Helena was genuinely annoyed.

  She wanted this auction finished, her house secured, and her bed claimed as soon as possible. Instead, an overweight mass of flesh had stepped down from his carriage and had not even bothered to clear the road.

  Did he really think everyone else would simply wait for him?

  Helena was not usually short-tempered.

  Probably.

  But she had not rested properly since arriving in the capital. Yes, she could stay awake for weeks if she wanted to. That did not mean she wanted to. And when fatigue piled up, her mood shifted.

  Like now.

  Her fingers tightened on the wheel.

  “Maybe,” Helena said lightly, “it would be good if we had fewer competitors at the auction.”

  The sedan hummed as she pressed the accelerator.

  From the outside, it looked like a refined luxury vehicle. Elegant. Calm. Civilized.

  It was not.

  This sedan was an artifact born from the Apocalypse World. Nothing about it was normal.

  It was not designed to run over obstacles. That was inefficient and damaging. Instead, it was equipped with an aether shield knockback system, originally meant to clear through swarms of mutant zombies without harming the vehicle itself.

  Anything that collided with it would be violently repelled.

  Shattered.

  Launched.

  Reduced to debris.

  If this sedan struck the approaching noble head-on, he would not be injured.

  He would become art.

  A very red painting on a nearby wall.

  Rias snapped out of her shock. “No! Please don’t!” she said urgently. “We’ll be in serious trouble if you kill him! Lord Winterwell would not be pleased if he heard his daughter killed another noble!”

  Helena tilted her head slightly, sounding almost cheerful.

  “Oh? Then I guess running him over really is a good idea.”

  “Did you even hear what I just said?!” Rias shouted.

  Helena did not answer her directly.

  “Okay then,” she said calmly. “Grab your seats. We’re going a little off-road.”

  “What—?” Rias started.

  Laysandra did not even manage a sound.

  The sedan surged forward.

  Rias screamed.

  Laysandra screamed louder.

  Outside, the fat noble yelped as the vehicle suddenly lunged toward him. He lost his footing and crashed down onto his backside with a wheezing grunt. His guards panicked, rushing to help him up, shouting in confusion.

  Some reached for weapons.

  Others froze.

  Can you even stop something like that?

  The sedan was already upon them.

  At the last second, Helena spun the steering wheel.

  The car drifted sharply to the side, tires screaming as it slid past the guards with terrifying precision, missing them by inches. Wind and displaced air knocked several men flat as the sedan shot through the gap and sped onward.

  Inside, Helena laughed brightly.

  “Haha! That’s the true essence of driving.”

  She glanced ahead, eyes sharp, smile wide.

  “Get the hell out of my way,” she added pleasantly. “You dumbasses.”

  Helena parked the sedan alongside the carriages.

  Coach drivers and attendants stared openly at the strange vehicle, eyes full of curiosity and confusion. As Helena stepped out, she wore a satisfied smile, like someone who had just finished a pleasant stroll rather than narrowly avoiding disaster.

  The rear door opened.

  Laysandra stumbled out and immediately dropped to her knees.

  She looked like she might vomit.

  From the other side, Rias exited as well. Unlike Laysandra, she managed to stay on her feet, though she swayed slightly, one hand pressed to her temple as the world spun.

  Helena clasped her hands behind her back and asked cheerfully, “So? Did you enjoy it? How were my driving skills?”

  “LIKE HELL WE DID!”

  Laysandra and Rias shouted in unison.

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  Helena flinched.

  Laysandra forced herself upright, wobbling as she stood, then grabbed Helena firmly by both shoulders. Her expression was frighteningly calm. Too calm.

  “Don’t ever drive like that,” she said, each word clipped and sharp. “At least not with me.”

  Helena nodded rapidly, swallowing. She nodded so hard it looked like her neck might snap.

  “Okay. Okay. I won’t.”

  Rias took a slow breath. The dizziness faded, and her usual composed expression returned.

  “Alright,” she said, straightening her clothes. “Helen, Laysandra, let’s go register you first.”

  “Register?” Helena asked.

  Rias nodded. “Proof of reference. The Merchant Guild needs to record who invited whom.”

  “Oh. Right,” Helena said brightly. “Let’s go!”

  The three of them headed inside.

  Unfortunately, Helena had forgotten to drop them near the entrance and had instead driven all the way to the carriage handling area, so it took extra time to circle back. By the time all formalities were completed, nearly half an hour had passed.

  They finally stood before the entrance to the auction hall.

  There was still time before it began.

  Rias checked her appearance one last time. Important people would be inside tonight. Laysandra, on the other hand, had been checking herself nonstop ever since they arrived, her nerves visible in every movement.

  Helena looked completely at ease. She might as well have been walking through her own garden.

  Rias decided to remove her mask. There was no need for it. Helena kept hers on because she liked it. Laysandra kept hers on because it gave her just enough confidence to exist without panicking. No one could recognize her if she messed up.

  A management member waited at the door for final verification. He clearly recognized Rias, but she still handed over her passes. Procedure was procedure.

  The doors opened silently.

  Light spilled out.

  The trio stepped inside, greeted by the brilliance and noise of the auction hall.

  Helena glanced around and said flatly, “Are we in a fish market?”

  The hall was packed. Voices overlapped, conversations layered on top of one another, the air buzzing with anticipation.

  As they walked, some people glanced their way.

  “Lady Rias?”

  “Then who are the other two?”

  “I know masks are allowed, but isn’t that a bit much?”

  Others whispered back.

  “Don’t say it like that. They’re probably big names. That’s why they want anonymity.”

  They reached their seats.

