114: Chapter 114 Senate Vote! The Latour Family's Decision! The Entire Assembly is Shocked!

Gino City, Snow Velvet Manor.

Rowan stood before the floor-to-ceiling window of his study, gazing at the light snow that had begun to fall outside once more.

He had already returned from White Cliff Castle.

Everything that needed to be done had been done.

Now, he could only wait for the final result.

This feeling of pinning one's hopes on others was not pleasant.

But these were the rules of the Empire, and he did not yet have the power to break them.

...

Three days later, the Imperial Capital, The Senate.

Inside the massive circular chamber, the atmosphere was solemn and grave.

Seated in the circular, tiered gallery were the representatives of the senatorial seats from across the Empire.

Some wore ornate noble finery, while others were draped in sashes and medals signifying their status.

When Duke Latour himself walked slowly into his assigned seat in the front row, many gazes quietly converged upon him, tinged with a hint of surprise.

This Duke was not only highly accomplished in magic but also a dual-class Dragon Knight who had contracted a magical Rainbow Dragon; he was a renowned legendary powerhouse of the Empire.

However, this leader of the Imperial magical nobility had never been particularly interested in such matters regarding the enfeoffment of local lords, usually sending a representative to cast an abstention vote directly.

Why had he come in person today?

Some of the veteran nobles felt a stir in their hearts.

But upon reflection, this matter involved the change of a landed earldom, which was a significant event in recent years. It seemed plausible that Duke Latour had come to observe on a whim...

Soon, the senators or their representatives had all arrived.

The Speaker tapped the scepter in his hand, and his deep, resonant voice echoed throughout the hall, amplified by magic:

"This session of The Senate, now begins!"

"The agenda for today is to deliberate and approve the final disposition of the noble territory in Gino County, Will Province, involved in the Scarlet Heresy Case, and to confirm the new lord!"

Everyone's spirits lifted.

The main event had begun.

The secretary began to read the lengthy yet necessary investigation conclusions, as well as the core contents of the proposed disposition.

After the secretary finished reading the documents.

The Speaker announced loudly:

"We shall now begin the vote for the lord of Golden Flame Territory!"

"The rules remain the same: open ballot, magically displayed!"

In the center of the hall, a massive, translucent light screen slowly illuminated, with the names of the three candidates at the top:

Viscount Willis.

Viscount Hawke.

Baron Flynn.

Below were the blank vote tally columns.

There was no strict order for voting, but it usually began with the senators in the rear seats.

"Marquess Burns, please cast your vote."

"Abstain."

"Representative of Duke Hittens, please cast your vote."

"Viscount Willis."

"Ms. Hudson..."

"Viscount Hawke."

...

The voting proceeded methodically...

The vote tallies on the light screen began to fluctuate.

The votes for Viscount Willis and Viscount Hawke were neck and neck, rising alternately.

The name of Rowan Flynn was at the bottom, but his vote count grew steadily, primarily coming from the camp of the Church's traditional allies.

Mason sat in the royal observation area, his sharp gaze fixed on the light screen. His face was expressionless, but his spine was slightly tensed.

Eli Holmes and Lucius Winter stared intently at the changing vote counts, their palms slightly sweaty.

Princess Alice sat a bit further away, her iris-purple eyes watching the slowly rising vote count for Rowan, and she sighed inwardly.

As expected... was it still not enough?

But thinking of her previous promise, she bit her lip. When it was the turn of a certain marquess representative from her faction to vote, she gave them a look.

The marquess representative was slightly taken aback; he looked at the Princess, then at the light screen, and after a moment of hesitation, announced his supported candidate:

"Baron Rowan Flynn!"

"Hmm?" This vote caused a slight stir.

Mason turned his head abruptly, his gaze shooting like lightning toward the direction where Princess Alice was seated, his eyes filled with clear shock, anger, and questioning!

The Marquess Belmont family was a well-known centrist faction and one of the few senatorial families that Princess Alice could influence; this vote should have gone to Viscount Willis!

How could it have been cast for that Rowan?!

Princess Alice felt her brother's sharp gaze and her heart trembled; she guiltily averted her eyes but quickly regained her composure.

She thought:

"What is wrong with supporting Rowan? The Flynn Family are the truly loyal direct vassals of the royal family, okay? Brother Mason, you are sacrificing the greater good for personal gain, and I despise it!"

Mason snorted heavily, turned back, and his expression darkened slightly.

Although the loss of this vote was unexpected, it was still within the controllable range, as long as the subsequent...

The voting continued.

As one senatorial representative after another stood up to announce their supported candidate, the numbers on the light screen constantly changed.

Vanessa Bryce watched the changes in the vote count from the observation gallery, her brows tightly furrowed.

She noticed that several centrist families inclined toward the Church had cast abstention votes.

There were also some unexpected seats that had participated in the voting, casting their votes for Viscount Willis or Viscount Hawke, rather than casting the expected abstention votes.

In this way, the probability of Rowan winning the vote had greatly decreased, far below fifty percent; it might be less than ten percent now.

...

Soon, most of the senatorial seats had completed their voting.

Only the magical noble faction, led by Duke Latour, had yet to vote.

The vote tally was temporarily fixed at:

Viscount Willis: 25 votes.

Viscount Hawke: 24 votes.

Baron Flynn: 21 votes.

Abstentions: 15 votes.

Seeing this, Vanessa sighed softly.

As expected...

She had not expected the other two families to be so determined...

At this moment, the gaze of the entire hall involuntarily focused on Duke Latour in the front row.

According to custom, Duke Latour would cast an abstention vote, and then the magical nobles would follow Duke Latour's voting intention to cast their own votes.

Seeing this situation, Mason's slightly furrowed brows finally relaxed.

Although there had been a small surprise in the process, the result was still in line with expectations.

