"Presumptuous! How dare you trespass into this hall, don't you know your place? I am going to make an example out of you!"
When the convoy reached the outer gate of the ancestral hall, there were a lot of people gathered around, most of them assistants and guards. There seemed to be some kind of trouble.
An old man with a short white beard, wearing an elder's purple cape, was scolding a petite girl in a black dirty tight sneaking suit. She had dark black unkempt hair covering her face and seemed to be injured. She was shaking as she kept her face to the ground anticipating her grim fate, the family never forgives rule breakers.
Uncle Patrick stepped down from the car followed by the rest of the passengers, looking at the gathered crowds, he quickly signaled to one of the guards and asked him what was going on.
"Master, this girl is a trainee from the assassin's hall, she was caught by the guards after trying to sneak into the ancestral hall!" the bowing guard reported respectfully.
Looking at the girl, Victor clenched his fist. That was definitely the one! He remembered this incident from his past life and knew that the girl would be killed in a very gruesome way by his uncle because the delay she caused made him angry. Victor couldn't allow this to happen! This girl had a big secret and if he put his hands on her, she would bring him huge benefits in the future. He had to act fast though!
Suddenly stepping forward before his uncle could act, Victor, to the astonishment of his father and uncle, hurried and pulled the girl's hair back with his hand revealing a delicate face covered by blood and dirt. Her features were not really clear but her beauty was apparent… He liked her.
"I like you girl," Victor said in a perverted way to the astonished girl before turning to face his father, "Esteemed father, I wish for this girl to be my servant, as far as I know, every heir has the right to choose a servant or two before his ceremony, and I had yet to chose any, I would like to request that this girl would be my servant and attend to me before and during the ceremony!" he said while looking his father in the eye to show a pleading look. He knew that his father would agree.
The elder, who was startled and angered by this arrogant youth's interference, was about to blast him into very tiny pieces when he noticed the arrival of Theodore and Patrick, who had black lines all over their foreheads. He quickly realized Victor's identity. "It is that pervert heir!"
Everyone heard the rumors about Victor being a pervert, and this guy just proved the rumors true.
Theodore did not know what Victor was playing at, and he was angry with him for causing such a ruckus, but he had a face to keep, and his son's face was the same as his face, however, there will be punishment for Victor later. "If he lived anyway", he thought with some sorrow.
Theodore decided to consider this, Victor's final wish and fulfill it for him, so he looked at the elder and said after clearing his throat, "Elder Ross, Excuse our interference in your duties. This is my son Victor who has come to participate in the ceremony, and he seems to be interested in this girl."
Then he looked at the girl, "I just heard that you trespassed onto the ancestral ground. May I know the reason?" he asked her.
The elder did not like how Theodore is meddling in his job, but he can't be careless as Theodore held a very prestigious position in the family, while he was just a management elder from a branch family. Looking harshly at the girl he rebuked "Answer **tch! Why were you trespassing on the sacred ancestral grounds?".
The girl shook while biting her little lip, then answered in a crystal voice, "Master elder, I..., I wanted to volunteer to be one of the servants attending for the young masters and try to attend the ceremony…"
While having a bloodline is important, some people have other talents and can pass the ceremony without it. But their chance is slim, from every 10 servants only one usually survives, the survivors who can awaken are usually those who have great talent and a huge amount of luck, and usually, only those servants who were forced by their masters or have a lot of courage attend the ceremony. If they can become players, they would no longer be treated badly, on the contrary, their standing would be better than a lot of the family's disciples. Theodore's butler George was such an example, he was Theodore's servant during the ceremony and he benefited greatly.
The elder locked his eyebrows "There was an announcement for participation requests two weeks ago, and now that deadline had already passed. You should have been nominated by your hall master, it is not up to you!" he said with annoyance.
The girl kept biting her lip "My hall master chose not to accept my request, so I could only sneak here myself, I am really sorry." the girl said while bowing to hide the hatred in her eyes.
Theodore, hearing this, frowned. There are usually some politics and schemes that go on in the side halls, so it's not unusual for some hall masters to have some agendas. And while it is a big chance for a mere servant to be able to become an awakened, only a few usually volunteer, and the rest were forced to participate by the elders, it seems like her hall master had other plans for her.
Victor quickly broke his timid facade, stepping forward putting the girl behind his back, and said "It does not matter, I like her, she is mine now. This young master has already decided!" Acting as a pervert was useful in such situations.
The elder wished he could slap this perverted youth, but he could only look at Theodore and Patrick for guidance.
"While it is unorthodox for such a thing to happen right before the ceremony, every heir has the right to choose a servant before he becomes an adult, and Victor was forbidden by me previously from doing so as a punishment," Theodore said while thoroughly examining his son. "Now I will allow him to choose this girl as a servant, and using my authority as a grand elder, her hall master's permission would not be necessary. I believe this is still in accordance with the rules?" he questioned the elder.
"I..., It is in accordance with the rules," after some hesitation, the elder sighed and responded.
"Then, Let's consider this matter already done. As for the girl's punishment, it will be handled by Victor after the ceremony." Theodore confirmed before looking at his son with a strange light in his eyes, "Why did Victor, who is usually timid, display such courage when facing the elder? Let's see. He may be able to survive this after all," He thought.
"What are we waiting for? Now that this matter has concluded, let's head inside," Patrick scolded the crowd around him, glaring at Victor. "We have duties to attend to," he said, then stepped towards the gate.
With that, the crowd diverged, and the participants slowly started heading inside the enormous bronze gate of the hall one after another after confirming their identity.
After his father and uncle went in, Victor grabbed the girl's delicate hand and quickly followed after them.
"Now you are mine, you better behave, or I will chop your head off myself, understand?" he said while hurrying forward. Wondering why grabbing this girl's hand made him feel a sense of relief.
"Understood, young master," the girl gratefully looked at him with sparkling eyes and replied in a soft voice as she followed, feeling his warmth through her hand.