"Silence, peasant," he commanded coldly, not even sparing the manager a proper glance. "Do you possess any understanding of whom you are daring to speak against?"

The young Blood Elf sneered openly. "If I have declared my desire for the Frostsword Executioner ability scroll, then it shall be mine regardless of who won the bid." His attention shifted toward the three girls. "Hand over the scroll before I—"

The remainder of his words abruptly died in his throat. His eyes widened as his gaze landed upon Clementine. For a brief moment, the world around him seemed to fade into insignificance.

Beautiful... No. Beautiful was far too inadequate a word.

His heart skipped a beat as he stared at the crimson-haired vampire. In all his years, he had never encountered a woman quite like her. The nobles of the North, the daughters of powerful bloodlines and houses, the countless beauties he had pursued—all of them suddenly appeared dull and ordinary by comparison.

"My fair lady," he murmured, every trace of his previous arrogance vanishing as though it had never existed.

A refined smile spread across his features as he stepped forward with confident, measured strides. His posture straightened, his manners becoming remarkably gentlemanly. "Would you grant me the honor of learning your esteemed name?" He asked smoothly, offering a slight bow. "For it would be a tragedy for such extraordinary beauty to remain unknown to me."

Clementine glanced toward the manager, who wore a troubled expression. It did not take much for her to understand why he had arrived so late—the source of the problem was standing right in front of her. ’He must possess quite the background to throw his weight around so openly within a place like this,’ she mused.

At the same time, the lustful and barely concealed greed in the Blood Elf’s gaze was steadily pushing her patience toward its last limit.

Even so, Clementine restrained herself. She understood that if she lost her composure here, her two little sisters would immediately follow suit. That would be troublesome, especially when their current plans revolved around taking things slowly and avoiding unnecessary attention during their development.

In truth, Aphryne and Auguszta were only controlling themselves because she was.

Meanwhile, the Blood Elf noticed that Clementine had completely ignored him from beginning to end. Not only had she refused to answer, but she was already moving toward the exit as though he did not even exist.

His expression darkened for a brief instant, a flicker of anger flashing across his eyes before he quickly concealed it behind the same polished and gentlemanly smile.

Stepping forward, he deliberately moved into their path, blocking the way to the door. At the same time, with the arrogance born from years of privilege and status, he did not hesitate to extend his senses toward the three women. To him, using a sensory ability on others without permission was hardly worth considering.

After all, he had long grown accustomed to doing as he pleased.

’A rank four material and rank three spiritual ascendant, a rank three material-spiritual ascendant, and a mere rank one material-spiritual ascendant, heh!’

He sneered inwardly. He was a rank three and rank two material-spiritual High Monarch here. He did not need to fear them at all.

"I do not recall granting you lovely ladies permission to leave, now did I?" He said with a smile. Though the expression remained polite on the surface, the tone beneath it had changed completely. The gentleness was gone, replaced by something far less pleasant.

Clementine let out a quiet sigh. Her gaze shifted toward the manager. "Is this how your auction house treats its patrons?"

The disappointment in her voice was genuine. The more she attempted to keep to herself and avoid unnecessary trouble, the more fools seemed determined to appear and provoke her. First that professor from the academy, and now a student from the very same institution.

The manager could only reveal a wry smile at the question. What exactly was he supposed to do? He was merely an ascension rank three commoner with an unawakened spiritual ascension core, managing one branch of the prestigious Auction House of Gilded Shadows.

Like every branch, this one also possessed a Law Keeper—a material ascension rank five ascendant responsible for maintaining order.

Unfortunately, the man in question was an infamous hedonist.

The manager did not dare involve him unless absolutely necessary. Knowing that bastard, he might very well ask for his wife or daughter as compensation for disturbing him again. No, thank you. He would rather deal with this headache himself.

As a result, the manager now found himself trapped between two groups of people he could not afford to offend.

"Oh, good ladies, there is truly nothing this pathetic peasant can do against me," the Blood Elf declared proudly. Straightening his posture, he placed a hand over his chest. "After all, I am no ordinary individual."

His smile widened.

"Valerius Rose. A prodigy of the illustrious Grand House Rose. A High Monarch." Every word dripped with pride and self-importance.

To him, his name alone should have been enough to end the discussion. His status, lineage, talent, and future were things he had always relied upon to crush opposition before it could even begin. Unfortunately for him, the three women before him appeared far less impressed than he had hoped.

"Now then, as a gentleman, I would hardly be harsh toward such lovely ladies for taking something that was mine from the very beginning." Valerius smiled confidently, brushing a hand through his hair. "In fact, because of your beauty, I am willing to be generous. Rather than punish you, I shall offer a reward instead."

"Become my personal maids, and I promise you will reach heights you have never even dreamed of before."

’All this drama because of our beauty, big sister. I don’t even want to imagine what would’ve happened if you hadn’t already suppressed it by concealing it to such a ridiculous degree.’

Auguszta was far more amused by the situation than anything else.

’Why can’t we just be done with these nuisances already? I miss husband. It is much better staying in his arms than dealing with these insects.’

Aphryne complained irritably. Her fingers twitched slightly as she stared at the lowly elf with cold eyes. She was genuinely reaching her limit.