Unexpected encounter (1)

'Oh, finally something interesting,' Alex thought as he stopped in front of a platform where an auction was about to take place.

The item displayed that caught Alex's eye wasn't a powerful treasure or something extraordinary, at least to him. Instead, it was a musical instrument, a piano to be more precise.

When he was still on Earth, Jack, one of the parts that formed the current Alex, had always wanted to play the piano. Unfortunately, he never got that chance before his death.

Since he awakened in this world, his mind was occupied by other things, and he never even thought of acquiring and learning how to play the piano. Even now, he doubted he could make time to learn an instrument.

'I will buy it anyway; I can make time later to learn how to play,' he thought to himself.

As much as the current Alex didn't want to slack off like the previous Alex did, he also had no intention of living his life like Jack's, who passed all his time training or working, neglecting everything else.

"Step right up, ladies and gentlemen, step right up and behold this magnificent piano we have here! This exquisite instrument, capable of producing tones as delicate as a lover's whisper, as powerful as the crash of ocean waves, and as resonant as the finest cathedral bells, is rumored to confer certain mysterious powers to its player. Crafted by the legendary artisan Alaric Stonehand, renowned for his unparalleled skill and mastery of musical enchantments, this piano is a true marvel of craftsmanship, famous across the entire Imperion!"

"Look at it now," the auctioneer gestured toward the piano. When the crowd present followed his gaze, their eyes landed on a beautiful piano that stood proudly under the open sky, its ebony surface catching the daylight and gleaming like polished onyx. Its legs were adorned with delicate carvings of vines and musical notes, weaving together in a display of unmatched craftsmanship. "This here, ladies and gentlemen, is a true work of art, worthy of only the most discerning hands! Imagine your fingers dancing across its keys, creating music that would make even the gods weep!"

The auctioneer let his hand hover above the piano as if presenting a rare jewel. "I can assure you, you will not find another piano of this caliber anywhere in the empire—no, anywhere on this continent! The auction for this masterpiece will begin shortly, so get your purses ready! This is an opportunity you cannot afford to miss!"

'The least one could say is that he knows how to attract attention,' Alex thought as his gaze landed on the auctioneer, whose forehead glistened with sweat.

A few seconds later, the surrounding area had become crowded as people regrouped around the platform, some curious about the piano while the eyes of many shone in admiration as they gazed at it.

No one approached Alex, though, as his five guards established a security perimeter around him.

Soon enough, as the auctioneer deemed that enough people had gathered, the auction finally resumed.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the auction for this magnificent piano will now commence," the auctioneer announced, his voice booming with excitement. "For this exquisite masterpiece, the starting bid will be 5000 gold coins!"

'5000 gold coins?! That's a rip-off!' Alex thought in indignation.

He wasn't the only one shocked by the opening price—many in the audience shared his disbelief.

For instance, a family of five people could comfortably live for a year with just 10 gold coins. Asking for 5000 gold coins under the pretext that this piano might possess some unnatural powers was absurd.

Despite this shocking price though, it wasn't long before someone raised their hand.

"5000 gold coins once for this fine gentleman," the auctioneer proclaimed, tapping his gavel firmly on the podium.

The one who had bid for the piano was a middle-aged man wearing elegant clothes and a pair of glasses. If Alex had to guess, he would say that this man looked every bit like what he imagined a collector might look like.

After this first bid, many others quickly followed. It was as if that initial offer had sparked a wave of interest among the crowd.

"5020!"

"5050!"

"5070!"

"6000!"

As people kept raising their bids with enthusiasm, Alex carefully observed, still hesitating to join in. One might think it was because he didn't have that much money, but the truth was that he was probably the wealthiest man in this city right now. Even without considering the treasures and items he possessed, the amount of gold coins he had after plundering Night's vaults was worth millions!

Compared to that much money, a measly 5000 gold coins felt like pocket change.

"6500!"

"6600!"

"10000!"

