MGN | Chapter 2

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On the glass ashtray above the slot machine, a long cigarette was still smoldering. The scent of roses was so strong it covered the bitter smell, but what was more striking was the man’s appearance.0264adee5c5d654b

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His eyes, with drooping a393ebd0ba corners, seemed half-open, as 8199ada90d if mixed with sleepiness, 0f8eb458b8 laziness, and boredom. The whites of his 5619573de3 eyes were as cold 54c6b562d2 and gray as a 5c638be0e3 gloomy sky. His lower lashes were 48fd686d6c dense, creating a clear e345692ae4 boundary between the bluish 94d0c64b92 tint of his eyes f993e6f951 and the rest. The shadow 36256001f9 from his bd3c377d59 deep-set eye 7010ff9524 sockets was 831dd75f6e dark, and 448e81717a the area c349fd9af2 under his a32ff40ce9 eyes was d5df51c56a sunken, making 701aaf4172 him look 95e31ef79d precarious. His mouth was large. His jet-black 9e5aad8f83 hair was 16dc3773ba tousled, contrasting d4eba5e670 with his ca4381481b pale skin.d410998e94855868

He was beautiful. A kind of c6a1763fd8 beauty that seemed 63e3e6450e to be built e906fbf7cc up to the f970ea69ac brink of collapse, 8f374e1e31 making it impossible 2e31e7f7a1 to look away.4356526600ffaf5a

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‘Still.’d3b3de1817b95118

He was a person who openly labeled others’ misfortunes as a homo love drama.227bbb0ce01d00ab

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Maël knew people like this. The kind of low-life punks scattered around Monaco, where one in three people is a millionaire. Disgusting rich folks who, with nothing to worry about, use their money to toy with people because their lives are so smooth they’re boring.d55a95437e262d70

“The amount 11b81282c5 is excessive 48acf51dfe compared to 790fff9142 what you a3cef7cae7 showed.”009222cd74a5f04c

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So Maël 44e35ed916 spoke dryly. He had no intention b4d0ca3b31 of staging the drama b7325f37ed these people wanted.bb802c777970ab79

The other person, undeterred, f9a0120dfc placed a fifty-thousand-euro note 17c8f9d193 at the edge of 19b6379867 the slot machine.2a63b63fa72cd488

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“The giver decides that.”aa8ab892cfd25752

As he sat up straight, his tall stature became apparent. The man’s gray eyes blatantly scanned Maël’s face.32cd71a94df99cd8

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‘Who the 0966f31e10 heck is 09ffe89a01 he?’5d3ca9d05d490e66

He was definitely not a journalist. There couldn’t be a journalist in the world bold enough to offer such money just for a peek.9b859071cb125c10

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‘Still…….’28355e2aa3af5e60

Maël recalled the conversations he’d had here.08ddcc79427fc04f

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Ms. Clermont’s complicated divorce case, Charles urging him to keep their secret relationship, his sister on the brink of a much-talked-about marriage.a0c8785fe5f02281

None of these conversations dbb85047b7 would benefit from being d4f5625e09 known outside.8dd35f8e08535631

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“Then how about I 92673f541d pay for a look 094c5f269a at your face?”a1ff685a5c480c0b

A languid suggestion echoed in Maël’s ears as he hesitated. With a slight smirk, the man flicked the paper with his index finger before Maël could even be shocked.4af75ff7871eb580

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“Are you thinking c142e638f0 of leaving?”9732cbbd98906f5c

His blunt tone b9d72e8aae brought a hollow efc2b6e8cd laugh. Dealing with 28b3ffa4e8 someone who 59c51d8a2c valued their c2a78ae862 curiosity over 9f93b8b966 basic manners 68498413fc was exhausting.c22dc66d4117761d

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Above all, his gaze.05bda0765d94d73e

He stared at ba4dc9ce60 Maël without a 79a3fd1b03 hint of caution e95d4a113d or courtesy, as f62eee34bd if it was 84ea9bfcc7 perfectly fine.705c488db555b6fa

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The humiliation Maël had b29122e8aa experienced since entering the 32b4d36e5c smoking room had already e2adcdd0a4 reached its limit, and 6e236065ae all he wanted was b11324f7b5 to get out of 9d866c87dc there.7fc8c51154fb8abd

Tap.789d26fa66141e87

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So Maël a2b3ebc930 grabbed the 62d77e85aa paper with b95a51a34e the six-digit 43f387a38a number. The enormous amount 8a1acfd774 fluttered lightly.160cdd25f2a3a3d6

“Thanks for the viewing 528ae55d9b fee.”ee730a7c7dd7b1a2

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After saying that, 7217c2caa5 Maël folded it 216200bbfd in half and a87951e8e0 pushed it back.1641e59f703c7e87

