Hours passed as the two of them stayed in the room, talking about random things. The two of them pushed the matter of their own work to the back of their head as they didn't want to think about anything. Their talk was disrupted when the door was opened slowly.

Patrick was looking towards them with a grin on his face.

"Brat, you're late for the practice today.

"

Kevin looked towards his uncle with a dark face. He was enjoying his time talking with Kanae in this room, why should this annoying uncle of his disrupted his time? However, he did recall that he had a training session with his uncle.

"I'll spar with you twice tomorrow,

" Kevin immediately promised.

Patrick's eyes sparked.

"You better not forget about that, little brat. Now, introduce me to your girlfriend.

"

Kanae was trying hard not to show her weird expression out. She obviously already knew Patrick because of their meeting before as Rei. However, she couldn't possibly tell that to Kevin right now. Forcing a smile out on her face, she greeted the man.

"Hello, I'm Kanae, Kevin's previous secretary.

"

Patrick glanced towards Kevin and Kanae alternately. He rubbed his chin.

"Are you sure you're not dating?

"

Hearing her senior brother's words, Kanae's lips twitched. Did he truly say that straight to their face?

Wait, if he said it like that, could it be he had realized their kind of weird relationship? She didn't know what to call their current relationship right now because neither one of them dared to move more than a friend with one another. Neither side was ready to face the consequences that would befall everyone around them.

Too many things were at the stake.

Kevin glared towards his uncle.

"Uncle, if you don't have anything better to do, I'm sure that the west area needs someone to take care off. They'll be happy to have someone as skilled as you to lead.

"

Patrick's lips twitched a bit as he recalled the west area. It was the new area that they got because of the previous clan battle. He never had any interest towards that area because there was barely anyone strong around that he could bother. If he was staying in that area, it would mean that he didn't have anyone whom he could bother at all.

"You're really ruthless. I'm just joking. You already have a fiancée too.

"

Kevin's gaze turned rather cold when his uncle mentioned about his fiancée. While it was true that he became Alice's fiancé, it was all a deal on both side that they agreed for a limited time. He never wanted Kanae found out about that because it would only make her aware of the impossibility of their relationship.

Kanae showed a pained smile. She already knew about that from a long time ago. She was the one who protected Alice when she was in danger before. Not only that, she was present when Alice and Kevin stayed together during the journey. All of them, she had seen it.

Patrick coughed when he realized the tense atmosphere.

"Just forget what I say. Kevin, the elders are looking for you. Neo has been stalling time, but I don't think that you can push it back too long.

"

Kevin nodded his head. He looked towards Kanae as he showed an apologetic smile.

"Sorry about my uncle. Let's talk again sometime later.

"

"Okay, take care of yourself, Kevin.

"

Kevin stood up and walked out of the room. His expression turned proper and cold just like his usual days. There was no trace of gentleness that he showed to Kanae just now. His eyes were still looking towards his uncle with resentment because of his words before. If possible, he truly wanted to not let Kanae knew about the matter of his fiancée at all.

"Do you have fun together, Kanae?

" Patrick asked when Kevin already got out from the room.

Kanae nodded her head.

"I just hope he's not too busy.

"

"You can help him out if you become part of a clan,

" Patrick suggested with sparkling eyes.

Kanae rolled her eyes. She knew that this senior of hers just wanted to make her join Ryukalin Clan. Unfortunately, she was unable to join the clan as she didn't want to tie herself up with the underworld.

"I'll be going now, Senior Pat.

"

Patrick pondered for a moment.

"You know that you have the chance to contend for the fiancée's seat if you join the clan, right?

"

Kanae's eyes shook for a moment. Did she know? Of course she knew about that. Only those who belonged to the clan could contend for the fiancée's seat. However, it would take her a long time to have the same status as Alice or Celine because she was not part of the direct lineage in the clan.

"I know.

"

"Then why?

"

"I can't,

" Kanae answered in a low voice.

"I can't, Senior Pat. Please don't tempt me to break my promise.

"

Patrick sighed and nodded his head. Since it was her decision, he would not force her to do anything further. What matter the most was what she wanted to do and had to do. He couldn't possibly intervene in her life too much no matter how much he wanted it.

'You two are really picking the hard choice.'

…

Ryukalin Clan

Alice was staying in her courtyard when she heard about Kevin's arrival back from his trip. She didn't always accompany him because it was only for the appearance purpose did she come along. Most importantly, she came along when Celine came too because Kevin needed someone to distract that woman.

"Welcome back, Kevin,

" Alice greeted when she saw Kevin.

Kevin nodded his head.

"I'm back. Is your father inside?

"

"He's indeed coming today to talk about some matters,

" Alice pointed to the nearby room.

"Do you need me to accompany you?

"

Kevin's gaze landed on the nearby Tommy. He shook his head lightly.

"There's no need for that. I can talk to him by myself. It's just a matter of the clan.

"

"Alright, I understand.

"

Kevin and Neo walked into the inner place while Alice stayed in the living room. She beckoned for Tommy to follow after her to her room. Staying in the living room was only for the sake of appearance too. She had to be seen as someone caring if they didn't want Celine to nitpick on them.

"It's really tiring,

" Alice sighed as she leaned on her sofa. She looked towards Tommy's weird expression.

"Is there something on your mind, Tommy?

"

Tommy nodded his head.

"Yes. I just have the feeling that Kev– I mean Boss knows about your special treatment to me.

"

The special treatment that he meant was Alice forcing him to follow her everywhere, excluding bathroom of course. Whenever she had to go, she would ask for Tommy while the other bodyguards could stay far away as she didn't want them to bother her.

Alice's mind blanked for a moment. Her thought drifted back to the time when they were still in high school not long ago. It was pretty obvious from her movement that she liked to stay near Tommy more than staying with Kevin. Not that she didn't like him, but she was more comfortable with Tommy.

"I'm sure that he knows.

"

"If he knows, why he allows me to stay close with you?

" Tommy looked towards Alice strangely.

When she heard his question, she finally understood why Neo placed Tommy near her. It was all they could to compensate her for making her stood in the fake engagement with Kevin.

Looking towards Tommy's clueless face, she really wanted to tell him about the fake engagement. Unfortunately, it was impossible because there were a lot of people watching her. The experts that Kevin placed to watch over her in the secret would surely leak out the matter to the others if she spoke about it. Acting normal around Tommy was already the limit of what she was allowed to do right now.

"I'm not sure myself,

" Alice answered with a smile.

Tommy scratched his head. Did he think too much?

In front of him, Alice struggled with her inner self as she tried her best to not talk about the matter.. It was a forbidden subject for her to talk so freely.