The auction had finally ended and it had gone quite well all things considered. I had received some threats, but I didn’t need to show my strength or fight against Zero which was a win in my book. I even got information out of it.
Still, spending that much for a “slave” wasn’t something that I had expected to do.
I have a lot of money, but spending that much in a single go actually hurt me quite a bit. In fact, if I continued to spend this way, then I would have to find a way to make money and fast.
I had a few items that I could see and would make me quite a bit of money, but I would sell them as an absolute last resort.
Anyways, I was now on my way back toward to the Atlantis Academy, accompanied by three beautiful elves. Two of them were to become my assistants professors and Ariella would join the Apex Class, after all, she truly fit right in.
She was a princess, she had a strange past, the only thing I hadn’t seen from her was her potential. But I wasn’t too worried about that. There are always solutions to problems when I’m around.
However, what would be harder was making the three elves open up to me. For the two maids, I had done quite a good job, and they were quite close to me already, but Ariella was another deal entirely. I think she liked me, but it was hard, considering what she had just gone through.
Still, it wasn’t the first time I had done this. I had gotten practice with Darla. It was only a matter of time before Ariella would succumb to my charms.
That’s kind of weird to say, but…ah, forget it.
I had tried to make small talk since we left the auction house, but she hadn’t said much at all, answering only with “yes” and “no.” It was quite a struggle, but I still wasn’t giving up. I was close to making a breakthrough, I swear!
“So, Ariella, are you sure you don’t want me to contact your family?” I said once again. “I told you already, but you’re not really my slave. You can do whatever you want.”
She shook her head. “No, it’s fine.”
I clicked my tongue and kept quiet for a few seconds this time. I had run out of ideas about what to talk about, and we were still thirty minutes away from Atlantis Academy.
‘Come on…just ask me one question. I beg you!’ I thought in the back of my mind as I walked right behind her.
Then, as if to answer my prayers, she turned around and looked in my direction.
‘Yes, yes, just open your mouth now.’
“C-Can I ask you something, Mr. Stuart?”
“Tsk, I already told you to call me Caedrel, but yeah, go ahead.”
She took a deep breath as if to gather her courage all at once.
“Could I know the reason why you bought me for that much money?”
I smiled. This was the perfect opportunity to start a real conversation between the two of us.
“I can answer, but in return, you’ll have to answer to one of my questions. Deal?”
She blushed just a little as she looked down and started playing with her hands, clearly shy. “Sure…deal.”
I was finally going to be able to get some answers!
“Perfect! I bought you because I didn’t want to see you rotting your life away in some weirdo’s mansion, being used as something that you wouldn’t want. That’s pretty much it,” I said with a nod. “Oh, and also thought you would fit nicely into my class.”
She frowned when I mentioned the word “class” for some reason.
“Wait, you were telling the truth? You’re actually a professor?”
I thought she was making a joke, so I started laughing a little. But when I saw the serious look on her face, I stopped doing so right away.
“Uh…yeah, I am. Actually, Nymira and Lirael are going to become my assistants.”
“We are?” The two of them replied in unison.
“Yes? Didn’t I tell you? Whatever, now you know.”
The two elven maids looked at each other and just shook their heads out of incomprehension.
“Then, how…? How did you get that much money?!”
The look of confusion in her eyes only started getting bigger and bigger. However, that also meant that she wanted to know more and more about me, which meant that I could ask her more questions in return.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Not so fast. Did you forget about our deal?” I smirked. “You need to answer my question first. Tell me why you don’t want me to contact your family now that you are free?”
As I answered, she turned around. She didn’t want me to see her face when she would answer this question from its looks, which meant there was clearly more than meets the eye.
‘Just why are most of the princesses I meet having family problems…? Aren’t they supposed to be living comfortably without the slightest problem?’
Just thinking of it, I couldn’t help but shake my head. My idea of powerful and rich people slowly started to dwindle the more I interacted with such people. It was strange, all this considered.
“M-My family isn’t the nicest to me…because of my talent. You see, I was born into the Royal Family of the elves, which meant that I was supposed to have this great talent. However, compared to my brothers and sisters, I’m nothing special, actually…I’m complete trash. My father, my mother, rejected me like I wasn’t even their daughter, letting me live like I was a good for nothing…”
I saw tears drop onto the ground while I stood behind her. She was crying as she started telling me her story. It seemed there was a lot more than met the eyes of Ariella.
However, now that I was here, I wouldn’t let anything happen to her.
