MGN | Chapter 15

Manon yawned as she entered the foyer. Maël, who was tapping away on his laptop with a pile of documents on the table, took off his glasses.

“Oppa, have this while you work.”

Manon, arriving after dinner time, placed a dessert box at the end of the table. As she untied the cross-shaped ribbon, the sky-blue box opened to reveal colorful desserts. She handed Maël a cream puff and yawned again before asking.

“How are things with Charles these days?”

She tried to ask casually, but Manon wasn’t good at that. Her awkwardness, desperately looking elsewhere, made Maël guess that the recent incident had made its rounds in Monaco.

“We broke up.”

“Really? Seriously? Why?”

Manon liked Charles, her brother’s boyfriend. Charles had made sure of that, with his neat appearance and thoughtful gifts every time they had a home date.

“He has a friend who couldn’t take his eyes off you mixing drinks at the bar, Manon. Just have one meal with him. He’s rich, so get a nice meal out of it, okay?”

It was Charles who introduced Philippe to Manon like that.

“Thinking about it, it was really a bad connection.”

After seeing that photo, Maël always wanted to ask Charles if he really didn’t know about Philippe’s behavior when he introduced him to Manon.

Now, it was pointless to ask, so instead of confronting him, he just cut off any remaining affection.

“Oppa, why did you break up when you were getting along so well? You didn’t even fight.”

“We were just both busy. No time to meet.”

“When were you ever not busy…”

Maybe the cheating part hadn’t reached her ears.

Perhaps it was the courtesy of the people around here, who valued such things, to keep such vulgar stories from reaching his soon-to-be-married sister. Maël pondered and asked indirectly.

“Is it a rumor?”

“Of course. People love Le Louis. Many work there too.”

Maël weakly smiled and put the cream puff in his mouth. The sweetness of the cream burst inside, and Manon took something out of her pocket and placed it in front of Maël.

“I saw Charles briefly today. He asked me to give this to you.”

What she placed on the table was the bracelet he had once thrown away. Seeing it perfectly repaired sent chills down his spine.

“Don’t accept things like this.”

“Can’t you try again?”

“I don’t think so.”

“But Charles is close to the crown prince. Who knows? Maybe he could talk to the grand duke and ask him not to veto the same-sex marriage bill…”

“Unless a millionaire comes with a pile of money to persuade him, the grand duke won’t allow it just because Charles says a few words through Felix.”

Maël spoke firmly, but Manon still seemed eager to persuade him. It was time to change the subject. Maël asked his sister, who kept yawning while watching him.

“Did you not sleep well?”

“I’m trying to stop taking the morning sickness medication.”

As she spoke, Manon bit into a strawberry pie. Her cheeks looked thinner every time he saw her.

Shouldn’t she gain some weight during pregnancy? Maël thought of uncertain common knowledge and cautiously asked.

“Did the doctor tell you to stop?”

“No, but I have a lot to do, and I keep getting sleepy. I can’t just nap all the time. It’s better to feel queasy on land. Oppa, I dozed off in front of the bishop the other day. During the marriage preparation class.”

In Monaco, where Catholicism is the state religion, it was a mandatory class before marriage. Maël smiled wryly at the marriage process progressing whether he wanted it or not.

“That can happen. Is the marriage preparation class hard?”

“I feel guilty since there’s already a baby in my belly.”

The reason Maël couldn’t stop his sister more forcefully, and why he couldn’t show her the photos he kept in his briefcase, was simple.

Love is such an intense emotion. The more people try to stop it, the more it burns. There’s even a name for it: the “Romeo and Juliet effect.”

Maël had listened to countless tearful stories in the law firm’s consultation room. The conclusion was always the same. After love that bloomed amidst opposition ended up in the gutter, it was hard to contact the family who had tried to stop them. Admitting they were wrong in front of them was painful.

He couldn’t let Manon become a family member who couldn’t return because he tried to stop her too harshly.

That’s why Maël gave up playing the villain. Instead, he focused on revising the prenuptial agreement so that she could divorce easily if needed.

“Do you really think you can negotiate like this? I’m pushing it, but honestly, I don’t know if they’ll accept it.”

