Work Prophet

Marquis Kuren gathered everyone in the banquet hall.

The servants and maids had already removed the dining tables and the dishes on them and hung a purple banner embroidered with the Figrola family crest on the western stone wall.

Marquis Kuren sat in the master seat facing the entrance, with the Finance Officer of Rock Snow City, Golden Finger Romero from the Campos family, on his left.

Sir Romero had come to the Marquis Mansion after dinner to attend to some affairs of Rock Snow City with Marquis Kuren. However, at Ireya's request, he stayed to witness the election.

On the right side of Marquis Kuren was a young man who seemed lazy and relaxed, with a pair of almond-shaped eyes as beautiful as those of a woman, always with a subtle smile at the corner of his mouth that seemed mocking yet possibly purely instinctive.

In any case, this smile gave the impression of being slightly irritating, yet if one were to start a fight, the aggressor might suddenly question if they had misunderstood something.

Of course, the most eye-catching feature on him was his short red hair, bright and hot like flames, with two little round ears peeking out from beneath it.

This also meant that he carried the blood of the Vespasian Family, a descendant of the great pioneer and conqueror, Emperor Furious Lion Alexander, the first Emperor of the Empire.

This member of the Imperial Family had been a guest at the Marquis Mansion of Rock Snow City for some time. Hearing there was excitement to be had, he came over of his own volition, quite eager to join in.

In the center of the hall, all eight people were from the Arias family, including the two main characters of the day and the six core members with voting rights.

Aside from Miss Rabbit, Li Yu had not met anyone, and the people around him did not wish to strike up a conversation with him, let alone repeat character and mission backgrounds to him as NPCs in games would tirelessly do.

Li Yu could only speculate on his own, first identifying Marquis Kuren from the seating arrangement.

The man was lean and somber, a short man with a pair of short, triangular ears on top of his head and a tiny tuft of hair at the tips, his pupils amber in color.

When Li Yu first saw the Figrola family crest, he thought it was embroidered with a cat until he saw Marquis Kuren himself and realized that it was not a cat but a lynx.

Although a lynx looks similar to a cat in appearance, it is much larger and can be considered a medium-sized predator in nature, even capable of hunting fawns.

Seeing that most people had arrived, Marquis Kuren nodded to his steward standing nearby.

The latter rang a small bell, and with three long bell tolls, the once-noisy banquet hall quickly fell silent.

The Marquis Mansion's old steward, white-haired and appearing frail yet with a surprisingly straight back, cleared his throat and spoke.

"At the request of the Arias family, today the Marquis will preside over the election of the new Lord of Green Field. This election adheres to the principles of fairness and impartiality and invites Sir Leo, Sir Romero, and all of you present to serve as witnesses.

"Once the results are in, and without conclusive evidence of foul play by one party, both candidates should accept this outcome as the final and sole result, with no further objections permitted in the future."

After the steward finished speaking, he looked at Ireya and Blanco, the siblings, to see them nodding in agreement before he bowed slightly and stepped aside.

Then Ireya's aunt was the first to speak up, bowing to the three at the head table, "Respected Marquis, Sir Leo, Sir Romero, I am Alisa from Green Field, representing the Arias family. I extend to you all our respects.

"Before the election begins, I must first thank the Marquis for his warm hospitality these past days within his Mansion and for taking time out of his busy schedule to listen to our request and help us handle the Arias family affairs. Your kindness and generosity are well known throughout the Western Empire.

"No matter who becomes the next master of Green Field, they must continue to honor the sacred vow made by our family's ancestors, to remain loyal to you, to become your blade and shield."

Marquis Kuren gave a slight nod upon hearing this. "The loyalty of the Arias family has been tested by time. Nine hundred years ago, your ancestors followed mine into battle, and to this day, the descendants of the Arias family still fight for me, for the Figrola family, helping me guard the Western Empire.

"Your loyalty is my greatest treasure. I too regard you as family. Losing Ruse has left me deeply grieved, struggling to find rest at night. As his liege lord, it is only right that I assist his descendants in properly handling his affairs after his passing. This is my duty; there is no need for thanks."

Alisa once again bowed, then turned her gaze to the people of the Arias family standing beside her.

"Before we commence the election, I want to remind everyone once again that Miss Irelia is my brother's second daughter, the only living heir of Ruse and his first wife Yolanda.

"Yolanda passed away six years after giving birth to Irelia due to an unfortunate illness. Ruse and Yolanda had always been loving towards each other, and he swore at his late wife's grave that he would let their child inherit his lands. This is well known to the people of Green Field; many of you were present that day, so personally, I don't think there is any doubt about the succession of Green Field."

Before she could finish, a light laugh sounded from beside her.

"Back then, Ruse and Yolanda's eldest son Ramon was still alive. The heir mentioned in that promise should have been Ramon, not Irelia."

The speaker was also a woman, dressed in a green dress with a plunging neckline and a mandarin collar, which outlined the curves of her body to stunning effect, with a large expanse of fair skin at her chest dazzling to the eye.

Atop her head too was a pair of long ears, though they were grey and instead of standing upright, drooped down to the sides.

Judging by her looks alone, she was undoubtedly a beauty.

Aside from her slightly thin lips giving her a somewhat harsh expression, she was nearly flawless, and she appeared not much older than Irelia. However, considering the remarkably long lifespan of Half-Beasts compared to humans, Li Yu did not dare to hastily guess her age.

She must be the stepmother Vanessa mentioned by Miss Rabbit.

After a pause, the long-eared beauty continued, "In fact, after Ramon tragically died of the epidemic, Ruse never mentioned that promise again, and just last year he sent Irelia to the Temple of the Silver Moon Goddess. The intention behind such an arrangement, I believe, is clear to everyone seated here. Not to mention, she is a woman."

"What's wrong with being a woman? We are not Wilder people. The laws of the Empire recognize the inheritance rights of women just the same," Alisa retorted.

"True, but according to the age-old traditions of Bratis Continent, a woman's place in the line of succession comes after all male direct descendants. And as it happens, today there is a direct male descendant of Ruse present, so let me be blunt—Green Field's next master should be my son Blanco."

The election had just started, and there was already a faint smell of gunpowder in the air, supporters on both sides standing their ground, unyielding.

Li Yu glanced at Irelia. Miss Rabbit remained fairly composed at the moment; she thought of speaking up a few times but restrained herself. This strategy was undoubtedly the right one.

Irelia herself lacked the gift of eloquence. If she joined the debate, she might easily expose flaws in her argument that her opponents could exploit to strike her down. It was better to let her supporters speak for her, so she could maintain her grace and elegance.

At least she seemed impressively imposing.

However, her tightly clenched ears still betrayed her true feelings. Compared to the older members of her family, she was still too green.

Luckily for her, her opponent was even less qualified—Blanco was wholly a child, barely tall enough to reach his mother's waist, one hand surreptitiously clinging to the hem of her dress, revealing his nervousness to anyone who looked.