A Bet I

"I thought Master is an only child. And how comes we haven't seen any of them until recently." Ara frowned. Thinking back to the various ceremonies held at the mansion including the birthday parties, all the servants were confused at why those relatives popped out suddenly out of nowhere.

Lucy laughed softly. "He is father's nephew because father's uncle's younger brother's second wife is his step-mother," she explained then giggled as the maid's face contorted into a frown.

"You mean, Master's younger cousin's second brother's stepmother?" Mara scratched her head in confusion.

"Hahaha." Lucy guffawed. And after catching her breath, she cleared her throat then said, "He is father's cousin's son."

"Oh." The maid nodded in understanding and gave her a helpless look through the mirror. "He's so handsome, Young Miss." She giggled. "I bet everyone in Master's family has great genes. Even First Young Master, Second Young Master, and also you. Are you all perhaps descendants of the late emperor. I read it somewhere that many generations ago, the royal families were the richest in terms of wealth, and has the greatest looks all over the empire."

"Really?" Lucy's eyes lit up and the maid nodded eagerly.

"Yes, Young Miss." Ara continued. "Even though the emperor's era has long gone, and the world is now ruled by affluent businessmen, some say that members of the Royal family still exist to date. And you know what..." She lowered her voice. "The Master emits this aura that is similar to a king's. Sometimes, I have to try not to break down in his presence especially when he's pissed off by someone."

Lucy laughed at the maid's exaggeration. "I don't think we're descendants of the emperor, Ara. This is my first time hearing such a story. And Cedric's not that handsome, stop exaggerating."

"That's because you're so beautiful to see others beauty, Young Miss." The maid held her shoulders and smiled proudly. "No one in this city could measure up to your beauty, both men and women. Of course, except your brothers. You all look alike. The only difference is all of you got different eyes. The first Young Master got the Master's eyes, and I heard that the second Young Master got their late mother's eyes, and you–" She giggled. "These beautiful eyes, only belong to Madam's."

"Uhm." Lucy nodded in agreement. Even though her father got married to her mother three years after the death of his late wife who was her two brothers' mother, she wasn't born until eleven years later. But outsiders could not tell that they weren't from the same mother, because they all got their look from their father.

Now that she thought of it, it was all her father's fault. If she hadn't gotten his looks and only took after her mother, then she wouldn't have gotten into much trouble.

Even though her mother was also beautiful, it wasn't the kind of beauty that attracts so much attention. "Argh." She grimaced and wanted to pull at her hair.

"Young Miss!" The maid exclaimed and instantly held both her hands. "Please don't pull at your hair, you'll spoil it– Don't worry, I'm almost done–just keep still," she muttered quickly. Why was her expression suddenly gloomy? Had she said something wrong?

The young maid shook her head with another bout of sigh. She could never understand the Princess's mood.

Lucy dropped her hands with pursed lips. If they could only let her be. Just because she couldn't fall in love, must she get engaged? Why couldn't they just let her live her life the way she wanted?

'Hmph.'

After the maid was done she clapped her hands and flashed her a smile through the mirror. "You're so pretty, Young Miss. See? As I promised, this style looks so good on you."

"You're right?" Lucy let out a soft giggle. The hairstyle was great. But she still preferred the pigtails.

"Good." The maid also giggled then bid her goodbye and left.

*****

At another end of the city.

The large swimming pool reflected the huge moon from above. At the side stood several lounge chairs. with some people sitting on them in tiny clothes while others played games or dived now and then into the water.

Waiters walked around with trays of wines perfectly placed on their slightly raised hands and distributing drinks.

A table of snooker stood in a corner and three guys stood facing it, each with a cue stick in hand.

"I say, let's make a bet on this one," said one of them as he hit a ball. The ball made its way through one of the holes and he chuckled.

"Hehe. for a bet, this is too insignificant," Said another guy with the red ball in his hand. He tossed it up, then set it back on the table and made a hit which sent three balls into different halls.

"You're right, buddy." The third guy patted the second one on the shoulder. "If we make a bet on this one, wouldn't that be too unfair for our dear friend here? He just came back and is loaded. We should go for something meaningful and let's say..." He positioned his stick and hit several balls at once, then added, "Pricey."

"That sounds like a plan." The second guy nodded with a twinkle in his eyes.

Cedric gave the twins a helpless look then nodded. "Whatever you say," he replied and turned his attention to the game.

"So." Greg dropped his stick and came back with a glass of wine. "We heard that you're getting hooked up... Who's the lucky girl?"

"Yes. Aren't there a bevy of beauties at Country V? I wonder who managed to catch your attention in this city." George butted in. "Must be someone extraordinary, how come we haven't met her?" He stared at his brother with a frown.

There's no heiress, celebrities included, that they didn't know in this city. Unless their friend had taken a liking to someone ordinary. If so, that would be interesting. They both laughed at the same time.