Richard watched the exchange between Maria and John with interest.He'd expected the man to try something but he didn't expect him to go so far.Even a person with half a brain could guess he had taken a liking to Maria and was trying to impress her by making a mockery of him.It was slightly amusing and as a smile formed at the corner of his lips, a dastardly scheme came to mind.***Oblivious to Richard's machinations, John rattled off like a dog without an owner. "Can't you see how he looks?... Wearing a mask and hiding his identity?... It's clear he is only faking an identity and doesn't dare to reveal himself as it would immediately show that he is not who he claims to be. So give me the honors to put this beggar in his place and maybe afterward, I could show you around the building."He was even shameless enough to subtly throw in his intentions at the end…. Richard shook his head in amusement.Maria regarded him with annoyance, prepared to answer his disrespectful remarks when
Jason's interest peaked as he watched the masked man take his seat alongside a beautiful woman.As a regular attendee of the SteelHorse gatherings convened once a year, he had learned much about those who normally frequented the auctions.Most were old men that were comparable to his father and others were representatives sent by other wealthy people within Intercity.Of course, as a representative himself, Jason was more familiar with the latter which was why as he scrutinized the masked man, he quickly noticed discrepancies.Was the masked man a newbie billionaire?... But there was no news of such a person in the media which meant that wasn't the case.He wondered if he should approach the man only to quickly dispel the thought.His sole goal for coming today was to compete with those who were here for the main event which involves the RoadRunner.So far, he'd won a total of 3 such auctions, equaling the number of times he'd been here.Due to this notable feat, Jason managed to carv
Richard chuckled to himself as he watched Jason collapse.He'd planned to tease the boy a little but this was much better.He could barely contain his amusement.Just then, Maria called out to him. "Sir, did you intend to buy the car in the first place?""Maybe, maybe not," Richard replied with a shrug.Maria revealed a worried expression. "Intentionally inflating the price of a car could lead to considerable backlash. I had no idea you were planning to do this. It might end up impacting Serenity's prestige if it gets out."Richard didn't immediately respond as he knew that was right to be worried… if he were a normal billionaire.As the owner of the black phone, Richard had no reason to worry.He hoped for Jason to approach him after the auction, at that time… he could give him a much greater slap.He grinned at the prospects."Sir," Maria called out, worried that Richard wasn't taking the situation seriously."Don't overthink it. I've got this." Richard calmly replied before explain
At this moment… On the 15th floor of the SteelHorse Inc. Inside the chairman's office. The general manager of SteelHorse, David O'Brien was standing before a roof-to-floor window which afforded him a grand view of the city with a wine glass in his hand and a satisfied smile on his lips. Behind, a young man in a black suit and holding a notepad stood in silence. This young man was one of the best-performing attendants in SteelHorse and was also David's second son, Simon. It was a tradition in their family for the children to start from the most basic of positions to work their way up the ladder. This was meant to teach them discipline and a business sense. Taking a sip from his glass, David turned to address Simon while taking his seat. Crossing his legs, he regarded the young man before inquiring. "Is the auction over?" "Yes, sir," Simon replied professionally as he added. "Currently, the exhibit is taking place." "That's good. Did anything happen?" David calmly asked. He w
As a businessman, David was always looking to expand his circle of friends.Although SteelHorse was his major company, that didn't mean he had no desire to work in other industries and Richard could just be his ticket to enter one of them so naturally, he had to make a connection before it was too late."Hello, Mr. O'Brien, nice to meet you. You can call me Zero. The service I've received so far is to my satisfaction, Thanks for asking." Richard calmly replied as he kept his mask on his face.'Zero?... What kind of Chuuni name is that?... Ugh, whatever, as long as he has money!' David thought to himself as he replied with a smile."That's great!... I hope you received the message I sent via Albert.""Yes I did, I had no idea the Phantom Boat was merely 80 million. I'm glad your company didn't scam me, else there would have been hell to pay." "Haha, I apologize for the misunderstanding. Anyway, I heard from my subordinates that you are the new elusive owner of Serenity who has refused
David returned to his office and sat down at his table, before taking up the landline to make a phone call."Lydia, had Diego responded?""Yes sir. He said that he would like to meet with you to discuss payment for the car.""No, tell him to pay and come and get his son. I'm not accepting any meetings at the moment.""But sir…""Do as I said or you're fired!"With that, David abruptly dropped the call before shifting his attention to Albert and Simon."What do you guys think?""Sir?" Both Albert and Simon were taken aback by the sudden question.David chuckled. "Zero wants to buy SteelHorse and he seems quite serious about it. So, should I sell it to him?""Sir, I don't think we are in the best position to answer this question," Albert replied."Hmm, and you Simon?... What do you think?"Simon hesitated for a moment before replying. "Maybe we should consider the possibility. It's not like SteelHorse is the only company under our belt.""Indeed, it isn't. Alright, you both can leave, I'