Even Diane showed reluctance at the prenuptial agreement, which was almost entirely rewritten except for a few clauses. It meant that no matter how much they tried, the opposing lawyer wouldn’t budge.

However, the grand duke’s legal team sent a date, suggesting they meet with their clients. It meant they agreed to sign now.

Only then did Maël feel a bit relieved.

“Manon, did you check the new prenuptial agreement? I added a few clauses.”

“No. Diane called, but I only heard that they accepted most of what you discussed in the meeting. I was too distracted by the news that the reception venue changed to the Riviera Hotel.”

Right, there was that too. The wedding reception venue suddenly changed from the courtyard of the grand palace to the Riviera Hotel.

“Did they tell you why it changed?”

“I don’t ask about things like that anymore. There must be a reason. I just go with the flow.”

Though the bride is the star of the wedding, all Manon had to do was show up on time and not cause any surprises. After finishing a piece of pie, she mumbled while choosing another dessert from the box.

“Anyway, I’m glad the venue is the Riviera Hotel. It’s like home. Honestly, we know it better than the person who designed it.”

“We’ve spent years rummaging through the offices and rooms there.”

The Riviera Hotel was where their father worked as the general manager for a long time. Unable to leave the kids at home alone, he often left Maël and Manon in empty rooms or offices at the hotel. At some point, it became a place they spent more time in than their actual home.

“Anyway, Manon, you know how to sneak away without getting caught on camera.”

“I’m not running away, oppa.”

Manon firmly replied to his subtle hint. As she reached for a mille-feuille from the dessert box, Maël stood up with a serious expression.

Before going to get a plate, Maël turned the laptop towards Manon.

“Check the prenuptial agreement with this. The file is open. Ask if there are any difficult terms, and make sure to check everything carefully tomorrow. If there’s anything you want to change, say it now.”

From behind Maël, who was choosing a plate for the mille-feuille, Manon spoke.

“You’ll be there with me tomorrow, right? And Diane too.”

“Yeah. So there’s nothing to worry about.”

He replied, bringing back a plate and a glass of milk. Manon was quietly looking at the laptop screen.

It wasn’t the prenuptial agreement.

[DNA Testing for Overseas Korean Adoptees to Find Family ― Consent Form for Registration in Genetic Information System]

It was an email he had carelessly opened earlier to check. One of the many internet windows he had left open.

“Oh, oppa, sorry, where should I click?”

Manon turned her head, surprised. Maël tapped the touchpad a few times to bring up the agreement.

An awkward silence fell. But neither of them spoke about the email. Instead, Maël tapped the screen and spoke.

“You heard it in the meeting, but read it slowly anyway.”

Starting with the basic part that legal jurisdiction for all contracts and disputes would be Monaco, it included clauses for lifelong asset protection and life insurance for the child to be born, related trust settings, a clause ensuring Manon’s continued residence in certain properties, and a non-disparagement clause against each other… The explanation grew longer with the added clauses, and Manon listened intently despite yawning.

The absurd contents of the initial prenuptial agreement draft had disappeared without a trace.

“Does it include the property division clause?”

“It’s in every prenuptial agreement. Actually, property division is the basis of a prenuptial agreement. Everything else is optional.”

“Hmm. Is this the part you added at the end?”

“Yeah. Look at Article 3, Section 16. The joint property part.”

“Wait a minute. The parties… mutual agreement… as joint property.”

Manon, following along slowly with her eyes, was full of sleepiness. Maël waited patiently and stopped in the middle.

“Section 7 was added.”

[Shares of Monte-Carlo Société DEO JUVANTE]

Manon, examining the screen, looked up.

“Isn’t this Monte Carlo Casino? Why?”

“By including it as joint property, half of Philippe’s shares will become yours after the agreement.”

“Uh… is that okay? Why?”

“It’s symbolic. Even if something happens, you should be treated as family there. You’ll be the mother of a child carrying their family blood. Do you want to remove it?”

There shouldn’t be a response wanting to remove it. This clause was the very reason they could finally sign the agreement.

It was a verbal item delivered by Yves’s secretary the day after his outrageous comment about being suitable as a lover. Maël had confirmed it with them.

“Isn’t it good for me?”

“Yeah.”

“Then great. Thanks, oppa. I just need to sign tomorrow.”

Manon nodded with a relaxed smile.