Chapter 404

Monday, January 8th, 2046

Essra Launch Station, Red Desert, Luxaria, Netheria

The crowd watched as the Shuttle disappeared into the sky, leaving behind a white trail of water vapour, and as soon as the news arrived that it had successfully exited Gaia's atmosphere, loud cheers rose all around, travelling far into the desert.

It would be exactly twelve and half hours later that the Shuttle, carrying the Essra Scientists, Engineers, and Astronauts, would reach the Netherian Space Station on the Moon.

However, the people were already calling it a success, and they were not wrong to assume it as Essra had conducted extensive test flights before the launch of this Shuttle, and the last several have been a tremendous success without any accidents.

At the Headquarters of the Launch Site, the Demiliore Family stood inside the control room, watching everything on the massive screens and holograms, and the twins excitedly smiled when the live footage of Gaia was shared on the screen as the Shuttle got farther and farther away from the planet.

As soon as the Space Shuttle landed on the Moon, the valuation of Amazeus-Essra was going to shoot through the sky, but Keith knew that Venessa had no plans about making the company Public.

It was her pet project that she had given a lot of time to, and she was not really fond of sharing her things with anyone that would undermine her power over it.

Besides, she was never really into it for the money. They already had more than enough on their hands, and since they could not take all this wealth with them, which was going to be passed down to a branch Family, it was better to not outrageously boost the wealth that they would succumb under.

A few minutes later, Venessa received a call from the Governor-General of Netheria, who congratulated her on the success of the Mission, and she just politely thanked him before ending the call.

Her action made Celine giggle, who might have fretted over it a few years ago, but now she just found it funny that her dear friend did not even put the most powerful man in the country, or perhaps the entire world, in her eyes. She treated him just like any other person.

Then again, no matter how powerful he was, he was still helpless against Keith, and there was nothing he could do about them unless he wanted to send the world into chaos and lose his life.

No matter how powerful you become, there will always be someone more powerful than you. It was the irrefutable truth that even the strongest of the Gods were not an exception to it.

Diana, who watched her niece end the call, sighed in her heart, but she did not try to correct her and there was nothing to correct about her attitude. She, more than anyone else, knew how to exercise power and understand its dynamics, and therefore, she realised that even a hint of weakness or subjugation could be exploited.

Her niece was even better than her at playing the game of power, and she understood that her every action had some wisdom behind it.

What the girls in the family were surprised about the most in the last two days was how Venessa had taken an immediate liking to Kashish, and now, she treated her like a daughter, keeping her by her side just like she treated Kiara, and Ginara.

Only Keith truly understood her intentions, and he knew that his mother had a very keen eye for talent.

Kashish was a treasure that she wanted to secure and keep by her side, and he was going to allow her to do it. He was not going to restrict her or anyone else from playing their games unless necessary, and right now, it was all very healthy.

Venessa would have even tried to grab Minami, but she realised that Keith would never allow her to get her hands on the girl, whom he liked keeping by his side. And such, she had set her eyes on Kashish now.

Perhaps, it was all because she realised that if she wanted to stay at the top of the Hierarchy within the Family, she needed to make his other wives understand that she was not worth the fight and deter them from even considering the possibility of dragging her into their games.

Amelia and Rebecca were already playing one, not as actively as her, but they had Nana, Zoey, Helena, Marianne, Amira, and Reina in their camps, and as time would pass, they would only gather more on their sides.

Kiara was content with Ingrid and Ingvild by her side for now, but she was a very patient, cunning, and intelligent player, who had a very different approach than the rest. And Qingyue had not even realised yet that she was part of a game of power.

Interestingly enough, Kashish, who too had a hunch about Venessa's intentions, was more than willing to let things take their course. She did not possess an overly ambitious heart. All she really cared about was life and medicine, and she just wanted to become the best doctor in existence and learn all that Keith had to teach her.

