The VIP suite felt lavish, like silk draped over still water. Everything was provided, especially food and drink. The air was spotless and gentle, easing the heart.

Xirui had wanted a few seductively dressed maids to stay, but Lingxiao and Lingsaki refused without a blink, clean as a blade through fog.

“Then I’ll take my leave. Call if you need anything. I hope you all enjoy yourselves,” she said, voice smooth as tea steam.

She bowed with quiet grace, then left with the maids, footsteps fading like rain on stone.

“Mmm—” The sound slipped out like a cat’s stretch in sunlight.

Warmth pooled in my chest, then I sank into a sofa as soft as cloud. I tried to stretch, but Lingxiao and Lingsaki clung to my hands like ivy. I gave up with a wry smile.

“Dear brother, want something to drink?” Her eyes shone like lake light.

“Do you want fruit, dear brother?” The other’s whisper brushed me like feathers.

They set hot tea and bright fruit before me, clearly ready to feed me by hand, sweet as spring rain. I was happy they adored me, but they were a touch too clingy, like honey on fingers.

Then I remembered they’d spent years in the Daynight Sanctuary. That hunger for closeness made sense, like birds freed from a long winter. I decided to let it flow.

“Lingxiao, Lingsaki, I’ll do it myself.”

I slid my hands from their arms like fish slipping from a net. I took the tea from Lingxiao and sipped. The warmth was perfect, like sunrise.

“The auction looks crowded.”

Through the glass wall, I saw a sea of heads below, a tide rolling under lamplight.

“Feels like several hundred,” Lixue said, biting into fruit like a small moon, voice lazy as dusk.

“Hey, what’s with this place? There’s hardly any meat!” Lanxia’s tone snapped like a whip.

Seeing only fruit, pastries, and drinks, Lanxia called Xirui back, anger puffing like steam from a kettle.

“That’s our oversight! Please wait a moment. I’ll tell the chefs right away. I’m truly sorry!” Xirui’s apology fluttered like a flag in wind.

Her face went pale as paper under Lanxia’s glare. It was speechless, especially after that feast at the welcoming party.

“Ah… haha.” Nalu let out a dry laugh, like sand sliding in an hourglass.

“Lanxia, you eat a lot, huh?”

The thought of appetite tugged me toward the little dragon girl, Hill. Like Xinuo, I hadn’t seen her in ages, and the memory felt warm as lantern light.

Soon Xirui returned with maids pushing a cart, wheels humming like bees. It overflowed with meat dishes, colors bright as autumn leaves and scents that made stomachs stir.

“Call us if you need anything. Please enjoy,” she said, words neat as folded napkins.

She turned to go, then paused, memory clicking like a latch. “One more thing. Today, all your expenses here are on us. At the auction, whatever you fancy, just take it. No payment required.”

“No,” I said at once, the refusal clean as cold water. “That makes it dull. Walking everywhere without paying drains the fun.”

“Yeah. We hauled a pile of Purplegold Coins, and then no one lets us spend any,” my sisters sighed, like wind denied a chime.

“Spending is half the joy—if there’s anything worth buying,” they added, agreement falling in twin notes.

“I doubt anyone dares charge you, Mizumi,” Nalu muttered, smile thin as a blade. “You’re from the Mizumi Clan.”

“Understood. We’ll follow your wishes, Mizumi-sama,” Xirui said, voice folding like silk.

Time slipped by like tea cooling.

After about ten minutes, the auction finally began. Xirui walked to center stage, spoke a crisp opening, then declared the event open, words ringing like a gong.

However—

“These are low-tier items. Why are they fighting so hard?” Lingxiao’s confusion rippled like disturbed water.

She was right. Half an hour passed. Dozens of lots appeared, but they were dull—basic materials, potions, gear—dust on shelves. Lanxia nearly fell asleep, breath soft as drifting ash.

“Maybe they’re treasures to regular folk,” I murmured, letting the thought float like mist.

Lixue was just as bored. She stood behind the sofa, playing with my hair like silk threads, eyes drifting over the hall.

“Uh, Lixue…”

“Mm? What is it, Emperor?” Her gaze was a calm lagoon.

“Is my hair really that fun?”

“It feels wonderful. So soft and smooth, like water over jade.”

“…Have at it,” I sighed, a little helpless, like a leaf caught in current.

“Emperor’s hair is so pretty, even though you’re a boy,” she said, voice gentle as moonlight.

“Your hair is pretty too, Lixue,” I answered, shy heat rising like dawn.

“Emperor, want to touch mine?” She tilted her head, a cat inviting a stroke.

“…No, I’m good.”

“Dear brother, your face is a bit red. Are you okay? It’s… kind of tempting,” Lingxiao purred, words sweet as ripe fruit.

“Tempting?!” Her choice of words startled me, a spark in dry grass.

