“—Tomorrow afternoon, an auction will be held at this very location. If Miss Lega would honor us with her presence, it would be the greatest privilege for our Cloudstride Merchant Guild—Snow City Branch.”
“An auction, huh…”
Weilin murmured, her brows slightly furrowed. She hesitated, as if wanting to speak. “I’m very interested, but…”
Reki smiled faintly and stepped forward. With a flick of her elegant fingers, a magical gleam shimmered, and miraculously, a deep purple violet bloomed from her fingertips.
“From this moment on, Miss Lega is one of the Cloudstride Merchant Guild’s most esteemed guests. Miss Lega’s troubles are our troubles. If there’s anything we can assist with, please, don’t hesitate to speak… so long as our skills are of use.”
Looking at the enchantingly beautiful violet flower offered to her, Weilin raised an eyebrow and glanced at Reki, whose expression seemed both smiling and inscrutable.
A violet… she hoped Weilin would trust her.
Weilin could only accept the vivid purple flower, a little helplessly.
“Mm… I didn’t want to trouble you with this, but, as I thought, I’m not good at gathering intelligence.”
“What matter could be so taxing for Miss Lega?”
“It’s nothing much… just wanting to know. Which people dare defy the kingdom’s law to harm the White Mice?!”
This self-proclaimed humorous girl suddenly revealed a dark, cold sneer, the first of its kind. Her eyes seemed to harbor a chilling, endless frost that sent shivers down the spine, every word steeped in bone-piercing cold.
“Even if the Illusory Snow Queen loves indulging her subjects, she’s a wise ruler with strict laws… Catching and selling a national treasure—would any fool truly gamble with their life?”
Reki, astute as she was, instantly pieced together the information she had and carefully asked, “…Miss Lega, what else do you know?”
“What do you want me to know?!” The girl turned her head, expression cold and distant.
In that fleeting moment, Weilin seemed to transform into someone else entirely. The sudden shift in tone and bearing was so formidable that even Reki, who had encountered many powerful figures, was momentarily stunned.
“…”
The air remained silent for a full three seconds before Weilin’s intimidating aura abruptly softened. She averted her gaze, her voice becoming low and quiet. “I’m sorry… I lost control for a moment, thinking about some things.”
Reki was taken aback and quickly responded, “No, no, it’s fine. There’s no need for Miss Lega to apologize. It was my own prying fault… Of all people to test, I should never have tried it with you.”
Weilin casually tossed the violet flower into her Eternal Space and then said, “I’ll attend the auction. As for those who capture and sell Crystal Companion White Mice… I’ll leave that to you. You were the buyers of the ‘goods,’ after all. It shouldn’t be difficult to track them down, should it?”
Reki’s expression faltered. She glanced around to ensure there was no one nearby, then lowered her voice to Weilin. “No need to track them down. They are all dead…”
“…” Weilin’s face darkened.
“I believe Miss Lega has already guessed it. The reason they dared to defy the kingdom’s law was that someone was pulling the strings. Wu Yin thought his work was flawless. Hmph. But one must understand, there is never a perfectly absolute secret in this world… As long as Miss Lega wants it.”
“Oh?” Weilin arched an eyebrow, a chilly smile slowly gracing her lips. “Then I want it.”
And on that day, Lega Weilin became all the more convinced of one universal truth: Money makes the mare go.
(Wu Yin: First Prince of the Snow Kingdom)
▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼
The next day.
The morning sun hung high in the sky, yet delicate, pure white snowflakes continued to drift down.
The pristine, spotless snowflakes reflected the warm sunlight, shimmering with a frosty white radiance. Like specks of starlight, they fell, passing through the thin mist and the cold wind.
Weilin woke from a satisfying slumber to find Elizabeth still asleep beside her. With nothing else to do, she idly opened the window to watch the Floating Snow.
For those who have lived in the Far North Snow Domain since birth, nothing is more tiresome than snow. But for a traveler who hasn’t seen snowfall all year… or for an “outsider” like Weilin, every single day of drifting snow is a beauty too precious to squander.
Weilin truly loved the snow.
Ever since the world quest “Illusory Snow Heart Seal” in the game was completed, the Far North Snow Domain had transformed from a massacre battlefield drenched in the blood of millions into a forgotten, desolate land. Devoid of NPCs, issuing no quests, populated only by dangerous Snow Beasts and Ice Spirits offering pitifully low kill rewards, it became a place rarely visited.
That was fine. If no one went there, all the more peace and quiet for her.
So, whenever she had spare time in the game, Weilin would often wander off to the Snow Domain to watch the snow.
A certain someone, certain events… were Weilin’s eternal regret and guilt.
But never in her wildest dreams did Weilin imagine that she would one day truly set foot on this ancient Snow Domain ground—this world of eternal snowfall and pure white. And even more impossibly, before all the tragedy had even occurred.
It was obvious that this too must be the choice of the Destiny Stone Gate.
And the first step to stop the tragedy from playing out again, Weilin had already figured out—learn attack magic!
With the foundation of an Lv. 100 Mage, a legacy she’d built and inherited over a decade of hard work, just learning a few high-level attack spells would make her invincible. So something like an auction, an absolute staple event in Celestial Dynasty fantasy novels where the main character finds treasure and grows stronger, was something Weilin absolutely wouldn’t miss for the world.
“Big Sister…”
At that moment, a small, soft, mosquito-like whisper came from behind her. Weilin’s gaze shifted, and she turned around.
Standing three meters away, barefoot on her small, delicate, pale ankles, Elizabemouse was dressed in nothing but a loose-fitting nightgown. Her eyes, rippling like mist, stared dazedly at her, her little face flushed with a faint, glistening pink that proved she must have just awoken from some sweet dream…
She suddenly lifted a small, dim, gray stone in her hand.
It was the ‘Good Dream Stone’, its light long since gone after its mana had been exhausted, now reduced to a useless piece of rock. Weilin hadn’t had the chance to put it away, and Elizabeth had found it right beside her pillow.
“Ah~ This… was for my own use. Since you were in the same bed, you benefited from it as well. Is that a problem?”
Weilin blinked, forcibly making up a reasonable explanation on the spot.
Elizabeth gazed at her steadily, seemingly hearing but not believing the words. After a couple of seconds, she instead hung her head dejectedly, saying in a quiet, guilty voice, “I must have caused Big Sister a great deal of trouble yesterday because of me, right? Even though I haven’t helped you at all, I still… dragged you all over the place…”
“As a hired worker, you’re definitely terrible.”
Hearing Weilin say this, Elizabeth lowered her head even further, her shame and guilt consuming her.
“But today is your time to shine. Little Hong is being well looked after with plenty of food and drink at the Cloudstride Merchant Guild, anyway. If you’re not in a rush to go back, we can see your Little Hong in the evening. And Elizabeth’s time from now until this afternoon ends… you’ll let me take charge of it, alright?”
At that moment, the girl’s bright voice, laced with tender consideration, was perhaps more warm and precious than even the sun in the sky. Elizabeth finally bravely raised her head, a faint smile gracing her lips. “Okay… Please, Big Sister, use me as you wish.”
“No. No one can use Elizabeth. And I won’t either.”
Weilin rejected her request and walked to her side, reaching out to rub Elizabemouse’s perked-up, fluffy beast ears. The sensation was not just warm, but almost intoxicatingly hot.
“Get dressed, let’s go downstairs for breakfast. This afternoon, there’s a tense and exciting auction waiting for us.”
