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Although he was hoping that his improvisation strategy would work, Noelle’s father naturally knew how unlikely it was to really succeed. After all, whether she died or not, just the fact that he attacked the eldest daughter of the main branch’s leader was enough to get him in plenty of trouble.
But while he was okay with being stopped by one of the elders to ‘explain himself’, and was even prepared to be restrained, Gildroy never expected that the one to stop him would be a powerless little girl.
“I’m really not in a mood to entertain little brats like you right now, so get out of my way before I lose it!”
Emilia only sneered at his threat as she pointed at the half-dead woman on the ground. “Given that she’s almost at the death’s door thanks to you, your words aren’t helping your case at all. Are you going to put me in the same position as her, or worse, just because I dared to speak up?”
Gildroy’s expression collapsed, but before he could refute her words, the crimson-haired girl was already clinging to his ‘daughter’ while pretending to be scared.
“Noelle, Noelle, is he going to hurt me?! So scary, ahh!”
Obviously, she knew it was an act, but Noelle couldn’t help but feel her heart soften upon hearing the trembling tone of her little boss.
With how confident and bold she usually was, it was rare to get this girl to show vulnerability like this.
The gray-haired girl smiled while patting Emilia’s head consolingly. “Don’t worry. Although the Nightingale clan values strength and skill, it does not harbor madmen who cannot even control their own body and mind.”
The look she gave to the elders was obvious, and they didn’t hesitate for long before coming to a decision.
“We will investigate this matter thoroughly, and Gildroy… don’t even think about getting out of your just punishment this time… regardless of your reasons.”
“Come with us.”
The man was obviously reluctant, but he knew that there was little choice. Now that so many elders were already here, there was no way he could finish taking his ex-wife’s life right in front of them, or even escape.
Since this was so, it was better to pretend to cooperate for now before looking for a way out later.
Noelle sneered as she watched him being taken away. ‘Does he think he can still get away? Heh.’
The gray-haired girl picked up her ‘mother’ by pinching the back of her collar before putting her down on the sofa, as if dealing with some dirty rag she didn’t want to touch her own body.
Emilia giggled. “Should we get her some treatment?”
Noelle shook her head in denial. “No need. She would be a disgrace to the Nightingale clan if she cannot even recover on her own after being beaten up by someone at her own level. Our clan doesn’t need such weaklings.”
Being just barely conscious enough to hear the words of her daughter, Narcissa almost had a stroke on the spot.
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After her so-called father was taken away by the elders, he was confined to a small, dark room where he would be questioned until they ‘figured the situation out’ before deciding on a ‘proper’ punishment.
Of course, Gildroy, who already believed that the elders were against him, would never sit there and wait for their decision. After all, even if he had good enough reasons, whatever decision the elders came to would definitely be nothing good for him or his family.
So the moment the elders left, he had already started cooking up a plan to escape. ‘The one to come question me is likely to be the grand elder. They only think I’m mad at Narcissa for spreading the rumors, so he definitely won’t be prepared if I strike at that time, right?’
If he could get a surprise shot in, Gildroy had no doubt that he would be able to at least knock the grand elder out for a while. At that time, he could just sneak out of the clan compound and take his family members away before they realized what was going on.
As the previous clan leader, he was still familiar with the paths and patrol routes of the clan’s enforcers, so with some luck, it shouldn’t be impossible for them to get out unnoticed.
What he never expected, however, was that the one who came to ‘interrogate’ him wasn’t the clan’s grand elder, but someone else.
“What the fuck are you doing here?!”
Noelle didn’t bother answering him as she took the chair on the other side while patting the one beside her for Emilia. “Mr. Gildroy, I don’t have much time, so I’ll be straight with you here—!”
She didn’t even get to finish her sentence before the man in front of her lunged forward, with a punch aiming straight for her temple.
Emilia screamed in ‘fright’. “Kyaa—! Scary!”
Noelle almost rolled her eyes at how deeply her girlfriend was immersed in her play, though she knew that if she didn’t block the attack in front of her in time, the crimson-haired girl might very well turn the poor man in front of her into a disgusting pancake the next second.
Fortunately, she had been prepared from the start, and easily blocked the man’s ‘surprise attack’, much to his shock.𝒩𝑜𝗏𝐥xt.𝗰𝓞𝕞
He’d thought that it would definitely be much easier to deal with this girl now that there was no one of his own level around, and maybe he could even kill two birds with one stone before making his escape.
But when she not only blocked his surprise attack on his own, but did so with apparent ease, he couldn’t help but be dumbfounded. ‘H-How can she be so strong?!’
He’d seen for himself just how fast she was before, so he thought that strength and resilience would definitely be her greatest shortcomings. After all, no one was perfect. Even the greatest fighters in their clan’s history had their own weaknesses.
But what he felt with his own body couldn’t be a lie… could it?
Before he could gather his courage to maybe try again, however, the girl in front of him flashed from her spot to stand behind him, her palm landing heavily on his shoulders.
“I suggest you sit down quietly and not scare my little girlfriend anymore, because I’m going to make you an offer you cannot refuse.”
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