Penniless Girl? She Is The Genius Healer

Cristina Acosta POV:

On the night of the auction, I wore my plain black Azure Gale House robe and walked into the opulent Empyrean Vault with Holli Warner at my side. Holli, disguised in a conservative emerald cloak, was the best information broker in the underground, but in the light of day, she fronted as a struggling magical antique appraiser.

The place was dripping with wealth. Crystal chandeliers cast a brilliant, blinding light over floors made of polished starlight marble. Witches and wizards in robes embroidered with their family crests turned to stare. We might as well have had "poor and unimportant" stamped on our foreheads. The pureblood elite thrived on exclusivity, and my faded academy robe was a glaring insult to their aesthetic.

"Well, well, if it isn't Holli Warner," a sickly sweet voice chirped behind us. "Still trying to peddle your second-rate appraisals to actual purebloods? And who is this?" The girl's eyes shifted to me, raking over my plain robe with unfiltered disgust. "Bringing an uneducated little charity case to a place like this? How pathetic."

I turned. A girl in an expensive lace robe, Juliana Sterling, was clinging to an older man's arm, her eyes sizing us up with blatant disdain. Juliana was a notorious gossip from a minor pureblood family. Holli had once publicly exposed one of Juliana's fake heirloom necklaces, earning her a petty, relentless grudge.

Holli stiffened, her fists clenching, but I just smiled coldly. I didn't waste time arguing with a spoiled child. Before Juliana could utter another insult, I flicked my wrist subtly by my side, channeling a precise thread of wandless magic.

A silent silencing charm hit her throat like a physical strike. She opened her mouth to mock us again, but not a single sound came out. Her smug smile vanished instantly. She clawed at her own throat in panic while the nearby crowd gasped. Her face turned a blotchy red as she frantically tried to force out a scream, but her vocal cords were completely locked.

"Enjoy the silence, Juliana," I whispered, my voice carrying the chill of a winter storm, walking past her terrified form to find a seat in a dark corner.

The auction began. I paid no attention to the rare artifacts or enchanted armors until the pristine Dragon's Breath Amber was presented. It glowed with a warm, pulsating orange light, radiating a deeply soothing aura. The bidding started at three thousand Glowgold.

I immediately raised my paddle. "Five thousand."

Before the attendant could register my bid, the heavy velvet curtain of a private box on the second floor was drawn back. A cold, imposing figure stood there. Burrell Black. The moment he stepped into the light, the ambient magic in the entire auction hall grew incredibly dense. The casual chatter died instantly. He didn't even bother to look at the crowd. He didn't even raise a paddle, just gave a slight, arrogant nod to the attendant.

"Commander Burrell Black bids ten thousand Glowgold!" The attendant boomed. The hall fell into absolute, terrified silence. No one dared to bid against the supreme commander of the Enforcers.

I frowned. Holli leaned in. "He needs it for his grandmother. She is suffering from severe insomnia due to her necrotic curse."

I didn't care. I raised my paddle again, my movement sharp and deliberate. "Twelve thousand."

A collective gasp echoed through the room. Hundreds of eyes snapped toward my dark corner, shocked that a girl in a plain academy robe had the audacity to challenge him.

Burrell's icy blue eyes locked onto me from the balcony. There was a flash of recognition, followed by a dangerous, predatory glint. He remembered me from the slums. He didn't hesitate. "Twenty thousand."

I gritted my teeth. I had the money, but spending a fortune on a sleeping aid was ridiculous. I lowered my paddle, glaring up at him. Our eyes met across the vast hall, a silent, intense clash of wills that made the air between us crackle. Let the arrogant fool overpay.

Burrell won the Dragon's Breath Amber for a staggering twenty thousand Glowgold, paying double its worth due to my interference. As he left his box, his gaze swept in my direction once more, a flicker of something intense and unreadable in their depths.

I pulled Holli away, striding out of the opulent hall. I didn't get my amber, but I was definitely going to make him pay for crossing me.

"Send a message to Collins Black," I told Holli as we stepped out of the Vault into the cool night air. "Tell him the master is willing to intervene tonight. But the consultation fee has just gone up. It is now one hundred and fifty thousand Glowgold. Not a single copper less."

Holli's eyes widened in sheer shock. "Cris, that's extortion! Ten times the usual rate!"

"I know," I said, a cruel, satisfied smile curving my lips. "And make sure to send the invoice under the name Silver Fox. Add a personal note to the Commander: 'To the foolish client, an overcharge for your arrogance.' Let's see how much he enjoys his expensive amber now."