novel
| ← Ch.59 | Ch.61 → |
How was your Halloween? 🎃
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Carlo successfully returned to the capital planet that night. After he reported to his elders at home, he immediately turned and left to find Aiden. He hadn't seen him for two whole years, and his strong longing to see him made him involuntarily walk faster. On the way there, he felt both nervous and excited. The ring he gripped in his hand was soaked through with his sweat.
When he saw Aiden, he had to fulfill the promise he had made and propose to him, Carlo thought excitedly.
However, when Caro arrived at the door of the villa, he found that everything had turned upside down. The original two-story building had been torn down and replaced with a more lavish four-story villa. There was even a musical fountain built at the entrance. Two rows of five-star fruit trees had been planted in the yard, and their lush leaves shimmered softly silver in the night.
"..." He'd always known that Uncle Randy was rich, but surely that didn't mean he had to have such a big change in the two years he hadn't seen him, right?
Carlo took a few steps back, and took a careful look at the house number to confirm he hadn't gone to the wrong place. Only then did he ring the doorbell.
It was a robot who opened the door. He said mildly, "Hello, the owner is not at home. If you'd like to find him for something, please leave a message."
He had rushed over to Aiden's house, wanting to give him a pleasant surprise. He hadn't expected that Aiden would turn out to not be at home. He had originally been full of excitement, but now it was like he'd had a basin of cold water dumped on his head, and his mood fell in an instant.
Faced with this unfamiliar robot, Carlo frowned, a little depressed, and asked, "Where did Aiden go? When will he be back?"
The robot replied, "The owner has gone to attend an auction, and he'll return by ten at night at the earliest."
"An auction?" Carlo was a little surprised."Where?"
The robot answered, "At the Royal Hotel."
Aiden opened up the computer he carried with him and did an internet search, and sure enough, there was a huge auction tonight at the Royal Hotel. Some information on the treasures to be auctioned had been released online. Many of them were delicate handmade goods that were unique and unmatched. Some had been studded with silver five-star fruit leaves as decoration, and looked like they were Aiden's style. So apparently Randy and Aiden had gone to the auction to make money?
Having thought of this, Carlo immediately turned his hovercar around and drove for the Royal Hotel.
The Royal Hotel was one of the capital planet's most distinguished high-class hotels, with a seven-star rating and a suspended floor plan. The hotel's lobby was situated on the ground, while hotel rooms of all sizes floated in the air. Sitting in a room, you had a view overlooking the capital planet's most beautiful night landscape. In a room on the top floor, you could even see the dazzling stars through a glass ceiling.
Tonight, there were lots of high-end private cars parked out front in the hotel parking lot. He guessed they were probably there to attend the auction. The lobby above them was currently brightly lit. That should be the venue where the auction was being held.
Carlo parked his car, then quickly walked to the front counter to show the receptionist his ID card and explain his purpose in coming.
After the receptionist examined his ID card, she found that he was a member of the Bech family, and so brought him to the highest level of the lobby.
As soon as he pushed open the lobby door, Carlo had a shock—the lobby was packed full of guests, and what's more, many of them were public figures. There were even tycoons who were worth upwards of a hundred million and imperial celebrities from all walks of life, as well as no small number of high-ranking military officers.
It stood to reason that if they were only auctioning the goods handmade by Aiden and his dad, it would be impossible to attract these talented people. Confused, Carlo found a place to sit down, thinking, could it be that there was some special aspect to the things being auctioned today, and that was why they had gotten the attention of so many people?
Carlo sat at the meeting place for a while, and strangely enough, the auctioned items were all Aiden's handmade goods, or uncommon plants that Randy had grown. The starting prices for the handmade goods weren't high, and they were bought by interested guests. The valuable plants were all taken away by a general named Hooper. This young general was the newly-appointed commander of the Rose Corps. As everyone knew, he had an odd hobby of collecting all kinds of plants.
General Hooper was interested in plants, so it was understandable for him to buy some flowers and herbs on the spot. But why had the other generals come here?
Carlo remained puzzled despite thinking over it again and again. Just then, the lobby suddenly quieted down, followed by the voice of a beautiful female host: "Distinguished guests, today's auction is already coming to an end. Our final item for auction is a very special treasure. Everyone, please look towards the display stand in the center."
