The Villain Saint is my secondary account

After the old steward said this, everyone immediately became much more obedient.

Although the boy's presence in the room was somewhat strange, he was still breathing and appeared to have simply fainted.

The couple simply picked up the boy, neither expressing gratitude nor lingering, and left in a hurry.

It seemed their only goal was to find the boy, and they didn't seem to care much about his condition or why he was in the room.

The boys' relatives didn't pursue the matter, and the other uninformed bystanders were even less likely to investigate, simply assuming that the little boy had been mischievous and accidentally locked in the room.

Among the remaining people, the man who had been shouting about wanting to change rooms fell silent. A passenger next to him even patted him on the shoulder and said, "Brother, want to change rooms? I'm staying at the very end of the corridor, far away from here. I guarantee you'll sleep soundly."

"Stop arguing, stop arguing," the man decisively refused. "I was just a little agitated. Now that I think about it, this person is a relative of a nobleman. Why would he bother with a poor wretch like me?"

Travel expenses on large merchant ships on ocean voyages are not cheap, even for mid-level cabins.

Interestingly, the rooms next to the coffin house were no longer looked down upon, but instead became highly sought after, with people everywhere asking to switch rooms.

Ye Xiao, who lives across the street, was also included in the free ticket quota. Even though he was dating a rich young woman named Ella, there was no reason for him to refuse this free money.

When it was the captain's turn to help Ye Xiao take notes on parchment, Ye Xiao said softly, "It's not easy, Captain."

"Mr. Ye doesn't seem to care much about this kind of thing," Captain Gabriel said to Ye Xiao with a smile after writing down the house number.

"I'm a mercenary," Ye Xiao waved his hand.

“That makes sense,” Gabriel nodded. Mercenaries have always lived a life of danger and bloodshed, so they wouldn’t be afraid of a coffin. “But this is the first time I’ve ever seen a mercenary with a young maid by his side.”

"Uh." Ye Xiao looked down at Greta, who was clutching his clothes, and shrugged. "She's actually my sister."

“Alright, then I won’t disturb your and your sister’s nightlife any longer.” Gabriel smiled, rolled up the parchment, and took his leave.

"What nightlife..." Ye Xiao's lips twitched. He was just about to defend his innocence when Greta grabbed his clothes and dragged him into the doorway.

Can you see anything wrong with that room?

Ye Xiao asked curiously.

"I didn't see anything." Greta turned her head, wrapped her arm around Ye Xiao's waist, and pulled him onto the bed. "It's late, time to sleep!"

"Why is she acting like a mother hen? And demons don't need to sleep at all, do they..."

Helpless, Ye Xiao could only lie down on the bed and let Greta cling to him like a sloth.

Ye Xiao had gotten used to being bothered a few times. He rubbed the fluffy head, yawned, and turned off the oil lamp on the desk with his other hand.

It was indeed just sleeping. In her cat form, Greta was used to snuggling up to Ye Xiao at night, so she continued to do so even after reverting to her girl form.

It's fine to just hug him; having a soft, milky-scented pillow is quite comfortable, as long as he doesn't do anything that's bad for his kidneys. After all, Ye Xiao hasn't recovered from what happened with Ella yet.

Fortunately, Greta doesn't seem to remember the agreement made at the Duke's mansion and hasn't mentioned it at all. It's quite nice that this little guy can be satisfied with just a hug.

Just as Ye Xiao was thinking this, he suddenly felt the girl's warm breath on his ear: "We can eat it in five more days, hehe."

As the devil whispered, a leg wrapped around Ye Xiao's side and rubbed against him playfully.

Ye Xiao shuddered and quickly closed her eyes, pretending to be asleep.

……

Despite a few minor incidents, the night was actually quite peaceful.

The next morning, in the luxurious suite on the upper deck.

As the morning bell rang through the sound transmission pipes attached to the ceiling, Ella opened her eyes, pressed the silver bell by her bedside, and the servant waiting outside the door immediately pushed a small cart into the room to help the girl get up.

