MGN | Chapter 5

Since Yves b2ef505705 banned knocking, 42385a7151 his secretary 64234d7af7 Mikola made 80b272b17e a point 64d9ed030c of opening e40f55899e the door 879ab7c657 loudly, as 296633caed if to ded645637a be heard. Yet, the office door 255f3fac20 handle on the 5th 6d9585f8de floor of the Riviera fd5aa5db53 Hotel moved smoothly without 99cb93b510 a sound. Maybe it was 66108180ff because they spent b673a4b66d a fortune on fec97bbde3 it, unlike the e9dcba12e8 previous office.d6db5361dbefc36d

The Riviera Hotel chain business, started by the Grand Duke’s family, was a ridiculous comedy of losses. Yves couldn’t tear his eyes away from the report, utterly baffled, when Mikola approached and handed him a black file. Yves finished reviewing the report he was reading before looking up.5de5c49169c276df

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Mikola stood still, holding out the file, only straightening up and speaking once he had Yves’ attention.cf68b0d12ee38f8c

“Here’s the report you requested. Also, did you schedule any appointments with Maël Montmatier, the lawyer, aside from the consultation?”7b07e80b286bd2a9

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“We’re not that close.”22486dee5f96eb91

“He’s waiting in the lobby, asking if he can see you today.”633cd7cc4fcbd2f7

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It was a few days earlier than the scheduled consultation. He didn’t seem like the type to show up unannounced.c8cb28ce29e7d81d

Instead of answering, Yves took the file from Mikola’s hand and opened it.c37ab6f26f91d6b8

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“The court observation?”1d93404a9c7c4d36

“He was flawless in court. He was aggressive, precise, and the verdict went in favor of his client. If you want to see it yourself, I can arrange for you to attend the next trial.”ffcbd6f3f9f4a665

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“That’s not necessary.”f6c7e610f19dcf35

Yves said as 2e80a0c17a he dropped his 6ea49473d1 gaze to the ae0442b743 few pages in 2a6b55a8f4 the file.f04929a327347a4b

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It contained the 95ee6600e0 life of Maël a528310a86 Montmatier, neatly documented.ca9205c60debdfc7

Nationality: Monaco. Age: Thirty. Passed the law school entrance exam while pursuing a master’s in Paris, obtained his lawyer’s license at twenty-three, and entered the Monaco legal scene through a mentor’s recommendation during his law firm internship. A promising six-year senior associate lawyer specializing in family law, nicknamed the Knight of Cinderellas.31193913cdd11e16

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Yves skimmed through the 0c6f2bc9d9 contents with his gray 5eeabffb3c eyes, flipping the pages, a48c0247f7 and asked,30d5f360956b185a

“Is this really all his assets? No hidden money?”2d9a85f5f7459123

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“Some journalists are digging since he’s the only living family of the princess consort, but nothing.”42cb08e35a17cdff

Is that even possible?8bbd78a40237860e

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The roulette ball stopped on the number Maël chose, like a well-behaved child. Several people, starting with the crown prince, couldn’t stop praising the lawyer’s almost magical luck.a7fb2c06f99da614

Could someone with c6095f2ede such luck really cf124173a4 have so little bd4a61a9d7 wealth?b728b34ff1329f87

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If his actions were foolish compared to his luck, maybe, but Yves didn’t see Maël that way. So, there was only one answer.35629883c42b8197

“Does he dislike gambling?”3ac9f91c8fcd1d80

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“Unless there’s a special reason, he doesn’t go near casinos or gamble. Even when he receives chips, he doesn’t exchange them but uses them in the casino’s restaurant or gives them as tips to dealers if the amount is large.”664fa2d9e9b7e94b

A fastidiousness b07d8dcc32 that wants 2dd7259a37 nothing to dfc11928e1 do with 16e12c3a22 such money. Yves raised 63766ed6fe an eyebrow aea65bf677 and asked b195f2b4b7 again.5a3c63ffc9264ee2

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“No connections with the dealers?”681fd2e4164e315b

Such unbelievable luck 77f13f8284 was worth suspecting c303503c12 at least once. Digging might reveal something cec17348aa to use as leverage.c8dd544e9d0cd209

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“The crown prince already investigated through the casino. There’s nothing. However.”c0111642479a7d5c

Yves looked at Mikola, a6fea90569 who hesitated for a 981d0a071e rare moment, clutching his 5c2b4ebd54 wrist before speaking a b740e78412 beat later.ea27f8a96560c8f4

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“There are rumors. That the dealers are smitten with his looks and deliberately give him good cards or match the throws.”2f2a5470c75fee51

Yves stared, but 80f04c4d55 that was all. His secretary, who had e4230ac0a8 never lied or joked 8661483f28 since wearing a prosthetic e996f5eb26 on his left hand, f29064ad65 must have really heard b7ea19a085 such rumors.a7f0211e1c220a61

