Gotcha (1)

Chapter 104: S2 Episode 6 - Gotcha (1)

'What is Henri Lucas doing here?!' Keiko and Fraise both asked themselves as they witnessed the French man standing before them.

"M-Mr. Henri Lucas! Might I ask what you are doing here at this time?" Keiko asked, doing her best to keep her composure after the sudden appearance of an uninvited man.

"I heard from your teacher that the middle school finalists team of the Grand Prix was already practicing hard, so I dropped by to see how things were going," Henri Lucas explained with a sweet smile that made Keiko tilt her head in confusion.

'Isn't this man mostly exclusive to the high school division? I don't think his reason for coming here is to simply check things out with our team. He must have a different motive.'

"Ah, is that so," Michiko Keiko played along with the cunning French man who tried to play her with words.

She was known for being cautious so there was no way that she'd be influenced by his antics.

"Yes. I was quite surprised to see the things that went down at the end of the third round. It was a close match against your team and Team Tennouji, but after all, both teams had made it to the finals," Henri Lucas said as Keiko nodded her head along.

"Yes, that is true," she said briefly enough to end their conversation so that she could continue what she was doing.

Although she could play along and try to keep up a conversation, she figured he may get straight to the point if it seemed as if she was uninterested in what he had to say.

As if noticing her body language, Henri Lucas witnessed Michiko Keiko continuing to practice piping her frosting without paying any mind to him. It was a strange feeling to him because most people wouldn't outright ignore his presence if he were to appear before them. But for him, it was the first time that he was treated like a speck of dust that was noticed but ignored. This young girl was bold!

A bit frazzled, he moved out of his stationary position by the wall and walked towards Michiko Keiko who had turned away from him.

"I can see you've become a spirits mate," Henri Lucas noticed as Keiko gave a slight nod.

"Yes, that's true," Keiko said, completely unfazed by the fact that Henri Lucas could see Fraise beside her.

In reality, she truly did not care if he could see Fraise since she believed that a talented patissier like Henri Lucas would also have a sweets spirit. So again, she disregarded Henri Lucas.

'I don't know if this girl is just that stubborn or just bold,' Henri Lucas thought to himself as he figured Keiko didn't care about all of the pretenses to have a short conversation.

She was much different than what he'd expected since he believed that this girl would talk to a well-respected patissier like him, but she was more cautious than he thought. He needed to try a different approach to get her attention!

"You look very similar to your mother—Ella Fournier," Henri Lucas brought up, which caused both Keiko and Fraise to flinch in response and slightly pause their movements.

'What did he say?' Keiko and Fraise both inwardly questioned the man's words.

She turned around to face him with a serious look and a glint in her bright blue eyes.

"I'm sorry, but I don't know what you mean, Mr. Henri Lucas. My mother is not Ella Fournier so I have no idea why you are making such presumptions," Keiko said with a stern tone of voice as she faced the tall man before her. His height didn't intimidate her in the least but she truly did not know what he was getting at.

"Hm, I thought you would say something like that," Henri Lucas said with a wry smile as a smirk formed on his lips.

"What do you mean by that?" She cautiously observed the man with a scary look on her face.

"Your mother died 6 years ago, correct? Miss Michiko?" Henri Lucas asked her as she faltered a bit in her response.

"Y-yes, but what does my mom dying have to do with Ella Fournier being my mother? It doesn't add up."

"Although they don't seem to tie up, coincidentally, Ella Fournier had died 6 years ago as well. As one may see it, it can't be just a mere coincidence," Henri Lucas replied with a mischievous smirk that caused Keiko to take a step back as he approached her.

Their distances began to close as he approached her like he found fresh prey.

"So what? Just by saying those words doesn't mean that Ella Fournier is my mother!"

Now, she was starting to get defensive. If he didn't play his cards right, she wouldn't relent to anything else he spouted. It was time for his trump card.

He reached for his pants pocket and fetched a white piece of paper that was folded in half.

As he continued to close the gap, he carefully unfolded the paper to reveal a photo.

She could see that he was holding something in his right hand that appeared to be a picture. He got close enough to her so he could hold it up and let her see the contents of it.

In that picture was a young cute boy, about the age of 13 or 14, with bright blonde hair to his neck and baby blue eyes that shone through the photo. Next to him stood a beautiful young woman who appeared to be in her early 20s. She had platinum blonde hair that was brushed to the side and bright blue eyes that gleamed at the viewer; her beauty was truly encaptivating. They stood at a water fountain that appeared to have been taken at the front of a large school and just by realizing what this picture was, Keiko's eyes widened in shock.

'Gotcha.'