"Did you finish your Accoutning assignment?" Qingyue asked and she came to sit right next to him. Her gorgeous grey eyes curiously looked at him, and then a light smile crept on her face. "You seem a little too refreshed. Did something good happen?"
"Just had a good sleep last night." He honestly said, and then nodded his head. "Finished and submitted it before breakfast."
"I convinced my Grandfather to play chess with me everyday in the evening." She informed him with a playful smile.
"Good for you. I hope you give me a tough time the next time we play, or it would be too boring..." He smirked at her and then turned to look at the door of the where a group of boys entered the classroom, chatting happily.
"Keith!" A pump boy called out and trotted towards him, grinning happily.
All the boys of his group were there. Hal, Eric, Glenn, and Max, but what surpised Keith was the presence of Julian and his best friend Gareth, who were walking side by side having a good conversation with his group.
"You missed another brilliant night, Keith!" James said as soon as he arrived by his side.
"I am sure I did. So, what happened?" Keith chuckled and stood up to hug the boy.
"An entourage from Delvon City came to participate in our Racing competition last night!" The plump boy enthusiastically spoke. "And their leader was good!"
"How good?" He curiously asked.
"Not as good as you. But he was really good!" James nodded to himself. "We lost a first few races before Julian arrived at the scene. Things were quite heated up at that time, and those guys from Delvon were over their heads, calling us and our city out. A brawl could have broken out if Julian had not brought his guards with him."
"What happened next?"
"We tried to reach you, but your cellphone was off at that time."
"Yeah, my Grandfather returned home last night, night and I was with him." Keith gave out an excuse that James would not argue over.
"We were really hard pressed you know! Even Julian was a little nervous after we showed him the footage of the races that took place. But in the end he decided to give it go!"
By this time, the group of boys had arrived and were standing behind James. Julian calmly sat down on the desk next to Keith, and nodded to him in a greeting.
"And I guess that everything turned out for the best?" Keith asked as he returned the nod to Julian.
"Yes!" James shouted, which prompted Eric to break out in a chuckle. "You should have seen their faces when Julian beat their leader by a yard, winning Ten Million Neris! It was the most exhilarating race ever!"
The other boys nodded their heads in acknowledgement.
"The footage will be edited and processed in the afternoon. I will send it to you and you can see for yourself how intense the race was." Hal told Keith and then curiously looked at Qingyue, who was reading a book quietly.
"We recoded everything! Even their dumb faces!" James laughed to himself and his infectious laugh prompted everyone to join him.
"I can't wait to see the footage." He told them and glanced at Hal before looking at Julian. "Ten Million, eh?" He teased. "You never bet more than half a million when you race me."
"I am not a fool who enjoys losing his money." Julian felt no shame in admiting that he was not as good as Keith in car racing. "So, where were you last week?"
"Out of city." Keith said, feigning a sigh. "Had my hands full."
"So that's why you are wearing a glove on the left?" Eric joked and Keith nodded to him.
"Got hurt in the process."
"What were you doing?" Max curiously asked.
"Learning how to cook." He smirked when he saw the brief shock that dressed their expressions before they relaized he was kidding. "And since everyone is here, I would like to formally invite all of you to my wedding that will take place on 31st of December, 2040."
"What?!" Everyone exclaimed.
"You two are getting married?!"
And there was an odd one out.
Qingyue burned in a blush when she heard Hal bring up the question. But she did not raise her head and still kept feigning to read the book.
"What do you mean by 'you two'?" Keith looked at his childhood friend and feigned confusion. And then as he observed the restless eyes of Hal who glanced between him and Qingyue. "Oh no, idiot! Qingyue is not the Bride!" He chuckled.
"Who is it then?" Julian curiously asked.
The Prince of Sameran was having a wedding at the end of the month, on the New Year's eve, and no one in the city had any knowledge of it. It was shocking to say the least. And if the news got out, it was bound detonate the entire city in gossips.
"Her name is Amelia. And she's not from Sameran." He said and turned silent.
"We need more information than that!" James and Eric protested.
"It is a private affair where only Friends and Family are invited. I don't want the two of you selling out the details to the media." He scoffed at them and then laughed when they looked aggrieved.
"I am still telling them that you are getting married!" James huffed and then excitedly looked at him. "Is she beautiful?"
"A little too beautiful." Keith playfully said. "Amelia is just as beautiful as Qingyue."
His words made them all turn to look at the girl by side, who now had a rosy complexion on her fair cheeks.
The boys found it really hard to take their eyes off her now that they were fixed on her. But the honest ones soon managed to compose themselves.
Qingyue was a little flustered after she felt their eyes on her, but her heart was just as sweet as it was restless.
Keith had indirectly called her 'a little too beautiful'. And she would be lying if she said that she did not like the compliment.
"Come on! Show us her pic!" James insisted.
"Don't have it on me." He shook his head, and some could discern that it was probably a lie. But none of them asked for it again.
"Is she the future lady of Demiliore Family?" Julian asked the most important question.
"No." Keith shook his head, and Julian nodded in understanding.
It meant that the girl he was marrying was not necessarily from a powerful Family, and it also meant that Keith would be taking another wife in the future.
"I wish you the best of luck!" The blonde haired boy sincerely smiled at him.
"You sound like you don't want to attend my wedding." Keith smiled back at him.
"It's not that I don't want to attend it, Keith..."
"Don't worry, I will send an Invitation of Grayson Family. You and your Family are invited to my wedding."
Julian forwned a little when he heard his words. They both knew that their families were not really friends, and Keith had worded it like he really wanted him at his wedding.
It was true that he did not really want to be at odd terms with Keith, but because of their families, the two of them had never really tired to befriend each other even if they shared lots of similar interests.
"Thanks!" He finally smiled and said.
Keith could see that Julian was still a little conflicted and he sighed.
"Times are changing, Julian. And we are the future." He reminded the boy right before the professor entered the classroom, prompting everyone to disperse and take their seats.
One thing that Keith was keen on accomplishing was making sure that Grayson Family did not stay on the camp of Falken Family. Because if they do end up staying on their side, he would have no other choice than to destroy them as well.
Keith knew that Falken had already approached the Grayson Family, and a few months later, Julian would be engaged to the elder daughter of the Falken Family. He had to prevent that from happening.
He was confident that as long as Graysons attend his wedding, they would grow apprehensive when they find the Angelini on sisterly terms with the Demiliore.
His wedding was also going to be an accouncement to the city that Angelini and Demiliore were back together. Something which would shake up the things and turn a few plans upside down.
And since Rebecca Grayson was an important Heroine, he needed her Family at neutral terms with him if he wanted to approach her in the future. It would be too much of a hassle if their families turned hostile to each other.