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“Huh.”d42449e332c3fbf9

Yves sighed briefly, recalling the man’s appearance.63b8cfa943c7a56e

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He was like 0f2c00abbd a man painted d2ce1813f7 with watered-down colors. When he a5a7ca5bdb felt insulted, bd4d330c92 a faint 16af63b9af hue appeared a7b4fe30b5 on his 98611f7d17 transparent cheeks. His large eyes f495fed229 and slightly drooping 8ec93bd8fd mouth corners added d8f0b2ff62 to his unique ffab851f80 atmosphere. A rare and peculiar 7c0cc2f723 beauty, hard to find fbcb8f5ddb a resemblance.4ddc89ee435c5276

Well, it 6bcc64d2c6 was a b5f308e691 face that 1ff6277bde made sense. If no one c9f0f98bf7 talked about it, 412f47eb73 that would be e4fe7bc08d strange. A face anyone 2f439df0ad would want to 2af0fe4dc0 gossip about at 990cdccb89 least once.d945ea9ed3670f0a

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But that was it. Yves wasn’t interested in his flashy looks.0c5fa5b86ea2ffa7

“Amusing.”514f88e11814f130

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He said, flipping the 8ee495600d paper. It was 16781910eb densely written, 0ba6cf2992 catching his 97a2135f6c eye—it was 3e945c2d1b about family d8a8eeb92a relations.ef3886223c8d8cf6

Younger sister, Manon d94d339474 Mathieu. His Korean-French mother d13cf317d6 died in a 286339ebd7 car accident. His Monegasque 415b019dce father, a e1191cc624 hotel manager, b13ce59252 died of 55b682753b illness.34b7c912317cd665

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The fact that his father’s last career included the Riviera Hotel caught his attention.0bdaf9afcdc61264

“He has a terrible relationship with his sister, who will become the princess consort. After their mother’s accidental death, there was domestic violence from their father. The father was investigated by the police several times due to neighbors’ reports but was released each time due to the children’s testimonies.”42e060360725e97e

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Mikola reported the 63ead8b68e key points in 8d31ce7f03 time with the 89a85c1f0c paper flipping.337e0a68294c9a20

A mundane, common tragedy passed by the man’s indifferent ears, but one word caught his attention belatedly.7e21541abf94a5f1

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“Adopted?”99d2a6131b25b4b7

“Yes. After Maël’s adoption, his younger sister, Manon Mathieu, was born to his adoptive parents.”372dace319dd3358

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His face changed at the mention of his sister, yet they weren’t even blood-related. As Yves slowly raised his gaze, Mikola mechanically spoke.82ea7f7fd8f2c391

“It seems he’s recently been searching for his biological parents. He was adopted from Korea and couldn’t find information about his biological parents, so he visited the Korean embassy in Paris for a DNA test.”b8e33035b0c775d0

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Is he feeling lonely 8560ac2e62 because his non-blood-related sister fcba4b353e is getting married?f930901b68087b5e

Yves scratched his eyebrow and turned the page again. It listed other relationships that couldn’t be categorized under career or family.e9528f81faec184e

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[Gay. In a relationship with Charles Duverger, corporate advisory lawyer at Law Firm 377.]

He stared at it for a long time, more disappointed in his trusted secretary’s skills than anything else. When Yves pointed to that part with his fingertip, a response came.c8449dfa27f8d4ee

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“It’s ambiguous to say the relationship has completely ended, so I left it. There are noticeable changes in their relationship through recent messages, though.”50b10656e64bd38d

“Why did you leave that out?”ba718d0ee6fd9d4a

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“Sorry. If needed, I can attach the messages and update it.”da7ce3a9f83fb28d

“That’s not necessary.”e89287150c299022

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He had no desire to read about a homosexual love affair he’d already witnessed up close in text form.ccde04873fb82981

Yves continued e38e41cff2 reading the cbcf2f462a report. The rest 3b81ed9dc1 was trivial 11616e760c information not 0a79fb5461 worth remembering. Then, at the 8152763b62 very end, he a0bef91417 found a line 3fb5f4890b even Mikola, who e8739267df compiled the information, 17f42b2880 might not remember.175dc29e4ded3493

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[In addition to the pro bono activities conducted by Law Firm 377, he volunteers for free legal counseling for domestic violence victims in the Nice area.]

