In the study of Bernard, the patriarch of the Debus Family.
"What? A failure?" Bernard looked at the woman in the red robe before him. "A failure? Can't you simply continue? Since when did the Blood Plum Blossom organization give up so easily?"
Bernard was extremely displeased.
He had previously approached the Saber organization but was refused. When he had then hired the 'Blood Plum Blossom' organization for help, they had agreed only to destroy the stone sculpture 'Awakening', not to kill Lin Lei. Blood Plum Blossom's price was exorbitantly high, practically the same as for assassinating a Red-robed Cardinal. The Debus Family simply could not afford such a fee.
According to Blood Plum Blossom, killing Lin Lei would simultaneously offend both the Church of Light and the Dawson Trading Company.
Moreover...
Lin Lei was now a master stone sculptor. The status of a stone sculptor was exceedingly high, and many influential people greatly admired such masters. To kill Lin Lei would be to murder a stone sculptor of that caliber. This would inevitably earn the enmity of certain powerful figures towards the Blood Plum Blossom organization.
Therefore, the price for killing Lin Lei was set at parity with the price for killing a Red-robed Cardinal.
"We are declining this mission. The payment you provided will be returned in full," the woman in red said with a cold expression.
"Can you tell me why?" Bernard was somewhat bewildered.
It was merely the destruction of a sculpture; the difficulty shouldn't be that great. How could they give up after a single failure?
"If I tell you the reason, then the payment will not be returned. Are you willing?" the woman in red said calmly.
Assassin organizations also served as intelligence networks. They sold information as well.
"Yes," said Bernard. As the patriarch of the Debus Family, he was still quite generous.
The woman in red spoke softly. "I can tell you this: among those who admire the sculpture 'Awakening' is a person our organization is extremely unwilling to offend. That person is not someone your Debus Family can afford to provoke either."
"Very well. Information delivered," the woman in red said with a slight smile, then turned and left directly.
Bernard was seething with anger.
The woman in red hadn't even disclosed the identity of the person they were unwilling to offend, but Bernard understood that if such a figure could intimidate the 'Blood Plum Blossom' organization, they must be someone truly formidable. The price for intelligence on such a person would undoubtedly be astronomical.
Yulan Calendar Year 9999, April 21st, in the exclusive auction hall of Pruxus Hall.
The auction hall had three levels. The first level held ordinary seats. The second level consisted of private boxes, each accessible only to the wealthiest nobles and magnates, with prices that were equally staggering. As for the third level, it was a single, enormous drawing room with opulent interior decoration.
At that moment, the seats on the first level, several hundred in number, were filling up. Each of these seats cost a mere one hundred gold coins. The dozen or so boxes on the second level ranged in price from one thousand to ten thousand gold coins, depending on their position.
The third level was not open to the public at all.
The sculpture 'Awakening' was immensely famous. Many of those entering the auction hall today were super-magnates of the Yulan Continent, many were high nobles. Because there were so few seats and so many wealthy nobles, the seats, originally worth only one hundred gold coins, were being resold outside at outrageously high prices.
The Debus Family, being a local family with internal connections at Pruxus Hall, was fortunate enough to secure one of the least desirable boxes on the second level.
In reality, of the dozen-plus boxes on the second level, besides the Debus Family, the other boxes were occupied by famous families of the Yulan Continent, all far more powerful than the Debus Family. For instance... some members of the 'Dawson Family' from the Dawson Trading Company were also in second-level boxes. Of course, the representatives from the Dawson Family were not direct heirs.
"Alice, move further inside."
The Debus Family had brought six people this time. Alice walked between Kalan and his mother, wearing a hat with its brim pulled low. The six quickly climbed the stairs to the second level.
The second-level boxes were almost exclusively occupied by the Yulan Continent's super-families.
When Bernard saw some people in the second-level corridor, he immediately greeted them with great humility. Here, the patriarch of the Debus Family was utterly insignificant. Just as Yeru had once remarked about the Debus Family—'A small family, indeed.'
Yes, for those super-families that dominated the Yulan Continent, a family whose influence was confined to a single kingdom was considered a small family.
The six members of the Debus Family entered their box.
"One day, my Debus Family will be like them, or even stronger," Kalan thought to himself.
The Debus Family had come this time with absolute determination.
Regardless, securing this sculpture for their own home was better than letting it go elsewhere. After all, the Debus Family's engagement ceremony was scheduled for June, at which time many would learn that Alice was a member of the Debus Family. But 'absolute determination' was merely 'determination'—financial strength was also critically important.
"Brother Kalan," Alice said, sitting beside Kalan.
In a place crowded with such high nobles, Alice felt somewhat restrained. After all, even the Debus Family counted for little here, let alone a minor noble family like hers.
"Relax, you're in a box—no one down there can even see you. That Lin Lei is truly excessive, to actually depict you like that..." Kalan grew furious whenever he thought of the 'Awakening' sculpture. Anyone with even a modicum of knowledge about sculpture could guess the history of love between Lin Lei and Alice.
After all, without genuine feelings, how could one have carved such a 'masterpiece'?
If he, Kalan, truly married Alice, he was certain many would secretly gossip about the affair between Alice and Lin Lei. As a person of status, such talk would be extremely embarrassing.
The third level of the auction hall.
Inside, only four people were present: the chief curator of Pruxus Hall, Maia, along with Ostoney, and Lin Lei and Yeru.