Raised From The Wild-Chapter 167: The Auction 2

Amaya welcomed the two guests, the king’s personal assistant, and an array of bodyguards with a bright smile.

"Thank you for gracing Simply Jewel’s Gala and Auction Night, Your Majesty." Amaya bowed slightly to show her respect to the King of Ra-Iya.

King Ralden scanned her from head to toe and showed his admiration openly. Amaya’s dress has a princess neckline and dainty short sleeves that exposed her collarbone, her slender arms, and her neck. His gaze stopped at the heart-shaped diamond pendant that nestled perfectly above her cleavage. Amaya’s hand automatically went up to touch the pendant.

Earlier when she arrived, Marx pulled her into one of the lounge areas and put on the necklace on her. He also passed an exquisite box that contained matching dangling earrings. Amaya had no choice but to change her earrings so her jewelry matched.

"You look different tonight, Princess. Different and very dazzling and beautiful. You are exuding the aura of a queen." King Ralden’s voice was very alluring. People surrounding them could not help but be drawn to the man who just spoke. They wanted him to continue speaking so they could listen more.

Amaya maintained her polite smile. She has learned to control herself so she will not be affected by the king’s magnetic voice. From the corner of her eyes, she saw Zanzara’s ugly expression.

"That is a lovely dress, Cousin." Amaya praised Zanzara sincerely to ease the awkwardness. Indeed she looked lovely in her emerald gown.

King Ralden moved his gaze from Amaya to the lady beside him. He has a gentle look on his face as he smiled briefly at Zanzara. "Glad that you like the dress. Of course, I know how to dress my woman."

Amaya nodded. She led the king and her cousin inside the banquet hall to the table designated for the VIPs. They do not need to go to the buffet table as waiters were on standby to serve the VIPs. Marx who escorted an important guest from Usturia walked in the direction of the table for VIPs.

"Greetings, Your Majesty." His voice was polite but he did not bow down before the King of Ra-iya. He is an Usturian and not bound by the rules of the monarchy in the Aesean region.

Zanzara was flustered when she looked at Marx. Her heart raced and she could not help but take a second look at the handsome man who was standing beside Amaya. A vein on King Ralden’s forehead popped out. He saw Zanzara’s small action and he was angry. How dare she looked at another man when she was standing beside him? He reached out and intertwined his fingers with hers. He tightened his grip and he was hurting Zanzara.

Zanzara looked at him with a pained expression on her face. King Ralden leaned close to her and whispered in her ear. "It is so obvious that you are ogling him. I don’t care if you like him in the past. You cannot look at another man from today onwards." He smiled gently at her but his voice caused Zanzara to shiver involuntarily.

"Forgive me, My King. Yes, I will have eyes only for you." Zanzara was so scared that her voice was soft it was almost inaudible. King Ralden was still smiling at her. He released his hold on her and gently caressed her face with his thumb.

He lifted his head and looked at the Usturian man before him.

"So, we meet again Marx Skylar." The way the king said Marx’s name was laced with sarcasm.

Marx ignored his hash word. "It is my honor to meet the King of Ra-iya once again." Marx maintained his polite words but his fists were clenched. He glanced at Amaya and then looked at the door. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

"Please enjoy the food and wine, Your Highness. We need to welcome the other guests." He said politely. He slid his hand at Amaya’s back, then he led her away.

King Ralden followed them with his burning gaze. He looked at Zanzara who was standing obediently beside him.

"Are they a couple?" He asked.

Zanzara nodded. "Amaya became Marx’s girlfriend right after her eighteenth birthday."

"So he is Amaya’s first boyfriend?"

Zanzara was wondering why the king was asking a lot of questions. She wanted to ask him but she did not dare.

"Yes. He was, after all, the first man that Amaya had seen after her Daddy Ibrahim."

A cold glint swept across King Ralden’s deep dark eyes. He looked at the couple at the door who were busy welcoming guests. The more he looked at Amaya, the more he felt that she was the rightful queen of Ra-iya and the more he thought about it, the more he saw Zanzara’s inferiority.

"Do you know who owns Simply Jewel?" King Ralden can easily dig the information but he wanted to test how much information he can get from Zanzara.

"It is a partnership between Amaya and Marx." Zanzara knew about it because she listened to the conversations between her grandfather and uncle.

King Ralden nodded in satisfaction. He flipped through the brochure that was placed on the table and read about how Simply Jewel came to be. It did not however mention that the partners were Marx Skylar and Amaya Rocas. He looked at the sets of jewelry that were included in the auction and he could not help but raise his brows at the exquisite gems, some of them were very rare.

’Where did those gems come from?’ He thought about the catalog of precious metals and gems that were displayed in Ibrahim’s Museum. Could the gems come from the island? Just how many precious metals did Amaya take out of the island?

"Zanzara, why do you think your cousin opened a jewelry store? I am pretty sure she doesn’t lack money given that she is a princess of Lireya."

Zanzara was careful with her words. "I am not sure, My King. My guess is, she is trying to dispose of the treasures that they brought from Miraga."

The king’s interest was piqued. "Treasures?"

***

Author’s note: Thank you for your continued support. If you haven’t voted yet, please vote with your PS or Golden Ticket.

Shout out to Emilione124 for your generously voting with your golden tickets.

Apologies if sometimes the Chapter is released without editing. I would normally edit it the following day.