Under the Veil of Night

"What do you mean by living far away?" Alice tried her best to maintain her composure, yet it was incredibly clear that she was shaken.

Tommy scratched his head. "Well, her sister, Laura, received a half-tuition scholarship for a famous middle school in another country. For the past two years, she's been living overseas and only occasionally comes back."

"Yes, Laura is incredibly smart like her sister. However, the tuition for the school overseas is incredibly expensive, so Kanae has to work to support her sister," Misae continued.

As someone who has been by Kanae's side for quite some time, Misae knew much more than Alice. Misae met Laura a few times in the past when Laura returned to the city. She didn't know the full story about Laura, but she knew that Kanae has been working hard mainly for that girl.

It was quite enviable that Laura had someone who cared so much about her. Nevertheless, she knew that these two only had each other as a family because the Nali Family treated them as outsiders.

Alice nodded her head. "So that's why Kanae never thinks that her income is enough."

Tommy smiled wryly internally. Their income lately was already far more than enough. The Souhon Clan was quite generous in giving them their share. In addition, the profit from selling the information about the secret weapon was enormous. There were a lot of organizations who secretly hated the two families.

Of course, he would never say this out loud.

"The Nali Family never gives them their share," Misae scoffed. "I talked about this with my mother before, but she says that the internal dispute in the Nali Family is too big for her to handle. There's nothing she can do to help unless they can prove that they're the legal inheritors of the property."

Misae's mother, Clara, was a lawyer. Although Clara didn't divulge her clients' matters to Misae, she still told her the gist of the problem with Kanae's inheritance. After all, the two of them were close friends.

"She has an inheritance?" Alice's eyes widened.

Misae nodded her head. She smiled sadly. "Why do you think she calls the head of the Nali Family 'uncle'? Unless she has a close blood relation to him, there is no way she can nor does she want to call him that way."

It made sense. Given how Kanae was treated coldly by the family and how indifferent Kanae was towards the matter of the Nali Family, there was no doubt that Kanae and the Nali Family were enemies. In spite of all that, Kanae still called Frank as an uncle, which clearly showed that she has a close relationship with him. Even if it was only by blood.

Alice looked towards Misae with a confused expression. "How do you know so much?"

"My father and mother will not let me befriend those without clear backgrounds," Misae grunted. Although she said that, Kanae has also consulted Clara about her matter. This was the reason why Clara knew so much about Kanae. After all, her parents were not that free to dig too deep into people's background just because they stayed in the same classroom as their daughter.

"Why did you never tell me about it before?" Alice pouted.

"I didn't think that you wanted to know about it. Besides, the matter of the four big families can't be said lightly."

Alice: "…" it was a secret and you still divulged it just like that?

Tommy shook his head lightly. Kanae's background was always a sore point that Kanae hated to talk about. Even he himself didn't know the full story and only knew a part of it. Some of the pieces even came from the other guys in Fiore Group as Kanae only shared bit by bit.

"Let's go back. I need to practice."

"I'll accompany you."

As these two walked away, Misae glanced at Laura again. This time, Kanae had arrived and scolded those boys. Her eyes held a complicated gaze as she wanted to help her friend so much, yet she couldn't do anything.

On the field, the boys were looking at Laura with curious gazes.

Laura was only a Junior High School student, but she had a breathtaking appearance. Unlike Kanae, her hair was long and straight. She did wear glasses, but she rarely used them and preferred contact lenses. Her height was similar to Kanae's, but she gave off an alluring feeling.

Well, that was only when she didn't talk.

"Scram! Don't touch me!" Laura yelled angrily.

The guys were stunned to hear her get angry so quickly. They had imagined her as the shy type of girl because of her gentle appearance. Who would have thought that their dreams would be shattered in an instant?

"She's quite feisty."

"Come on little girl, let's have some fun."

Laura's beautiful face cringed in disgust. After living in a proper country for a while, she had completely forgotten how lawless this place was. Today, she was reminded once again how much of a scoundrel the people here were.

"I'm waiting for my sister!"

"There's no need to wait for her. She's probably busy and doesn't have any time for you."

"Yes! Why don't you just play with us big brothers here?"

Hearing them coax her like she was a kid, Laura's blood boiled in anger. She did not like being treated like a kid again. She was already 15 for Heaven's sake! That was not a kid's age anymore.

"If you boys want to get grounded right after the exams are over, I'll gladly tell the principal about it."

When the boys heard this cold voice filled with murderous intent, their backs shivered in fear. The voice seemed to come from the depths of hell, devoid of any warmth. The pitch indicated that the one who spoke was a woman, but they didn't know any woman who could be this scary.

"Who are you–?" One of the boys wanted to retaliate. But when he turned around and saw Kanae, he shut his mouth for good. Kanae was the current Student Council Vice President. In addition, they heard that she was summoned into the principal's office and rewarded as the best student in the first year. No one wanted to offend someone like this.

"This... we're just fooling around."

"Yes, yes, we weren't creating any problems."

The arrogant boys turned timid all of sudden. They didn't dare to offend Kanae no matter how much courage they had.

Kanae flicked a glance. "I don't care if you want to fool around, but not here and not with my sister, understand?"

When they heard the word 'sister', their mouth opened wide. These two were sisters? They didn't look alike at all! However, no one dared to speak out those words as they tried to stay calm. If they dared to say anything at this point, they doubted that Kanae was going to let them off.

In truth, Kanae and Laura looked alike. They could even pretend to be one another if they dressed in the other's clothes as their facial features were almost like those of twins. However, their 180-degree difference in fashion sense made it easy for people to differentiate them.

"The exams are over, and there's only the school trip left," Kanae continued. "If you want your name to be blacklisted from the events, I'll gladly report to the principal."

Hiss…. This woman was really ruthless. They barely did anything to her sister and Kanae already threatened them so.

"We won't do it again."

"We're sorry."

"Yes, this is just a misunderstanding."

Seeing that the boys already apologized, Kanae was not in the mood to entertain them any longer. She hadn't seen her sister in a long time, so she wanted to talk to the girl.

Her eyes gleamed. "Scram."

"Yes!"

In a matter of seconds, they bolted away. From the way they ran, one might suspect that they were being chased by a horde of illusionary beasts. The other students just shook their heads in amusement when they saw how these people ran.

Kanae turned her head towards Laura, but her expression didn't change. "Why didn't you tell me that you came back? Do you want me to hear news of your death the moment you return?"

Towards the scolding Kanae gave her, Laura lowered her head sheepishly. She thought that she was already enough of an adult to travel here back by herself, but it seemed that she made her sister worried instead. Even though she managed to ride the plane and taxi here safely, she encountered a group of scoundrels in the end.

"I wanted to give you a surprise."

"I'll prefer you to give me a different surprise. Your fighting ability is not up to par in this city," Kanae rubbed her forehead. After yelling, she felt slightly calmer. Those boys became the black sheep, though, as they were just asking to be the targets by ganging up on her sister.

"I know, I'm sorry Sis," Laura pleaded pitifully.

Her sister's fawning attitude was Kanae's biggest weaknesses. Towards this playful sister of hers, Kanae could only sigh.

"Let's go back. Don't go too far from me."

"Yes."