"Keith." Qingyue gently tugged his arm and smiled at him, and those around her turned to look at them.

"Yes?"

"Our classmates are here, including your fat friend. Do you want to meet them?"

"Do you?" He smiled.

"It's been a while." She smiled back at him.

"Let's go." He nodded and then grabbed her hand, taking her outside.

Only Yingying followed them and the rest stayed inside the Control Room.

When they arrived in the lobby of the Headquarters, James, the plump young man, trotted over to him with a big smile.

"My God, you keep getting taller and taller every time I see you. Don't they say that you stop growing after turning eighteen?" The young man, whose head had started balding, commented and curiously asked. "Anyways, it's good to see you!"

"You too." Keith chuckled and then greeted the rest of the group, including Qingyue's classmates.

Funnily enough, James had gotten married to Qingyue's Friend, the very girl who had once told Qingyue that she had no interest in him.

Then again, money and power mattered above everything else, and now that James worked for the Black Forest Group, taking care of a few projects, he was quite a desirable option in the eyes of the ladies.

Keith understood how fickle people could be, and he always felt a little repulsed by such people who failed to keep their word and let their greed win over their pride. Then again, he was not someone who would show his emotions to people and let them know what he thought of them.

"I was half expecting Julian to be here as well," James spoke after a while, telling them how he missed the good old days before Keith and Julian decided to disappear at the end of their first year at University.

"He's busy," Keith informed him.

"You met him?" He interestedly asked.

"Yes. He was over for dinner on New Year's Eve."

"You did not invite me..."

"It was a family gathering." He smiled.

"Oh, I forgot that he is hour brother-in-law now." James sheepishly laughed and a few others joined him as well, including his wife, who was holding his arm and pressing herself to him as someone who dearly loved him.

The only person who was seemingly oblivious to her truth was James, but Keith knew the man and understood everything and he was just content about getting the girl he always desired, not caring if she really loved him or not.

And he was not as gullible as he seemed and behaved. He was a very shrewd and a capable person, which was why Keith had let him enter the Black Forest Group.

The moment the girl would stop trying to hide her true colours, James would not even hesitate to send her packing. He was already smart enough to not have children with her.

Keith and Qingyue chatted with their friends for a while, and then the two excused themselves, citing that they had some things to attend to.

On their way back to meet the rest of the family, Keith smiled as he found his wife lost in her thoughts.

"It was boring, wasn't it?" He asked, and she subconsciously nodded her head.

"I thought it would be fun, but..." She did not know how to put her feelings into words.

"You felt like you don't belong there."

"Yes."

"Well, you don't." He chuckled. "Our life and reality are very different than theirs. There's nothing left to relate with them."

"They have all changed. All of them. And I could see it in their eyes that they were hoping to curry favours."

"That's how things work, dear Yue. The weak always curry the favour of the powerful. And frankly, most of your friends were only your friends because you were the little Miss of the Lin Family. And all my friends were only my friends because I was the Young Master of the Demiliore Family." He smiled.

"All of them?"

"Except for Julian, yes." He nodded. "But we became friends later."

"You always realised it. Didn't you?"

"Yes." He smiled.

"Then it was for the sake of appearances?"

"That and the fact that you need people at your disposal that can be used."

"Hmph! You are not a good person!" She teasingly said.

"I never said that I was a good person." He looked into her eyes and smiled. "You have never wondered why Rebecca and Kiara have no friends from school life?"

His sudden question made her frown, and then she nodded her head.

"They are good at understanding people, and Rebecca only looks at people for what they are worth, whereas Kiara just can't be bothered by them."

"She does not even miss her adopted parents who raised her." She frowned.

"It's because she understands reality and knows that they have nothing for her to relate to. She still shows them some respect and takes care of them, but they are not her anchors and have no power over her."

Keith left her to her thoughts afterwards, not speaking, and even after they rejoined the rest of the family, Qingyue was a little lost in her thoughts.