May 3rd, Wednesday.
After wrapping up the final tasks for The Conjuring 2 in the afternoon, Simon attended his first public event since arriving in London later that evening.
It was a prestigious jewelry auction hosted by Christie's.
In a way, it was also supporting his own business.
Ever since Simon acquired the auction house, his interest in Christie's had been minimal, even less than Janet's, let alone Sophia, who seemed much more fascinated by expensive antiques and treasures—a trait perhaps more common in women than men.
There hadn't been any special arrangements beforehand, so when Simon appeared at the Christie's auction with Yulia Shulshikina, both elegantly dressed, it caused quite a stir.
Despite being labeled a fine jewelry auction, it was just a regular event with 27 pieces of jewelry up for bidding, expected to fetch a total of £5 million. The most expensive item, a diamond necklace estimated at £500,000, had been donated by Princess Diana for charity, making it the highlight of the evening.
Due to the relatively modest scale of the auction, few top-tier British elites attended in person, instead sending their representatives.
Simon and Yulia arrived just on time, taking seats toward the back. After a brief exchange with a couple seated nearby, the auction began swiftly.
An attendant handed over a finely bound catalog. While Simon perused the list with interest, he quickly passed it to Yulia and whispered, "Pick something you like and let me know."
Yulia carefully opened the catalog, her emotions still unsettled.
Tonight felt like a rare opportunity. Over the past few days, Simon had been staying at his villa on Kensington Garden Street, where a few of the Ukrainian girls had also come to visit. Although they weren't staying at the villa, they had joined him for dinner earlier. When Simon mentioned the auction and that he could only bring one guest, perhaps uncertain whom to choose, it ended up being her.
As they left, Yulia had noticed the hostile looks from the other girls, but she didn't mind. The fact that she was accompanying Simon to a public event stirred mixed feelings inside her.
She knew this was a public acknowledgment of her status.
She was his mistress.
After going through the catalog carefully, Yulia couldn't find anything she liked. The extravagant jewelry, priced in the tens of thousands of pounds, was far beyond her everyday life.
The auction proceeded quickly.
By the time Simon asked again, five items had already been sold. Yulia showed him an emerald necklace with a starting price of £80,000—neither the cheapest nor the most expensive.
"This doesn't suit you. Let me choose for you," Simon said softly.
Yulia, feeling a bit anxious, obediently nodded.
In truth, she didn't particularly like the necklace.
About ten minutes later, a ruby necklace with a starting price of £250,000 appeared on the stage. It was one of the more expensive pieces of the evening.
Looking at the necklace's projection on the large screen, Yulia found herself drawn to it. She sneaked a glance at Simon, but quickly looked away.
There were quite a few interested bidders. The sound of offers quickly filled the room.
However, once the bidding surpassed £400,000, the competition thinned out. Given the scale of the event, it was unlikely the price would skyrocket.
The bid eventually reached £450,000.
Just as the auctioneer was about to drop the hammer, Simon calmly called out, "£500,000."
All eyes turned toward him.
This was Simon Westeros' first bid of the evening.
Naturally, people were more interested in seeing the man himself rather than the fact that he had just spent £500,000 on jewelry. After all, to Simon Westeros, was £500,000 even money?
The auctioneer, thrilled, raised his voice to hype up the atmosphere.
The crowd played along.
Another bid came in, adding £10,000.
The auctioneer glanced over. It was a representative, but he knew the man worked for Richard Branson, the owner of Virgin Group.
With someone else raising the bid, Simon offered a second call: "£550,000."
Clearly, he was determined to win.
The previous bid had simply been a gesture. To continue competing with Simon Westeros would be unwise, especially considering he owned the auction house.
The sale concluded smoothly.
Simon's bid had surpassed the pre-estimated highest price for Princess Diana's diamond necklace.
Next to Simon, Yulia quietly gripped the fabric of her gown, feeling that the necklace was too expensive, almost wasteful.
Others, however, were curious to see if Simon would bid on Princess Diana's necklace.
The auction, which had begun at 8 p.m., lasted for two hours.
