Thursday, July 14th, 2044

Demiliore Manor, Sameran City, Agnolia, Netheria.

Inside a room decorated in soft pink, an enchantingly beautiful lady floated in the air, right over her bed, and she was seemingly caged inside a transparent ball of red energy, emanating from the locket she was wearing on her neck.

There was a sweet smile on her face as she remembered the days she had spent with her husband on an Island in Seychelles a few years ago. She remembered every little thing as freshly as if she was experiencing it right now. Her body trembled slightly as she felt the soft touch of his lips, but then she suddenly opened her eyes and frowned.

“Yes, Marianne?” She asked even before her Shadow could enter the room and the red energy that was surrounding her receded into her locket.

“Master.” Marianne politely bowed to her, and Rebecca floated back down on the ground, standing up on her bare feet. “Miss Alana has arrived, and she has brought her brother with her.”

“Oh.” Rebecca curiously smiled and then turned around to walk inside her dressing room.

She came out a few minutes later, no longer dressed in her pyjamas, and then walked past her Shadow, who obediently followed after her.

“Is everyone in the dining room for breakfast?”

“Yes.”

“Is Qingyue still planning on going to the office today?”

“Yes, Master. But I have already informed Victor. He will go with her and Ryou will stay in the shadows in case things take a bad turn.”

“Good.” She nodded and then swiftly replaced her serious expression with a sweet smile that could make even the most vigilant of people drop their guard against her. “Alana!” She called out to the girl who had suddenly entered the hallways together with Qingyue and a young man who was silently walking behind them.

“Rebecca!” Alana happily walked over and hugged her. “It is good to see you again!”

“It is.” She giggled. “How was your flight?”

“It was fine. And this is my little brother, Yexuan.”

“So this is the boy you talk so much about.” Rebecca lightly smiled at the young man, whose eyes briefly met hers before he politely bowed to her.

“Mrs Demiliore. My apologies for coming here uninvited.” Yexuan lightly said, and his words made Qingyue narrow her eyes.

She did not like the fact that he had addressed Rebecca as Mrs Demiliore. But there was nothing she could do about it since it was right to call her that.

“Since you are her brother, it is okay. And my, my, aren’t you a polite gentleman?” The blonde lady smiled, waiting for the young man to look into her eyes again, but Yexuan kept his eyes lowered.

Even if it was very brief, she had caught on to the fear that had reflected in his eyes when he had seen her walking towards his sister, and it made her curious.

What was even more interesting was that the young man was seemingly quite comfortable around her and Qingyue, not affected by their beauty in the least.

“Kiara has been waiting for your arrival. You should finish up the official work as soon as possible, and then we will take you to see Noxville.” She said to the girl who was giggling at her brother’s unexpected politeness today.

“Okay. Qingyue had already prepared the documents. We should be free before lunch.”

Qingyue nodded to her words and then the three ladies engaged in a chat as they walked towards the dining room.

“Good morning!” Rebecca greeted everyone as soon as she entered the room and everyone except for Diana and Amelia stood up and walked over to them.

“Alana!” Kiara excitedly called out and came forward to hug her friend, and Rebecca let them be as she walked over and sat opposite Amelia.

“Slept well?” Diana lightly asked.

“Yes, Grandma. How are you feeling today?”

“As good as ever.” The old lady happily smiled and then turned to look at Alana, who politely approached her and then respectfully bowed.

“Good Morning, Lady Diana.”

“Good morning, and Welcome to the Demiliore Manor, Miss Parker.” She nodded to the girl and then turned to look at the young boy who was standing behind her.

“This is my little brother, Yexuan.”

“Good Morning, You Excellency.”

“You are too polite, young man. I am no longer the Deputy Governor-General.” Diana calmly said and then invited them to sit at the table.

“Amy, we will be coming to Noxville with you. Alana should be free by lunchtime.”

“Okay.” Amelia, who was going through something on her tablet nodded her head to Rebecca’s words and the two of them started discussing matters concerning the Business of the Black Forest Group.

Though Rebecca was chatting with her, she still had her eyes on everyone present at the table. And she had found something peculiar about the young man, who kept taking secret glances at Amelia, and what she found in him were fear and confusion.

However, he did not behave like a young man at all. It was as if he was an old man trapped inside a young boy’s body, and he was too good at masking his true feelings from his expressions.

He was so good that he could mask his feelings and lie to anyone, but unfortunately for him, she could sense that there was something wrong with him.

