Under The Veil of Night

Alice didn’t mind being used like this as she knew her place. At least, Tommy was around and accompanied her when they visited Kanae, so she has something to do.

By the time they returned, Kevin could see that the other members were busy preparing things for the hidden clans’ battle tomorrow. The so-called battle was nothing but a competition against each other for the resources that they would get. The resources and distribution of territory have to correspondence with their ability, thus the method of competition was born.

"You can rest first," Kevin said to Alice.

Alice nodded. "Take care of yourself, Kevin."

Without waiting for more words, Kevin strode towards his room. He still has some works to do, so he would not waste his time doing nothing like that.

"Miss, we have to return," Tommy reminded politely.

Alice smiled. "Tom, didn’t I tell you to talk casually with me."

"I’m afraid it’ll be impossible right now," Tommy moved his gaze to the side. From the other side of the headquarters, a group of people led by a young lady was coming. From their direction, it was not hard to guess that they were coming for Alice.

He did promise Alice that he would talk casually, but it only applied when they were alone. When there were a lot of people around, it would be impossible for them to act normally. They had to stay as master and servant.

Seeing them, Alice’s eyes narrowed in displeasure. She wanted to have some time to spend with Tommy and not dealt with Celine again. Even though the two of them often clashed because of her position, she usually avoided meeting the other party unless it was necessary.

Unfortunately, there was no way out this time.

Celine, the other hidden clan head’s daughter, walked towards Alice angrily. She heard from her men that Kevin took Alice to somewhere not long ago. This made her felt incredibly jealous. Because of her position, she couldn’t force Kevin to bring her along if he didn’t agree, so she waited until Alice came back.

"Do you have fun?" Celine asked.

Alice frowned upon hearing the question right away. There was no greeting, no polite gesture, only direct attack. It was making her felt incredibly annoyed that she wished to know whether this young lady knew manner or not.

"Thank you for your concern. I’m having fun, Miss Celine."

Celine scowled. "What did you do in the way? Are you bothering him again?"

"Watch what you say, Miss Celine. I believe the one bothering him is not me, but you," Alice smiled politely.

Celine harrumphed in indignation. She put her arm on her hips as she glared back at Alice. "Tomorrow is the day of competition between hidden clans. Your clan is not the strongest one, and I believe that I can defeat you."

Alice’s eyes narrowed when she heard about the hidden clans’ competition. Her father had warned her over and over that she was not a match for any of the member. After all, her martial art capability was extremely limited to the point that it was very poor.

However, it didn’t mean that she didn’t have any chance. She has other capabilities that she excelled on.

"You want to challenge me, Miss Celine?"

"Are you afraid?"

"Not at all," Alice answered strongly. She knew that Celine still could fight very well. Despite the fear this lass had for blood, her skill in fighting was one of the best in her hidden clan.

Celine smirked. "If I win, you have to give up on your seat as the fiancée of Ryukalin Clan Head."

Alice frowned. She had expected that this was the goal of Celine. Unfortunately, she could not give up this seat to anyone until the time was up.

"I’m not the one in charge for this seat. Even if I want to, I can’t back down without the other party’s consent."

"What? Don’t tell me that you’re afraid?" Celine taunted. "The future wife of Ryukalin Clan Head is afraid of little challenge."

Alice stayed quiet and crossed her arm, standing firmly in front of Celine. Her gesture was clear, she was not afraid of what the other party said. She knew that trying to reason with Celine was the same as looking for her doom because she was not proficient in talking. The only thing that she could do was showing her displeasure of Celine’s attitude.

"Why don’t you answer?" Celine pushed forward once again.

This time, Tommy was getting impatient with Celine’s attitude. This woman would challenge Alice every single time they met. As the one who stayed by Alice’s side most of the time, he was rather frustrated because his position couldn’t help her. Right now, he didn’t care about it anymore.

"Miss, pardon my intrusion. It’s already the time for meeting with your father," Tommy said calmly. Actually, there was still some time, but he purposely said that it was already the time.

Alice glanced up nonchalantly. "Thank you for your reminder."

"Hey! You’re not thinking of running away from the challenge, are you?" Celine raised her voice.

Alice crossed her arm. "If you want to come at me, I’ll welcome you anytime, Miss Celine. But let me warn you something, don’t try to make a bet that’s outside your range of authority. Crossing the line will only make you suffer."

"What? Just tell me that you’re afraid of losing your position! No one will blame such a petty princess who had never hold sword before," Celine smirked. The biggest weakness of Alice was the fact that she couldn’t do martial arts, so she always used that par to taunt the girl.

Alice took out her necklace. "This necklace is made of gold, Miss Celine. If I lose, I shall give this to you."

"A mere gold can’t compare with your position," Celine sneered.

"Oh? What if you’re the one on the losing end? Do you think I’ll covet your low position?" Alice arched her eyebrows as she looked towards Celine with contempt. The past few weeks have tempered her attitude so much that she already got used with this.

Celine was stunned. She didn’t think this thorough as what Alice said was rather true. She didn’t have anything of equal value to bet against Alice’s position as the future clan head’s wife. Even if she bet her position as the princess, it wouldn’t have much worth.

Seeing that Celine was troubled, Alice crossed her arm. "This necklace will do, and you should prepare an item of equal value. As the princess of a big hidden clan, I’m sure you’re not lacking in gold."

Without waiting for answer, Alice walked away. Tommy was following behind her loyally. On their back, Celine’s face was ugly. Their exchange this time didn’t go according to her plan again. This made her felt frustrated terribly.

"Miss, are you alright?" Tommy asked.

Alice nodded her head. "I’m fine, Tom. This is nothing much."

"I understand."

"Thank you for standing up for me."

Tommy smiled. "It’s my duty, Miss."

Alice smiled back as she walked to her quarter. At the very least, her days have been very fun here.