Once Duke Latour cast his abstention vote, this session of The Senate would come to an end.

Viscount Willis would take control of Gino City.

Eli and Lucius exchanged a glance, both seeing the regret in each other's eyes.

Just one vote short!

If they could have forced a tie and entered the next round of voting, perhaps there would have been some room to maneuver... what a pity.

Princess Alice also sighed softly; it seemed that Baron Rowan would, after all...

However, twenty-one votes was an unimaginable achievement for a Baron.

It was enough to earn him some prestige and credentials.

If there were another chance... showing his face in The Senate this time was not entirely useless.

Almost everyone believed that the outcome was set.

The Speaker's gaze also turned toward Duke Latour, preparing to follow procedure by inviting him to vote and then concluding this agenda item.

However, under the gaze of everyone, Duke Latour remained with his eyes slightly closed, his fingers resting gently on the armrest of his seat, as if in deep meditation, ignoring the surrounding gazes and the gradually rising murmurs.

Time passed second by second, and the chamber was exceptionally quiet; one could hear a pin drop.

This silence was incongruous with the atmosphere of impending finality, gradually breeding a sense of unsettling strangeness.

"Your Grace, Duke Latour," the Speaker had to speak up again, his voice exceptionally clear in the silence:

"Please cast your vote."

Upon hearing this, Duke Latour finally opened his eyes slowly.

His gaze swept calmly over the vote counts on the central light screen.

Then, he sighed almost imperceptibly.

He was heard clearly uttering a name:

"Rowan Flynn."

Hum—!

As soon as this name was spoken.

It was as if a giant boulder had been thrown into a calm lake!

The entire chamber erupted with a roar, instantly drowned by uncontrollable exclamations!

Everyone, regardless of which camp they had previously belonged to, had faces full of disbelief!

They looked at the magical light screen.

Rowan Flynn's vote count jumped from twenty-one to twenty-two.

Although he was still in third place.

But the latest name displayed after the voter was—

Reinhardt Latour!

This name was like the most glaring brand, searing everyone's vision!

"This... how is this possible?!"

"Duke Latour didn't cast an abstention vote? And instead voted for that Baron Flynn?!"

"What happened? Does the Latour Family have some connection with this Baron Flynn?!"

"Good heavens..."

Looking at the name on the magical screen, the smile on Mason's face froze instantly, and his eyes were filled with shock and confusion!

Eli and Lucius opened their mouths in astonishment, completely unaware that the documents in their hands had slipped away.

Vanessa was also taken aback; she thought of the question Rowan had asked her during their previous conversation.

If the Latour Family supported him...

Princess Alice was so shocked that she covered her slightly parted lips with her delicate hand, her iris-purple eyes widened, and her heart began to race wildly.

Duke Latour seemed completely unaware of the commotion around him.

After casting his vote, he returned to his calm demeanor and began to rest with his eyes closed.

However, this vote of his was like knocking over the first domino.

Behind him, those magical nobles who had originally intended to follow suit and cast abstention votes, after a brief moment of astonishment and looking at each other, quickly exchanged glances.

Duke Latour, the uncrowned king of the magical noble faction, had publicly declared his stance!

Although they were somewhat confused, following the leader's footsteps was an unspoken rule within this small circle, especially in such a public setting.

"Rowan Flynn."

Immediately following, a veteran magical marquess who looked to the Latour Family for leadership cast his vote in a deep voice.

"Rowan Flynn." Another representative of a magical noble family followed suit.

"Rowan Flynn."

"Rowan Flynn..."

One after another, the remaining representatives of the magical noble seats, after a brief hesitation, all followed Duke Latour and cast their votes.

And the object of their votes was, without exception—

Rowan Flynn!

On the magical light screen, the number after the name Rowan Flynn began to jump at a dizzying speed!

Twenty-three, twenty-four, twenty-five...

When the last seat that had not yet voted announced "Rowan Flynn," the numbers on the screen finally settled:

Rowan Flynn: 27 votes!

Viscount Willis: 25 votes!

Viscount Hawke: 24 votes!

Abstentions: 15 votes.

Ninety-one votes, thus, all cast!

Silence!

A deathly silence instantly swept across the entire magnificent chamber of The Senate.

Everyone stared dumbfounded at the glaring and absurd final result on the light screen.

A Baron won?

Reversed the result at the very last moment?

That small, rural Baron from the northern frontier with no foundation had actually defeated the candidate put forward by the royal family in a vote at The Senate, the highest power institution of the Empire, with an absolute advantage of twenty-seven votes to twenty-five, taking the lead!

This... how is this possible?!

This was simply the most incredible dark horse comeback in the Empire's political scene in the last decade!

The face of the Dawn Knight Mason was ugly to the extreme.

He glared fiercely at his sister, Princess Alice, who was in the distance with a shocked expression, and no longer able to maintain his composure, he strode out of the chamber.

Eli and Lucius sat in their chairs, exchanging bitter smiles, their faces filled with absurdity.

Unexpectedly, in the end, it was a rural Baron who emerged victorious.

What virtue or ability did that rural Baron have? To be able to make the Latour Family stand up for him?!

The shock on Vanessa's face gradually faded, and a complex emotion grew in her heart.

She couldn't describe the feeling, only feeling her heart beating like a drum, and one thought surged madly:

How on earth did he do it?!

That was the Latour Family!!!

The Speaker was also rarely stunned for a few seconds before heavily tapping his scepter and announcing the result in a somewhat dry voice:

"The vote is concluded!"

"According to the results of the vote in The Senate, it is hereby confirmed: the right of succession to the lordship of Golden Flame Territory in Gino County, belongs to—"

"Baron Rowan Flynn!"

"Effective immediately, he is promoted to Earl of Golden Flame!"

...