Ace looked at Eva and felt huge relief hearing her encouraging yet reassuring words. He knew he wasn't a good husband to Eva; she was even dragged into this because of him. Even though this new decision somewhat opposed her, she accepted it without hesitation.
But he no longer thought because after seeing her thief rank and growth, he knew Eva was fully capable of climbing the ranks on her own, and this time, once she reached the highest rank among the house members, she would be able to oppose her or questioned his integrity.
"Thank you for your support, Eva." Ace nodded at her with a hint of gratitude; then, he looked towards the other members, and he could feel the shocks of Freya and Winter.
Noa also seemed astonished and solemn, while Alina's eyes shimmered with fighting spirit as she glared over grinning Eva. But Ace can't do anything about it since they were behaving.
"Next, the fourth-ranking member, Evil Thief Freya, please state your opinion." Ace then moved towards the next member.
Although Eva had somehow caught up to Freya and others' veteran house ranks and even surpassed her thievery counts, it wasn't by much.
But still, Ace knew how prideful Freya was, and she might be able to accept defeat from Winter. She wouldn't feel the same towards Eva.
However, there was another thing that only Ace knew: Alina was only a step away from catching up to the veteran member ranks; she had already triggered the qualification mission.
On the other hand, Noa was almost a house elder, but she hadn't met the requirements for three thief acolytes yet. Nonetheless, Ace had a feeling that after today's meeting, the race for House Elder would become fierce.
At this moment, Freya spoke charmingly as if nothing could faze her, "Thank you, Leader. My fellow members had already said many things that I wanted to say. But I will still give my honest opinion on the Leader's new policy.
"I think Leader should've done it sooner because we might've fallen apart one day without proper ranking and order. Our rankings, missions, and house points exist for a reason.
"It wasn't our place to decide or advise you because we'll undermine your authority. However, since the Leader realized this on your own before it was too late, I'm really glad, and now we can have proper order in Thief House under your leadership.
"I'm with you on this, especially the voting system and mission planning. They are very much aligned with Thief House's nature, and this way, we all can see who brings the biggest fish to the table." Freya's voice was filled with confidence when she stated the last part.
'Tsk, she instantly turned this into a competition…' Ace was displeased with Freya as he could tell fighting intent ignited within house members a moment after Freya's statement.
"Is that so? Then I guess I'll be taking the first win, everyone. Thanks for letting me win so easily." Eva suddenly acted surprised as she said those cryptic words.
Freya's eyes instantly narrowed as she looked towards Eva, and both of their eyes met; she wanted to see through Eva but to no avail.
Truth be told, Freya always took Eva as a feverish woman with looks and no brain who had managed to charm Ace in his early days and is now enjoying his glory and riches. Even her current talent was granted to her by Ace's grace.
However, they didn't know before meeting Ace that Eva wasn't living a lavish life; her past was nothing short of a tragedy, and she might behave inanely around Ace; she was anything but naïve.
Now, she was startled to reveal her fangs after she had gone independent to prove herself, and this was also the biggest reason for her growth.
"Alright, please stay on topic." Ace sternly refuted while inwardly he was gloating at Freya's misfortune and couldn't help but start to new arrangement even more.
Now, these guys can keep each other in check while he watches and only interfere when things start to turn chaotic, just like now, and no one can refute him if they want his impartiality.
He won't side with anyone, he won't interfere with anyone, and he won't show favor during serious events to anyone; this was the heart of Ace's new policy.
Eva obediently nodded as he voiced his refute and became silent, but she had aroused everyone's curiosity.
Still, Ace knew it wasn't the time to bring up that topic yet since he needed to straighten his house first.
"Next, Celestial Thief Alina, please feel free to speak your mind." Ace then looked towards Alina, and his heartache when he looked at her.
He knew if anyone had suffered the biggest blow today, it would be Alina, and it had nothing to do with his rules and policy; it was because of Eva's sudden jump in the ranks.
He wanted to comfort her, but he couldn't right now, according to his own words, so he had no choice but to wait for this to end. Ace cursed himself for still not learning the Spirit Transmission, even now that he is already an Ascension Master.
But it can't be helped since he broke through two major realms altogether and didn't even get to learn about his spiritual pressure properly before Eva suddenly triggered that mission.
Nonetheless, he would seek Zaria's help since she had vast experience, and he felt no humiliation.
Alina used almost all her willpower not to throw a punch in Eva's face, but after everything that ensued, she knew the she-devil might be hateful. Still, she had skills and merits on her side, and now she had again surpassed her in-house rankings despite joining simultaneously.
Lastly, because of their early contest, Alina instantly sensed that Eva's bloodline made her feel somewhat intimidated, and she knew Eva had solved her problem.
At this moment, Alina looked towards Ace with determination and said, "I have no problem with your new policy and rules. I'll support you without hesitation, no matter what. So, in light of this, you must help with one matter, House Leader, and I promise it won't take much time at all!"
Ace raised his eyebrow as he suddenly had a bad proposition about this. Eva's grin vanished as her devilish eyes narrowed; she knew Alina was planning something, and the crazy look in her eyes reminded her of her own for some reason. "Tell me your problem," Ace questioned with a hint of curiosity.
Alina's eyes shimmered with a maniacal glint as she stated, "You must marry me right here and right now!"