This time, the two young nuns, Nia and Mino, also accompanied them as attendants.

They were assigned to take care of Ella's daily life while they were in the sanctuary. They were very familiar with the saintess's routines, so doing this job on this long journey was naturally a piece of cake for them.

"Miss Ella, are you going to the bathhouse for a soak this morning?" the little nun Nia asked.

The upper deck of this merchant ship even features a heated spring bath made of magic crystals, allowing clean-loving nobles to enjoy the same experience as in their own manor.

“Let’s bathe in the Holy Spring. I prefer the water there.” But Ella had more options. With a casual gesture, a portal to the Holy Spring in the Loren Sanctuary appeared amidst several transparent ripples.

The two young nuns were already used to this; Ela's strange abilities were nothing new to the believers of the Loren Sanctuary.

After bathing in the sacred spring of the sanctuary and changing into a new set of clothes at the Duke's mansion, Ella teleported back to the ship. With the help of her spatial portal ability, she was enjoying her carefree life to the fullest.

In front of the dressing table, Nia veiled her face, covering the lower half, leaving only her bright red eyes peeking out from under the white cat-ear hood.

As soon as she opened the bedroom door, twelve Templar Knights dressed as servants, who had been waiting for a long time, lined up in two rows in the corridor and bowed to her in unison.

Such a display left even the nobles living in other rooms on the same floor stunned. It wasn't that they didn't have their own servants or guards, but such an overbearing aura that completely ignored the surrounding environment and other people meant that the person was either a nouveau riche who had sneaked out to show off, or a royal relative of unimaginable status.

Looking at the guards, all of whom seemed to be hiding their true strength, and the host was still wearing a mask, it was probably the latter.

Even among nobles, there are distinctions of rank. A host who deliberately displays such power is probably not someone easy to get along with. Those who do not want to provoke such a situation will consciously take a detour.

However, this made Ella somewhat embarrassed. She was used to the sight of hundreds of Templar Knights lining up to salute and show their loyalty every morning when she went out at the Loren Sanctuary, and forgot to remind these canned brains not to be so ostentatious outside.

Now, there wasn't a single person in sight who dared to make eye contact with her, making her feel like she was being treated like some kind of weirdo.

Captain Gabriel, seeing her from afar, hurried over, following Ella closely. After bowing, he introduced the ports in the Mansa Islands where the merchant ship would dock.

The captain's trembling and fearful demeanor, as if he had been kidnapped, further aggravated the prejudice of those around him that "a tyrannical nobleman has arrived."

Chapter Thirty: Island Auction House

At noon, the merchant ship docked at the harbor of the Mansa Islands on time.

This island marks the southern border of Loren and is the last seaport where supplies can be replenished before heading out to sea.

The harbor is a fairly prosperous town settlement. Due to its special geographical location, ships passing through the Loren border often stop here to rest, and the market here has many specialties from different regions.

Ella disembarked with a large entourage, while crows circling in the sky landed on the eaves and treetops throughout the town, splitting into offspring with tiny tentacles and sneaking into the town.

From now on, this place will be a place that Ella can monitor with her eyes closed through the gazes of hundreds or thousands of crow familiars, and can step into with a simple swipe of a spatial portal.

It looks like a gang leader is marking out territory... Ella thought to herself.

It's actually quite enjoyable; the feeling of being able to control everything in a newly arrived region with just a thought.

For example, if she wanted to, she could immediately connect with the crows at the town's entrance through her mind and hear the conversation between a mother and daughter in the town not far away:

"Mommy, Mommy, look at that lady's hat, the cat ears are so cute..."

"Oh God, she's an imperial noble. Don't look at her, don't speak, let's go, let's go."

"..." Ella severed the mental link and awkwardly touched her face through the veil.

"Your Grace, we've found out who knows the location of the auction house." Just then, the Templar Knight beside her leaned down and whispered in Ella's ear, pointing to a brown-skinned resident dressed in local attire.

