After hearing Madam Sharon's conditions, Altair frowned slightly, appearing to think seriously. After a few seconds, she nodded gently. "What share do you need, at what price? When will you give me my Beyonder characteristic, how much more do I need to pay, and most importantly, what kind of tasks are they?"
Madam Sharon chuckled and raised her head. "Don't worry, sister. We are all family, and we understand your current situation; we won't make things difficult for you."
"Regarding the weapons trade, the Patriarch hopes to purchase at the Loen army's prices. Also, you need to convince the other shareholders to provide the family with a stable share. This won't be hard for you."
"As for the characteristic, someone will deliver it to you after our conversation. She will discuss the price with you."
"As for the tasks, there is much you need to do. You know that the Acting for the Demoness Pathway often requires bringing about calamity."
"The family hopes you can use your noble status to provide some assistance to our sisters within your power. For example, during the chaos in Backlund a few months ago, you could have given the sisters opportunities to complete their Acting and assisted them in covering their retreat."
"The tasks you mentioned are too vague; it's a huge pit," Altair interrupted flatly.
She continued, "Regarding weapons, I will strive for the family's interests as much as possible. But for tasks, I need to calculate the gains and losses before deciding whether to help."
"That's fine," Madam Sharon replied with a smile, not refusing.
Altair smiled and joked, "Aren't you afraid that I won't provide help when the time comes?"
"Sister, you must be joking." After saying this, Madam Sharon stood up and giggled.
"Since the family has recruited you, we will make sure you feel our sincerity."
Before she finished, Madam Sharon began undressing as if no one else was there, revealing her naturally seductive body, seemingly to change into a gown.
But as if remembering something, she looked up and asked softly, "Forgive me, sister; I almost forgot an important matter."
"The family has some questions regarding the weapon designers at the Arsenal."
"I wonder if you could enlighten me, sister?"
"Tell me about it," Altair blinked and asked curiously in return.
A faint, enigmatic smile played on Madam Sharon's lips. Her voice was as soft as water as she asked, "According to the new weapon designs the family obtained, these concepts are essentially identical to Roselle's ideas from back then."
"So they want to know if those weapon designers found that ethereal place of legend and obtained Roselle's inheritance."
"I wouldn't know about that," Altair shook her head directly, then added, "You should also know that I'm still a minor. Uncle-Grandfather Leif doesn't let me touch these things. I only know that such designers exist, but I have no idea where they are or how to find them."
Madam Sharon didn't press further. After silently changing into a magnificent long dress, she turned her back to Altair and said in a sultry voice, "Sister, help me pull my corset tight."
Hearing this, Altair stood up to help her shape her figure. The idle Madam Sharon said with a hint of grievance in her tone, "We've been in contact for less than half an hour, and for twenty minutes of that, I've been envying your good fortune, sister."
"High status, wealth, power, and the family is even rushing to give you the characteristic needed for promotion to demigod. As for me, I'll only be eligible for the Demoness of Afflictions formula after I complete the task of recruiting you. As for when I'll get the characteristic, I don't even dare to think about it."
"If you ever have the idea of selling a Demoness of Afflictions characteristic, you must remember to notify me."
Altair didn't intend to reply to Madam Sharon's words but instead asked curiously:
"How did you know I was in Tingen City? My tracks have always been concealed."
Upon hearing this, Madam Sharon slowly walked to the vanity, took out a slender glass potion bottle containing a pale yellow liquid, and held it before Altair's eyes. She chuckled, "This is a potion you made, isn't it? I deduced you had returned to your ancestral land for the winter because of it."
"Although you improved this potion to have greater side effects and better results, its essence hasn't changed. Coincidentally, I happened to have specialized in researching it before."
"So I gave it a try, and the result was quite good—at the very least, it lured you out, sister."
After hearing Madam Sharon's explanation, Altair took a deep breath and said, "Weren't you afraid of guessing wrong?"
Madam Sharon turned around, took Altair's arm, and said affectionately, "I wasn't. Even if I had guessed wrong and you hadn't returned, I wouldn't have lost anything by trying."
"It's just that now I have a matter I need you to help me resolve."
"As you know, I organized this Charity Auction in Baron Hoy's name. If you hadn't returned, it would have been fine; I could have handled the consequences here in Tingen City. But now the difficulty is that you have returned, sister, and I—your sister—find it very difficult to bear the consequences."
"So I was thinking..."
Before Madam Sharon could finish, Altair lightly raised her right hand, letting her slender white fingers slowly slide down Sharon's face. With a bit of mischief, she smiled and said, "I refuse to help."
"These are consequences you caused yourself, and you need to bear them yourself."
...At 9 PM, Altair and Madam Sharon left her room together and went to the banquet hall to take their seats.
After the host finished explaining that the funds raised from this auction would be used for the construction of an Orphanage, he emphasized the'social responsibility' of the nobility once more. With that, the auction officially began.
Following his words, servants continuously brought items onto the auction stage—mostly antiques, artworks, jewelry, and the like. No items went unsold.
This was because the original owners would provide a floor price for the items; if no one was interested, they would have an agent place a bid.
But none of this had anything to do with Altair. She would bid on items she liked but wouldn't persist in buying them; once someone bid higher than her, she would give up. In the end, she only spent 200 gold pounds to buy a Sapphire Necklace.
When the auction ended, Altair and Old Clayton quietly left, skipping the subsequent ball and banquet.
Old Clayton had 'persuaded' Baron Hoy before the auction began and successfully obtained compensation before leaving.
The underlying rule of any world is violence; whoever has the bigger fist has the final say. If your word doesn't count, it only means your fist isn't big enough. In this world, that means whoever is a Beyonder, whoever has a higher Sequence, and whoever has a stronger backing has a better future.