At this moment, the auction was about to commence. Although all guests could enter the White Castle, none would do so until the Night Party, except those attending the auction.
No rule prevented them from entering the castle, but those invited chose not to until after the auction concluded.
"These taste so good," Livia commented, glancing at Amelia.
"Of course, at this gala all the delicacies from different continents are served," Amelia responded.
Currently, servants from the Association that managed the Kalvas Gala with the Seven Heads were attending to them.
Given the high status of the guests, the food was meticulously checked multiple times.
After all, almost every Seat Holder of the High Council that managed this world and the Society were present here with their families.
"Lady Greville, Lady Levoure wants to meet with you," one of the maids informed Sylvie.
"Tell her to meet me in the garden outside," Sylvie replied as the maid went to deliver the message.
"Amelia, take care of the twins," Sylvie instructed, to which Amelia nodded in acknowledgment.
While nobody would dare harm the Grevilles, caution was still prudent.
Sylvie was well aware that half the elite families despised the Grevilles, but they were powerless against them. This had remained unchanged for centuries.
"Does Aunt Sylvie know Lady Levoure?" Livia inquired.
"Well, she once told me that she knew her personally, but I don't know any further details," Amelia replied.
Sylvie went outside, looking at the woman with long black hair and greyish eyes. Her beauty was on par with Sylvie's, but Cristina stood up to greet her.
"Pleasure to meet you, Lady Levoure," Sylvie said, taking a seat in the garden surrounded by magical orbs that illuminated their surroundings.
"The pleasure is mine," Cristina replied with a smile.
"You have made this gala quite beautiful," Sylvie complimented.
"I just did what I know best," Cristina responded, maintaining her smile, despite feeling intimidated by Sylvie's aura. Everyone in the business industry knew the true nature of Sylvie Greville.
"So, what brings you here?" Sylvie asked, picking up a cup from the table.
"I just wanted to have a chat with you. After all, not many people get the chance to meet the CEO of Abyss Corporation due to your busy schedule," Cristina said, producing a black gemstone.
"Is this the Midnight Gemstone?" Sylvie asked, recognizing the stone.
"Quite beautiful, but I still want to know the real reason for your visit," Sylvie said, returning the cup to the table.
"Sigh, alright. But please accept this gift from the Levoure Family," Cristina said. Seeing that Sylvie didn't refuse her gift, she decided to reveal the true purpose of her visit.
"You might have heard that Lady Casie is attending the gala as well," Cristina began, but didn't notice any change in Sylvie's expression.
"I have, but she is free to do so," Sylvie replied. She could guess what Cristina was about to say.
"Let's not be so formal, Cristina," Sylvie finally dropped the formal tone, realizing why Cristina, her friend, had gone out of her way to meet her.
"I hope you don't mind my saying this, but you shouldn't have brought those two here."
"It's obvious why Casie Hargrave has come to this gala," Cristina pointed out.
"You should mind your words, Cristina. There's no need to make an enemy of the Hargrave Family," Sylvie spoke.
"Oh, come on, don't dodge my question," Cristina countered.
She had come here because she was friends with Sylvie, though it had been a long time since they last met like this.
While their conversation continued, the auction started. Currently, Arthur was sitting with David beside him.
"As the esteemed guests know, in this auction you cannot use real money," Kameron announced from the center of the room, feeling the heavy gaze of many powerful people.
'So this is what the old man was telling me about,' Kameron thought, feeling the presence of the influential people around him.
The massive auction hall was designed in such a way that all 40 spots were separated from each other.
However, the tension was high as enemies sat under the same roof.
Among them was James Rothschild, who sat away from Arthur. James was distracted, aware of the stares he was receiving because of the blunder Louis had made.
Kamden Whiteheart, sitting with the head of the Williams family, felt those stares the most. But they died down as Williams Family Head and Kamden sat together.
After all, the eldest son of the Williams family was engaged to the eldest daughter of the Whiteheart family.
Their shared seat symbolized an alliance between the two families.
"As you know, we will use Teal Slabs that you all must possess," Kameron said.
In this auction, real money was not accepted, as many of the artifacts were priceless. Instead, attendees used Teal Slabs earned through selling items at the auction.
If a person submitted an S Rank Artifact, they would gain a certain amount of Teal Slabs based on the type of artifact, and the number of Teal Slabs would increase as the ranks of the artifact increased.
As the Elite Families had economic restrictions, this system made it possible for them to buy such artifacts. The restrictions were not applicable to entities like the Abyss Corporation or Abyss Guild in the case of the Greville Family, as neither were fully run by the Greville family alone.
"We will start with the S Rank Artifacts," Kameron announced as many decided to participate in the auction.
"You didn't bring Damian along?" Arthur asked David.
"Do you think I'd let him see these artifacts?" David retorted.
"Well, it's not like he will misuse these artifacts," Arthur reasoned.
"I know, but it's better for him not to know about such things until he gets stronger," David responded.
The artifacts auctioned at the Kalvas Gala were different from those auctioned elsewhere. This attracted the Elite Families to the gala almost every time. But all the artifacts followed a single pattern: they were used either for absolute destruction or absolute healing.
Every artifact here required a lot of mana and could cause significant destruction or provide intense healing, such as an SSS Rank Healing Elixir, capable of saving a highly injured SSS Rank Hunter.
The Gala ensured no single family could amass all the artifacts; to bid at the auction, you needed to submit artifacts that passed the criteria first. Still, the World Association would collect most of these artifacts as they operated the largest guild in the world.
Other guilds, run by the Elite Families, were powerful but couldn't compare to the combined might of the World Association, with headquarters in all Five Components.
All three associations were formed to oppose the Elite Families if needed.
"This is the first artifact," Kameron announced, presenting a bracelet adorned with orange runes. "Capable of using a Tier 4 Fire Spell," he described.
"The guests can start bidding now," Kameron said. A single guest raised their hand.
"Five Teals," the head of the Watson family bid.
"Not a bad choice," Arthur mused to himself. After all, the Watson family was known for producing many fire mages and individuals with a strong affinity for fire.
Seeing the Watson Family Head bid, no one else did; they didn't need the artifact that badly. The auction had just begun, and no one wanted to rush, especially since the much-anticipated SS Rank Artifacts had not yet arrived.
While these powerful individuals were excitedly anticipating the auction's start and the powerful artifacts up for grabs, they were blissfully unaware of the chaos that was about to descend soon enough.
In the garden outside the mansion where the Greville family was residing,
"I hope you'll consider my advice," Cristina suggested as she stood up.
"I know, but no one will belittle those children," Sylvie firmly stated, a clear indication to Cristina that she was unyielding on this matter.
"You won't be able to prevent the inevitable criticism that will be directed at them," Cristina pointed out as she made her exit.
Indeed, since the biological mother of Lucas and Livia remained unknown, it was almost certain that the higher echelons of society would cast their scorn upon them.
This was one of the reasons why the head of the Demarcus family agreed to conceal Venessa's true identity until she felt ready to adopt the Demarcus family name.
However, the circumstances surrounding Lucas and Livia were distinctly different from others.
The very reason that Cristina went out of her way to converse with Sylvie was because she recognized that the existence of these twins could significantly enhance the future strength of the Greville family.
Moreover, there was a high probability that, for the first time in history, two SSS Rank Hunters might emerge from the same family.
Such a prospect was something that many did not wish to see come to fruition.