Ella nodded, and the Templar Knight beckoned to the resident, who then led everyone into the town.

Because the Mansa Islands are located on the border of the Empire and are a supply station that several shipping routes pass through, black market merchants often put items from all over the world that are not allowed to be traded within the Empire or other countries in auctions here. As a result, many rare goods that cannot be bought elsewhere are traded here.

Ella herself didn't actually have any particular needs. It was just that in her previous life, as Ye Xiao, she came to the auction house in the Mansa Islands and watched other nobles and wealthy merchants buy this and that while she couldn't afford anything, leaving her with a lot of regrets.

Now that things have changed, and I finally have the money, I definitely have to come and take a good look.

The town's buildings are mostly low-rise wooden structures, and the humid sea breeze and ubiquitous coconut trees create a typical tropical island settlement style.

After walking along the narrow streets that run along the bay, a rocky mountain with a huge cave at its waist comes into view.

Plank roads and suspended buildings are built on the cave walls, and a wide waterway connects to the bay below, through which many small cargo ships come and go.

Soon, the group arrived at their destination, a suspended wooden building that was much taller than the surrounding buildings, embedded in a steep cliff, and brightly lit all around.

After leading everyone here, the local man gestured and whispered a few words to the guard at the entrance of the walkway downstairs.

They were speaking the local island dialect, and Ella, who had extra Universal Points, casually bought the dialect's voice pack from the system store. The meaning of their words was immediately and clearly translated into her mind.

"Brother, a few clueless suckers have come along. If we fleece them a bit more, we can get a bigger commission this time, right?"

"Are you stupid? These people are obviously high-ranking imperial nobles," the guard slapped the town resident on the head. "You think you can just slaughter them? You'll be slaughtered by someone else in a minute!"

"What can we do now that we're already here?"

“Go and report to the boss, and have him take care of them. These imperial nobles care a lot about their reputation. If we lowly underlings go to receive them, people will think we're looking down on them.” The guard who spoke patted another guard next to him and said, “See those big men with swords over there? If we cut them down later, we'll have no one to complain to.”

"This is too barbaric! It's even worse than pirates!"

"Just think of these people as well-dressed pirates..."

The two were talking loudly in their island dialect. Ella couldn't hold back any longer, so she replied softly in the island dialect given to her by the system, "I'm not that evil, you two."

"Who's speaking?" "Oh, what a beautiful voice."

The two instinctively looked around before stiffly fixing their gaze on Ella.

"You...uh, you...you speak Mansa?"

"I know a little bit." Ella winked at the two of them playfully with her crimson eyes.

The two men blushed, but their mouths were dry and they were like ducks with their necks being choked, and the scene became deathly silent.

A moment later, a burly man with a thick beard, dressed in a magnificent velvet robe, and several henchmen stepped down from the plank road, breaking the awkward silence. "Oh, esteemed lords, how are you! I am so sorry for not greeting you properly. I am Castor, the master of this place."

The burly man spoke with a Loren accent. He was tall and dark-skinned, and his thick, seaweed-like beard gave him a rugged look that clashed with the elegant style of his close-fitting robe.

“Greetings, Mr. Castor,” said Knight Duhar, one of Ella’s personal bodyguards assigned by the Loren Sanctuary. “My master intends to purchase some goods at the auction.”

“Ah, of course, of course. Please follow me first,” Castor glanced at Ella discreetly before leading everyone up the stairs to the upper building. “We have a match here this afternoon. The Empire has just reopened, and everyone is really eager to get back to work.”

"However, according to the rules, each auction requires advance reservation... well, it's not that we're putting on airs, it's just that there are too many participants, and for the sake of our reputation, we also have a responsibility to investigate the backgrounds of the participants."