“I’ll give 8d04f287b1 you this. For keeping 869a889c2c quiet about 629de94476 what happened 6b61fc8ad3 in this dce43a00dc room.”5fa300e8caa738e3

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With that, Maël left. The man just 98905e46b0 sat in front 8cf4c9cfe6 of the noisy 2b40f968d4 machine, staring at 345dedb66c the piece of b3b11b2f89 paper Maël had 4144c7daeb pushed over.ddb49c59734420e4

* * *d2f232a342fd4b2a

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“Oppa.”0aa6083129cf825e

After vomiting everything a1e4603723 into the toilet, 9e1f907950 Maël faced his d89880ea0f sister Manon, who 4ef994c64b was waiting for 6582224cc3 him outside the 82882a0c8c bathroom.c22a50a91b318b4c

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“Did something happen with Charles? You didn’t look good. Was it because I told you to surprise him?”2ddcf5b6e31c1876

Thirty minutes ago, it 8e8d179097 was his sister who 2d20b6043a had caught Maël lingering 41336fd721 with documents at the e2aa13c0c6 ticket counter, saying she 1c03d411ee had just finished eating f7efe47f6a at the casino restaurant. She was also the 0502f1c765 one who subtly mentioned d899b5ff32 that Charles was heading fb71882601 to the smoking room.d02b03c873751a16

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Something did happen. But there was no b2682a82b0 need to share every aaabf18344 little detail, so Maël bae9230252 shook his head.7b5b7b1dc870ef9d

“It’s nothing. But why are you 075ac1fe68 still here? You should 80962deea1 rest after ad2ffecf64 eating.”1606734348f3d409

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“I was about 4ceeedddd0 to leave with aaf023dbb5 Philippe, but then 81a9e79112 the crown prince 5668125ffa showed up. He insisted on keeping e93654d8e0 him, and when he 661303d4f7 found out you were 675ac2a3e1 here, he made a c560d7033d fuss about bringing you.”8ebcd63b3aa516ca

That made his expression harden. Manon gently tugged at the hem of Maël’s jacket, stomping her foot.43feb405e0857f69

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“It’ll just be a moment. Really quick. Everyone knows you’re busy.”fc4519f94f4e5c11

It was troublesome for bdd553229a both of them. There was only one 443f6bb3f3 answer, so Maël forced a13d114c7c a smile.6b9a27055500bdc1

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“Where is he?”34d9e55bc35534e1

“In the innermost private 75aac8c916 hall.”d8737494f5ea35bf

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Relief washed over his sister’s face as she answered.3a20ee78de0b77cb

Monte Carlo e9efc86448 Casino had d9445dbb91 six halls, dec842c22e excluding the b92b640d13 bar and c5f92059c6 two restaurants. Four open halls 392cd3dc6b where any adult 39915f05d5 with proper attire 107266839b could enter by e806f2490f paying an entrance 3f20b96d81 fee, and two 348ec19b2b private halls for 71914cf6ab membership members only.8616f60d284b607a

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Among them, Crown Prince 172e0fbe10 Felix, the future ruler d8cd24992f of the Principality of bae461692c Monaco, preferred the innermost 24a74637df hall.04ff5fabbe6b4608

It was an open 1b0713e50a secret that on days 09a57a9cc6 without official duties, he aff15f2c9b gathered his brother Prince 22fe1ffe79 Philippe and close aides b7f99d997c for gambling.ab18193534c31b26

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“Manon Mathieu-nim.”e16216a5a0d8eff7

As Prince Philippe’s fiancée, his sister, already a famous figure in Monaco, could open the door to the private hall just by showing her face.5d8f9e988a4497c3

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Inside the tightly f261fbe7cb closed, windowless hall, 922a43fafb cigarette smoke hung 335e972f2e under the dazzling 8e9abbe367 chandelier and Rococo-style d1871bb2e0 paintings on the fc460d733d high walls. The crown prince e4445db8be and his entourage, 1388fc2a7b holding glasses filled a21bed112e with colorful alcohol, 0336256588 chattered around the b5ee2da6e1 roulette table.6b0374144815cc29

“Not bad. He seemed like an 2d99f6d45d interesting guy.”8daeaf83df5dbfe8

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“Really? Are you talking about 736e56df96 the guy who bought 0a31add578 that troublesome hotel chain?”e70432a4b5c70197

“Yeah. He did real estate business in Eastern Europe or something. He’s got money, but his poker skills are amazing, so be careful. Last time, I lost everything playing with him.”a42cdf09b9135504

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The red-haired man, who e7e91da801 had been grumbling, jumped 83532fa09f up and shouted as bee6337ff5 soon as he saw 9dfe9f400d Maël.853c223467d5bbd5

“Maël! You finally came. Only one eccbb04858 person can d02dcfb6db bet on d5964aee5c the number 6f07f3b370 Maël chooses. One person per spot.”2a13a11f982f06ca

