"Honored guests of the Astar Auction House, it is truly a great privilege..."

The lights flared and converged onto the stage. The host, a tall man in a black suit and a bird-shaped mask, began reciting the old-fashioned opening lines of the auction. Only after quite a while did he finally get to the point.

"I believe all of you have already chosen the items you desire, so let us begin. The auction today officially starts now!"

As soon as his words fell, a woman in a daringly cut red evening gown pushed a cart draped with a black cloth onto the stage.

Her honey-colored skin seemed to radiate fragrance into the air, every curve of her figure suffocatingly alluring. The audience on the stands couldn't help but stir restlessly, whispers spreading like fire.

She, too, wore a bird-shaped mask. They were all veteran staff of the Astar Auction House.

"All just worthless trinkets."

Joshua's eyes swept across the live broadcast screen before him, which displayed various angles of the items. At that moment, the stage showcased an ancient mirror said to have survived since the old era, newly unearthed from an abandoned planet.

A group of nobles fond of collecting antiques immediately went wild with their bids. In no time, the price skyrocketed to seventy thousand gold coins—an astronomical figure for any lower-class citizen.

The Aurellan clan was different. They had no interest in mere decorations; they truly craved things that could enhance their power and influence. Especially after Athena came to power, that belief had been driven deep into the family's very consciousness.

Athena smiled at Joshua and said, "Just pick something you like."

Joshua brightened at her words, then pretended to think deeply as he studied the catalog of items lined up for auction today.

Only the last two items were absent from the list—the rest were laid bare before them.

Athena suddenly tugged lightly on the chain in her hand at that moment. Louis was forced down toward her, leaning closer, his breath faintly unsteady.

She glanced at him, lips curving. "Don't look away. You pick something you like, too. I told you—I'll reward you."

Louis stared back at her with a stubborn expression, but in the end, his face flushed, and he turned aside.

He didn't hesitate, however, and pointed directly at one of the items on the screen. "I want that one."

It was a pitch-black gemstone. Deep inside, tiny motes of light shimmered like a distant galaxy, yet it looked utterly ordinary to the eye. It didn't emit the faintest glow.

The description stated it was a demon stone mined from the Galactic Sea. To Joshua, it was clearly just another trick from merchants looking to swindle foolish nobles. Who would've thought it would hook this foolish kitten instead?

"Louis, your taste is really terrible. Couldn't you have picked something better-looking?" Joshua said flatly.

At that, Louis pressed his lips together, replying softly, "I like black."

As he said this, his gaze drifted unconsciously toward Sylus.

At the same time, Sylus looked back. His eyes, like obsidian under the light, gleamed coldly.

Sylus frowned, as though irritated, and turned his gaze away.

Louis, too, seemed as if he had only looked at him in passing.

"If you like it, then just take it. You're my man, Louis—don't tell me you can't even claim something like this." Athena brushed it off casually, not caring much about his choice.

Joshua let out a cold snort, his eyes narrowing at how Louis looked longingly at Athena. He silently clenched his teeth—Louis was such a fool. He could have given him something far better than that!

In the Aurellan family, he stood just below Athena!

Yes... only below Athena...

Joshua repeated those words, chewing over each syllable, before lowering his gaze to hide the emotions in his eyes.

Ultimately, the gemstone fell into Louis's hands with ridiculous ease.

The moment the VIP room placed its bid, truth be told, almost no one dared to compete. And if anyone had inside information—knowing Athena herself sat in that room—they wouldn't even think about it.

After all, it was just a stone. No matter how rare, it was still just a stone.

"And now, the moment you've all been waiting for! Today's core item!"

The auction had been dull—at least from the perspective of those inside Room No. 2. Down below, the atmosphere was lively with people still fighting over bids, but up here, Joshua had grown so bored that he had started eating fruit, while Louis stood off to the side, stifling a yawn.

That was, until now, when the core item was brought onto the stage.

Joshua arched a brow. "Hmph. Let's hope it's something actually useful."

He rose to his feet, eyes fixed intently on the screen.

The atmosphere in the hall grew noticeably more heated.

At that moment, a woman appeared, pushing a cart that carried a large cage covered with a black cloth.

The surrounding lights dimmed, plunging everything into shadow, leaving only the stage illuminated—its brilliance focused solely on that cage.

The host raised one hand, his voice ringing out:

"Today's core item—a species thought to exist only in legend, the Succubi!"

The woman yanked away the black covering at his words, revealing the scene within.

Inside the cage sat a boy and a girl, strikingly resembling one another. They looked barely past childhood, no taller than a meter and a half, sitting close together, fingers interlaced. A veil of white fabric clung loosely to their bodies, half-revealing, half-concealing, hiding just enough—or perhaps not enough.

Their snow-white skin made their black hair and violet eyes stand out all the more vividly.

As the host had claimed, each bore two small black horns sprouting from their heads, and from their tailbones extended a long black tail tipped with a sharp, arrow-like point.

Their wide, tearful eyes brimmed with fear and timidity toward the strange surroundings. The girl was beautiful and cherubic, the boy sculpted like a statue—both so breathtaking that one might want either to protect them tenderly or punish them ruthlessly.

The host's voice boomed once more:

"A species of pure legend! Perfect bodies, and when it comes to the bedroom, their abilities are beyond perfection. I assure you, such beings will never be found again!"

"Probably just some kind of gene-splicing experiment..."

"Of course, hahaha. In this day and age, are there still people who believe such fantasy species exist?"

"But those faces... they look a little familiar. I feel like I've seen them somewhere before."

"Check the wanted list, hahaha! Turns out they're criminals—bet they're even better in bed!"

"Hahaha..."

The hall roared with laughter and chatter. At the same time, the host's voice rang out once again:

"A one-of-a-kind item, available only here at the Astar Auction House, and only in today's auction—The Demonic Twins! Starting bid, 200,000 gold coins!"

"210,000 gold coins!"

"With that little money, you dare to bid?! 250,000 gold coins!"

"Competition makes it fun, hahaha—270,000 gold coins!"

The atmosphere grew increasingly heated, the bidders below red-eyed in frenzy.

Inside the cage, the siblings sat close, unable to comprehend the scene unfolding before them. Their violet eyes brimmed with fear, tears glistening as they hesitated, trembling.

And then—suddenly, as if by coincidence—they both raised their heads simultaneously.

But Louis, watching the screen, felt as though Luna and Lucas's gazes had pierced it, locking tightly onto him, unrelenting.

Yes, the so-called succubi being auctioned off were none other than Luna and Lucas!

Good god, were these people seriously mistaken? Those two were man-eating monsters—they didn't feed on semen, you idiots!

The instant he had seen them, Louis had almost lost his composure. He felt absurdly lucky that the emotion-detecting ears weren't on his head at that very moment.

Panic crashed through him first, followed by sheer dread. If Luna and Lucas had already shown up here, Aboli couldn't be far behind.

Damn it—why did it suddenly feel like his head was getting further and further away from his neck?!

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