Melinda, Roman and Ander took the seats on the stage. There were a few more seats around them which belonged to the important members of the houses.
Soon, the people arrived one by one, and the seats were filled.
Well, not all, there was still one seat left empty.
Roman's face darkened a bit when he saw the empty seat belonged to Omen.
The group waited for a few more minutes, and finally as they were about to lose their patience, the guy arrived.
Omen was a tall man, he stood almost at the same height as Roman. His hairs were long, hanging down to his shoulders. There was a savage aura around him, he seemed to have a sinister looking face from birth.
There were a few good cheers among the crowd with his entrance. They were definitely his supporters. It seemed, it wasn't going to be easy to get through him and achieve a peaceful control over the situation.
With Omen's arrival, Roman just kick started the meeting, and he directly went on the topic.
"I would like to inform you all that I have decided to end all of the past enmities after coming to a consensus with Lord Barnes. And, we both agree this hatred has gone on for too long, and it's time to end it."
There were no cheers nor any angry shouts in the auditorium. The place just turned silent. They had all been expecting this, but it still wasn't confirmed until now. Hearing it first hand from the Lord was definitely had a different feeling to it.
"Hahahaha!!!' A laughter suddenly rang out in the silent hall, and people's attention immediately turned towards the man.
It was Omen.
"My bad...please, don't mind me." He said with a smile. But, it was clear that he was about to create trouble. He definitely wasn't going to be in favor of this.
"We are willing to take questions. So, if anyone has any kind of problem with this decision, now is your chance," Roman said ignoring Omen's rude interruption, and then turned to look at the elders.
One of the neutral Elder immediately spoke out, "Don't you think this decision is too abrupt, my Lord? We weren't even given a chance to give out our opinion. And, even now you say that you will listen to our questions. Does it mean that the decision can't be changed at this point?"
"True, we aren't going to change the decision," Roman's words immediately send the crowd buzzing. This was not something which was going to make people happy. It was equivalent to being a Tyrant.
Quite a few people on the Elder's seat frowned upon listening to Roman's words. And, the worst one was Omen for sure. His face immediately darkened. This was bad news for him.
"Bang!" One of the Elders from the opposition slammed his hand on the table. He was clearly pissed, "You can't do this! The House just doesn't belong to you. You can't just take decisions without consulting us."
"True, we have worked hard over the years for the House too. We won't tolerate this kind of tyrant behavior from you." Another one stood up in support.
It was always hard to not have any opposition when you were leading some kind of organization, and it was true here as well. The Lord's had to make sure that they didn't go too far in suppressing the opposition. After all, if those guys revolted or just left the place with their people, it would be a heavy loss for any House to bear. Not to mention, there was a chance of confidential information leaking out in such cases.
"Well, said!" Omen finally spoke as he looked at Melinda. He knew that she was the one after Roman's actions most of the time. And, it was very likely to be the same this time around.
"If you have any problem regarding this decision then you may speak about it. Or you aren't willing to agree with it just because you people weren't asked." Roman glared at them, and most of them instantly turned quiet.
Melinda slightly nudged Roman below the desk as he was getting aggressive. It worked, and Roman instantly toned down after that.
"We don't have any choice here, the reason will be explained soon. In the meantime, if you have any problems regarding this decision, then please speak out." He further said in a softer tone.
These made people frown on the stage.
"Whom are you trying to fool, my lord." Omen looked at Roman, and sneered inwardly. "Even if I believe for a second that you really don't have a choice here, can you really think we don't have any problem with it?"
"Just how many people do you think we have lost to them?" Omen pointed toward Ander, and then glared at him.
"Do you think we can just let their deaths be in vain? What are you going to say to their family?"
"We are friends now?" Omen laughed, and then looked at the crowd, "Are you people willing to accept it?"
"No!!!"
A loud shout rang in the auditorium. It was clear that he had got the people's support towards him.
Melinda frowned at it, and instantly turned her head towards Ander. They had to make a move fast or the situation would get out of hand.
After all, even if she could convince the Elder's by using the Ancient Families, what about the normal people? They weren't even aware of the Ancient Families presence, so it wasn't going to affect them in any way.
It was true that their opinion didn't matter once the Elder's were convinced. But, Melinda knew politics well. She couldn't leave the people unsatisfied.
There was only one way to convince them, it was to move them emotionally.
And, it wouldn't work well if Melinda or Roman did it. But, it sure would be different if it was Ander.
If the people received a direct apology from the person whom they were holding responsible, it would definitely affect them. It might even calm them down a bit. And, at that moment, Roman just needed to give it a bit of a push. That would bring the people in their favor for sure.
She had it all planned.
Melinda had foreseen everything, it was all going according to her plan.