Princess Diana's diamond necklace was the final item. It, too, started at £250,000. Simon made a bid at £400,000 as a courtesy, but refrained from further participation.
The necklace was eventually sold to an anonymous buyer for £530,000.
By 10 p.m., the auction ended.
Normally, at this point, everyone would have dispersed, as it was already late.
However, Christie's had announced beforehand that a reception would follow.
Before the auction began, many attendees were puzzled by this arrangement, with some speculating that Princess Diana might make a personal appearance. However, if that were the case, it surely would have been advertised in advance, and Christie's had not done so. Once they arrived, it became clear.
By the time the reception started, not only did no one leave, but additional guests who hadn't attended the auction began to arrive.
Simon had never been particularly fond of the UK, an old capitalist country with an overly mature system that left little room for entrepreneurial expansion. Only conservative, risk-averse capital tended to make large investments here.
Still, this didn't mean Simon ignored the country. The Westeros System had investments in British entertainment, telecommunications, and finance sectors. While these were relatively small compared to the system's overall scale, even the slightest movement of such a massive entity could easily cause ripples strong enough to topple many smaller players. Additionally, Simon had acquired a significant amount of real estate across the UK and was considering expanding the Levison Group into London's property market.
Due to economic stagnation and threats like the Irish Republican Army, London real estate had been sluggish in recent years.
However, over the next twenty years, London was sure to become one of the fastest-growing property markets in the world, making it a valuable investment.
At its core, Simon's strategy for the UK was one of "mutual decline and rise," a strategy that also applied to other major capitalist countries like France, Germany, and Japan.
For the Westeros System to fully realize its potential, these economies needed to continue their decline. This approach was strikingly similar to the fundamental strategy the USA employed toward these nations—either control them or ruin them.
Of course, these countries weren't passive targets. Achieving this "decline and rise" would take decades.
At the lively reception, Simon naturally kept these thoughts to himself.
With its favorable financial and tax environment, London had become a hub for wealthy elites from around the world. Many top-tier moguls from Eastern Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East spent most of the year living in the city. The proportion of billionaires was on par with that of New York.
The two-hour auction had given these people enough time to react.
As a result, the guest list for the reception grew increasingly impressive. Even prominent British figures like Richard Branson seemed small in comparison to oligarchs controlling entire regions' economies.
And Simon was, of course, the most powerful of them all.
At the bustling party, Simon navigated the conversations with ease, engaging with the many uninvited guests and even gaining some inspiration from these interactions, which he quietly noted for later. It wasn't until after 11 p.m. that he finally left with Yulia.
As they stepped outside, they happened to run into the couple who had sat next to them during the auction.
Their last name was Delevingne.
After exchanging a few words, Simon suddenly remembered where he had heard the name. A bit of probing confirmed his memory: they had a daughter, Cara Delevingne.
Simon wasn't particularly interested in the quirky supermodel, but he did recall that her older sister, Poppy Delevingne, better suited his aesthetic.
After a brief conversation, the couple mentioned that their driver had arrived late. Simon graciously offered them a ride.
The Delevingnes were somewhat flattered.
While they were part of London's wealthy elite, they paled in comparison to the billionaires they had just mingled with at the reception. The chance to spend more time with Simon Westeros was a welcome opportunity.
As usual, Simon had two cars and bodyguards accompanying him, so one car was free to take the Delevingnes home.
Christie's is located on the eastern side of Green Park, while the Delevingnes lived on the other side in Belgravia, adjacent to Hyde Park—both prime locations in London. It took less than five minutes to reach their house.
The couple warmly invited Simon to come inside, but given the late hour, he politely declined, accepting Charles Delevingne's business card instead.
Charles Delevingne was a real estate developer.
This piqued Simon's interest. He made a mental note to have someone investigate further. Since he was considering investments in London real estate, perhaps Charles could serve as a useful contact.
After parting ways with the Delevingnes, Simon chose not to return to his Kensington Gardens residence, where the three Ukrainian girls were staying. Not wanting to join their rowdy gathering, he instead headed further west to Hammersmith, where Yulia lived.
