The girl sat blankly on the edge of the bed, still trying to digest what Li Yu had just said.
The impact on her was simply too great, even when her votes were surpassed by Blanco halfway through the election, she steadfastly believed that the majority of her family supported her.
It was only because her uncle Antonio had betrayed her that she nearly lost the election.
However, Li Yu was now telling her that this wasn't the case; the outco of the election had been a foregone conclusion from the start, and only she was kept in the dark, confidently preparing to confront a defeat that had been certain all along.
At that thought, Ireya felt a chill in her heart.
It was as if soone had dunked her head into the bone-chilling ice water of winter, and no matter how much she struggled, she could not free herself.
Miss Rabbit's buzz from the alcohol sobered up considerably in an instant, "But what about those who supported ? Did they also know early on that I was going to lose, and if so, why would they still vote for instead of Blanco? It doesn't make sense."
"I haven't been here long, and I don't understand this world or your family well enough to make hasty conclusions."
Li Yu paused for a mont before adding, "But you said your aunt and your younger uncle were very close, and your younger uncle changed his mind at the last mont..."
At this point, Miss Rabbit already understood, drooping her ears and listlessly staring at the small tree outside the window.
She looked as disheartened as the Chongzhen Emperor after climbing the coal mountain—a picture of utter despair.
Li Yu remained silent as well.
The room fell into a dead silence, with only a bunch of irises in the vase swaying gently with the wind.
After a while, Li Yu noticed Ireya's shoulders trembling; Miss Rabbit must have been sobbing secretly behind his back.
Seeing this, Li Yu returned to her the handkerchief she had lent him to wipe his mouth last night, "I had the maid wash it before bedti."
Ireya took the handkerchief, wiping her tears, and said, "Why has it co to this, who can I still trust now? My uncle-in-law or perhaps my great-grandmother Ona?"
"The current situation remains unclear, I suggest you better not trust anyone," Li Yu said.
"So what, am I just supposed to wait for my stepmother to make her move against ? I ca to Rock Snow City with my aunt and the rest, but I've spent most of the past two years in the largest Temple in Duolin City serving the Silver Moon Goddess, and definitely don't have as close a relationship with those accompanying knights and warriors as my aunt and the others do. Hmm... perhaps I could hire so rcenaries in the city."
"Are they reliable?" Li Yu raised an eyebrow.
"Unreliable, those fellows only recognize money, without a shred of honor, they can protect for money, and of course, they can also betray for even more money." Miss Rabbit deflated before she even finished speaking.
"Maybe I should seek protection from Marquis Kuren... No, that won't do either, just winning the election and then asking for help from the Lord, that would be too embarrassing if word got out, it would only make , the new Lord look weak and incompetent, and would also make Marquis Kuren doubt my ability to rule Green Field."
"You can also imdiately gather your clansn and publicly announce your abdication from the position of Family Head, this way at least you won't be at risk of losing your life," Li Yu suggested.
"Don't even think about it!" Ireya, as if her tail had been stepped on, jumped up from the edge of the bed abruptly, "I will not submit to that woman! Green Field is the legacy left to by my father and mother, as long as I draw breath, I will definitely not hand it over willingly!"
The traces of tears were still on the girl's face, but her tone was unyieldingly firm.
Li Yu wasn't surprised by Miss Rabbit's response, "Then there's only one other way, you were publicly elected by the core mbers of your family, regardless of what they think privately, the whole election was witnessed by hundreds of people, and Marquis Kuren accepted your fealty. Righteousness and justification are your most powerful weapons.
"You can use them to garner a group of people loyal to you and take complete control of Green Field, then whether it's your stepmother or anyone else who harbors resentnt, they'll have no choice but to bow down to you.
"Of course, the precondition is that you must be able to return to Green Field first, and also, do you have anyone there whom you can trust? Soone who, no matter how high others raise their bid, would without hesitation still choose to stand by your side."
"Alfred." The girl uttered a na, "He was once my mother's Guardian Knight; he watched my mother grow up, and after she passed away he then swore allegiance to my brother Ramon, but unfortunately, it wasn't long before Ramon died too, and then Alfred beca my Guardian Knight."
"So idiots say that he has served three masters, two of whom have died, and that he brings bad luck, but Alfred is the most loyal person I've ever seen, and it is grossly unfair to bla those unfortunate incidents on him.
"After my parents both left , he beca the person closest to in this world. Alfred was supposed to co with to Rock Snow City, but his granddaughter was due to give birth a few days ago, so I asked him to stay in Green Field to look after the family,"
"Good, you can write to him and ask him to take people to control the castle with the utmost speed, to hold it until you return, and not to let anyone in before that. If anyone questions his actions, you can tell him to inform them that this is an order from the new Family Head of the Arias family,"
"No problem, I'll write now," Irleya finally mustered so energy and grabbed the feather pen on the table.
Li Yu continued, "Since we can't find reliable guards, we might as well do without. Once you send off the letter, we'll set out imdiately, leaving Rock Snow City before others catch on."
......
In another guest room at the Marquis Mansion,
Vanessa reached out, calling one of her servants.
"I haven't seen Ireya or her human adviser for quite a long ti. What are they doing now?"
"I'll go check right away, my lady," the servant bowed and left.
A mont later, he hurried back and reported, "I've asked around. Miss Irelia said that now she's beco the Family Head of the Arias family, she needs to add a few new clothes to her wardrobe, so she went to the market to find a tailor."
"Look at her little ambition, haha," Vanessa sneered, "She gets a little taste of sweetness and starts to get carried away. How can the future of the Arias family be entrusted to soone like her?"
As she spoke, she waved her hand dismissively but then quickly changed her mind and called back the servant who was about to leave, "What about that human adviser nad rlin? What's he doing now?"
"He went to the market with Irelia."
The graceful lady frowned slightly, "During the election, Ireya relied on that man to speak for her. Now, does she need to consult her adviser even for buying clothes?"
"Now that you ntion it, that does remind of sothing. Before they left, Miss Irelia seed to have borrowed a black pigeon from Chief Mathis."
"That's not good, they're planning to run!" Vanessa's expression suddenly changed at the news.
The servant was puzzled.
Vanessa, realizing her words were sowhat improper, found a different way to put it, "It seems that this new Family Head of the Arias family intends to rush back to her domain before us! Go find Captain Fajia to see .
"Also, tell the others to hurry up and pack. We're setting off for ho today. Never mind... I'll go find Fajia myself, just gather the rest of the people."
As the graceful lady went to the tavern to look for her rcenary captain, Ireya and Li Yu had already slipped out of Rock Snow City's main gate.
The pair followed behind a Dwarf Troupe, heads down and keeping as low a profile as possible.
Considering Li Yu's "strange" attire was too eye-catching, they indeed visited the market before to buy a cloak.
The cloak now draped over Li Yu, hiding the elegant Jagger suit beneath it.
And once they left the city, to avoid being followed by potential pursuers, they abandoned the safer and easier main road.
They chose to cross ridges, wade through streams, and then plunged into the dense forest.
Miss Rabbit, while passing through a riverbed full of pebbles, had an unfortunate stumble that hurt her knee. She whined for a while before getting up and continuing forward, only feeling slightly better when she noticed Li Yu's fine trousers, made of so unknown material, had been caught and ripped by the bushes along the way.
After walking a bit longer, she couldn't help but complain, "I'm the winner of the election, so why am I fleeing with my tail between my legs?"
"Only those who survive are winners," Li Yu replied.
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