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An awkward silence followed the elder’s statement as Noelle just stared back at their group blankly, looking neither embarrassed nor apologetic.
Had it been any other ‘junior’ from their clan, they would have definitely been crying and begging on their knees to be forgiven by now, and the elders would have still been unforgiving, but Noelle wasn’t someone who could be measured with the same stick.
After all, she was the ray of hope who might be able to lead them out of the dark quagmire their clan was currently trapped in, and that alone gave her the right to do as she pleased so long as it didn’t cross their bottom line. Not to mention, if they really pissed her off, there was no telling how Emilia would react.
Compared to jumping off a cliff that they couldn’t even see the bottom of, wasn’t it better to simply continue riding this ship peacefully, even if it was a bit wobbly and unstable?
The elders shared helpless smiles with each other before urging the grand elder again, and the old man sighed. “I know you haven’t been raised here and may not feel too deep a connection with the clan, but as you are a Nightingale still.”
Noelle frowned. “So what are you trying to say, exactly?”
Her tone wasn’t too abrasive, but it couldn’t be considered polite either. Had it been just a couple of years ago, the grand elder would surely have been left fuming when faced with such insolence.
But now…
The grand elder smiled. “I might not have believed it at first, but now I know your talent is good enough to call it the best in the clan’s history. If we can’t entrust even you with the clan’s future… aren’t we already doomed?”
They might have only realized how true this was after being faced with almost unavoidable doom, whether it was at the hands of their country’s government or someone else.
“All we want is for you to not be too… overt, with your behavior. Especially about… this girl. You can keep her here, certainly. We don’t have the right to stop you, and neither will we try. However, if you were really serious about taking her your… uh, wife… can’t you put it off until we’re done tiding over this crisis?”
Of course, the ‘crazy’ masked girl on Noelle’s lap wasn’t someone born with common sense anyway, as far as they were concerned. They treated her just as they would a toddler with occasional destructive tendencies. Definitely someone who shouldn’t be left on her own, but not someone whose words and actions were to be taken particularly seriously.
The elders thought they were already being magnanimous enough, and Noelle would definitely be willing to compromise if they went this far.
After all, if she wanted to retain Emilia’s favor, exposing this kind of behavior wasn’t something she would want to be exposed anyway. Wasn’t it a win-win if they kept all this behind closed doors, then?
As for things like bloodline and all… Noelle was still young, and she was at the age where she could be easily fascinated and carried away by her whims. Anyway, they could always bring up such issues a few years later if they felt the need.
Unfortunately, they failed to realize that their ‘good advice’ would only piss Noelle off. “Since you’re smart enough to realize that you’re facing a crisis… why don’t you think about it a little bit more before barking about how I should handle my personal relationships when they’re of no concern to you?”
She sneered at their dumbfounded reaction. “Oh, don’t be so shocked. Just because I have been polite, did you really start thinking I treat you as my actual elders? Should I remind you again what my fists taste like?”
It was one thing for them to keep their relationship to themselves, but another thing entirely when someone else told her it was something that had to be kept behind closed doors.
After all, keeping things private and being ashamed of something were two very, very different concepts, as far as she was concerned.
Of course, the somber and gloomy atmosphere was completely ruined when Emilia grabbed Noelle’s right palm and gave it a kiss.
Not to mention the elders, even the gray-haired girl herself was perplexed. “…?”
The masked girl grinned. “Since they’ve already tasted it, I got a little jealous.”
Of course, Noelle knew that Emilia must have done it intentionally to embarrass them, but the old men obviously had no idea. Facing this kind of scene twice in one day, they were once again hit in their fragile, lonely souls, and hurriedly left while coughing awkwardly.
The grand elder, being the leader of the pack, was the first one to shoot out the door, and the rest of them quickly followed.
It was only once they were back in the clan’s council room that some of them breathed out in relief. “Well, that could have gone worse.”
“Should have taken my advice not to try it. All geniuses have their own strange tendencies, and it’s only their just right. Can’t we just ignore that?”
“Well… looking back on it… makes sense?”
“Of course it does!”
The grand elder coughed. “Now now, there’s no need to fight. Since that girl cannot be convinced… how do you propose we deal with any discontent from others later?”
The rest of them stared at each other in silence for a while before one elder hesitantly stepped forward.
“H-How about we just tell everyone that the masked girl was actually just a really girly boy?”
“Will that really work?”
“People will believe it if the grand elders said so.”
Unexpectedly, however, the usually calm grand elder immediately exploded. “No no, no way. I’m not doing it. Did you see how tight that suit was? No one will believe it if you told them it was a boy! Do you want to ruin my reputation, is that it?!”
Some of them couldn’t help but do a double take, wondering just where the grand elder had been focusing during the fight, but of course no one dared to ask that question out loud.
“C-Calm down, grand elder, y-you know I didn’t mean that!”
The old man raised a brow doubtfully. “Oh really?”
Although he was also old, this particular elder was the ‘youngest’ in their group, so naturally, he believed himself to be the most ‘modern’ and open-minded. “Y-Yeah, I-I mean, wouldn’t a boy be able to look like that with some, uh, modifications?”
The grand elder stared at him as if looking at an idiot. “… What kind of dumb shi—! You know what? I’ll humor you. Suppose I tell everyone that the masked girl was actually a boy with a micropenis tugged in and just happens to have those perfect girly curves… what then? Do you think people will be happy to know that our greatest genius and future clan leader is going to marry such a man?”
Even if there were unlikely to be men clamoring to go challenge that kind of crazy lunatic upfront, wouldn’t it be an equally bad disaster if they developed strange ‘curiosities’ because of such a lie?
That was definitely not the direction the grand elder envisioned his Nightingale clan to take in the future!
Unaware of his rapidly deteriorating image in the old man’s eyes, however, the ‘modern’ elder rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. “T-There’s nothing wrong with girly boys, though, is there?”
“There’s definitely something wrong with your head!”
Unfortunately, with their ‘debate’ going in a completely absurd direction, the elders completely forgot about certain very important concerns that they had just moments before.𝑜𝓋𝗅xt.𝗇𝓔t
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With the elders not being able to curb the rumors because of their own internal conflicts, the news of their clan’s ‘hidden genius’ getting together with a girl soon spread like wildfire within the Nightingale clan, and it didn’t take long before it became a widely debated topic amongst the less privileged and the elite members of the clan alike.
Of course, there were many who personally didn’t care or even supported the idea of marrying or getting together with whoever one liked, but the problem was that the elders had never overlooked such blatant disregard for their rules before.
The obvious ‘favoritism’ and partiality of treatment apparently didn’t sit well with many, and combined with those who were seemingly just against the thought of Noelle marrying a girl, their voices were no longer small enough to be simply ignored.
But it didn’t take them long to realize that the louder they raised such questions, the greater the recoil.
Disregarding all the bells and whistles, respecting strength was the Nightingale clan’s deepest core principle, and with Noelle’s public performance still fresh in everyone’s mind, there were already many who fanatically supported her simply because they admired her talent.
Those elites who hadn’t been present to see it all for themselves were obviously unresigned, however, and some even questioned the authenticity of her strength.
“So she managed to defeat an outsider who was stronger than much of the rabble here, so what? I can do the same!”
“Who are you calling rabble?!”
“Is beating up a bunch of losers supposed to be a great achievement?”
“Losers?!”
Unfortunately, the people who issued such statements found themselves hospitalized shortly after, but that only made those who were discontent more furious.
“If she wants revenge, can she not at least show up herself?”
“Sending a whole bunch of idiots to gang up on good people… is she really deserving of the trust that the elders put in her?!”
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