Under the Veil of Night

Laura's Mansion

The news traveled fast as the elders came to Laura's mansion the next day. It didn't need a genius to guess that they were angry at her decision as it was painted clearly on their faces.

"You can't use the main family mansion that way!" one of the elders yelled. "It's the inheritance of the Nali Family!"

"The tradition of the family is always for the main family to stay in that mansion!" the second one chirped in.

Laura looked speechlessly out the window before her at the bunch of yelling elders. She had just woken up a few minutes ago from the ruckus they made in front of the mansion. Even before she fully woke up, the front her house was already crowded with elders shouting at her because of her decision yesterday.

"They're noisy," Kanae yawned as she walked to the end of the corridor where Laura stood. 

Laura nodded. "It's because of my decision from yesterday."

"Are you ready to convince them about your decision?" Kanae patted her sister's shoulder from the back.

"I am," Laura nodded with a wide smile plastered on her face. "It's now my turn to stand before them."

"If you ever need help, I'm always standing right behind you."

"Yes."

Taking a deep breath, Laura walked out of the mansion. The elders looked at her heatedly. They were angry because she decided that she would use the mansion as a hotel. No one aside from their family members should step into that place!

"Even if you're the family head, you're not allowed to use the place however you wish!"

"Don't act rashly!"

Laura looked towards the elders. "In what way am I rash? My decision to use the mansion as a hotel was done after thorough thinking on my part. The mansion belongs to the Nali Family and does not exclusively belong to one person. I don't have any interest in using the place for living in. Rather than letting it go to waste, it'll be better if I use it to earn more money."

The elder who first spoke up looked towards Laura indignantly. "It's a holy place for the Nali Family!"

"Holy place? Don't make me laugh," Laura glared at the elder sharply. "You say that it's a holy place, but how many branch members have come in under the pretext of meeting the family head?"

"They're just guests. The mansion is only for the Nali Family's core members to stay at."

"It's not a place that should be dirtied with those from outside the family."

"Let me ask you one thing," Laura raised her voice. "Do you all think that I'm part of the main family?"

Even though her mother was related to Sakura's mother because they were sisters, she was never part of the main family. Her father, the one with the Nali surname, was only part of the branch families. Even if they traced back up the family tree, she was never part of the real main family. Those people were already long gone by now without any descendants.

"You're now the main family," one of the elders spoke up. "After this, your family line will be the main family."

"If I'm the first one in the lineage, why can't I make a new rule for the Nali Family? Time has changed much and things are no longer the same as before. Having a big house was considered an honor in the past, but it's not the same anymore. It's only a sign of wealth as there is no longer a division between nobles and peasants.

Living in a large mansion will only make it difficult for me. The building is indeed grand and stately, but it's not suitable for me to live in. I'm not doing things rashly as I have a good reason for this. My current house here is already more than enough for me to live in."

The elders frowned upon hearing what Laura said. It was indeed true that the rule that the main family had to live in the largest mansion was created because they had to make sure that the main family upheld the honor of their name. In the past, having huge amounts of land was everything. Now, it only added more taxes and maintenance costs.

"What authority do you have to change the tradition of Nali Family?" the other elder spoke up. "We're elders that were chosen to make sure that all family members do things according to the rules, so you have to listen to us."

Laura rolled her eyes. "As the family head, don't I have the authority to change the rules? I'm sure that it exists in the family record."

The elders were not walking family records; who in the world would memorize it all? Of course, Laura did not memorize everything in it either, but she asked Kanae to help her search for loopholes. Because of that, she was all prepared to answer all of their bashing at her.

"Times have changed and so have the rules of the city. If the Nali Family wants to grow, we have to move on and no longer be tied up by unnecessary and burdening rules. Rather than letting our resources waste away, it'll be better to use the property to earn more money for the family."

The elders wanted to rebut her again, but before they spoke out, sounds of clapping rang out.

CLAP! CLAP! CLAP!

"Well said, young lady," said an elder who had previously kept quiet during the earlier chaos. He looked quite old, but his figure exuded the word 'authority.' The other elders immediately shut up the moment this man spoke up. "Can you really bring the Nali Family to the peak of our glory?"

"I don't know the future, but I'll surely do my best!" Laura answered with vigor.

The elder nodded. He turned around to face the others. "As elders, our job is to make sure that the family head's decision doesn't lead us down the wrong path. I'll support our new leader, but I hope that you will not disappoint us, young lady."

Laura nodded her head resolutely.

The other elders eyed each other and decided not to talk anymore. This one elder was the grand elder of the Nali Family. If not because he refused to take charge, he would surely be leading the group. His achievements and contributions to the family were something that even they looked up to.

"This is the second time he spoke up for a younger generation, right?" one of the elders whispered.

"Really? I don't remember the first time he spoke up for them. He hates the younger generation because of their naivety and idiocy."

The elder nodded his head. He could faintly remember that this grand elder spoke up for a youngster before. He didn't really remember the details because it was only one occasion, but it was a scene that left quite an impression because the grand elder spoke out.

"Show us that you're worthy of us letting you keep the place, and I won't force you to give it up to the family," another elder spoke up. "That's what he said to that youngster before."

"Who?"

"I don't know. I don't even remember that person. She's just from one of the branch families who stood up against Frank at that time. None of us wanted to get on Frank's bad side, so no one spoke up but him at the very end," the elder shrugged.

The elders looked towards each other. From what they knew, barely anyone dared to fight against Frank. However, they truly couldn't remember those few that did. After all, besides that person that the grand elder spoke up for, all of them ended up with miserable lives in a matter of weeks or even days, so they were not worth mentioning.

At this time, the grand elder had left the crowd. He reached his car and beckoned his driver to drive him back home.

The driver noticed the elder's pleased expression. "Sir, did something happen to make you very happy today?"

"Yes, I saw an interesting youngster today," the grand elder answered. He only tagged along because the other elders persuaded him, but upon seeing Laura, he could faintly remember the young little girl that he encountered a few years ago. They had the same determination and aura.

"That youngster is lucky to meet you."

"Not at all," the grand elder chuckled. "I'm just giving her a chance. Whether she can survive like her sister or not, it'll all depend on her own strength."

The driver was startled. "Her sister?"

The grand elder nodded. How could he not notice their similarities when they were placed right in front of him? They were basically a mirror image of each other. Their stubbornness were equally similar despite their different skill sets. He had helped the older sister a bit in the past and that young girl had managed to survive and win the bet.

Now, he wanted to know whether this young girl would be able to survive too and fulfill her words.