"...Blanco is still young and simply has no power to rule over Green Field," said Ireya's uncle Lucio, a portly man, mopping the sweat from his brow.
"That is not a problem. If Blanco ultimately inherits his father's lands, I as his mother will naturally assist him by his side until he cos of age," Vanessa declared, puffing out her chest, "Of course, by then I will undoubtedly need the strong support of everyone present."
"Or we could directly choose a mature Lord instead," Alisa said.
"Blanco may not be mature enough, but Ireya isn't much better. The only thing growing on her is probably her age, and don't forget," a man with the sa grey droopy ears and a hooked nose paused, "her mother was after all..."
"Mind your language, Dias," cut in the only old woman sitting on a chair. She had not spoken during the previous debates, but once she did, each word carried weight.
"Ireya has long ears and red pupils, which ans she is an Arias and has the right to inherit. Moreover, your words earlier were too rude, and I don't want to hear anything like that again."
"My bad," the man nad Dias shrugged and promptly apologized, acknowledging his mistake.
The old woman glanced at the others and said in a deep voice, "I believe everyone has expressed their opinions sufficiently. Let us begin the vote now, as we have already delayed the three Lords and friends present. It is ti to decide on the next Family Head of the Arias family."
Upon hearing her words, the old steward who had stepped aside earlier now ca forward and announced.
"We will now comnce the voting for the heir of Green Field. I hope you all consider your families carefully, deliberate thoroughly, and exercise your right to vote cautiously. Once you have made your stance, there will be no turning back."
He paused for over ten seconds then proclaid loudly, "First, those in support of Blanco, please raise your left hand."
No sooner had the steward's voice fallen than Ireya's stepmother Vanessa and her step-uncle, the man nad Dias, raised their hands eagerly.
One was Blanco's mother and the other his uncle; there was no doubt they would stand by their blood relative.
Ireya was not surprised by this, but she still subconsciously bit her lip. Seeing no one else echo the support, a flash of joy crossed her eyes, but that joy didn't last long before turning into astonishnt.
For she saw soone not far in front of herself raising their hand.
"Uncle Antonio, you..." Miss Rabbit was so shocked she jumped up, but before she could finish, the old steward interrupted her.
The latter looked at her solemnly, "Please mind your comportnt and keep quiet, Miss Ireya. This is the voting process, and candidates do not have the right to speak. If you have objections to the result, you may address them after the voting is finished. Otherwise, I will have to cancel your candidacy."
Miss Rabbit retracted as quickly as she had jumped up and obediently closed her mouth, not daring to breathe too loudly.
In her heart, she continually reassured herself that it was okay. Even if Anton broke his word and betrayed his honor by suddenly turning against her, Blanco had only garnered three out of seven votes, which wouldn't affect the final outco.
Indeed, the reality was such that during Ireya's voting turn, she also obtained three votes, coming respectively from her great-grandmother Ona, her aunt Alisa and her uncle Lucio.
Thus, the sides ended up tied at three votes each.
At that mont, Alisa produced a letter from her bosom and handed it solemnly to the steward, who carefully checked the seal before, assured of its integrity, opened it before everyone's eyes.
His eyes quickly scanned the contents, then he looked up at Ireya, "It seems Lord Torres has made his choice."
Miss Rabbit felt her heartbeat had never been so fast, as though it would leap from her throat.
She had already resolved in her heart that once she beca the Lord, the first thing she would do was to find so excuse to kick her verbose uncle out of the family's circle of power.
Her uncle had just last night vowed to her that he would surely choose her today, yet he had reneged on his word in less than half a day. If the Arias family were all like him, how could they hope for a revival?
Luckily, enough people supported her; otherwise, she would have been completely ruined this ti.
"Blanco, Lord Torres's choice is Blanco," the steward finally unveiled the suspense.
Ireya, upon hearing the first two words, was still not quite comprehending, groggily awaiting congratulations, but soon her expression drastically changed to one of utter disbelief, exclaiming,
"This can't be! This is impossible, Uncle Torres could not have chosen against ! Aunt Alisa, you told Uncle Torres would stand with . Could this letter have been secretly switched by soone?"
Alisa's expression was also grave as she took the letter from the steward and read it from beginning to end, her expression only becoming bitterer, "The handwriting is indeed Torres's, and there are no signs of alteration."
"No, it can't be! There must be a mistake, this isn't true! We need to halt the election and send soone to the Royal Capital, to find Uncle Torres and clarify this matter."
Miss Rabbit couldn't accept such a reality, feeling as if all her bones had been sucked out of her, mumbling as she slumped to the ground.
If not for Alisa's quick reflexes beside her, she might have just fallen straight onto the floor.
That would have been utterly humiliating, although she didn't look much better now.
The old steward looked at the girl with pity in his eyes, but having served in the Marquis Mansion as the chief steward for nearly two hundred years, through three generations of the Figrola family's marquises, he had dealt with many similar situations.
With every election, where there are winners, there are inevitably losers.
So, compassion aside, he was still strictly business, asking, "Miss Ireya, you said there were issues during the election, do you have any evidence?"
"I..." Ireya opened her mouth to say sothing but didn't know what else she could say.
Of course, she had no evidence; after all, with so many onlookers in the hall, the entire election process was entirely open and transparent.
She just couldn't accept that she had lost the struggle for the inheritance, and what was more fatal was that she still didn't know where she had gone wrong.
"If there's no evidence, then please respect the final voting outco," the old steward reminded her, "For your family's and your own sake, it would be best not to make similar remarks from now on."
At this mont, in the hall, people had already begun to congratulate Blanco, and the newly minted Family Head of the Arias family was visibly excited, forgetting all the advice his mother had given him and blurted out.
"Now that I've beco the Family Head, can I order the execution of my sister, Ireya?!"
"What absurdity are you speaking, Blanco," Vanessa fondly stroked her son's head. "No matter what, Ireya is your sister, your kin, you cannot harm her."
Hearing this, he seed sowhat disappointed, while Vanessa turned her head back to Ireya.
A victor's smile spread across her face, "You just stood there without speaking the whole ti; I thought you had grown up, Ireya. But it turns out you're still the sa as when you were little: once things don't go your way, you start throwing a tantrum. It seems Ruse really spoiled you over these years."
Miss Rabbit's chest heaved violently. She tried to maintain her last bit of dignity, not wanting to show her vulnerable side in front of people she detested, yet tears were stubbornly swirling in her eyes.
Ireya couldn't even understand what the people around her were saying; to her, what had just transpired felt like a nightmare.
She wished soone could awake her from this terrible dream, telling her it was all fake, and that there was still a chance to turn things around.
But the last shred of her rationality told her it was over.
There were no miracles left.
All those preparations she thought foolproof, those continuous days of devout prayers, in the end, couldn't help her. For a mont, Ireya's faith in the gods wavered.
What are those high and mighty deities in the Divine Country doing when I need help the most? Are they listening to my prayers at all, and if they are, why do they remain indifferent?
The girl thought, filled with disappointnt.
Please, anyone, respond to , just once, and I'll repay him double in the future, build him a great temple, believe in him unconditionally~
The girl prayed feebly in her heart, like a drowning person desperately waving for the last straw.
Then she heard a sowhat familiar voice rising from the crowd.
"We have one."
"What?"
"We do have evidence," Li Yu spoke up.
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