Barron didn't wait in Paris for the final outcome of the negotiations with the Lagardère Group. Instead
, he took Beatrice to Monaco. Many people confuse Monaco with Morocco. Morocco is located in North Africa, while Monaco is in Europe, right next to France. Surrounded on three sides by France, it borders the Mediterranean Sea to the south. This is why Monaco has close ties with France, having originally been a French principality before becoming independent.
Furthermore, the Monaco team has long participated in Ligue 1.
Monaco is a very small country. Before 2000, its land area was less than 1.7 square kilometers. Land reclamation later expanded its area to over 2 square kilometers—an area equivalent to a quarter of the Tiantongyuan residential complex in Yanjing.
Despite its small size, Monaco boasts the highest concentration of wealthy individuals in the world, thanks to its highly successful gaming, tourism, and banking industries.
The popularity of Monaco stems from its "zero tax" policy and prime location. Barron,
having finally had the opportunity to spend time with Beatrice, took advantage of it to take her on a vacation to Monaco.
As we all know, some of the world's most famous gambling destinations include Macau, Las Vegas, and Monaco.
In 1856, Prince Charles III of Monaco, seeking to address a financial crisis, opened his first casino on a promontory north of the old city. Since then, Monaco has steadily become one of Europe's wealthiest countries.
Monaco boasts a thriving gambling industry, with the most famous being the Casino del Sol. This Mediterranean-style building, costing $500 million, is hailed as the most beautiful casino in the world.
This time, Barron, Beatrice, and their group stayed at the nearby Hôtel de Paris.
"Wow, we won, darling,"
Beatrice exclaimed happily to Barron as the Russian roulette ball came to a stop, kissing him.
As the saying goes, small gambling is good for the soul, but big gambling is harmful. For Barron, there's no need to seek excitement in casinos. The thrill of participating in the financial markets and other larger realms far surpasses these.
He had brought Beatrice here simply for fun, and after exchanging €100,000 in chips, he didn't participate in any gambling himself, simply watching Beatrice have fun.
Perhaps it was her "rookie" instincts, but Beatrice had never played any of these games before. She didn't even know the rules for most of them, needing the waiter to explain them. She was just betting haphazardly, depending on her mood, yet she'd managed to win quite a bit...
Of course, this wasn't ruled out as some kind of manipulation by the casino itself. Then, just as Beatrice, under the illusion that she was "lucky," began to increase her chips, her hand quickly dwindled, eventually emptying out.
"Ah, no more..."
Beatrice pouted, looking rather disconsolate.
"So, places like this are just for fun, honey. Let's go back to the hotel and get something to eat."
She hadn't noticed in her excitement, but after hearing Barron's words, Beatrice immediately felt hungry. She obediently took Barron's hand and they left the casino.
It's said that many casinos have intricate designs to keep gamblers constantly excited, but Barron wasn't interested in exploring this.
"Beatrice?"
Just as the two of them reached the hotel entrance, a blond young man from the oncoming crowd called out Beatrice's name.
However, when he tried to approach, he was immediately blocked by the bodyguards surrounding Barron.
Beatrice's face didn't look too good when she saw him. She first glanced at Barron's expression, and seeing that he didn't react in any particular way, she felt slightly relieved.
"Honey, he's a classmate of mine."
"Is that so..." At Barron's signal, his bodyguards stepped aside slightly, allowing the blond young man to approach them.
"I didn't expect to see you here, Beatrice..."
A smile crossed his face, seemingly delighted to see Beatrice. However, upon noticing Barron beside her, he asked with a wary tone,
"Who is he?"
Oh? He didn't recognize him?
Barron was quite amused. In fact, his reaction had reminded him of his identity...
He must be the Prince of Monaco, Pierre, who had married Beatrice in Barron's previous life. Considering they were in Monaco, and the Hotel de Paris was the most exclusive hotel in the island, running into Pierre and his group wasn't likely, but it wasn't all that surprising.
"Hello, I'm Barron Cavendish."
"Barron Cavendish? Are you the Duke of Devonshire?!"
Pierre's surprised expression didn't seem fake; otherwise, his acting skills would have been worthy of an Oscar.
So, he hadn't recognized him before...
That was quite interesting.
"Beatrice, you..."
"We're friends, Pierre. If nothing else, we're going to dinner."
Anyone with a blind eye could tell that Beatrice and Barron weren't acting like ordinary "friends.
" Beatrice's attitude toward Pierre, even for someone they didn't know well, was anything but polite.
"Since we're in Monaco, as your host, could you give me a chance to invite you to dinner?"
"No, thank you. It's nice to meet you today, Pierre. We'll be on our way..."
Though she said that, Beatrice's face didn't betray a single trace of joy.
...
"That girl, the one you said you fell in love with at first sight at school?"
After Beatrice and Barron entered the hotel, the men and women who had left with Pierre approached him.
One of them, an older, handsome man with long hair, asked.
But seeing that Pierre was still looking in the direction Beatrice had left, silent and with a look of loss...
he said meaningfully:
"But it seems that girl doesn't have any interest in you. The man next to her is the Duke of Devonshire, right? He's already married... Interesting."
"Enough! André, put away your face..."
Pierre stopped his brother from continuing. He gritted his teeth and said:
"Nothing is final yet."