  Because of Rias’s position in the Merchant Guild, she had a front VIP section. Not just seats, but a small area designed for a group. High-ranking members were allowed to reference multiple guests, so these sections existed for that purpose.

  Rias rarely used it.

  She had connections. Nobles, merchants, influential figures. But her reputation as a rising rookie made it hard to secure the right people. She refused to fill her space with chatterers and opportunists who would rot her brain with meaningless conversation.

  Tonight, she had invited only one person.

  Helena.

  The trio sat down.

  Helena looked around at the empty seats beside them. “All this space just for us?” she said happily. “I like luxury.”

  Rias smiled. “Please, make yourself comfortable. It’s fully ours.”

  Helena sat down with a little bounce.

  Laysandra sat down as if the seat were made of glass.

  It did not take long for Helena to get bored.

  The auction still had not started, and waiting had never been her strength. Eventually, she decided Laysandra’s lap was far more useful than the sofa. She shifted without warning, made herself comfortable, and lay back with her head resting there, staring up at the ceiling.

  Laysandra froze.

  Helena, meanwhile, looked completely at peace, idly playing with a small, colorful cube in her hands, turning it over and over as if nothing else in the world mattered.

  Rias noticed.

  She glanced at Helena, then away, pinching the bridge of her nose internally.

  Manners?

  Never mind.

  Before she could dwell on it further, footsteps approached their section.

  A small group entered.

  Rias straightened instantly.

  At the front of the group walked an old man, his back slightly hunched. He looked somewhere between sixty and seventy, though the curve of his posture suggested an old injury rather than age alone. His presence carried weight, quiet but unmistakable.

  Rias stood at once.

  Laysandra noticed and instinctively tried to rise as well, then remembered Helena was still using her lap as a pillow. Panic flickered across her face as she sat there awkwardly, half-frozen, half-terrified.

  Rias bowed deeply.

  “Guild Master.”

  There was only one person she would ever address that way.

  The old man laughed warmly.

  “Haha! Young Rias. I thought you planned to attend the auction alone again this year.”

  His eyes shifted toward the two masked figures beside her.

  “Good to see you’ve brought company.”

  Rias smiled politely. “Yes. I was fortunate enough to find reliable participants to attend the auction with me.”

  The Guild Master looked at the two masked women, clearly expecting them to stand, greet him, or at least acknowledge his presence.

  There was no reaction.

  Helena did not even glance his way, still lying comfortably on Laysandra’s lap, absorbed in her little cube.

  A sharp mutter came from behind the old man.

  “Don’t they have any manners?”

  The Guild Master ignored it entirely.

  Rias, however, felt a bead of sweat form. She shot Helena a subtle glance, trying to silently convey please, at least this way.

  Helena did not.

  Rias quickly changed the subject.

  “Guild Master, I’m surprised to see you here,” she said smoothly. “I thought you’d be enjoying the auction with your friends in your own section.”

  The old man’s smile never wavered, but something about it made Rias uneasy.

  “Oh, I was planning to,” he said. “But then I thought of you.”

  Rias blinked. “…Me?”

  “I figured you might come alone again this year,” he continued lightly. “So I thought I’d help you out a little.”

  Help?

  Rias glanced at the people standing behind him.

  A hopeful thought surfaced.

  Is he going to introduce them to me?

  A genuine smile bloomed on her face.

  “That’s very kind of you, Guild Master,” she said warmly. “I didn’t realize you cared so much.”

  He laughed. “Haha! Of course. It’s a senior’s duty to help the juniors.”

  Rias nodded, genuinely touched.

  Then the Guild Master stepped aside.

  “Well then,” he said cheerfully, “you ladies and children enjoy yourselves here.”

  Rias froze.

  Ladies… and children?

  Before she could question it, another group entered their section.

  Women.

  Children.

  Quite a few of them.

  Understanding hit her instantly.

  Outwardly, Rias maintained her composure. Internally, she was screaming.

  That sly old fox.

  The Guild Master had dumped them on her.

  The auction was a major event. Space was limited. These were clearly family members. Wives and children of his associates. People who would be bored, restless, and distracting during the auction.

  He had offloaded them onto her section so he could enjoy the auction peacefully elsewhere.

  And she could not refuse.

  Not even if he had asked directly.

  Rias looked at the group, already feeling her headache forming.

  Across from her, the Guild Master’s smile was as calm and satisfied as ever.

  Can I punch him? she wondered briefly.

  No.

  Control yourself, Rias. Calm down.

  She forced a polite smile.

  “It will be a pleasure to get to know them all.”

  The Guild Master chuckled. “No need to thank me. Enjoy your time.”

  And with that, he and his group departed.

  Rias let out a quiet sigh and turned back.

  Her eyes met Helena’s.

  Helena did not say a word.

  She did not need to.

  The look in her eyes said everything.

  Your problem.

  Rias sighed again, then turned toward the group of women.

  “Well, ladies,” she said professionally, “I’m Rias, Head of the Property Management Department of the Merchant Guild. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

  The responses came quickly.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lady Rias.”

  “I’m the wife of Marquis Venenya. I look forward to tonight.”

  “How charming. To think such a young woman holds such a position.”

  Not all thoughts were spoken aloud.

  Just a commoner.

  Doesn’t she know how to bow properly?

  Such poor manners.

  From the children came blunt curiosity.

  “Mom, why is that masked lady sleeping there?”

  “Isn’t that rude?”

  Rias felt her head start to spin.

  This is going to cost me years of my life, she thought.

  And the auction had not even begun yet.

  Thank you for reading! I've made it to chapter 20. As a small thank-you, here's a bonus illustration.