"What are you talking about?" The old man’s face changed drastically, a hint of panic flitting across his gaze before he seed to rember sothing and said gravely, "Did Alisa tell you this?"
"No, she ca to just hoping I could testify for her, to prove that her changing her mind about Torres had nothing to do with it. But when I asked her who was behind it, she wouldn’t say, hmm... but no matter, unwillingness to answer is an answer in itself," Li Yu said.
"I asked myself, who in the castle is worth her protection, and who would she have to listen to even if she doesn’t want to. It wasn’t hard to think of you then."
"You are the oldest living mber of the Arias family, all younger family mbers are your descendants, Ireya and Blanco are your great-granddaughter and great-grandson, Ruse, Alisa, and Torres are also your direct blood relatives. You don’t talk much in the family, making it easy for people to overlook you."
"But when you decide to speak, everyone must listen respectfully and consider your thoughts, even obeying you unconditionally. Previously at the Marquis Mansion, when you declared that Ireya is an Arias, neither Vanessa nor Dias dared to further question the matter."
"I should have realized it sooner—that only you had the power to set the outco before the election even started. You asked Antonio to use lies to stabilize Ireya and wrote a letter to your grandson in the Royal Capital, forcing him to switch his choice to Blanco at the last mont."
"Torres is close to Alisa, but he too couldn’t defy your orders. You even had everyone act out a play to keep Ireya in the dark."
Li Yu’s response was thodical, and it sent a chill through Ona’s heart.
Back then at the Marquis Mansion, she had witnessed Li Yu single-handedly opposing many, eventually helping Ireya to achieve an almost impossible turnaround. She had been wary of this Foreigner who disrupted her plans.
However, back then she was rely a bystander, but now she finally had the chance to face this dreadful man herself.
rely from the troubled deanor that Alisa exhibited during her visit, he had traced the clues to conclude that she was the mastermind behind the scenes. Could this man really just be a re commoner as he claid?
Ona was familiar with those lowly commoners - they toiled from dawn to dusk in the fields just to fill their stomachs, how could they possibly develop such sharp observational skills and ticulous thought.
With their simple daily social interactions, they could hardly handle the noble intrigue and deceit.
Yet this Foreigner clad in black foreign attire seed to have lived in such complex environnts for a long ti, accustod to all these oddities, hence his ease in dealing with them.
At this mont, Ona, for so reason, recalled that day’s Antonio.
His voice, when it suddenly echoed through the Marquis Mansion, was so desperate and frightened, and now it was Ona’s turn to experience that taste.
Li Yu’s voice did not stop. "Actually, with your influence in the family, you could have straightforwardly expressed support for Blanco to take over. Ireya would have been helpless even if she were displeased. Yet, you chose a lengthy detour and ssed up your actual favored candidate in the end, truly..."
"I don’t even know what to say, I certainly wouldn’t have done it that way. So, I can only roughly guess your thoughts at that ti, knowing that Ireya, who you’ve raised since she was little, is narrow-minded and has always been clear about grudges."
"If you and the others had openly stood by Blanco, she might have resented you for it, thus creating the illusion that everyone actually preferred to stand with her," Li Yu said. "Even if Blanco beca the Lord in the end, Ireya would bear no grudge against the family.
"Then you could continue with your plan to send her back to the Silver Moon Church, and if she could grow into a backbone of the Church in the future, Ireya would undoubtedly be willing to contribute to the family when the Arias family needs the Church’s help."
"You understand nothing!" After the initial shock, the old man regained so composure and said, "Ireya’s character is simply not suitable for being a Lord, especially at a ti like this."
"At a ti like this?"
"The Arias family is facing an unprecedented crisis; we need a mature leader to find allies for us and lead us through this crisis."
"Setting aside whether Ireya is suitable for being a Lord, her brother Blanco isn’t much better than her," Li Yu said.
"I am not talking about Blanco, but his mother, Vanessa. No matter how you see her, you have to admit she is a very capable woman and possesses courage and outstanding social skills, rivaling any man’s," the elder countered.
Now that everything was out in the open, Ona simply stopped hiding her thoughts. "Ireya was raised by my own hands, and of course, I love her dearly. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t mind giving her a chance to compete fairly with Blanco, but not now. As a mber of the Arias family, the interests of the family must always co before personal likes and dislikes," she stated.
"Why not now?" Li Yu asked.
The elder didn’t answer, but instead counter-questioned, "Since you knew early on that it was who had Torres switch his support to Blanco, why didn’t you tell Ireya?"
"Well, your series of maneuvers with Vanessa successfully incited Ireya’s distrust of her family mbers, which actually isn’t conducive to her rule in Green Field. Being very emotional, if I had told her about this, she might have completely broken off from her own kinfolk in a rage," Li Yu explained.
"Isn’t that exactly what you want, to further control her?"
"I’m not controlling her. Ireya was facing difficulties, and when her own kinfolk were unwilling to help, she had no choice but to turn to ... So instead of accusing of intervening too much, maybe you should think about how to lighten her load rather than continue to add to her troubles and push her towards further."
"Whether you like to admit it or not, Ireya is now the master of this land. Since you keep saying family cos first, it’s about ti you moved your allegiance from Vanessa and Blanco back here," Li Yu reminded.
"..."
Ona fell silent again and after a long while, her attitude finally softened, no longer as aggressive as before, appearing just like an ordinary old woman.
She spoke up to clarify, "I haven’t contacted Vanessa since she fled, and I have nothing to do with the note. Is that child asking you to investigate this matter? If so, I hope you can find the person who left the note soon."
After finishing her statent, she staggered and unexpectedly cleared a path for Li Yu.
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