After two days of having meals with Poupee, the members of JLNC are finally getting used to her presence and are even involving her in their conversations.
Poupee was delighted to hear laughter and chattering in the manor, it's been silent for too long after all, and if she had a choice, she'd even bring the twins to stay there than let the two travel around the world.
"If you grew up with James and Drystan like Chantel and me, there's no way you won't understand terms they use in gaming, especially when they would talk with it most of the time." Poupee said and shook her head while answering Alexei's question
"Don't you get lost in this house?" Opal asked while looking at the hallways and the high ceiling
"Why would they get lost in their house, Opal?" Dewy asked him before chuckling
"Frankly, I got lost here a couple of times as a child so I never wandered anywhere in this house. There are still some parts of this house that I haven't stepped foot in." Poupee admitted while chuckling
"How about you, Key?" Opal asked Key who just shook her head while smiling
"She definitely knew this place like the back of her hand." Poupee chuckled
"How do you say so, Ms. Auclair?" Key humored her and Poupee looked at her before chuckling
"The three of you used to run around while hiding from Dawson after pulling a prank," Poupee revealed
"It was fun pissing Dawson, and he needed a break." Key defended but she smiled
She had stopped taking the sleeping pills because she was in this house, but she was suffering from drawbacks.
The effects of the pills are still there and she would sometimes reach ouch or look for the bottle of pills from her bag before the familiar calming scent enters her nostrils and pull her bag from her instinct.
"So, you don't only like to get on my cousin's nerves but you're just really playful?" Alexei asked in a jest
"I'm not getting on Captain's nerves on purpose." Key disagreed
"Chantel's really playful, though she's usually serious, she's more playful depending on the atmosphere," Poupee commented with a smile
"You spent most of your childhood with Key?" Rio asked, wondering why he don't recall Poupee mentioning anything about Key
"Hmm," Poupee shook her head while smiling
"Nope, I only see her, them, whenever my mom brings me to play here during the vacation," Poupee answered
She looked at Key, silently waiting for her permission to elaborate and when Key slightly tilted her head, she looked back at the other members of JLNC with a smile.
"Chantel, Drystan, and James lived together in Itaria since we were little. It had always been the three of them, then when she had to be homeschooled here, Drystan requested to be transferred here, and the next thing I knew, James was also transferred here." Poupee continued and chuckled
"No wonder you were so close to Fox," Dewy commented in amusement
They initially thought that Key is the youngest that's why Fox seemed so close to her, but after knowing that Key and James grew up together for years and being wherever the other is, they finally understood why Fox seems to sometimes understood Key even when she hasn't said a single thing.
"Chela used to be jealous of Drystan and James, right?" Poupee asked and Key shook her head at the thought of that
Her sister used to be jealous of her own boyfriend as a child, it was classic.
"Weren't you close with your sister, Key?" El asked after recalling that Key once mentioned that only her sister knew that she joined E-Sports when they asked her about it after she joined
"Chela and I lived together while I was in middle school. James and Drystan were being trained by their fathers in their respective countries to take over their family's business so I was with Papa." Key answered
"Then, I started traveling after Chela turned twelve." She added
"You don't stay for more than two years," Nicholas said and Key looked at him before nodding
"Then, she settled down here because Drystan and James were studying here," Poupee said and Key nodded with a smile
"How come no one knew you and Fox are related?" Opal asked in confusion because he thought that if Key and Fox were always together since they were young, it was unlikely that people won't find out about their biological relationship
"Because James entered the industry as Fox, and then his mom was also our grandfather's second daughter making him our second cousin, only first-degree cousins are often considered related." Poupee elaborated and Key nodded
"Besides, Desmond is our mothers' surname so it was somewhat hard to connect unlike when we share the same surname," she added
"You still seemed close with your sister,"
Bright pointed that out after recalling that when he and Dewy talked to Key's sister about Key's contract with JLNC Gaming, the woman on the other line said something along the lines of letting her do something that makes her happy.
"Cali and Chela would visit from time to time, until Drystan left, followed by James, then I left for Angliae as well. Chela stayed in Angliae for most of her life so we got closer during my stay there." Key replied
"Wow, so you didn't technically have a permanent address?" Alexei teased her making Key chuckle
"Uncle wanted her to settle down somewhere but even after the twins came, she kept on traveling." Key's eyes darted at Poupee and she immediately realized her mistake
"Because she traveled a lot, she literally has a house in every country. So, wherever we are, we would just give her a call to have somewhere to stay in" Poupee chuckled while Key shook her head at her quick change of topic
"That's my dream, traveling the world," Opal commented and they looked at him
"I mean, I won't be staying in this circle for very long… I have other dreams too, you know! And after I save enough money to have my own business, I'll travel the world." He said and they smiled
"I have a dream of traveling the world to taste various foods and build my own restaurant," Quant said
"Typical of you, Quant, your dream involves food," Alexei commented and kiddingly elbowed Quant
"I plan on building my own house by the beach," El said with a small smile
"I'll invest my inheritance here and there then travel the world as well," Alexei said and they turned to look at Bright and Dewy
"Me? I'm good with being a manager and then settling down in the city with my family." Dewy said after noticing their gaze
"I'll do the same after coaching some more champions," Bright said and they looked at Nicholas
"Inherit the family business," Nicholas answered nonchalantly
"How about you, Chantel?" Poupee asked her cousin curiously
She wanted to know if there was a chance that she'll settle down somewhere, she understand that Keychantel loves her freedom the most but she also knew that her freedom had cost her something she can never gain back.
Poupee knew the current state of her relationship with the Rotschildes and she wanted to know if there was any part of Chantel's plans that would involve them.
"Help the family business," she replied with a smile and Poupee nodded with a practiced smile
Despite that being an obvious choice, Poupee wanted to hear something else from her. Perhaps something that involved settling down, or something that involved straying from the path she had built since she was homeschooled.
However, reality proved that Keychantel is the same as she always has been, she may have learned a lot from her recent punishment, but it didn't change anything in her plans at all.
"Anyways, are you going to train while you're here?" Poupee asked them to change the topic
"I mean, if you are, I'm sure the equipment upstairs is well-kept and you can use them," Poupee added
"We won't be training for the first week," Dewy answered and Poupee nodded
"Sasukiria's fashion show is in a week…" Rio suddenly looked up from his phone
"Yes, that's right, I'll be her model in the upcoming fashion week," Poupee said and stood up
"Mon Dieu, j'ai failli oublier mon vol de ce soir! Je suppose que je dois préparer mes bagages maintenant." Poupee exclaimed before standing up and smiling at them
"I'll have to go ahead." Poupee excused herself before heading upstairs
"Her flight's tonight so she's going ahead," Key explained and they nodded
"I'm finally convinced that you are richer than my cousin," Alexei said and Key shook her head
"Since when were we having a contest of who's richer between me and the captain?" Key asked
"Your imagination has no bounds," Nicholas muttered and Alexei chuckled before shaking his head
***
Mon Dieu, j'ai failli oublier mon vol de ce soir! Je suppose que je dois préparer mes bagages maintenant.
Translation: My goodness, I almost forgot about my flight tonight! I guess I have to prepare my luggage now.
Sasukiria is pronounced as "Sas-kri-ya" since in Japanese the "u" in "su" is usually silent.
***