"Come in." Richard calmly said.The door soon opened with David entering the room with Simon following closely behind."What about Albert?" Richard couldn't help but ask.David replied. "He had some other engagements to attend to." "I see."Meanwhile, Simon remained silent with a tense look on his face.David had told him to leave but he ended up refusing and chose to come along.He had no choice. This was the moment to determine his fate because the boss of SteelHorse could change at any time and from the looks of it, everything he'd worked for would end up going down the drain.Simon, unlike his siblings, had taken his father's words seriously, ensuring that he did everything to get to the topJust like his father, he'd scammed, cheated, and done whatever had to be done to ensure his steady rise to the top but now… all of that was about to go away.Because of the name backing him, he turned out to be a menace, earning ten times more than those in the same position as him while bull
SmackA resounding slap echoed within the room as Diego stood before Jason.The latter held his face, his expression distorted but he didn't dare to say a single word.At a corner of the room, Wendy sat quietly, not daring to say anything so as not to incur Diego's wrath."I rarely expect anything from you yet even the little I expect, you still show me just how incompetent you are!""Dad…""Shut up!" Diego bellowed, causing Jason to whimper like a lost puppy.Just then, the door opened and Mirabel walked in with a solemn look on her face.It was clear to see that she was also upset with Jason.Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, Diego inquired. "Have you sorted everything?""Yes, Dad.""Good." Diego nodded before glaring at Jason. "Sometimes I wonder if it would have been better to have two girls instead of a useless son like you. You made me waste 100 million dollars on a car!... If you weren't my son…""Dad, just let it be. Our goal right now should be finding out the masked b
Snorting derisively, Richard glanced at Queen Mother who was staring hatefully at him. “Due to your antiquated beliefs, you have allowed nonsense to remain, ensuring that progress is not made. Do you think that if this man rules, he would do a better job than his father?... I mean, at least the Emperor is sufficiently strong, but this fool?... Ah, well, what can I say?”Seeing as how everyone was silent, Richard continued. “My mother should have sat on that throne, she was the natural choice, but you all decided that because of her gender, she would not rule. Foolish. Too foolish. Now she lays dead, having tried her whole life to ensure that her family was safe and secure, a feeling she would have extended to everyone here had she remained.”The silence indeed deafening as no one knew what to say.The fact that Tabitha was dead was also quite shocking.“Regardless… I am here now and I plan to make changes. The first change I shall make as Crown Prince…”“You are not Crown Prince and w
Richard sat in his bedroom, already prepared for the bout that would bring everything to a natural conclusion.His expression is impassive, he sat before a mirror and wondered what he would do after he had won.It was a question he needed to answer before he could take the right to the Crown in good faith.He was no leader, so was he willing to become one all because he wished to avenge his mother?Letting out a sigh, he thought to call his beloveds only for someone to knock at his door.“Come in.” He calmly responded.Moments later, Gina entered alongside her father, Elder Wu, both of whom had their heads down as they found themselves unable to meet Richard's gaze.Seconds passed before Richard inquired. “Why are you here?”“... I… no, we are sorry, your highness. We were scared and…”“And so you decided as long as you survived, an innocent man paying the price would not be too bad.”“That…”“Sums it up nicely. If only you had stood your ground, I would have made sure you both got th
“Ahem, Princess Liliana.” An elder who could hardly control his curiosity any longer called out, drawing the attention of the first Princess. “Yes, elder?”“... Can you see me?” He inquired as it was common knowledge that the first princess had gone blind at some point as a result of her condition.Silence followed for a moment before the princess replied. “Of course, I can see you, older.”A flurry of gasps escaped the lips of everyone present as one exclaimed.“It's a miracle!”Soon enough, many more began to comment causing the hall to turn rowdy.“The princess is cured of her condition?... How is this possible?”“It makes no sense, the Princess couldn't have been healed just like that.”Just then, the Emperor erupted. “Silence!”Immediately, the hall went pin-drop quiet as everyone shifted their attention to the Emperor who had his eyes on Lily.“Are you truly cured, Liliana?” He inquired softly.Lily pursed her lips. “Yes… I am.”“But how?... Even your aunt Tabitha who was a pow
