Reborn as the General's Useless Daughter-Chapter 163: Zora’s Auction (Part-1)

Clarissa gripped the pen in her hand, a faint trace of smugness rising in her heart.

Since crossing paths with Zora, she had never suffered such humiliation.

This bitterness... she absolutely could not swallow it.

Coincidentally, Gabriel had returned just the day before.

After careful discussion, they had finally made their decision.

Gabriel had already received a letter from General Roland. When he learned that his younger sister, Serestia, had died at the hands of Zora, the fury in his chest was impossible to suppress.

She dared to kill his sister. He would avenge Serestia with blood, for sure.

This time, Gabriel’s return was different from before. Not only had his strength advanced by leaps and bounds, but his family background had also grown far stronger.

As they still believed that Zora only acquired a batch of elixirs and did not actually make it, as soon as the news of the auction spread, they immediately devised a plan.

As long as they could take all three Elixirs of Tranquility through different people, they would then turn the situation around about its ineffectiveness and frame her publicly for cheating. At that point, no matter how Zora reacted, it would be useless.

Her face would be completely crushed.

The students who once admired Zora would inevitably turn on her. Her reputation would be dragged through the mud, trampled underfoot by countless people.

And once she fell that low... dealing with her would be effortless.

Gabriel deliberately concealed news of his return and entrusted the entire operation to Clarissa, Silvan, and Adrian.

They had originally planned to rope in a few disciples to forcibly seize the Elixir of Tranquility, but Zora’s new auction method unexpectedly saved them a great deal of trouble.

Now, all they needed to do was write down another name.

Once Zora finished reviewing the notes and announced the results, there would be no room for objection.

Clarissa shot a meaningful glance toward Silvan in the crowd. He met her eyes and revealed a cold smile in response.

They had wanted Zora dead for a long time.

Now that a perfect plan was finally in place, how could they possibly let her escape?

Adrian was equally pleased. Although his previous attempt to curry favor with Gabriel by dealing with Zora had failed, he had instead earned Gabriel’s attention.

As long as this operation succeeded, his future standing beside Gabriel would be secure.

A murky, venomous glint flashed through Adrian’s eyes.

The hatred between him and Zora had already taken shape.

Last time, after being injured in the Spirit tower, he had spent a long period recuperating. The humiliation he’d suffered and his apology to his friend, Corvin, still burned in his chest.

This time, he would repay Zora in full.

On the high platform, Zora gently stroked Shihtzu’s soft fur.

The little fellow was unusually excited today. At the thought of the auction and the countless dazzling demon crystals that would appear, its eyes sparkled like tiny stars.

Demon crystals...

Gotta eat them all!

Watching this, the black-and-white furballs felt deeply aggrieved.

The master had clearly put so much thought into feeding the Shihtzu. Compared to that, the attention on their needs felt painfully lacking.

"This is unfair!" Black sat atop Zora’s head, its face full of grievance as it tugged at her hair in protest.

White nodded solemnly in agreement. "This little beast is getting more and more arrogant. All it knows is how to act cute!"

Black sighed dramatically and yanked out a strand of hair. "And the worst part? We’re the ones letting it swagger around on our heads!"

White tugged out another strand. "Exactly. I still haven’t figured out how to fix this."

Zora suddenly felt a sharp pain in her scalp.

Her expression twitched slightly.

At this moment, she finally realized...

Something was very, very wrong.

"What are you two little troublemakers doing on my head?"

Zora’s eyes held a trace of helpless amusement. She didn’t even need to guess to know that these two had started causing mischief again.

At the sound of her voice, Black and White froze. They glanced at the strands of hair clenched in their tiny hands, and their expressions changed instantly.

"N-nothing! Absolutely nothing!" Black denied it at lightning speed, hurriedly trying to hide the hair behind its back.

Unfortunately, hair was not something that could be hidden so easily. The loose strands slipped from its fingers and drifted down to the ground.

Zora’s gaze followed them calmly. Then her eyes lifted again, sharp and clear.

"So... you two are pulling my hair?"

Black and White waved their hands frantically. "No, no, no! Definitely not!"

"Then what is that on the ground?"

Her tone was light, but the clarity in her eyes left no room for escape.

The black-and-white furballs instantly lost all confidence.

"Uh..." Black poked its fingers together, lowering its head in guilt. "I was chatting with White and kind of forgot myself."

Just now, it’d been tugging away as if it were pulling grass. It had even felt rather satisfying.

White nodded vigorously and raised a hand. "I swear! We really didn’t mean it!"

Zora shook her head, half-laughing, and half-sighing. She knew these two far too well.

"Enough muttering," she said lazily. "If you behave today, how about I treat you two with a big feast tonight?"

The moment those words fell, both pairs of eyes lit up like stars.

"Really?" White blurted out eagerly. "Anything we want to eat?"

Zora nodded with a smile. "Anything."

After all, she lived simply while cultivating. These two little gluttons really had been wronged.

"I want braised venison!" Black shouted without hesitation.

"I want roasted beef!" White added immediately, afraid it’d miss out.

Zora laughed softly. "Alright. One serving each."

"Yay!"

The two little fellows clasped hands, completely lost in dreams of braised venison and roasted beef meats...

With the troublemakers pacified, Zora’s gaze returned to the crowd below.

Then her expression shifted slightly.

Among the sea of faces, she spotted someone she hadn’t expected to see at all... Morgana Frost.

That day at the Alchemist Association, they had completely fallen out. By all logic, Morgana should have avoided her like the plague. Yet here she was, attending the auction.

More importantly, only academy students were allowed inside.

Did that mean Morgana was also a student here?

Meanwhile, Morgana’s mood was anything but pleasant.

Although she was technically an academy student, she usually buried herself in making potions and rarely appeared in public. When she heard that Zora was auctioning three Elixirs of Tranquility within the academy, she didn’t want to come at all.

After losing face so thoroughly last time, even her master being suppressed by Zora, how could she bring herself to stand in front of that woman again?

She wished she’d never seen Zora for the rest of her life.

Yet early that morning, her master had personally sent her off, leaving her with a single, unmistakable order—

No matter what, she had to obtain atleast one potion of Elixir of Tranquility.

Morgana had never wanted to set foot in the academy in the first place, much less lower herself to bid for something refined by Zora.

She was, after all, from a proper and respected background. How could she possibly stoop to pleading with that woman for an Elixir of Tranquility?

If the roles were reversed, she would never sell a single medicinal herb to Zora either, forget about a precious potion as the Elixir of Tranquility.

Yet her master’s command could not be defied.

With no other choice, Morgana had come against her will, and she understood perfectly what her master was planning.

If her master could obtain an Elixir of Tranquility and analyze its composition, then that so-called mystery would be stripped away.

Once the formula was cracked, what right would Zora have left to act so proudly?

By then, she would no longer have the capital to look down on them.

Thinking of this, the gloom on Morgana’s face slowly faded.

A gentleman’s revenge need not be rushed. Ten years was not too late.

Even if she couldn’t deal with Zora now, there would be countless opportunities in the future.

Sooner or later, she would make that woman pay for today’s humiliation.

*

"Darling, what are you looking at?"

Prince Kael noticed Zora’s gaze lingering over the crowd and asked casually, his eyes filled with mild curiosity.

Zora’s red lips curved slightly, a faintly mocking smile appearing at the corner of her mouth. "Nothing. I was just thinking that an auction really does attract all kinds of people. It’s quite lively."