No, forget being taken for a ride—there was no refund for any items sold on the auction, and the auctioneers took no responsibility for it.The worth and willingness to bid for each item depended on each bidder's insight. No one could blame anyone else if their insight proved lacking.Naturally, Sif could mention her family name. But while that could coerce the Leaf family into giving a refund, word of her lacking insight would spread.She could not afford the humiliation, just as she hated being labeled as a rich failure.As such, she had no choice but to take the bullet for the sake of her family.Nonetheless, that was when Trevor decided to flash a vague smile just to rub it in. "So, Ms. Lionheart—you could stop flexing with that now, don't you think?""Ahem." Tavis quickly tried to patch things up. "You shouldn't say that, Mr. Zurich. The Hyperion Root may not be mature, but it's still a treasure in itself.""You heard him." Sif snorted, quick to excuse herself even if it so
Sif's eyes lit up at Tavis' words.Yes! She might have lost, but that did not mean that Frank and Trevor had won!Rearing her chin, she pointed haughtily at the emerald hale pearl Frank was holding. "Even if I've mistaken the age of my treasure, it's a treasure—that pearl of yours would never measure up to it! What are you so happy about, buying a pearl not even worth a million with two?!""Exactly. What are you so gleeful about?" Tavis scoffed as well.Trevor simply laughed in disdain. "And I'm happy doing it. I'd be willing to pay 2 billion as long as it's what Mr. Lawrence wants, even if it's just a rock."Naturally, Trevor was referring to the actual rock Sif bought for 2.5 billion, leaving her fuming."So what?!" Sif snarled through her teeth. "Oh, and I forgot to tell you—that hale pearl you have? Bail Leaf bought it from my family… If I recall correctly, we sold it for two hundred thousand like it was just a glass orb, and you spent 200 million on it! How about that! Surpr
Sif stared at Frank as if he was crazy. "Is it that hard to admit that you're stupid? You had to pretend to be crazy, and for who?"The crowd around them was whispering among themselves too."The Lionhearts sole that hale pearl to the Leaf family for two hundred grand?""No way… Didn't Trevor Zurich buy it for 200 million?""What would you know? That's just how rich people are—they're stupid." While most of them turned to Frank because he was laughing so hard, most of them agreed with Sif—Frank had lost his head because he suffered a major trauma.That was why people always said that one must be ready to lose it all when making enemies of the Lionhearts!While everyone became even more wary as they glanced at Sif, she became even more conceited. "You hear that? It's not just me—everyone is mocking you now that they know! And still, you laugh… Don't you know it's embarrassing?""Is that so?" Frank adjusted his hold on the pearl while grinning. "Well, not many can see the true w
"Did you think you won't look dumb doing this? No, it'd just make you look even dumber! Hahaha…Huh?"Sif suddenly stopped laughing when she saw it—the tiny sprout that lay in Frank's palm after the hale pearl shattered.There was no doubting it… The sprout was growing inside the pearl!And though it was small, it was crystalline like a perfect gem. Its very shape was the work of a master craftsman, and the emerald luster was so bright that it hurt to stare at it for too long!Moreover, one could see the bright green sap flowing through the crystalline sprout and the abundant vigor it carried.Even an idiot would be able to see that it was special."I-Isn't that a Hale Marrow? Isn't it just a legend?!" Tavis shrieked on top of his lungs after a brief moment of shock, not caring about saving Sif's face just then.The auction hall was left in an uproar right then."Hale Marrow? What is that?""Shit, it's the Hale Marrow! There's only a fractional chance it'd grow in mountains fil
Sif could feel her guts squirming, especially when someone asked Frank loudly if he would sell the Hale Marrow for 50 billion dollars.Two hundred million for 50 billion—it went without saying that Frank had made a killing!She would have competed against Frank's bid to the bid if she had known the devilry growing inside that hale pearl, and she certainly regretted not doing it now!If she could, she would travel back in time to slap herself twice!Just then, Trevor was clicking his tongue gleefully. "How about that, Ms. Lionheart? To think that your family sold the Hale Marrow to the Leaf family for just two hundred thousand. All I can say to that is… Tut, tut."Frank was feeling buoyed too, and he was rarely happy about anything—the Hale Marrow was an extremely rare treasure, and much rarer than the Five Elemental Wonders.Forget healing himself—they would make a booming business in Mark Lane's farm with this!In fact, he had seen the sprout within the hale pearl from the star
Frank, however, had no intention to negotiate and refused bluntly. "I'm sorry, Ms. Lionheart—I have great use for my Hale Marrow, and I'm not selling no matter what you offer me.""What?!" Sif did a double take, her temper flaring right then.It was the first time someone would refuse her, the heiress of the Lionheart!"I'm being nice here!" she snapped. "Know your place and give it to me right now! No one ever refuses me, and everyone will always hand over whatever I want to me on a silver platter!"Frank simply raised a brow and sneered. "Really? How on earth did you manage to describe daylight robbery with such righteous words? Or perhaps you own this place too? Surely you should know how to abide by rules too, Ms. Lionheart?" "Shut up! What I say is the rule!" Sif bellowed haughtily, glaring at Frank. "The Lionhearts will make this worth your while—you bought it for 200 million, didn't you? I'm now buying it for 2 billion dollars. It's no loss for you, so hand it over!"Seei
Really, what was the point of the Leaf family's auction? Why not just give away every auctioned item to the Lionhearts?!"Hmph. In that case, excuse me.""Yeah, well, the Lionhearts are too big for the rest of us to mess with anyway."Eventually, one of the bidders got up and left… and soon, there were groups of them."Huh… Wait, wait, wait, please don't go!" Jenny called out from the stage, but most of the bidders were packing up to leave anyway.After all, it was now clear that they had no reason to attend this auction anyway."What…" Sif was left stunned as she watched the crowd leaving the auction hall, never expecting everyone to leave just like that.But their reason was simple, with Frank being the precedent—if any of them chanced upon some treasure now, they could only leave with Sif's permission.If she said no, it was time to hand it over—or one would expect the wrath of the Lionhearts.And since no one present could afford to suffer the wrath of the Lionhearts, they
"Please be understanding."And with a polite nod, Jenny left without looking back.Sif was left standing there, shaking with rage.It was the most terrible day for her, ever!She paid a whopping grand total of 5.5 billion dollars for two pieces of junk. And worst of all, every bigwig attending the auction had seen the vindictive side of the Lionhearts, and as word soon spread, it would soon become the image everyone had of them.Forget Norsedam—even the main branch of the family in Morhen would be affected!"Bastard…" Knowing that she had messed up terribly, Sif clenched her knuckles even as her fury threatened to consume her.But she soon smiled savagely—since she had already messed up anyway, she just had to see things through to the end!She would make Frank pay even if all of Norsedam would talk—and most importantly, take the treasure he kept in his pocket. It was Frank's fault for messing with her, and if not for that little speech he made, the situation would not have f