hand there.

It was Ferda.