I Am the Ruler of All

Kingsley scratched the back of his head, prevaricating, "Uh, well, he's a brother of my comrade's, and he was just going along
with my act."
His sisters knew that he had been a soldier in the army before this, and in times like these when lying was a necessity, he
credited his imaginary comrades for his behavior.
"A brother of your comrade's?" Serena frowned as she eyed him skeptically. "And what about the thirty belts you just splurged
on? Pretty sure you just racked up a two-million-something credit card bill back there."
He blinked and stammered, "Oh, um, he... he might be a luxury boutique manager, but he secretly sells counterfeit goods on the
side. The belts I bought are all fake, and they're not worth more than eight hundred."
"Fake?!" Serena's eyes widened. "Are you seriously asking me to hand out these counterfeits to my friends from the dōjō? These
are people who have been all over the world, and believe me when I say they can spot a counterfeit from a mile away!"
"Don't worry about it, Serena. We're talking about high-quality counterfeits here, and I promise you, they won't be able to tell it
apart from the real stuff!" He changed the topic before she could argue with him any further on this. "Anyway, would you have
killed Noah if I hadn't held you back just now?"
A cheeky smile tugged on her lips. "Nah, I don't go around killing people for free, you know." She had let the matter drop after
Kingsley interjected.
It wasn't so much that she let the matter drop as it was that she chose to believe Kingsley like how Reene had. She was sure
that he would never lie, and that even if he did, it was with good intentions.
"Hey, Kingsley, why don't you come as my plus-one to the reunion? I figured you haven't eaten yet," Serena offered.
He hummed in response as he considered the fact that he truly hadn't eaten and that he didn't want Noah to stir up trouble for
his sister, then nodded and he said, "Okay."

The Paradise Mall was close by the Bayou, which was merely a ten-minute walk away.
Presently, in Carolina Court, about twenty young men and women were gathered around a long banquet table as they chattered
among themselves.
"My, my, Nancy, aren't you just gorgeous?" Emory said to a woman who looked ordinary at best. "I haven't seen you in years and
you show up looking even more stunning than the Two Muses had ever looked!"
Nancy Stewart clapped her hand over her mouth and giggled abashedly as she said, "It's all thanks to the expensive beauty
treatments I get every now and then. Looking young sure comes with a price, right?"
Emory chuckled awkwardly at this and his eyes swiveled to the man next to her, then asked, "And this handsome gentleman
over here must be your fiancé, am I right?"
"Why, yes." Nancy leaned into the man's embrace and announced happily, "Tyler and I are getting married next month!"
Upon hearing this, those around the couple did not waste time in offering their blessings.
"Congratulations!"
"The both of you are a match made in heaven!"
Everyone was well aware of the fact that Tyler was the heir to Spearhead Group and that he had a net worth of more than ten
million. If they could be so lucky as to get acquainted with him, then they were set for the high life.
Emory's eyes practically twinkled as he attempted to curry favor with the man. "So, Mr. Jovovich, the economy has taken quite
the downturn these days, and I just don't think my current job is paying well enough. Do you think you could—"
He broke off when the door to the private dining room swung open, and in walked Serena and Kingsley.
"One of the Two Muses has made it here! Everyone, please give a warm round of applause!" someone cheered, and the guests
in the room clapped their hands in good spirit.

Serena had always been beautiful, and though she had no pedigree like the others here, she was still treated like a star back at
the dōjō. Now that she was here at the reunion, the men who had not seen for years were looking at her with interest.
However, malice flashed in Emory's eyes. He had been so close to making Tyler's acquaintance, which would be of great help to
his intelligence-gathering endeavors, but Serena just had to come in and ruin things for him. The golden opportunity had slipped
right through his fingers!
Serena led Kingsley to their seats and smiled as she greeted, "Hey, guys. Gosh, I haven't seen all of you in ages."
She had become the center of attention the moment she walked in. Even Tyler was staring at her with his mouth slightly open,
dazed by her beauty.
Next to him, Nancy was seething with rage. She snorted and drawled sarcastically, "Last I heard, you went into some
nondescript company after you left the dōjō. Are you even getting paid well?" She couldn't hope to compete with Serena when it
came to beauty and charm, so her wealth was the only thing she could lord over the latter's head right now.
Serena merely smirked as she answered, "We work on commission at Orion Tech; there's no fixed remuneration there."
There was nothing wrong with the way she said it, at least not on the surface, but Kingsley understood what she was implying.
Orion Tech was probably just a cover for the Mercenary Commission she worked for, and the 'commission' she was talking about
was the bounty that came with every assassination she carried out.
Nancy scoffed and rolled her eyes, then pointed out disdainfully, "I don't know what company that is, but it sounds downright
crappy."
She had never liked Serena, not since their childhood days. She hated how Serena had managed to win over every boy just
because of her pretty face even though she was just a lowly orphan. Whenever Serena was around, Nancy would always be
invisible and cast away to the sidelines.
She was insanely jealous of Serena, and she wanted to crush the girl by walking all over her. She wanted to tell everyone that
she was better.

When Emory saw how stormy Nancy looked, Emory quickly interjected, "Yeah, Serena, what kind of a crap company doesn't
even have an established portfolio of its own? I can't believe you'd bring it up without dying of embarrassment!"
Much like Nancy, the other women at the table were rather hostile toward Serena and her pretty face, either. When they heard
the taunts and mockery thrown her way, they couldn't help snickering, too.
Meanwhile, the men, though enamored with Serena's beauty, were so afraid of getting on Nancy and Tyler's bad side that they
decided to join in the mocking as well.
"You know, maybe Serena is just a pretty face. She certainly isn't as capable as Nancy."
"Tell me about it. It's bad enough that she has a flimsy background, but she just has to ride around on her high horse, too. At this
rate, she'll be stuck as a bottom-feeder."
Nancy was ecstatic to hear everyone standing on her side. She narrowed her eyes at Serena imperiously, as though she was
looking at some pest, and pointed out venomously, "You might as well become a call girl or something if you're going to spend
your life making pittance at some run-down company. Why waste that pretty face of yours when you can get paid well for it,
right? At least you'll get to go home and put dinner on the table for your family." Then, she pretended to be apologetic as she
gasped and put a hand over her mouth. "Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot that you're an orphan and that you have no family to feed. Guess
there's no need for you to moonlight as a prostitute, then!" Triumphant giggles followed this scathing insult.