“But since you’ve come all this way, it would be too impolite and undignified to refuse, Miss…” Castor paused for a moment before changing the subject, “Therefore, I would naturally do my best to serve you well, but could you perhaps offer some… tokens or a deposit as a guarantee of our trust? Of course, this isn’t a sign of distrust, but it’s simply our rule…”

Ella casually flicked her finger, and Duhar tossed a heavy bag of gold coins into Castor's hand. "Is this enough as a deposit?"

Castor didn't even need to open it. Just hearing the crisp clinking sound and feeling the weight of the bag in his hands, he immediately made a rough estimate. His weathered face blossomed like a chrysanthemum. "Perfect! Oh, I mean, more than enough. A nobleman as wealthy as this must be someone greatly protected by the God of Light..."

Castor showered Ella and the others with compliments as he led them into the auction house's private box.

The owner of the auction house was indeed generous; the private box was decorated to the highest standard, with a thick curtain covering the viewing platform above the regular seats and offering excellent views.

Everyone found a place to sit. Since they were not familiar with the other guests participating in the auction, they could only wait idly until the auction officially began.

Chapter Thirty-One: Lighting the Sky Lantern

As the auction drew near, Castor's servants, who had remained in the room, were explaining the auction house rules to Ella.

“Each item in the auction will have a minimum increment set according to its value. To bid, simply write the price on the board with a saltpeter pen, raise the pen, and press the bell.”

"Miss, your room number is six. You can erase and change the price on the board before you ring the bell, but you cannot undo it after you ring the bell."

Ella nodded slightly, then pointed to a candlestick on the edge of the stands. "Is there any special meaning to placing this candle in this position?"

“Oh, this is a special feature of the upper-level boxes, which we call ‘whale candles’,” the auction attendant explained. “If it is lit, it means that the entire room is informed that no matter how high the price other customers bid for this round of auctions, you will be able to add one more price level to that price.”

Ella took a moment to process what was happening before she understood.

...Um, isn't this just like the legendary sky lantern?

"What if someone deliberately raises the price after the whale candle is lit?"

The attendant respectfully replied, "This is one of the reasons why we needed to investigate the client's background beforehand. If the price is raised beyond what we assessed he could afford, it will be considered an invalid price increase that is maliciously disruptive."

"In addition, there will be a slightly 'lenient' treatment for customers who light the 'whale candle' but cannot afford the price. They only need to leave half of their property and an arm, extinguish the whale candle, and the auction item will be bought by the last bidder."

"Therefore, customers who raise prices will also weigh the pros and cons. If the person who lit the whale candle is willing to pay the price to extinguish it, can he afford the price he has bet after the candle is extinguished?"

Ella immediately understood.

"So this candlestick... is generally not used. In fact, it has only been lit a few times over the years. It was only used by some wealthy merchants, pirates, or warlords when they were angry with others or when they wanted to show off their wealth to amuse their lovers."

The servant chuckled, “However, most of them did not fare well. Three years ago, a pirate warlord lost all his wealth after lighting a whale candle and is still begging in town.”

Upon hearing this, Ella raised an eyebrow. "The pirate warlord must be quite powerful. If he doesn't follow the rules, does your auction house have the means to pursue him?"

"You can trust us on this matter. Although it's not convenient to say it outright, we have the resources to protect our clients' rights."

The servant's voice was respectful, but his words carried a strong sense of confidence, and at the end of his speech, he handed over a piece of parchment written in Loren.

"Finally, I would like to ask you to add a drop of blood to this auction agreement, Miss. To be honest, this is one of the ways we restrain auctioneers."

"Hmm." Ella squinted slightly, examining the contents of the parchment. "This is interesting."

The text written on the paper meant that the Bloodletter should abide by all the rules set by the auction house. On the surface, it seemed to be just a legally binding contract without any hidden traps or clauses. However, Ella could vaguely sense a trace of magic attached to the parchment.

Even so, Ella didn't hesitate much. She gently pricked her finger with the small needle handed to her by the servant and smeared a drop of blood onto the parchment.

In the darkness, Ella indeed felt a hidden gaze looking at her, as if trying to establish some kind of connection with her soul.