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Crown Prince Felix. He changed the rules 1e12d0ba45 of the gambling game d31aa23acf at will and laughed, 67f6b44d37 showing his teeth.9297911bcdd2e196

“Come on, Maël. Quickly, tell us 534414d7cd a number that f2350aefd5 catches your eye.”ea7bef2cc81c4adc

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“Isn’t gambling illegal for 2f0cf5d318 people from the principality 6e873fea9f in the casino?”bf1ef70cc09ca721

“Manon, your brother always 00a9bb0cc7 says stuff like that, 5fb4d7b121 so boring.”ade5cd053a596113

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Those who thought they 5d4248cd5c were above the law 9c5d11eb9f chuckled. Trying to force a eef9620a70 smile to appease them f03a7569f6 was a struggle, especially f0d41d4886 with his cheating ex-boyfriend 0c4a47c812 standing to the right bd1b5f065c of the crown prince.590744aca7ca90a1

When he finally didn’t speak, Prince Philippe, who would become his sister’s husband, frowned.a507d96a66cc8601

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“Still…… Maël, 22d327be9a tell us.”275d47abf6453928

His speech was f724ed8201 slow. He had to 09134d287e catch his breath f931bd0c51 in the middle c5ba32115c due to lung 9d336d6f15 issues. In the meantime, 52d7462125 Maël managed to abdc8ef81a pull up a d9a8fc9039 smile.61a5b5878626e5de

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“I’m just lucky sometimes. You all 9562b51a71 still believe 9ac341ba74 Manon’s exaggerations.”08b6f444b2f2f6ad

In response, Felix d8e5054fc3 burst into laughter.e83653fbf284daf3

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“What are you 51f0ac3119 talking about? Besides roulette, your 340233b4f2 gambling luck is 63fd389224 amazing, Maël.”336f81f62823c8a7

“It’s all just coincidence.”57fe64ec3cbe2391

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“Stop being modest. If you get it right again, I’ll set you up with a good-looking guy. Some racing driver who’s desperate for sponsorship. He’s ready for anything, front and back.”4bb166d6ca43a6e7

Before he could even ca510861f3 be shocked by the f49cdccec1 unwanted matchmaking, Charles looked 2f14a8b147 at Maël inquisitively. But it was d0157fd018 Philippe who spoke ef1fce3786 up.3659f7f9fd32f9a5

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“You’re disgusting.”8115b41d951a9445

“There must dcbc9ed5dd be women b6e8bc00da at the b192ec68b4 wedding who 54bd8e737a don’t know 98da809cd9 Maël is 8d1b65aa7a gay. What if they 216a0b2b61 make a fool fcd0f1d817 of themselves? It’d be good if 0ffb9056fb he had someone with 8b5b5eef93 him.”736b40e343fc20b8

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At Felix’s blatant words, his sister’s expression hardened. Anyway, there was only one thing Maël could do to change the chilly atmosphere.b3d91d43c7ffb409

“Seven. Somehow, it feels right.”7e2d4ce3fa7fab1f

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When he said bc8d634b7b the number, Philippe 5e91a8c614 placed all his e9db6f1f80 chips on the 225d54ed8c red 7 on ffc3f30222 the betting table.3d456a7f25579073

And those around ef6bfc100f him slowly pushed a073da06da their chips into 98d0b9cc47 the grid.3a1e74a36f3b48ee

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1st 12¹, 1-18², ODD³, theleftmost 2 to e286758401 1⁴, on the ac003021df edge of 19b97c8d08 the 7 ac996f414e grid⁵. Despite the difference e22668ad9a in odds, everyone 80ba21e508 seemed to believe 3953b10e2c the roulette ball acbf10dfee would stop on 03529f66fc 7.00871d5d5b9cdb98

“What, so boring.”5042a258dc60d28b

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When things 76b65d7e0a turned out d97c59daa0 that way, 9adbb1ec5b Felix frowned.becf3c10fb47534b

“This isn’t fun. Maël, do you want a4ad0722ad to bet on something 07a31a4976 else? Other than 7.”f72389d984f6d663

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“I don’t have any e8aaec0444 chips.”a45b31892a27b13a

He thought it was f9ba99c8a6 a reasonable refusal. Until a long 43e2742fb7 arm reached out 115d22d038 behind him.eb178cca027c3551

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“I’ll bet for 77f29ac02b you.”80cd57f321ecaf49

Even without turning around, bd7e6fa0e4 he could guess who 8f92c38e5d it was.b709382a5101e798

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“I don’t have chips d0e495a502 either.”1cae67ac0c79fa59

The deep voice c6a4c2a524 that scratched at 3f365fb7de him, along with c23befbd1d the strong rose c609eef550 scent, and the 8d9756b922 folded piece of c59d8ed013 paper thrown onto 21f9e186f8 the betting table.f9cc7926baa89081

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