"The girl gets the money, minus the debt owed and the ten percent auction fee. Normally, anything extra that they get is used to buy down their contract if it's not a set term in lieu of jail, or saved to start a more comfortable life afterwards. The auction will hold the money for them, so it can't be stolen or scammed away from them." Count Ara explained.
"Keep increasing the bid until we get to Three Large Gold." Wolfe instructed their assistant.
The disguised beastkin was beginning to get frustrated with the increasing bid, and the auction was shocked at the amount of money being spent for one servant. They still needed to pay their servant during the contract, though it could be put toward the debt by the employer instead. So, paying three years wages for a five-year contract was extreme.
The beastkin dropped out at two large plus seven gold strips, and vanished from the auction floor. But he wasn't running away, Wolfe could sense him headed up the back stairs toward their balcony.
"There is a noble coming to speak with us, kindly let him up and show him in." Wolfe instructed the Auction staff.
Cassie gave Wolfe a confused look, to which he winked as first the Bunny and then the disguised Beastkin were shown into the room.
"Presenting the maid, Lula, and the Baron Cohen." The staff informed them.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt"Baron Cohen, my condolences on your attempt. Miss Lula looks like a fine helper. I am Saint Wolfe Noxus, Patriarch of the Noxus Family."
The Baron burst into laughter. "Wolf is it?"
"With an e at the end."
The others couldn't understand the conversation, but Wolfe stood up to shake the man's hand and whisper in his ear. Lula and Molly would certainly hear him, but the others would not.
"I know how the canine beast men love the bunnies, but so do I, and she's too adorable to pass up."
Baron Cohen gave him a toothy smile that almost certainly would have been a snarl if he were fully canine, but he dipped his head.
"I do hope that you don't take her too far from home, as once her tis spent, I would like to get to know her better." He replied, loud enough for everyone else to hear them.
"I will let you know before she leaves the area for certain. Would you like to sit, there is still sspace." Wolfe offered.
The Baron shook his head. "I would hate to impose upon my betters."
Ella laughed and gestured to the seat beside her after using [Detect Hidden] to understand what was really going on.
"It's no trouble, we're all just friendly chatting while we see what comes up for sale today. They have hidden a number of item descriptions for the intrigue, and one of them might catch our eye again." She offered.
A round of introductions were made, and Lula blushed while Baron Cohen tried to hide a growl after Wolfe petted her ears.
"You can wait with Molly, we don't have much work to do today, so just feel free to snack and sip juice." Cassie explained once everyone was acquainted.
There were a few more interesting items across the auction block, and Duke Roth bought a custom carriage, to be built to order, which earned him the envy of many others. The carriage maker was booking work three years out due to demand as the only master in town, but he put up one immediate custom build every year at the auction.
They were all about to leave when there was a knock at the door and Petros walked in without waiting for the staff.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm"Good, I caught you before you left. I have invitations here for you all to attend the magical knowledge symposium, as they're calling the advanced magic seminars this year. They start the day after tomorrow, and run for two weeks.
Hopefully, you can all learn something there, and perhaps even teach a lesson or two, as you obviously have extensive knowledge of magic in areas we have no experience." He informed them, then nodded to Baron Peter and the other Nobles.
"Thank you. We're looking forward to building up our magical knowledge while we're here." Wolfe replied, not going into details, as the others in the room had no idea of his actual origins.
"Wonderful. I will let you get back to socializing then. It was a pleasure to see you all again."
Then Petros used his portal ability to simply step out of the room and back to his own home, which he brought up barriers around to prevent unwanted visitors.
It seemed to be a normal activity for him, as none of the Nobles were startled when they felt all the barriers going up as the portal closed. It might have seemed a bit abrupt, but it was also a rather direct way of saying that you weren't receiving visitors today, and in a position like his, he would receive a lot of them if he didn't block himself off.
Duke Roth sighed. "I should be getting back to my home. There is much to do, and I have been somewhat distracted these last few days."
Baron Peter chuckled at the implication in a tone universal to teenage boys everywhere when they heard a sex joke. But his comment was much more serious.
"If you are going to be taking the seminars to upgrade and expand magical skills, I suggest the ones on esoteric and Arcanist magics. They're the basis for most of the Artificer skills that we specialize in, and from what I can tell, those aren't aspects that you have trained in, or you would have been able to make a far superior version of that bracelet at your power level." The boy suggested.
"Will you be attending?" Cassie asked.
"Unfortunately, no. I need to supervise the repair of the warehouse, and produce a few more items that customers are waiting for. I simply don't have the time. But I also have six years before my enlistment date for mandatory service, so I'm not in a particular rush."