The lights in the hall suddenly dimmed, and the display stand in the center slowly rose up. They could only see a single elegant wooden box on the stand draped with blue velvet. The box seemed to be an antique. It looked simple and refined, and was carved with delicate decorative patterns.
The host entered a password and opened the box, and a red heart-shaped jewel leaped into everyone's eyes. In an instant, a gleam of red light illuminated the surroundings. Under the dusky lighting, the red stone seemed to dazzle, making every other light source in the area lose luster. Even someone like Carlo who didn't understand gemstones could sense its value. The dazzling radiance of the jewel was incomparable, and at the moment it appeared, it seemed to draw the gazes of everyone in the audience.
The host said excitedly, "This jewel is the legendary "Rose Teardrop, " an unrivalled treasure in the world of gemstones! It's a priceless red diamond, carved personally by the empire's Master Arman. In the entire empire, it's the only one of its kind. Its owner was the empire's Princess Alice!"
When these words were out, the whole audience stirred. Even Carlo was wide-eyed in astonishment.
The legend of Princess Alice could be traced back to several hundred years ago, when the Empire had just been founded. At that time, the Empire and the Federation were waging many fierce interstellar battles. Princess Alice's husband, Prince Reese, heroically sacrificed his life in a military campaign. This jewel was a token they had pledged their love by. The princess had carried it on her way back to the Empire to send a message, and encountered a Federation ambush en-route. She had relied on it to escape danger many times. It was said that a mecha was concealed in this jewel. Ever since the princess sequestered herself away, the whereabouts of the jewel and mecha had been unknown.
Of course, over time, extra details were probably added to this story to make it interesting, until it eventually became a legend. But according to the written account in the history books, after Princess Alice brought the information she had obtained through countless trials on the front line back to the Empire, she disappeared. Up until now, her whereabouts had been an enigma. Now, the object she had always carried on her person had suddenly appeared at an auction. No wonder so many famous names from the commercial, political and military circles had been interested enough to come here.
But how did Aiden and Randy obtain this jewel?
The conundrum in his heart was growing larger and larger. Just as his imagination was running wild, a voice suddenly broke out in disaccord."I don't think anyone here would disagree with this jewel's value. But what I really want to know is its origin. How did such a precious object appear at an auction?"
This question immediately caused a stir in the audience. The beautiful woman presiding at the center of the stage smiled and replied, "This gentleman's question is perfectly reasonable. We ensure that every treasure auctioned here arrived through legitimate channels. A descendant of Princess Alice took out this jewel to be auctioned off. We've already verified the seller's identity. Everyone, please rest assured."
This reply made many of them marvel. Several centuries had passed since the empire's founding, and there had been many members of the royal family throughout that time. Countless numbers had been sacrificed in battle, left the capital planet, or gone off to unknown whereabouts. Perhaps after the princess passed away, her descendants hadn't continued to live on the capital planet, and hadn't enjoyed the preferential treatment of the royal family. After a few hundred years passed by, they were forced by poverty to take out this precious heirloom and auction it off. It really made people feel distressed.
Just then, they heard a familiar voice ring out in the hall.
"Five million crystal coins."
The voice's tone was clear, and the sound was distinctive, just like a crystalline stream slipping past the ears. His voice carried a confidence that was neither servile nor overbearing.
—It was Xi Wei!
The first one to bid was actually him? Carlo looked back in surprise at the place the voice had come from. The hall spotlight also promptly fell on the speaker. It really was the empire's eldest prince, Xi Wei. Today, he was wearing a casual white leisure suit, and his face carried a smile. He held up a bid card in his hand with his bid written on it, five million crystal coins.
As soon as the eldest prince made a move, he raised the price to a level where many people had no way to continue. This jewel was originally an heirloom of the imperial royal family. Since Xi Wei intended to win it, many people decided to give it up. But there were also some rich businessmen and military VIPs who had an interest in that mysterious, legendary mecha, and started to raise the price.
"5. 5 million!"
"Six million!"
"6. 5 million!"
The auction hall had released the news of Princess Alice's heirloom being for auction in advance, so today, almost all of the wealthy people on the capital planet had gathered at this hall. For a time, the voices of those shouting out bids rose and fell in succession, and many vied for the prize until their faces were red.
Then Xi Wei calmly opened his mouth and said, "Eight million."
Today, the eldest prince totally had the nouveau riche attitude of "I've got money, I'm headstrong." He was obviously determined to win this royal heirloom.
