Work Prophet

As soon as Captain Levin spotted Li Yu, his gaze sharpened abruptly, and one hand had already pressed against the hilt of his sword. He said in a deep voice, "Who are you and why have you broken into the Marquis Mansion at night!"

Li Yu remained silent.

The face of the Guard Captain grew darker, his hand gripping the sword tightened, and the veins on the back of his hand bulged. Had he not been concerned for the safety of Ireya nearby, he might have already drawn his sword and struck.

Just at this critical moment, Miss Rabbit suddenly spoke up, "Captain Levin, this is my advisor... um, Merlin."

"A human advisor?" The murderous intent in Levin's eyes slightly receded, replaced by a hint of perplexity.

He seemed about to say something, but in the end, he restrained himself and only reminded, "Miss Ireya, this is the Marquis Mansion, not Arias's Teacup Castle. Even your people must notify us in advance before entering, especially now that it is very late."

"I'm sorry, Captain Levin," Ireya quickly bowed and apologized, "I assure you it won't happen again."

The expression of the Guard Captain lightened slightly. He glanced at Li Yu again and finally relaxed his grip on the sword, his tone softening considerably as he turned to Miss Rabbit and said.

"I deeply regret the unfortunate fate of your honored father, Miss Ireya. Although Sir Ruse and I were not close, having only met your father a few times at the Marquis's eldest daughter's wedding and on the hunting days of winter, I was well aware of his noble character. The Marquis himself has praised your father's loyalty and bravery to us more than once. Losing him is a tremendous loss for all of us."

Upon hearing Levin's words, Ireya's eyelashes trembled slightly, and her eyes also began to redden.

The Guard Captain sighed, "Tomorrow is election day, I hope you are prepared to become the next successor of Green Field and I hope your advisor can fulfill his duty by providing you with wise counsel."

Ireya nodded to the Guard Captain, "Thank you for your concern, but I have not been idle during this time and have secured the support of most of our clan. After the vote tomorrow morning, I can swear my allegiance to the Marquis."

"I hope so."

The Guard Captain bowed slightly to Ireya and turned to leave.

The courtyard was quiet once again.

Miss Rabbit and Li Yu looked at each other, and after a moment, Li Yu spoke, "Tell me about your election tomorrow."

"Hey, hey, hey, why is that your focus?" Ireya complained, "I just saved your life, and you won't even thank me? That's really rude, and besides, I still don't even know your name!"

"Didn't you call me Merlin? I think that's a good name; I'll keep it from now on," said Li Yu.

"......"

"As for thanking you, I'm doing it right now," Li Yu continued.

"Really? But why haven't I heard those two words? The Arias family has very good hearing. As long as you speak, no matter how quietly, I can hear you," Ireya said as she proudly shook her fluffy long ears on her head.

"Words alone cannot express the gratitude in my heart, so I choose to replace them with actions," said Li Yu.

"What are you planning to do?"

Miss Rabbit was quite suspicious, and instead of feeling happy, she became more vigilant upon hearing this.

"Don't worry, I'm just doing my job," Li Yu reassured.

"What is your job, then?"

"To provide various consulting advice to my clients," Li Yu answered strictly according to the job description in the recruitment brochure.

"Don't be silly, my previous words were only meant to save you. You really aren't my consultant," Ireya shook her head like a rattle, "Besides, I don't need a foreigner who knows nothing about the Empire, not even who the founding Emperor was, to advise me. It would be too embarrassing for the Arias family if word got out, and it wouldn't be conducive to my future governance of the territories."

"I do need to spend some time getting to know this new world, but in terms of the workplace or human relations, the basics are pretty much the same in any world. For example, the guard captain just now hinted to you in a rather subtle manner that there might be a change in tomorrow's election."

"Is that so?" Ireya was skeptical as she recalled what Levin had said earlier and didn't think there was anything amiss.

Li Yu then closed his mouth and said no more.

The best way to deal with a paranoid person is not to go out of your way to explain everything to him, item by item, discussing the pros and cons, as this only makes him more suspicious of your motives.

It's better to just mention it briefly; leaving the statement half-finished can actually trigger his paranoia. Then he will start using his brain, follow the clues, and fill in the missing parts himself.

It saves time and effort and doubles the result with half the effort.

Sure enough, the girl's face changed several times as she mumbled to herself and began to count her supporters with her fingers.

She counted several times before taking a long breath, "You almost had me fooled. You are just being alarmist. Tomorrow, the Marquis is merely a notary. There are seven people with voting rights, all from our family.

"I was raised by my great-grandmother, who has always adored me, and she will definitely support me unconditionally. Aunt Alisa and my mother were like sisters, she will definitely stand firmly by my side.

"Moreover, she also promised to help me convince Uncle Torres, who is very close to her. Torres is currently training in the Royal Capital's Second Knight Corps and can't leave to come back, but he will write a letter to exercise his voting right.

"With this, I already have three votes in hand, and Uncle Lucio has always disliked my stepmother Vanessa, so he surely won't vote for my brother. Besides, I convinced Uncle Antonio yesterday afternoon to support me as well. Out of the seven, I have secured five votes. It's as sure as can be."

"It sounds like you have a great chance of winning," Li Yu admitted, "but that guard captain named Levin wouldn't have said it without basis. As the Guard Captain, responsible for guarding the Marquis Mansion, he surely has reliable information and may have heard something in these last few days.

"Although you are well-prepared, your opponents surely won't just sit back and do nothing. While you are making moves, they might also be scrambling around. How can you be sure that the people you've won over won't be swayed by him?"

"Because those people all swore to me in the name of the gods and ancestors," Miss Rabbit said without a second thought, with an expression that seemed to say: please, I don't need someone to teach me this.

Seeing Li Yu's surprised face, she sighed and looked at him with the eyes one reserves for hopeless cases.

"I don't know what it's like in your homeland, but here on the Bratis Continent, oaths made in the name of the gods and ancestors have been sacred and unshakeable for thousands of years. Those who break such oaths lose all honor and are despised and abhorred by everyone. Especially for nobles, it's worse than death."

Li Yu just hmm'ed noncommittally, "Since you already have everything under control, why are you still awake so late, sitting alone on the stone bench in the courtyard lost in thought?"

"......"

Miss Rabbit had no answer.

She couldn't very well say that we paranoid patients just act like this.

"There should still be some time before dawn. Rather than sitting here idly, why not go and find the voters again, to double-check their choices just to be sure? It might give you some peace of mind for tomorrow," Li Yu suggested.