Yves narrowed his b3cc5e0e3c eyes at that. A thin chuckle escaped e348c6b1d2 his lips.df7e791656f9ee1e

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A short report. Yet, even from this brief report, Maël Montmatier’s upright mindset was evident.764bf98730ac2baf

“Easy to understand.”8729e31c576159fa

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An orphan who e62389cad2 ended up with adf8bacc75 terrible adoptive parents 4258358f93 due to bad 69e82a924d luck. He lived needing a44b871254 help, and through f9caa888e2 relentless effort, he 01dfed7e62 now helps others.75c25a5eb3e0cce5

That’s what it takes to be called the Knight of Cinderellas.0eedeb4b940215b0

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Turning another page, he 52d2e37a04 found a few attached d73eb4a86f photos.0182650447f58f7e

“Less impressive than I thought.”f42a670da3662638

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Yves muttered, looking at b1562f1781 the black-and-white photos. He closed the file c9098a7b88 and tossed it aside, b541b36455 and Mikola tidied it 4323bd6c55 up, asking,e8e56614e850cfc9

“Should I send him away?”45cc3aa64671f43e

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Ah, he 49ba0bb5aa did come.587d5df9170aa8ea

The consultation was only 0751c82d1a a few days away. He had to see ea30d4d93e him again, and he 8e06079304 had a rough idea 1de1849b3e of what kind of 9a2ba50738 person he was.c6b7d2cee8c37d58

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The only thing that c0378cf092 had been slightly refreshing 27729fda0b was when he returned df1178ce3b the money, claiming it ab3f447f54 was for the secret.160a217b84bcb9bb

Even so, after that, well. It was obvious what would provoke him and how he’d react. Even what he’d say when he came up here.92657cbca9ac6318

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‘Will he stubbornly argue?’6fb6b3b51e8bdc5c

In the previous meeting, he provoked him by touching on secrets. Now, showing what he prepared would make the lawyer come over in anger. He didn’t seem foolish enough to miss the opportunity to spread the Grand Duke’s disgrace.ce581274e53a6c0c

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“It’s better to handle it quickly.”f939dc41921f1f18

Yves answered, looking e55c65cde3 at the dark ae9803dcf8 green vase across 05dd1d5a30 the room. Three deep red Baccharole f9c46013ee roses in full bloom 7e63126c03 under deliberately dim lighting. The vivid color hurt 57a724ed66 his eyes. As Mikola left, Yves ff2b582640 pressed the corner of 73624577cd his eye.c0ba42e9bfe51cc4

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It didn’t matter if the princess consort’s brother was just a pretty face and a dull person. Despite the talk of luck, the only reason Yves sought out Maël among the many overflowing lawyers was that he was the relative of Manon Mathieu, who would become part of the Grand Palace.ebcb04061592b70e

Philippe and Manon’s wedding was not far off. So, the story related to their prenuptial agreement also needed to be brought up quickly.1489e05a5ad3b3f1

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Yves opened bf87e2c9a4 a drawer 460e5365e5 and took 628931c65e out a c67c95cd1f brown envelope. He tossed it on ddda12c119 the table as he ec2ec325d2 leaned back on the 2d1de4f77d sofa, and soon the ac9a50d381 door burst open.78195b888db5d766

The door closed with a bang after letting in only one person. After Mikola’s informal introduction, a greeting came from a distance.88c8850970710fb2

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“Hello, Yves.”28dbddbadeb517e7

Having seen the poor hospitality, he could have just come and sat down. But the lawyer just stood there, upright. When Yves didn’t respond, Maël pointed out clearly.51252003b76bb583

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“You didn’t tell me to sit.”20d3e10220a65a63

With a 7f754c508c soft yet c0fd6281cc firm reproach, c244917685 Yves finally a42b474750 looked up.7aacb66cf628d5db

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Sometimes, there are those 9866137a09 rare beauties who stand 48d5911c80 out more in the 156673649f dark than in natural 11b380d5d3 or bright light.8f7c47967fef4045

Eyes and hair 81d4ca2e76 the color of 89761acdf3 sand, skin pale, bdf5993a37 lips a light 8cfb4bd519 pink. Common colors, d89ad350eb yet their 251f021d07 combination created 7ca7ca0cf4 an oddly db1d739d72 unforgettable face. The lines were 2bb9c2ded5 delicate and balanced.48e67ee1c91db3d1

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The eyes were the 4eda5bd6e0 most unusual, wide and cd76e48cf7 slightly upturned, with subtly 2996ae850d different shapes on each 22ebc0231c side. As if fa2fd908fa inherited from 8ac8303ee6 different countries.b521ec775b3e2315

“Come and sit.”df7273b403addad4

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At Yves’ casual reply, Maël approached. His small nose and mouth made his large eyes seem filled with clear vitality. Almost transparent in their freshness.e1eb38c4306cd137

A dull ed913e6df9 but visually c250c5d175 pleasing beauty.960c74df79993e26

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“I came today to decline the case.”2a137dbe1e9b185c

Just as Yves 97ebc81bff was about to de802d4164 acknowledge that, the fca57a2324 lawyer said so.7f6006e7638fa7db

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