A price tag of eight million was already enough to buy an excellent high-level mecha. If you had the right social connections, you could even ask someone to create an A-class combat mecha for you. Although the jewel and mecha the princess had left behind sounded valuable, they were, after all, things from several centuries ago. The empire's technology had developed rapidly. An antique from hundreds of years ago would be long since out of date. It was really more for looking at than using; its commemorative significance far outweighed its actual value.
After Xi Wei announced this price, the number of voices calling out prices immediately dwindled.
The host smiled and said, "Eight million going once, going twice..."
When she had just spoken to this point, a deep voice suddenly came from the corner."Ten million."
When everyone turned for a look, they found to their surprise that the person placing a bid was a handsome young man. He was wearing a dark violet, well-ironed military uniform. He didn't wear a cap, exposing his neatly-trimmed light chestnut hair. The insignia on his shoulder showed that he had already reached the rank of lieutenant colonel.
At the age of only 26, within four years of graduating, he had risen to the rank of lieutenant colonel. In the entire empire, there was only one—Joen of the Thunderclap Corps.
As soon as Xi Wei saw him, a thread of strong disgust rose up in his heart. This guy had been haunting him like a ghost, constantly pursuing him over the last two years. Don't mention sending flowers to the palace every day, he even came to an auction to snatch things from him. It was really annoying.
Xi Wei had long since thrown those childhood grudges to the back of his mind, but contrary to what he'd expected, every time Joen met Xi Wei he'd apologize with a sincere attitude. He'd say things like, I was immature as a child, I almost hurt you in that forest, I've felt guilty all these years, I'll care for you well in the future, please give me a chance to take care of you...
Whenever this alpha started getting all sappy on him, it really made his stomach ache. Joen stubbornly kept a gentle smile on his face, and lovingly confessed to Xi Wei. Xi Wei rejected him severely many times, but unfortunately, this guy was completely impervious. He kept a shameless attitude of: "It doesn't matter if you reject me, in any case, I'll just hang on to you."
Sitting at his side, Aiden held back a laugh and said, "How come it's him again? You say, is he deliberately raising the price against you, or did he want to jump out and draw your attention?"
"He'd be really stupid for trying to draw my attention with this kind of method." Xi Wei calmly moved closer to Aiden's ear and said, "This time, it should have nothing to do with personal feelings. He's really interested in this jewel. Maybe he noticed something, or maybe he suspects that there's a mysterious machine in the jewel... Ignore him, I have to have this jewel."
As he said this, Xi Wei raised his bid card again."Twelve million."
Joen narrowed his eyes and continued to raise the price."Thirteen million."
Xi Wei said serenely, "Fifteen million."
The hall suddenly quieted down, and sitting in the audience, Carlo got a great shock—fifteen million! Couldn't that buy a spaceship?! If the eldest prince spent money this lavishly, wouldn't the royal family's money all be squandered by him? Klaire, you like such a spendthrift omega, are you going to be able to afford him in the future?
Joen seemed to have also realized that Xi Wei was determined to win. If he wanted to fight with Xi Wei using money, as the heir of the Orlando family, he didn't really have anything to be afraid of. But he'd definitely thoroughly offend Xi Wei that way. So Joen carefully considered it for a moment and put up a "Pass" card, giving up the fight for this jewel.
The host smiled and said, "Fifteen million going once... going twice... sold! Prince Xi Wei is now the owner of this jewel!"
The hall sounded with enthusiastic applause. Xi Wei smiled and walked up to the center, retrieved the precious red jewel, and hung it on his chest.
Under the dusky lighting, the dazzling red gleam of the stone contrasted with his skin and made it all the fairer. If it wasn't for Xi Wei's violent personality, just going by appearances alone, he was really enough to arouse people's desire. Carlo even thought he heard many of the young alphas around him drooling. He figured their heads were probably filled right now with fantasies of pushing Xi Wei down.
After watching to this point, Carlo finally understood that Randy and Aiden's handmade goods and valuable plants were merely the introduction. This red jewel that Princess Alice had left behind was the main point of the auction. He guessed that out of the many people attending the auction, most had come to see the excitement.
