Chapter 3 - The Highest Bidder

"Fifteen million! I will pay fifteen million!" A man in a black suit quickly rose from his seat. He had a mask covering half of his face.

"Seventeen million!" Another man raised his hand, holding a folding fan with the number 26 on it.

"Twenty million!"

"Twenty-one million!"

Rossa was shocked by what they were saying. With her consciousness still not fully returned, she looked around and realized that she was on a platform slightly higher than the seats of the men in front of her.

There were no fewer than fifty of them, all dressed in luxurious suits. They all wore masquerade masks on their faces, mostly of the Colombina type.

"Is this... is this an auction?" Rossa slowly began to regain her consciousness.

"Insane! Costas, do you see that? This girl has really captured their attention! We're going to be rich!"

Maria, the madam who had been watching from behind the curtain, couldn't contain her joy. In decades of her career as a procurer, this was the first time a girl she had brought had been bid on tens of times more than what she usually got from her previous girls.

Actually, fifteen million was not a common opening bid. Even one of Miss Waterside's girls, who had been invited to the auction, was only bid at half a million for her services for one night.

A man called Costas could only stare at his wife without being able to say a word. His face was filled with immense joy. If he didn't remember that he was at an event with super-rich people, he would have shouted in delight.

"Thirty million!"

The bidding numbers kept rising.

Seemingly indifferent to the confusion on Rossa's face, these people were enjoying the event as if they were competing to claim the best product for themselves.

Given the enthusiasm they were showing, it seemed like these numbers were far from being final.

"W-what is this...?" Rossa couldn't speak, only gazing at them weakly. Her head was pounding. She still couldn't believe what she was seeing. She was being auctioned like a slave. Especially now, she was wearing a very revealing outfit she had never worn before, let alone in front of so many people.

With some effort, Rossa stood up. "I need to get out of here!" That was the only sentence she uttered in her heart.

But what she did only made all the men's eyes widen even more.

When Rossa stood up, she inadvertently exposed the front of her body, which was not entirely covered by the coat. Her midsection, from her neck to her cleavage, down to her stomach and groin area, was clearly exposed.

This sight only seemed to challenge the men even more.

"Seventy million!" A middle-aged man shouted as he removed his mask. His bid was twice as high as the previous offers.

In this auction, every guest was prohibited from removing their masks unless they were leaving.

But this man was Franz Schiller, a shipping magnate who owned many sailing ships.

With a triumphant smile on his face, he was confident that no one could outbid him.

And indeed, for a moment, the room fell silent.

Rossa, now able to stand upright, turned her body to go back to where Maria had pushed her. But before she could take another step, two tall, burly men swiftly caught both of her hands from each side.

"What are you doing? Let go of me!" With only half of her strength recovered, Rossa struggled, trying to free her hands from the grip of the two bodyguards.

But it was in vain.

Instead, what she did seemed to excite the masked men even more. "Wow, this girl has some courage! It would be so much fun to play with her!"

Earlier, they had been told that Rossa was a virgin. Combined with her brave defiance, every man dreamed of taming her.

"Eighty million!"

"Eighty-five million!"

The gothic-style hall, dimly lit except for the platform area, became lively once again. Bids were now pouring from the invited guests' mouths.

Franz, who had removed his mask earlier, was now getting irritated. He didn't want to leave without Rossa. Therefore, he raised his bid. "One hundred and eighty million!"

Like before, the amount was almost half of the last bid.

The room fell silent again. People were busy with their thoughts.

"He's really an insane old man! He's just spending his money on women!" One guest whispered to his friend. Like him, almost everyone in this room seemed to be ready to give up.

Two hundred million for a "companion"? They weren't as crazy as Franz to spend that much money.

Although seeing everyone silent, the host, Mr. Argiris Nicolelis, who was also the boss of the madam, couldn't hide the smile on his face.

Like Maria, this was the first time he had received an offer of over a hundred million. Just the thought of it was enough to convince him to let Rossa go.

"The highest bid is Mr. Schiller at one hundred and eighty million! If there are no other offers, I declare him the winner of this auction!" Argiris then took a hammer from his table. He was eager to strike it.

"Three hundred million!"

A hoarse and deep voice was heard from a slightly dim corner of the room, stopping Argiris from swinging the object in his hand.

As everyone turned to the source of the voice, a man, about one hundred and eighty-seven centimeters tall, rose from his seat without removing his mask and walked toward the exit.

Before passing through the four-meter-high door, he turned his head slightly toward the host. "Immediately take the girl to my room!"

Everyone couldn't believe what they saw and heard. An unknown young man made an offer that was almost impossible to surpass.

"Who is he?"

They had already been surprised by the appearance of a girl as beautiful as Rossa earlier. Now their surprise only grew with the insane bid made by a young man who seemed to be attending the event for the first time.

Like them, Argiris also felt the same way. However, the auctioneer knew who the young man was. Without hesitation, he said, "The winner of this auction is the final bidder at three hundred million!" He then pounded his gavel on the table.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

When everyone still couldn't believe what had just happened, Franz left the room with great frustration. He really wanted Rossa, but there was no way he could make an offer as high as the mysterious young man, let alone higher.

"I don't care who you really are! Just wait! I will make you regret taking her away from me!"