Under the Veil of Night

The preparation for the gathering itself didn't take a long time. This time, they didn't dare to call more people to become the servant. After the previous time incident, in which some people managed to sneak in, they no longer used that method. Today's gathering would decide the clan head of Ryukalin Clan.

"Boss, it's already the time."

Kevin nodded his head. He quickly finished dressing up before walking towards the hall. The people from Ryukalin Clan immediately bowed down when they saw the young man. Even though Kevin was merely walking, they didn't dare to show any disrespect.

This was the actual rule for the clan, which was the greatest respect for their clan head. However, as times passed by, there were times when the leader was not someone whom they respected.

Right now, Kevin has already gained their respect from his continuous effort in many events.

Inside the hall, a lot of people have come. They were gathering leisurely and most of them fixed their posture the moment Kevin appeared. From this alone, it was clear that Kevin has gained more than enough supporters for himself.

"This brat is growing very quickly," Patrick commented with a frown. He wanted to see the brat struggle since he didn't manage to see it before. Unfortunately, the current Kevin no longer has any trouble with the hidden clan heads. His effort so far has started to bear fruit.

"It's great, isn't it?"

"Lass, if you don't want to get found out, I suggest you refrain from speaking," Patrick remarked.

Kanae nodded her head calmly. She only talked in a low tone, but if they came any closer to her, there was no doubt that her identity would get found out. It would be quite a hassle if this happened now.

"Let's find some seats," Patrick beckoned to the center of the room.

The two of them walked calmly. Nearing the center, they stumbled into Nico, Alice's father, who glared at them with annoyance.

"I want to know what your intention of bringing a young lady from outside to be the fiancée candidate is, Elder Patrick," Nico asked sharply. As the father, he was rather angry when he found out that Patrick suggested another young lady to be in the line. Moreover, it was clear that this young lady has far more promising potential compared with his daughter.

Patrick smirked. "Isn't it clear that I want to make sure that the next generation can be someone powerful? Besides, a young lady with excellent skill in fighting is quite rare."

"Are you saying that my daughter is not good enough?"

"I'm not saying that. I just think that it's going to be better for someone who has more power to be the fiancée."

Nico frowned. He glanced to the side where Kanae stood. From a glance, it was hard to say that she was very powerful as Kanae usually behaved well. He still remembered the scene from six months ago, when the young girl suddenly erupted in power and stood in front of the clan head.

From that scene alone, he had known that this young girl had more power than what she usually showed. If he wanted to compare his daughter in terms of martial ability with this lass, he would be better off back down or he would just humiliate himself.

"Is it a competition, Elder Patrick?" Nico asked sharply.

Patrick smirked. If Kevin knew the real identity of Rei, there was no way he would refuse this proposition. Unfortunately, it was not the time yet. She had to make sure everyone forgot about her relationship with the Nali Family first.

"You can say that, Hidden Clan Head Nico."

"I see," Nico moved from his place after giving Kanae another glance. Even he himself didn't have the confidence that he could defeat this young lady. It would be a tough decision if Kevin decided to choose this young lady.

After that, Patrick paid no heed to the stare of the people surrounding him. He sat down leisurely with Kanae beside him. From their disbelieving gaze, it was not hard to guess that they were startled because of Kanae's real gender. After all, the identity of Rei has always been extremely mysterious so far.

As Kevin walked to his seat, he noticed that Megara was also looking at Rei with great annoyance. It was clear that Megara was displeased because of Rei's appearance as Patrick's daughter.

'That annoying elder makes his move too fast.'

Megara had wanted to poach Rei to come to his side because he was astonished of her prowess. Who would have thought that Patrick would do it first? Not to mention, this elder managed to uncover that Rei's real gender was that of a woman.

If he had known about this, he would have sped up his plan. Unfortunately, he could only let go of that notion. It would be hard to approach Rei under Patrick's eyes.

"Now that we have gathered here, it's time to cast our vote once again," Lou, one of the elders, spoke up. The other elders started to distribute the paper once again.

Patrick picked up the paper. There was no difference with the previous one as there were only three options available:

1. Support

2. Disagree

3. Abstain

As the representative of the hidden clan, he knew that Master Rudy hated this thing. His usual answer was obviously (3). However, this time it would be vastly different because of Rei's appearance.

"Brat, you pick one," Patrick handed the paper to Kanae.

Kanae took the paper while the surrounding people looked at Patrick with disbelief. Even if they knew that this young girl had become Patrick's daughter, it was out of the question to hand something so important to the young generation's members.

"You can pick any number you want."

Kanae nodded her head. She picked one of them and handed it back to the elder not far from her. The elder would be the one to collect them all before handing it back to Lou.

 "It's time to count," Lou announced as he started to count. They were waiting for Lou to finish with anxiety. Several elders were standing by Lou's side, ensuring that this young man didn't cheat in the counting.

By the time it was finished, they were already impatient with the result. Lou turned his head to the people. "68% agree, 10% abstain, and 22% disagree."

When he heard the result, Kevin's hand instinctively balled up to make a fist. Finally, he managed to secure his position. Although this was only the beginning, but it meant a lot to him. Starting this point, no one would be able to take this position from him unless he died or he gave it out to someone else.

Among the crowd, Megara frowned. He had expected that the result would be very favorable to Kevin, but he didn't expect that it would increase this much in the matter of a few months.

'You're truly a worthy opponent, Kevin Kalin.'

His lips curled up into a sneer.. The real battle has just begun.