After the auction ended, the host held a dinner party in the neighboring lounge. Those who had the time could come eat a meal, and those who didn't want to waste time were free to leave. Many guests were leaving, and the hall was a bit chaotic for a while. Carlo got up and went to find Aiden, but when he had just arrived at the banquet hall next door, he saw a strange scene in the corridor. The commander of the Rose Corps, Hooper, was blocking Randy's way. He frowned and asked, "Have I seen you somewhere before?"
Randy smiled and said, "General, don't you have the wrong person? I'm just an ordinary citizen running a small business. We shouldn't have met before."
"Is that so?" Hooper gave Randy a confused glance. The man in front of him smiled very gently, making him feel strangely familiar. He couldn't help but want to get closer to him. Hooper took a step forward and continued to ask, "What's your name? Who taught you how to grow three-color flowers?"
Randy was about to answer when he suddenly felt something tighten around his waist. It turned out to be Craig, who seeing the situation, pulled him behind his back to protect him. He looked at Hooper coldly and said, "General, you're not the only one on the capital planet who likes growing flowers. Isn't it a bit impolite to interrogate a stranger like this?"
Hooper stared blankly and realized that his tone had, in fact, sounded like he was interrogating him. He looked at Randy, smiled and said, "I'm sorry. I'm not suspicious of you, I just... saw that you had grown so many valuable flowers and herbs, and was momentarily curious."
The scene of a little boy holding a flowerpot and toddling after him, calling "Brother, " suddenly flashed into his mind. Looking at the man in front of him who had already grown into such a handsome adult, Randy's heart suddenly softened. He held back the impulse to go over and hug him, smiled and said, "It's alright, I don't mind. If you like growing flowers, I can find some more valuable varieties and give them to you."
Hooper's eyes showed a hint of joy."Really? Then can I take a look at your garden?
Randy nodded."You can."
Hooper left happily. Randy watched him go, and suddenly felt his heart tighten. That year, in order to escape the marriage his grandfather had arranged for him, he faked his death and left the Sherman family. At that time, Hooper had still been in middle school. Randy had heard that when he got the news of his older brother's death, he cried a lot. Afterwards, he had heard that he grew up and fell in love with a very ordinary person. His grandfather forcefully broke them up, and even ruthlessly erased Hooper's memory...
Although Hooper had now taken over the Rose Corps, had a respectable status and far-reaching power, Randy always felt it was as if he had lost his spirit. He couldn't recognize his own brother, and he couldn't recognize his lover. He only liked growing flowers, and had a garden filled with all kinds of plants...
Seeing how pale Randy's face was, Craig couldn't help but frown and ask, "What's wrong?"
Randy came back to himself, smiled and said, "It's nothing, I just feel a little unwell."
Aiden gently held his father's hand, because he knew that the person just now was Randy's younger brother. It was only because exposing the truth of what had happened that year would implicate the entire Underground Alliance that Randy hadn't dared to tell Hooper he knew him.
Craig thought that Randy really was feeling unwell, and he immediately said caringly, "Where do you feel uncomfortable? How about I take you to a room nearby to rest for a while?"
Looking into Craig's deep eyes, Randy suddenly felt a little pain in his heart. He could feel the care and consideration this alpha had shown him. For so many years, Craig had silently stayed by his side. He had also gradually accepted his presence, and even put this alpha into his heart. Now they already had three children, and they still had never registered to get married. It wasn't that he was unwilling, but that he was unable to... He could only continue to wrong Craig.
After thinking of this, Randy gently took Craig's hand and said softly, "First help me up so I can take a short rest. After the banquet ends, I'll go home with Aiden."
"Alright." Craig tenderly helped Randy up, and they left. Aiden stood there and watched them as they walked away.
After his parents were gone, Aiden at last turned and prepared to go to the banquet hall. Just at that moment, a tall young man suddenly rushed in front of him, and said excitedly with red eyes, "Aiden, I finally found you!"
And after that, this guy reached out and hugged him tight to his chest.
Aiden: "... Who are you?"
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7:05 for 3, 574 words, or 11. 9 minutes for every 100 words. An increase in rate by 0. 1 minutes... this chapter was sort of hell. All the descriptions...
I don't know if it's just because it's late, but I got a little teary-eyed at the part where Randy talked about how his brother had lost all the people he loved and was left with only flowers... 😥Hooper better have a happy ending too...
If you like this translation, please consider encouraging me on Ko-fi. Extra chapter for every two ko-fis~ 🌸
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| ← Ch. 59 | Ch. 61 → |