NOVEL NEXT Chapter 169: Invitation
Dario grinned at my face. "No homo, but you look kinda smashable, man."
"...excuse me?"
I rubbed my face, fighting the urge to jump into a portal and vanish. "Can we please talk about the plan?" I hissed, already regretting leaving the damn house today.
But Aurelia wasn't done.
"You!" she pointed, stabbing a manicured finger at my chest. "Do you have any idea what I went through to get us in?!"
I blinked. "Umm, no?"
"No! No you bitch! I had to—" She took a deep breath, then started pacing like a storm cloud in heels.
"I had to call Daddy. DADDY, Noah. Do you know how long it's been since I've used the baby voice?"
Dario whispered fearfully, as if already having been through that trauma once. "No way. Not the baby voice."
"Oh yes," Aurelia said, hands on hips. "I had to say 'Pwease, Daddy, I weally wanna go to the big shiny auction, can you get me some shiny woom tickets, pwease'!"
Erza snorted, and Seraphina smiled politely like she wasn't about to laugh too.
"And you know what the bastard said?" Aurelia kept going. "He said, 'Only if you promise not to charm the auctioneer again.' LIKE THAT WAS MY FAULT!"
"So…what happened last time?" I asked the girl with a raised eyebrow.
"I may have accidentally made him hand over a million credit artefact for free and then half stripped," she said with zero shame. "But that's not the point!"
I raised a brow. "So the point is…?"
"The point is," she said, jabbing a finger into my chest again, "we now have five VIP room tickets thanks to my suffering. Which means—" she held up five sleek, shimmering cards, "we skip the line."
Dario bowed mockingly. "All hail the manipulative princess."
Aurelia beamed as well. "Damn right."
With one smooth motion, she handed each of us a ticket.
Gold-tinted, holographic, with our names magically etched on them. Mine shimmered: Noah, Room 7.
We walked towards the side entrance, past the illusioned barrier only VIPs could cross, and as we moved, I noticed a few heads turning.
Nobles whispering while the crowd that had been standing in the queue started throwing jealous stares at the lot of us.
"Lapui House only gives VIP access to its allies," one merchant whispered.
"Who are those kids?" Asked another.
Meanwhile, Dario only winked at them as we easily crossed the huge line and stood in front of the two guards.
The two scrawny guys gave us a weird look as they scanned our tickets and didn't even blink. "Welcome, Romero house descendants. Please head to the upper floors—Room 7 has already been prepared for you all.
The door slid open with a soft whoosh, and just like that, we were in.
Past the threshold, the atmosphere changed. It wasn't just loud, it was alive.
Crystal chandeliers swirled from the above while walls studded with mana-imbued gemstones shone brightly at our figures as I sucked in a fresh breath of cold air surrounding us.
I was almost too glad that there was air conditioning in this place due to being too damp by my own sweat in the morning heat.
I could see waiters carrying floating trays of mana-wine and glowing fruits.
Music shifted from chaotic to classy.
And for the first time in a while, I didn't mind using my house name to enjoy a little.
I felt like royalty.
I mean…I was royalty.
I was Noah D. Romero, son of Dragneel Romero, the previous king of the Blackblade Kingdom and the one feared among all.
Aurelia nudged me from the side, pulling me out of my self-induced obsession as we headed toward the lift.
"You're welcome, by the way." She said, giving all of us a bright smile.
As we entered the lift and pressed the button for the 7th Floor, I could not help but feel glad to have come back to the Romero House.
I mean, yes, there were a lot of conflicts and secret plots raging around the corners, but what made me change my mind are these 4 little cousins of mine I never even thought I could comfortably be with.
Heh, life gives you surprises when you least expect it, doesn't it?
Ding*
The door to our elevator opened as a tall man stood right in front of us, wearing a luxurious robe as he gave the lot of us an almost mock-angry glare.
I'd never seen Dario's talkative mouth shut so fast and his face almost overcome with fear as he whispered to the still unaware girls looking outside the glass elevator.
"Umm, guys…looks like we're fucked."
Because the man standing in front of us was none other than the Head of the most influential family in this whole wide Continent.
He was the one who had single-handedly controlled the matters of the world, even when his son died the most mysterious death.
He was the man whose brains as well as brawns were feared not just in this country, but even among the 7 wide subcontinents.
He was none other than my Grandpa…
Venus D. Romero.
***
——————
I had received an invitation just a few days ago from the Head of Lapui family.
The man wanted me to talk a few words on the New Age World, and all while also hinting at the need for continuing our normal lives, and thus, the part where this Auction house comes into play.
Honestly, I did not like attending social gatherings like these…but what happened with Pixie back then made me realise the importance of keeping the public united together.
I almost groaned, not wanting to think of that anamoly right now. Especially not when I was already at the said place and taking a look around.
Guess my surprise when I found my own grandchildren sneaking through the place and coming upstairs from the elevator?
Heh—A slow smile curled at my lips as I slowly morphed my expressions into that of anger.
Guess it was time to teach these kids a lesson.
***