Hollywood Zenith

He was surprised that none of the girls came to visit him. He asked the maid, and they told him they were busy in their own way. He didn't want to lie to them, so he went alone. He had to visit the firm to get more intel and plan his next move.

Meanwhile, a fierce fight was happening in the training ground a few yards away from him. Joyah, Samuel's teacher who taught Silat, was having a spar with Peter.

" Kid, you are welcome to try and hit me." She said with a calm smile on her face.

" We are of the same age! But you are going down this time!" Peter said and laughed a vicious offence against her. He was not a novice, as his body spoke for him, but even with reasonable control, he could not land fatal shots.

Both were experienced fighters, but Joyah was better; her lean physique was taking his hard hits. The situation could have been different without the guards, but the result was already clear to the onlookers.

"Do they always fight like this?" Liliana asked. She got curious about this vast facility and decided to follow Karoline, who spent the night in the estate for some reason.

" Most of the time, I have not seen them fight for so long. Both of them have improved." Karoline nodded like some teacher who was watching their pupil.

" But is it work? I had seen plenty of street fights; it feels fake."

" You are right about that; if they fight for real, Peter would be incapacitated right now." Karoline gave a straight answer.

" Eh? Not the other way around?"

" Silat is very lethal if used correctly. That woman, Joyah's bones, are like steel, and now imagine it crushing two hard balls? A quick and effective technique with zero unnecessary movements."

" Still, I feel like her opponent has a good grasp on his body. Even I, an untrained eye, can tell he is a hard worker who has mastered several martial arts techniques." Liliana was right in her assessment. Peter was clearly overpowering her with brute strength.

" We can only find that out when they would fight for real. But I will bet on Joyah as she is the one who taught Samuel most." Oscar left early, and Arthur took his position to teach Samuel, but it was not the same.

Master Wu also left for China; he had been away from his family for too long. Master Kang, who used to teach him Taekwondo, had not reprised his role since the first time he left eight years ago.

Joyah was the only one who stayed for some reason. She was never much of a sharer, but it didn't matter; Samuel had a regular sparring partner if one excluded all the ghost soldiers.

" Did you teach him too?"

" No, he had other people. I heard he surpassed everyone here in a couple of years when he was fourteen. That's when he eased up on his morning training."

" Eh? Really?"

" Yes, you must have seen him. He is built like a tank."

" You are right about that."

" Hmm.." Karoline stared at her.

" I have only seen him in the swimming pool! Look, he lost just like you said!" Liliana said while panicking, trying to change the subject.

" Good, shall we? I heard you know few good moves." Karoline invited her for a spar.

" No, I am good. I shouldn't be-"

" What someone is challenging Karoline?"

" Did I hear it right? Who is it?"

" Young master's friend? What do you think?"

" Maybe she will lose on purpose to show mercy? Besides, I can see she is not in the best shape of her life."

" Little girl also doesn't look half bad. I will bet on the young girl!"

" Twenty on, Karoline!"

" Here, Here. The official desk for all your betting needs. Come hurry; the show is about to begin!"

For some reason, their standard spar divulges into a full-blown betting season. Lilina was baffled by everything; she couldn't understand where they got that table from and how come the betting jar was already half full within a few seconds?

" Ignore them. But if I were you, I would not bet on myself." Karoline said with a smug smile taunting her opponent. Rothschild's family training ground was the best of the best, which was why she had stayed. She just couldn't get over the fact that they called her fat yesterday!

" We will see. I am not a full-blown fighter like you, but I can throw a mean right hook!"

" Good luck." Peter tapped her shoulder. He was reminded of when she would mop the floor with him. The outcome was already decided for him, but that didn't mean either one would bow down now.

They took the stage, and the referee came forward to start the fight!

...

...

...

" Have you seen the others?" Paige asked one of the maids.

" Miss Liliana is in the training ground, but I don't know about other. I can ask-"

" It's alright. Thank you." She was looking for someone who would accompany her to explore the city. It had been a long time since she visited London, and there were few exclusive stores she wanted to go to. She was thinking about calling Iblis but knew Iblis would be busy with her family.

" If you are looking for Sami, he just left a few minutes ago." Someone said from back.

" Miss Mary. I was not specifically looking for him but thank you."

" What's up? You can ask me if anything is bothering you." Mary asked, seeing her sighing.

" I wanted someone to go shopping with, but it looks like they are all busy."

" Shopping? I can go with you. I was also heading into the city to pick some clothes."

" I can't impose on you."

" Nonsense, come with me; the car is waiting for us. I know all the best places in the city."

" Alright." There was no harm in accepting her invitation.

Thus, Paige found an unexpected shopping partner. Their personalities were similar; it was the start of an unconventional friendship.

Inside Kenneth's study, Margaret and Maia sat with him, talking. They were having some relaxing tea while discussing current affairs.

" The Czech is still hesitant; I think we will see a repeat of 2005," Maia said calmly.

" You mean the proposed Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, which would have repealed the existing European treaties and replaced them with a "constitution"?" Kenneth asked. He was curious and picking her brains.

" Yes, It took four years, but they did abandon that idea after the French and Dutch public voted against it. The same can be expected to happen again."

" Oh, they will accept. The pressure is too strong for them to resist." Margaret said after taking a sip. Maia was surprised but more so by the confidence with which she said it.

" She is right. The Czech Republic will become the final member-state of the European Union to sign the Treaty of Lisbon, thereby permitting that document's initiation into European law. I believe it will happen somewhere around the end of this year."

" H-how? Who is behind this?" Maia asked nervously. She was reminded again how her father would speak about the Rothschild family. She would always chalk it up to a fairy tale, but meeting these two legendary figures ignited her childhood curiosity.

It was the only reason she was hearing about spending time with them instead of doing something else. She was always fascinated with the workings of this world, and there were not many people who could satisfy her hunger for knowledge regarding it.

"Some mighty people are lurking in the shadow. They are fossils, like a ghost clinging to their ways, but it is wrong for you to know about this." Margaret said. It was more like a riddle than anything, but Maia got the message.

" But I believe it would centralize the EU while simultaneously weakening the democracy by moving the power away from the national electorates." She argued. Such power would sooner or later consume the foundation. She believed it was a dangerous game they were playing.

" That may be so, but you seem to have overlooked a vital fact."

" Hmm?"

"For the first time, the treaty will give member states the explicit legal right to leave the EU and establish a procedure by which to do so. Don't you think it's all planned?" Margaret said with a smile.

" Leaving the EU, is that even possible?" This was unprecedented in her eyes. This old couple whose eyes shone with brilliance looked so mysterious in her eyes at the same time, so typical.

There was not much they could 'speculate,' so they began to talk about something else. Kenneth asked about her family, and she began to tell them about it. The conversation, after which was mild and nothing groundbreaking.

After a few hours, when she left the study, she felt like a frog in the well. Her worldview was limited to what she knew; evidently, it was too little to be proud of. What's more, she understood how Samuel knew so much; being surrounded by such people had to have some effect on people.