“Mm-hm. A shy Emperor is very tempting. Too cute. I’ll bite,” Lingsaki breathed, smile wicked as sugar on lips.

“Eh?!” The sound popped out like a bubble.

Her teeth grazed my ear, light as snow, sending a tingling current through me. My body shivered on its own, like a string plucked.

“Lingsaki, that’s sneaky! I want a bite too!”

Then Lingxiao took my other ear, gentle as a moth’s kiss, and heat skittered along my skin.

“Don’t prank your brother!” I snapped, face burning like coals.

I tapped their heads with a hand chop, soft as a fan flick, trying to restore order.

“A shy Emperor is too tempting. I just couldn’t help it,” Lingsaki sang, words dripping like honey.

“Mm, dear brother’s reactions are so cute. I just had to tease him,” Lingxiao chimed, eyes sparkling like stars.

They showed no remorse, only mischief, their smiles bright as foxfire. I sighed, helpless, like rain meeting stone.

“Emperor, I want a bite too,” Lixue said, curiosity glinting like a blade’s edge.

“Please spare me, Lixue…” My plea fluttered like a trapped bird.

If Lixue joined Lingxiao and Lingsaki in this mischief, I’d be doomed, like a boat in sudden squall.

“Mm… Mizumi, what happened? This dragon seems to have heard a very cute sound,” Lanxia asked, rubbing her eyes, waking like a bear from winter.

“It’s nothing. You probably just dreamed it,” I said, tossing the lie like a pebble into water.

If Lanxia learned what happened, with her nature, she’d try the same prank, trouble bursting like firecrackers.

“Huh? This dragon sees something interesting!” Lanxia’s eyes snapped open, sparked by the stage below.

Her gaze hooked to the auction, drawn like a moth to flame.

“Interesting?” we echoed, attention falling like arrows.

Staff hurried a wheeled iron cage to center stage, metal clanking like chains in a dungeon. Inside sat… a beastfolk girl?

Yes. A Foxfolk girl. Fluffy ears crowned her head like silver grass. Her face was lovely, but her pale gray eyes held despair, a winter lake that ached to see.

A tattered gray robe clung to her, hinting at skin like porcelain. Chains bound her wrists and ankles, cold as frost.

In short, she was dressed as a slave. It was my first time seeing one, and disgust budded in me, sour as unripe fruit.

“Please take a good look,” Xirui called, voice bright as brass. “A Foxfolk girl. I don’t need to explain—everyone knows they’re the best night companions. Since capture, she’s stayed caged, untouched by anyone. Starting price, ten thousand gold. Compete to your heart’s content.”

Her tone held no pity, only sales patter, treating the girl as goods, flat as a ledger. Without noticing, I began to hate this Hundred Moon Auction House, a taste like ash on the tongue.

“Ho! Such prime goods belong to me! Fifteen thousand!” A man’s shout boomed like drumbeats.

“You? I just made a little fortune. Trying a Foxfolk woman sounds nice. Twenty thousand!”

“Twenty-three thousand!”

The hall boiled. Lust ran their minds like wildfire, and bids climbed like sparks. In the cage, the Foxfolk girl trembled, tears falling like broken pearls. Her misery only stoked the crowd, and the numbers raced upward.

“This is too much!” Lingxiao growled, anger sharp as sleet. “Selling a living beastfolk girl like cargo is disgusting.”

“Agreed. They’re vile,” Lingsaki said, her lip curling like a drawn bow.

“I remember beastfolk once held glory,” Lixue murmured, tone cool as river stone. “Fallen to slavery now… it’s sad.”

“No helping it. Beastfolk serve humans now. To survive, they watch human faces,” Lanxia said, chewing roasted meat, smoke curling like clouds. “It’s the jungle law. With their weakness, they either become slaves or labor, or hide somewhere remote.”

“Nalu, is it really like Lanxia says for beastfolk now?” I asked, gaze steady as a lamp across from me.

“Um…” Nalu hesitated, then gave a bitter smile, thin as winter sun. “Looks like you dislike this, Mizumi. But yes, as Lanxia said, slave sales happen often. Even commoners get taken as slaves for unpaid debts.”

“I thought slave trading was forbidden.”

“Forbidden, and yet,” she sighed, words heavy as iron. “It brings huge profit to merchants, nobles, even royalty. Beastfolk don’t dare anger humans, so it’s basically tolerated.”

“What fate do beastfolk slaves usually meet?”

“…Mostly bad,” Nalu whispered, voice low as rain. “They eat leftovers and live no better than beggars. If a master’s in a foul mood, they’re punching bags. Even being beaten to death is… normal.”

“That’s outrageous!” The words leapt out of me, hot as sparks.

Raised in the Mizumi Clan, Nalu’s reality felt unreal to me, like a nightmare bleeding into day.

Silence hung for a moment, like snow about to fall.