When the last bid was announced, the surrounding area turned silent as everyone gazed in the direction the voice of the bidder came from.

Alex also glanced in that direction and the least one could say that he had been pretty shocked to see who it was that had placed the last bid.

Long blue hair, delicate white skin, a breathtaking beauty, wide hips, an hourglass figure and a pair of round and full breasts that bounced with every breath taken that even the coat and ample snow white dress she wore couldn't hide. The one who had bidded was none other than...

'Talia?' Alex's eyes widened in surprise, not expecting to stumble in his cousin here, 'what is she doing here and where the hell did she get all that money from?' Alex wondered.

Meanwhile, despite the many gazes that were on her, Talia didn't seem to be affected in the slightest. She stood there, waiting for the auctioneer to announce her bid.

Seemingly coming to his senses, the auctioneer resumed, but to Talia's irritation, he didn't announce her bid, no, he did something completely different that quite infuriated her.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to present to you lady Talia Eswald, one of the best pianists in our current generation!" The auctioneer shouted passionately.

'Talia...a pianist?' Alex thought, his face behind his mask one of surprise.

Among all of his cousins, Talia was one of the ones he met the most frequently. She was a great friend of Amelia and was actually the disciple of Ava, his mother. However, after what happened between the two of them when they were younger, Alex never bothered with her. When he bothered to speak to her, it was often time just to tease, prank or in some cases insult her. Talia also did the same, she only spoke to him to spite or insult him.

The consequence of that was that none of them knew what the other was up to. Well, Talia probably knew what he was up to thanks to Amelia, but Alex had no idea what she did most of her time, so he was surprised to hear that she played the piano, and going from the gasps and look of admiration people cast in her direction, she was quite famous.

"That's her lady Talia? She looks even more beautiful than I heard," a young woman whispered to her husband.

"Uh-huh, and look at this pair of-"

"Pair of?" The woman glared at her husband.

"Ah, haha, I forgot what I was about to say," the husband laughed nervously as he avoided his wife's eyes.

All around, situations similar to this one were happening with men sending leering glances at Talia while women glanced at her in envy.

Meanwhile, the target of all those gazes was feeling particularly annoyed as she deduced why the auctioneer did what he did. Indeed, her thought was confirmed a moment later when the auctioneer spoke once again.

"See ladies and gentlemen, even renowned pianist such as lady Talia are willing to buy this exquisite piano, that in itself is proof of its great value," the auctioneer said with enthusiasm, "without wasting time, we will continue the auction with lady Talia's 10000 gold coins offer."

"10,000 gold coins once, 10,000 gold coins—"

"10,200!" someone shouted passionately.

"10,250!"

"10,300!"

As the price of the piano kept increasing, Talia's composed expression quickly turned to annoyance. That fucking bastard, he used me to bolster the value of the piano! she thought indignantly.

After a moment, she took a deep breath to calm herself and uttered, "15,000 gold coins."

Once again, there was another silence as everyone turned back to stare at Talia once again.

"15,000 gold coins once, 15,000 gold coins twice," the auctioneer took a pause to see if anyone had the intention to further bid, but seeing that no one intended to bid, he resumed his action, "15,000 gold coins thr—"

"20,000 gold coins!" someone bidded, interrupting the auctioneer.

The gazes of the people were suddenly torn from Talia to the direction the voice of the last bidder came from, and they saw a person with a long mantle that covered all his body while his long purple hair swayed in the nonexistent wind.

There was a mask of swirling smoke that hid the identity of that person, but judged by the sound of his voice, people deduced that he was probably a man.

Those who didn't know him looked at him curiously while the ones that had heard what happened between him and the people of Earl Drickon gazed at him with apprehensive or nervous expressions.

Talia, on the other end, had a completely different expression.

She could completely lose her whole memory, but there was no way in hell she wouldn't recognize that annoyingly sweet voice that always seemed to carry a hint of teasing in it.

'Alex?!'