By now, Yulia had already donned the ruby necklace Simon had purchased at the
auction. It complemented her pale neck perfectly. Throughout the evening, she had fulfilled her role as arm candy with poise. However, upon learning that Simon intended to visit her home, she suddenly grew anxious, though she didn't refuse.
When they arrived at the three-story house, Simon noticed the lights were still on inside.
Yulia took out her keys and opened the door. As soon as they entered the living room, a maid approached them. Upon seeing Simon, she looked slightly surprised but quickly recovered and respectfully greeted him. She then explained, "Miss had already fallen asleep, but around 10 p.m., she suddenly woke up and said she wanted to see her mom. We've just calmed her down and are watching TV upstairs."
Yulia's daughter had always slept with her, but after starting kindergarten last year, Yulia arranged for the little girl to have her own room, hoping to help her develop good habits early.
Perhaps due to an underlying sense of insecurity, her daughter occasionally woke up from nightmares after sleeping alone.
Feeling worried, Yulia quickly headed upstairs, with Simon following behind.
When they reached the upstairs living room, as soon as Yulia entered, a little blonde girl in a pink nightgown, looking like a doll, jumped down from the maid's lap. She was about to rush into her mother's arms when she noticed Simon following behind Yulia. The little girl paused, her big eyes blinking with curiosity as she sized up the stranger. Then, a look of delight spread across her face as she skipped past her mother and ran toward Simon like a little bird.
As she ran, she called out a name.
"Daddy."
The atmosphere in the room suddenly became tense.
Yulia felt her strength drain away as she collapsed onto the carpet. The girl's father, a banker, had always disliked her and had repeatedly suggested sending the child back to Russia. Now, she was deeply worried Simon might react the same way—especially with the way her daughter had just addressed him.
Simon, noticing Yulia's collapse, gestured for the maid to help her. He then looked down at the little girl clinging to his leg, her face beaming with joy. Hearing her call him "Daddy" again, Simon smiled warmly, bent down to pick her up, and asked gently, "What's your name, sweetheart?"
The child, not even four years old, didn't notice anything odd in Simon's question. She clung to his neck like a little monkey, her eyes sparkling as she answered in a sweet, soft voice, "Nina. My name's Nina."
"Nina, what a lovely name," Simon said, sitting down on the sofa with the girl on his lap. "But it's very late, Nina. Staying up this late isn't very good, you know."
Hearing this, Nina's eyes welled up with tears. "Mommy won't let me sleep with her. I don't like sleeping alone."
"Why won't Mommy let you?" Simon asked, looking down at the little girl clutching his shirt.
Nina pouted as she began to tattle. "Mommy says I'm a big girl now, and big girls have to be independent. But, Daddy, I'm not a big girl. I'm only three."
"Well, it sounds like Mommy made a mistake."
The little girl nodded enthusiastically. "Mm-hmm."
Yulia, now seated on a nearby sofa with the maid's help, finally relaxed as she watched the interaction between Simon and her daughter, her gaze distant as she observed the pair.
As Simon and Nina continued chatting, the soft meow of a cat suddenly echoed through the room. A gray tabby cat appeared from a corner, looking alert. This adult cat, far larger than the kitten Simon had seen at Sophia's place a few days ago, seemed to be two or three years old.
When Nina saw the cat, she immediately called out, "Meow-meow, come here. This is Daddy. Daddy came to see me."
The tabby seemed to understand Nina's words, leaping lightly onto the sofa and curiously studying Simon, the unfamiliar face. Nina leaned over from Simon's lap, grabbing the cat by the neck and pulling it onto his legs. "Daddy, this is Meow-meow. It's really good at catching mice and always gives them to me."
Hearing the cat's name, Simon raised an eyebrow and imagined a tabby cat proudly presenting a mouse to a little girl. He smiled and asked, "Aren't you afraid of mice, Nina?"
The little girl tilted her head, puzzled. "Why would I be afraid of mice?"
Simon was momentarily taken aback.
That was indeed a good question.
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