“How are your studies going, Mr. Parker?” She suddenly turned to look at him, and her question got the attention of everyone at the table.

Even Amelia turned to look at the young man who silently eating his meal.

“They are going fine. The next year starts in September, and hopefully, I will pass the entrance test of the Magic University.”

“Have you decided on your Major yet?”

“I have.” Yexuan nodded his head with a smile, briefly looking at her and Amelia. “I want to enter the Architecture Programme that Magic University offers.”

“That’s nice.” Rebecca smiled at him. “Amelia too went to the School of Architecture and Design of the Magic University, and she was a gold medalist.”

“I know. Lady Amelia is one of the most brilliant Architects in the world, and her works are to be inducted in the updated courses of Architecture that will be taught in the Magic University.”

“So, you are a fan?”

“I am a fan.” The boy spoke with a light smile and his words made everyone at the table smile too.

Amelia too smiled, but she remained immersed in her meal and the information on her tablet, and only occasionally joined the conversation that took place at the table.

“Has Keith written anything new for you?” Kiara curiously asked near the end of their meal, and everyone observed that a slight blush crept on Alana’s face at her question.

It was because of how she worded it, and it made her feel sweet in her heart for several reasons, some of which were incomprehensible to her.

“He did.” Alana nodded her head. “I will start working on it in the coming weeks, and it will be out before your birthday.” She promised.

“Yay!” Celine and Kiara clapped their hands and then tried to get some more details about her new song, however, Alana stayed firm and did not reveal anything which would spoil it for them.

Part of the reason why she did not want to reveal the details was that the new song was a little too passionate, and she was quite shy to speak about it to them.

“I forgot to thank you for the last time, Rebecca. Those guys were bugging me a lot.” Alana suddenly said, piquing everyone’s interest.

“What happened?” It was Qingyue who raised the question in everyone’s mind.

“Some foreign artists tried to take her as just another member of the Showbiz community. It happened at the Hathor Awards earlier this year in Tronto.” Rebecca briefly said, and everyone frowned, having understood her words.

“They tried to take advantage of you?” Yexuan asked.

It was a blunt question, and Rebecca smiled as she caught at the change in expressions of the young boy.

“Sort of. I kept my distance, and it just irked some of the big shots. The world comes at you like hounds when you don’t conform to their ways.” Alana sighed and told them. “I called Rebecca, and the next day, all of them personally came to apologise to me. No one has bothered me since then.”

“And no one will bother you again. Unless they don’t cherish their lives.” Rebecca sweetly said, and it made Alana’s heart pound against her chest, however, when their eyes met, she found playfulness in the blonde’s gorgeous ocean-blue eyes, and she burst out into giggles, taking Rebecca’s words as a joke.

Rebecca too giggled with her, but her attention was on everyone, and she caught the irrefutable fear that flashed Yexuan’s eyes.

“How was it seeing him again after all these years?” She curiously asked and smiled when Alana visibly blushed at her question.

“He makes me feel a little too short. Why is he getting taller every time I see him?” Alana pouted, trying to deflect Rebecca’s question, and it worked as everyone laughed with her.

“Qingyue.” Someone suddenly said, and everyone looked at Amelia. “Come with me today. I will show you your new office in Noxville.”

“When do we leave?” The grey-eyed girl nodded her head and asked.

“Now.” Amelia smiled at her and then hugged Diana, who planted a kiss on her cheek.

She then excused herself from the table, and Qingyue, who was done eating her meal, followed after her.

A few minutes later, everyone excused themselves, and a maid led Yexuan to a guestroom, whilst Alana was dragged away by Kiara and Celine to the Music Room.

They invited Rebecca to join them as well, but the blonde had a lot of things on her hands today. After all, it was going to be the last day of Lin Houtian’s life.

But right now, her mind was on an interesting young boy, who definitely had something strange about him. She had a hunch that he was even confused about his existence since every time fear reflected in his eyes, it was followed by a wave of confusion that he readily masked away.

A person capable of wearing those masks was undoubtedly someone dangerous, and she wondered if Keith knew about it.

Out of her curiosity, she directly asked the question lingering in her mind.

“What’s up with this Yexuan Parker?” She sent him the text, and only a minute later, she received a reply.

“A lot. So, what happened?” Keith asked, and she made a call to him to talk about everything that she had observed about Alana’s adoptive younger brother.