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DUN-DUN-DUN-DUN!

My jaw dropped the moment I saw the Ma Residence, and I thought I heard some drumrolls playing at the back of my head—yeah, that intense. In fact, it would be unfair to simply call it as a residence! It's a freaking palace for goodness' sake! Or a really large mansion!

Hora and I flew back and forth a few times to Red Dragon country when we took the entrance exams, fixed our transfer papers, and all that legal stuff. Aside from that, we spent our vacation with our family and friends. This time, we flew back there two weeks prior to the semester to settle in. The Ma family's head butler, Mr. Wei, fetched us from the airport and accompanied us towards the twin's home.

It was the first time I saw it, and Hora, too. I knew they were crazy rich but I guess my imagination of the word "rich" wasn't up to par with the truth.

From the main gate, which was automatic and had so many guards, we were welcomed by a series of tall trees lined up neatly towards the main house. It took us a few minutes before we reached the main house and on the way, we passed by a couple of guard houses, large mazes, fountains, a garden with beautiful statues, a huge parking lot with a bunch of luxury cars, and others. Hora and I ended up gawking every now and then as we passed by them.

Once finally at the main house which was a mixture of modern and victorian style—something that had probably been influenced by their half British nature—a group of servants greeted us. They were all lined up from side to side—maids, butlers, even the chefs, and others I wasn't so sure what. They greeted us politely, and the servants took care of our luggage.

'Is this how royalties live? I feel like I'm back to the 18th century where monarchs ruled and there's lots of nobles. I mean, this is how they're welcomed at their homes, right?'

I spun my head around, and continued to marvel at the sight before me. We were guided inside the house afterwards and oh my goodness! The inside was more spectacular than the outside! Everything was either white, gold, or brownish in color. The ceiling was like three or four stories tall, the pillars were beautiful, there was a huge marble staircase at the center, the furnitures were all so luxurious—my descriptions weren't enough to describe the beauty of the place!

To our right was the drawing room, and I don't know what's on the left but it was a room. There were paintings on the walls. Above were more rooms and beyond, at the backyard, was a really big swimming pool. The doors and windows were all so big, and luminous chandeliers lighted up the whole place, as if the design wasn't sparkly enough to the eyes.

Seeing all of those made me realize even just a bit, the huge difference in our family status. We could even be considered beggars compared to them.

"If it pleases you, I can give you a tour of the whole mansion in your free time," Mr. Wei, as he introduced himself to us back at the airport, politely told us.

"Yes, please. We'd love that," I replied.

"As you wish, my lady."

"A-ah… I'm not a lady." I felt my cheeks burn in embarrassment.

I could already imagine it—living here even for just a month, would probably inspire me enough to write a royal romance story! I could use this as research material. Yeah, I should take notes of my experience.

"It's alright. You are young master's and young lady's guests. It is only proper for us to address you as such."

Hora and I blushed. All these formalities and we'd forget we're in Red Dragon country, mistaking it for something else. We tried to laugh off our embarrassment.

"For now, let us head on this way," he stretched his left arm towards the drawing room, "the young master and young lady are waiting for your arrival."

We followed him towards the drawing room where Kaiden and Crystal were silently sitting on a soft couch, drinking tea.

"Senara! And Hora, I presume?" Crystal jolted up to her seat and greeted us. She was gorgeous as always and smiled prettily. "Come sit and have some snacks with us. You're probably exhausted from the trip."

We did as she said and we walked towards the couch where Kaiden sat handsomely—wait, there's no handsome and unhandsome way of sitting! Ugh. My brain was playing tricks on me again. But who could blame me? Just look at him! He's so… enchanting like a prince! And he just had to wear a fitted white shirt! I could clearly see the shape of his body—that firm chest and… s-sexy abs. He's supposed to be lazy right? Do lazy people workout?

"Welco—Are you alright, Senara?" Kaiden asked, looking surprised, as I sat down in front of him. "Your face is red. Did you catch a cold? Or a fever?"

I felt Hora's elbow tugging me from the sides.

"R-right! No, I just… it's hot," I was at a loss of words and reasons. For goodness' sake Senara. Of all the reasons you could think of, its hot? The temperature was perfect inside the house. Ugh. I sighed to myself.

"Oh come on, don't be shy," Hora backed me up. "She's just tired, you know, jet lag."

Jet lag from 2 hours of flight? We didn't even change time zones. Well, at least it's still an excuse?

Kaiden's perfect face frowned in worry.

"In that case you should rest immediately." Then, he stood up and turned towards the head butler. "Mr. Wei, guide us to their rooms."

"Ahh… No, I'm fine," I shyly murmured. I couldn't admit it was all just because of my impure thoughts.

"Y-yes, we should rest. Sorry for the inconvenience." Hora explained further. She's such a lifesaver.

And so, they all guided us towards our room in the east wing, which was beside Crystal's. Once inside, they laid me to bed and even had a doctor called in to check on me. Good thing he didn't mention anything bad and just said I needed some rest. Then, as he advised, everyone except Hora left the room so we could rest.

"Pft! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!" Hora laughed hard at me once everyone was gone. "Can you be anymore obvious?"

"Waaaaaa…" I cried. "I made Kaiden and Crystal worried on my first day here! I'm such a clutz and a troublemaker!"

"You should avoid staring at his abs in the future."

"W-was I that obvious?"

"I'm sorry bestie, but you know I don't lie so…"

"Oh noooooo… I'm doomed."

That night, I cried myself to sleep, feeling embarrassed of everything.