Chapter 372 - 372 Start Of The Auction

With all of the funds, he could get together collected, Marcus was quite happy with the amount he had obtained.

He was now certain that even if the competition was fierce to obtain the adamantine bars. that he would definitely get at least two of the five sets of three ingots.

'I doubt that anyone else is going to be willing to drop fifty thousand gold coins on an item that normally does not exceed thirty thousand.'

Heading back home, Marcus arrived back at his estate around lunch time, and his numerous employees greeted him happily upon his return.

He had not seen them for some time, but it appeared that everyone was in good health.

"Clara, I will have you and Amy accompany me tomorrow, so make sure that the two of you are prepared." Marcus said to his head maid as he entered into his manor.

"As you wish Lady Irene. Oh, and there is a surprise waiting for you for lunch if you are not too busy." Clara said, a slight smirk hidden under her face as she bowed.

"That sounds good, I have not eaten anything yet today." 

'Well not like I need to anyway.' Marcus thought.

Still, he did enjoy the taste of good food and he had missed Stella's cooking, which while not as exquisite as what the royal chef could prepare, still had its own charm.

Following Clara into the dining room, Marcus certainly was surprised when he entered, as he was suddenly struck with a tackle hug.

"Big sister." Lilia said elatedly as she jumped at Marcus.

Returning her hug, that had nearly knocked him over, Marcus said, "Lilia it is good to see you as well."

Genuinely surprised, Marcus had not been expecting Lilia to return, since she was still supposed to be in school.

After giving Lilia a long hug, the two of them sat down at the dining table and began eating the special meal prepared by the staff for Lilia's return.

"I see so you finished your exams early so that you could come and see me again and accompany me to the auction. But how did you do, you did not mess up on your studies because you were in a rush?" 

Yet it seemed that Marcus had nothing to worry about as Lilia, pulled out a card that had her grades recorded on it and all of them were well above the average with all being above ninety percent other than math which she had gotten an eighty-one in.

"A perfect score in magic and combat training. That is great Lilia. It looks like all of your hard work paid off. Now the only thing you need to work on is math, but you still did pretty well, since it is not your strong suit, so no need to beat yourself up over it." Marcus said, making sure to acknowledge Lilia's efforts.

Smiling and laughing slightly, Lilia was obviously pleased by Marcus' praise, and was all that much more motivated to keep doing her best.

Once they had finished their lunch, Marcus scooted closer to Lilia and asked her, "So how is it going with Alaric?"

Hearing this Lilia began blushing, but she still nodded her head and said, "After we made up, things have been going good. He even invited me to come with him when he visits the ice elf city next spring."

"Oh, did he now? Hm, well I will make sure that I am here to go with you." Marcus said naturally not planning to let his little sister go to a whole other city unsupervised.

'That also reminds me that I need to go and see Bianca since I did agree to become the kingdom's representative.'

Marcus then made a mental note to go and see Bianca after the auction to find out the details of his new position.

"Also, your birthday is coming up soon. So, what did you want to do for it? If there is anything you want, I will do whatever I can to make it happened." Marcus said, wanting Lilia to have a great birthday.

"Actually, Alaric and his family are throwing me a party at their house. But before we go, if you would make me the normal breakfast that would be all I need."

Smiling, Marcus patted Lilia on the head, and said, "If that is what you want then that is what I shall do. Oh, but do expect some other gifts from me as well, and to attend your party."

After that, Marcus and Lilia spent the rest of the day hanging out and catching up with everything the other had been doing.

It was a good time for both of them, and they stayed up chatting until it became late and was time for Lilia to go to bed.

"Goodnight, Lilia. I will see you tomorrow and we can go to the auction together."

Leaving Lilia's room, Marcus went back to his own, and sprawled out on the bed.

Yet instead of sleeping, he decided to think. He had a great deal to accomplish in the coming days and he wanted to mentally sort out everything he needed to do.

And as he thought the hours quickly went by until the first light of dawn shined through, and it was time for them to get prepared to go.

Going to Lilia's room, Marcus woke her up and the two of them had a quick breakfast before making their preparation for the auction.

'I have the silver card Amelia gave me and all of my money. Ah, I nearly forgot, I need to grab the snacks that Stella made for us.'

Having grabbed everything he needed, Marcus made his way down to the front entry where Lilia and Clara were waiting for him.

"Are you both ready to go?" Marcus said, wanting to confirm that there was nothing left to be done.

"Yes Lady Irene, everything is prepared and Amy is waiting outside with the carriage." Clara responded.

Lilia also nodded her head, and the three of them exited the manor and got into the carriage that was being driven by Amy and pulled by Blitz.

"Lilia, that dress looks good on you. When did you get it?" Marcus said, noticing the very beautiful yellow dress he did not remember getting for her.

"I got it when me and my friends went out shopping together a couple of weeks ago… Actually, Alaric bought it for me." Lilia said a bit bashfully.

'Hm, so they are already to the point where he is buying clothes for her. Kids certainly grow up fast.' 

After that the two of the talked about idle matters until they arrived at the auction house and pulled into the garage that was meant for nobles and wealthy merchants.

Exiting the carriage Marcus went up to the staff member that had come to greet him and pulled out the silver card that Amelia had given to him, and said, "Lady Amelia Peningar gave me this card and told me to show it to any of the staff members when I arrived."

Taking the card, the auction house employee's eyes went wide, since it was rare that Lady Amelia gave out her personal card to anyone, and only a very select few had one.

Bowing his head, the employee said, "It is an honor to serve you today, Lady Geist. If you wish I will escort you to your private box, or if there is anywhere else you would like to go, I can take you there as well."

"If you would not mind, please take us to our box. I want to get situated before the auction starts."

Raising his head, and nodding, the staff member led Marcus to forth floor of the auction house where the most luxurious private boxes were and brought him to Lady Amelia's personal box.

"Oh, this is quite nice." Marcus said as they walked into the box.

It was a fairly spacious room, with three couches set in the middle, and a number of chairs around as well. 

Plus, there appeared to be a stocked bar, with many different types of beverages and food items.

However, the most impressive part was the viewing screen where the items up for auction would be displayed along with information about them

Of course, there was also a large window that looked down onto the auction hall, but it was enchanted to keep anyone from looking in to make sure that those in the private boxes had their privacy.

"Lady Geist, this tool will allow you to make bids on any item you wish for. Simply channel some mana into it and speak, and your bid will be heard." The staff member said as he showed Marcus how to work the magic tools within the box."

"And should you need anything from the auction house, simply press this button here and someone will come to aid you."

Thanking the employee for his help, Marcus told him he would be fine now and that he could get back to his work.

"Clara, could you grab me and Lilia something to drink. A fruit juice for her, and a white wine for me." Marcus said as he got comfortable on of the sofas.

Bowing her head, Clara did as Marcus asked and brought some drinks over to them and poured them out into a pair of crystal glasses.

'Wow they really go all out here.' Marcus thought as he tasted the wine and could tell it was of a high quality.

Waiting for the auction to start, Marcus and Lilia, decided to go over the catalog that had been provided looking to see if there would be any items other than the adamantine bars they might want.

Yet before they got in to deep, the lights in the auction house dimmed, before Amelia herself stepped out onto the stage and taking the limelight.

"Good morning, everyone. I am sure many of you already know, but I am Amelia Peningar and today I will be the auctioneer. I am glad to see that once again our Peningar auction house is filled for our special Triennial auction.. Now without further ado, let us begin with our first item."