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Unfortunately for the grand elder, life often proved people wrong, especially when they were already down on their luck.

When Noelle arrived in their clan compound, not only did she reject the idea of slowly integrating herself with the clan before being introduced as a 'hidden, secret genius' they'd hidden from the world, but she also insisted on meeting almost all the influential figures of the clan in a meeting right away!

Even if many of them were aware of the suppression that their clan was facing from the government at the moment, there was still no way most would take to Noelle's position in their clan kindly.

After all, even if she had the Nightingale clan's blood in her, the gray-haired girl was neither raised here, nor did she learn their clan's fighting style and culture.

It showed not only her apathy for their clan and her family, but also her unwillingness to work hard and learn! It might be possible to find a few lazy people within their clan if someone really looked for it carefully, but it definitely wasn't possible to find someone who didn't look down on others for being lazy or unmotivated.

Of course, Noelle didn't seem to care about such things at all.

The gray-haired girl rudely ignored the dissatisfaction of the elders as she sneered. "Get to it immediately, unless you want me to drag them here myself, one by one."

She didn't need to mention that both the process and its consequences would be less than desirable for those being called, and the elders were smart enough to realize when to stop beating a dead horse.

When the elders had all left to gather the other members of the clan, the crimson-haired girl next to Noelle grinned. "Do you need any ideas?"

Of course, because she was back in the form of 'little Emi' so as not to steal her girlfriend's thunder while the girl was exacting her revenge, none of the elders paid much attention to her 'meager' existence.

Noelle could only sigh in exasperation. "Little boss, do you really have nothing better to do than watch me try to bully these stubborn fools?"

Although she'll admit that it felt good to have 'revenge', the gray-haired girl remained staunch in her belief that these people simply weren't much of her time or thought.

Emilia giggled. "I just want to make sure you don't get bullied."

The gray-haired girl snorted. "As if that would happen. Watch, I'll make them cry in regret once I'm through with them!"

It didn't take long for the elders to gather all the 'important' people of their clan, including the previous clan leader, the family heads of the strongest side branches, and most of their fiercest fighters.

Combined with the heads of all their 'noble' families, the meeting hall was almost packed with over eighty people.

With such a line-up, even Noelle knew that she wouldn't be able to put up much of a fight against them no matter how hard she tried.

After all, even if they were no longer in their best form, the elders she'd previously fought were also there, and she would definitely lose within seconds if they really attacked her.

But with Emilia by her side, her heart was calm as a frozen lake, and she even felt a faint smile form on her face as she saw several 'familiar' faces in the crowd.

Naturally, she hadn't really met them before. But it was impossible for her to never have looked into what her 'parents' looked like. It might have been a long time ago, but their faces were pretty much still the same, so it wasn't hard to recognize them.

'I guess time has been kind to them, huh?' Noelle thought sarcastically. 'Heh, I wonder if they'll still be able to enjoy life so much after tonight?'

The current 'clan leader' was obviously also present, though from his pale expression and trembling lips, it was easy to see that he expected his position to be lost this day.

'T-This is all because of those two idiots! If only they hadn't ruined my image in front of the elders…!' The clan leader cursed. 'Had I known this was gonna happen, I would have skinned those idiots alive the moment I got my hands on them!'

Of course, no matter how he complained, there was no medicine for regret. The bastard who caused everything around him to come tumbling down was now nowhere to be found, and Mr. Black had yet to regain consciousness in the hospital.

'At least I ruined that moron's face.' The clan leader thought maliciously. 'Even if he wakes up, I'll just say that it had to be done to make sure his identity isn't discovered by the Gray Wolfe.'

Naturally, he had no need to fear his lies being seen through by the man. After all, even if he managed to recover physically, all Mr. Black was good for were his old connections to certain rich and powerful individuals around the world.

To people like the leaders of the White Deer and the Gray Wolfe, such things might be insignificant', but for those like him, it was simply an unimaginable treasure trove!

Of course, making full use of such connections required not only for Mr. Black to wake up soon, but also for him to not lose the position of the clan leader before the time was right. After all, what was he going to use all those connections for if he didn't even have the ability and strength to make use of the benefits they brought?

'Please, please let this meeting me about anything except my dismissal, please!' He prayed.

And fortunately for him, his prayers were answered, though not in a way he expected.

Under the eagle-like gaze of a certain gray-haired girl, the grand elder coughed. "It is good to see everyone in good health. All of us elders have weighed our present situation carefully, and it's clear now that we need to change a few things going forward."

It had to be said that even if the Nightingale clan hadn't been doing well recently, the prestige of the elders was still deeply ingrained in the hearts of all the clansmen, and this was doubly so for the grand elder.

The old man had wanted to take the opportunity to 'introduce' Noelle as their secret genius so the situation wouldn't be so embarrassing later, and he was even ready to claim she was his missing granddaughter, but the girl's sharp stare let him know that if he dared to slip up, she would definitely not let it slide.

Perhaps it was the grand elder's panicked state, or maybe it was his over-inflated sense of self, but either way, he failed to realize that Noelle wasn't paying attention to him at all, but someone else entirely.

Begrudgingly, he tried his best to soften the blow to everyone's heart anyway. "T-There will be many major changes for a while, so everyone, you must remain strong and bear with it!"

Saying so, he quickly nodded toward Noelle before sitting down, not even daring to look in the girl's direction.

For those who didn't know the whole story, however, it only looked like an elder instructing a junior to give the rest of the speech on his behalf, and no one found it weird when Noelle started speaking.

That is, until they heard the words from her mouth.

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