Later that night...
The butler proved to be quick in doing his job. By evening, he had managed to convince all groups in their branch faction to gather at Demin's residence.
In the mansion's compound, luxurious carriages arrived one after another.
Despite the abrupt nature of the eting, the attendance rate surprised Demin.
He hadn't anticipated such a high response, especially when he deliberately chose an unreasonable ti for the gathering.
Demin was acutely aware of how much pride each of these figures possessed.
If they receive an invitation, these people will nitpick every detail they can find to ensure their reputation is not being belittled in any way.
Accepting his invitation despite a narrow window of ti is like they're responding to Demin's summons.
It made them look like they were working for Demin and he had more authority and influence in the faction.
There's no way these people would accept that.
The branch faction was a delicate group, held together by the influence of three major groups. Without these three major players keeping each other in check, the branch faction would have splintered into fragnts long ti ago.
From his bedroom window, Demin observed the bustling scene in the mansion's compound below.
The influx of faction mbers had him pondering, "Do these people have so much ti to spare, or perhaps you said sothing to them?"
The butler shook his head, "I rely did as you instructed, master."
"I don't have a good feeling seeing them so obedient like this, especially those two. Hmm, I guess I will find out the reasons soon," he muttered to himself. Turning towards his butler, he asked, "Where's Darren?"
"Young Master Darren has gone to greet the guests and lead them to the eting location."
Demin nods, "At least he knows what to do. Let's go and join them."
The two made their way through the corridor to one of the rooms he chose to hold the eting.
As the butler pulled open the door, a multitude of individuals within the room entered Demin's sight.
Despite the nurous figures present, he only focuses on two specific people.
Demin entered the room nonchalantly, disregarding the fact that he was fashionably late for his own gathering.
"Demin! Do you think you so kind of bigshot to suddenly called us for this eting?" a young man of similar age to his son wastes no ti spitting out his dissatisfaction.
With a polite smile on Demin's face, he calmly replied, "And yet here you are, answering my call like an obedient servant. Why don't you drop the ambition of becoming the next duke and work for , Betho?"
Betho Klover, a nephew of Duke Percival Klover and Sarika's cousin, flipped out. "Why on earth should I do that?"
"Tsk, tsk, tsk," Demin clicked his tongue while shaking his head.
The young man was notoriously known for having a bad temper and a propensity to explode in anger at the slightest provocation. His fiery red hair fits his personality well.
It is no wonder why Betho had not been chosen as a commander to lead the army invading the south. His volatile nature could be a liability in military operations.
Despite lacking the temperant suited for leadership, Betho still harboured the idea of becoming the duke.
Demin couldn't help but question whether Betho was rely foolish or genuinely delusional, holding onto ambition that seed far beyond his capabilities.
"Oi! Answer , you rotten tongue!" Betho's sharp words cut across the room.
"Forget this angry monkey, Demin. Why are you calling us tonight? Do you know sleep deficiency could lead to many health problems? You should be more considerate toward your elder."
Demin, no longer interested in arguing with Betho, shifted his attention to the owner of the voice.
His eyes fell onto an elderly figure with white hair, a matching white beard and a moustache.
Unlike Betho whose temper raged like a fire, Johann Klover was the complete opposite.
He was like the calm surface of the lake that made people forget the danger lurking beneath it.
"I call all of you tonight because there's an important thing that we need to discuss—the matter of who is our candidate that will be the next duke. Without a candidate from our side, what's the point of us fighting the main family? Didn't we fight because Sarika is not good enough? Didn't we fight because we had a better option?"
Demin's voice resonated in the room causing everyone else to fall into silence.
Everybody looks at each other, trying to gauge reactions among them.
anwhile, Demin squinted his eyes while looking at the faces in front of him. They don't seem to be surprised by the topic, which ans they roughly had an idea about tonight's eting.
It appears the sa rumours Darren told him have also spread to their ears.
Betho was the first to break the silence, "What's there to think about? Didn't everyone agree to nominate ?"
Demin sneered by accident when he heard Betho's words, "Nice joke, Betho. When did we ever do that?"
"What the-! What's wrong with ?! I'm perfect for the job."
"My grandson would fit that position better than you, angry monkey," Johann interjected.
"That illegitimate grandson of yours?" Betho rebuked. "We're currently discussing a serious topic, old man. Don't make such a joke. Who here genuinely believes that bastard carries a Klover's blood in his veins?"
Betho posed the question to everyone in the room.
Sure enough, none of them dares to answer even though they share the sa doubts as Betho.
Betho continued, "A woman suddenly ca in front of our gate with an infant in her arm, claiming it belonged to Johann's dead son. Co on! She should at least make a more convincing story."
The Klover family put a heavy emphasis on bloodline transparency. They ticulously record details of each child to establish their lineage.
However, the matter of Johann's grandson remained unsolved since his son died and couldn't justify the woman's claim.
Despite that, the Klover family accepted the infant out of respect for Johann who strongly believed the baby was indeed his grandson.
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