Eve could never have fathomed that Richard had anticipated her sabotage and carried out measures to make up for it.In her long life, she had never met someone who was able to match her cunning which was why even though Richard proved himself smart, she still considered herself superior.She had superior intellect, superior resources, and superior manpower and most importantly, Richard was on her home turf.There was no way he could pull a fast one on her yet here he was, doing exactly that.Her mind turned fast, trying to figure out how exactly she missed these drones but despite her efforts, she found herself pulling up repeated blanks with no end in sight.She'd made sure she destroyed all the drones after Richard had unceremoniously revealed that he had a network of drones currently spying on every portion of the capital.Of course, he hadn't said it outrightly but she had deduced it judging from what she had learned about his life so far.Which was why she had gotten her most tru
“It's not even been a week since he arrived yet he does something like this, so despicable.”“If he couldn't control himself, couldn't he have gotten a courtesan?... So cheap, utterly disgusting.”“I can't believe such a person is the Legacy. If he truly is the Legacy, he needs to have the Black Book stripped from him before he turns into a monster.”A lot of murmurs flew around amongst those Richard saw on his way to his destination, with many giving scathing remarks as they hurried past him.Whatever the first prince and Queen Mother were planning, its initial effect seemed to be quite good.They'd played an incredibly good card.Soon, he arrived at the courthouse where several elders both from the Right Hand and the Left Hands were gathered.Several looked upon Richard with scorn and absolute disgust with some even voicing their discontent.“I knew we should have never allowed him into the city. He looks like the textbook definition of a hooligan.”“To dare do such a thing and to E
Lily hadn't ever thought she'd be able to live a normal life again.From birth, she'd already been tagged as a child with little prospects and so was left to suffer alone for years.Few of her step-siblings ever showed any form of care, instead treating her as an opponent out of the race.That was the unfortunate thing.Every single member of the Royal family saw themselves as opponents to be defeated and not as a family.It was a situation born out of a desire to rule over millions.Very few were like Maverick, who didn't bother with anything and instead just tried to enjoy as much of their lives as they could.But here comes someone who has no connections to her, doing what no one else had ever deemed necessary to do.No, perhaps, she indeed had a connection to him.Hadn't he said it himself?... This was his attempt at finishing what his mother had started.Tears clouded Lily's eyes as she muttered softly. “Thank you.”Richard managed a smile as he reached out and cleaned a tear tha
The lady, having finished her heartfelt melody, took a deep breath before proceeding to empty her lungs, a look of satisfaction etched on her face.However, she soon paused with her expression shifting as she seemed to sense something, then she asked.“Who's there?” Her voice sounded hoarse, almost like it wasn't used as much as it was supposed to.Richard pondered on how best to respond before deciding to be straightforward.“My name is Richard Smith, I was attracted over by your zither playing. I must confess, it was incredible listening to you play, you are a genius.”The lady seemed to relax only for her expression to shift to curiosity as she inquired. “Smith?... You mean the man who claims to be the Legacy?”“I have been called that.”“I see, it would explain why I didn't detect you immediately. You carry a presence that despite being so immense, can be easily ignored… almost like a ghost.”Richard was unsure of how to respond and so, remarked. “Do you play this every night?”“
In a certain way, Richard had come to rely on the camouflaged drones as the best way to ensure he was never blindsided.If evidence couldn't be gotten from other sources, why not make your own?That was his understanding and so he didn't hesitate to apply it with necessary, hence the reason why he had already unleashed a good number of drones into the capital the night before.Ensuring they covered every corner of the city, nothing was happening in the capital Richard wasn't aware of.How he knew that Elder Wu wasn't doing as he had instructed and was instead meeting with his fellow Rights to discuss what he considered to be a potential disruption of the Order of the city.It seems he feared that Richard would cause chaos in his desire to get revenge.It was understandable why he would think that way but Richard was no madman and he had no desire to implicate innocents in his quest for justice for his mother.Regardless, that wasn't the point right now as he watched Prince Harry's exp
When was the last time he'd been so casually insulted that it felt like a compliment?Harry couldn't remember, perhaps because it had never happened.Those that had dared to look down on him had paid the price without question yet the man before him made him feel like that wouldn't be the case no matter what he did.Harry turned livid as he hated the fact that someone else, a nobody for that matter, would lead him to feel so wary.“How about we put that claim to the test then?” Harry inquired, unwilling to back down just like that.Richard raised a brow. “Wasn't this meant to be a party?”“Plans changed, let us compete. I believe it's a better way to decide if your words are true or you just have a big mouth, don't you agree?”“I see.”“Or perhaps, are you scared?” Harry asked in slight provocation.Richard shrugged. “Alright then, if you really wish to humiliate yourself, then sure, let's fight.”Harry snorted. “Good. We shall exchange three blows. Whoever can remain standing without