Chapter 104: The Student Council Presidential Election.

Chapter 104: The Student Council Presidential Election.

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Student Council President Election (5)

As the student council president election fast approached, the atmosphere on campus became increasingly charged. There was already some consensus among the students about who the candidates would be. The interest in Princess Penia in particular was sky-high, to the point where even students who normally cared about nothing beyond their studies were eagerly awaiting her declaration to run.

Lortel Keherln declared his candidacy for student council president as of this morning.

Princess Penia could hardly hide her surprise at the news brought by her knight, Cler.

Lortel Keherln of Elte Trading Company He said it himself?

Yes.

Princess Penia cocked her head, puzzled. Lortel Keherln was widely known as a power broker who operated behind the scenes, not someone who would seek a high-profile office. Plus, Lortel was busy running the Elte merchant house. It seemed impossible that he could manage the duties of both that and the demanding role of student council president. If he truly was running for president, it would mean hed have to virtually abandon his merchant duties.

But she couldnt believe that Clers information was incorrect, as he always brought carefully verified intelligence.

This isnt good If she, already gripping the residential districts sphere of influence, becomes student council president too within Sylvainia, shed reign supreme, like a queen. Thats something Id like to avoid.

If its Princess Penia

But I have no intention to be the student council president.

Penia cut Clers advice short. After setting down her teacup on the grand table in her personal quarters of the royal residency, she grew lost in thought until she finally came to a decision.

I need to meet with Tanya from the guest quarters.

*

You cant stay hidden forever, Tanya.

Deep within the first floor corridors of the royal residency and past several turns, lay the guest quarterssecluded enough that none but the cleaning staff would likely venture inside.

Due to the isolated geographical feature of Aken Island, where the empires peripheries lie, few dignitaries paid a visit, rendering the guest quarters seldom used despite being a standard architectural practice.

However, these rooms had become a sanctuary for Tanya, who had fled here, so in retrospect, constructing such rooms hadnt been a total waste.

When Princess Penia entered, Tanya was just sitting at the table, trembling slightly.

Princess Penia

While I may not know just how close Edel Losteller was to Lortel Keherln it seems that merchant has made up his mind to secure Tanyas cooperation.

Princess Penia remembered clearly Lortels staunch support for Edel.

Although the exact nature of their relationship was unknown, she could infer that Edel held deep significance for Lortel.

Either way, before you can do anything, you need to clear your name of the accusation that you assassinated Edel Losteller.

But when I think about it, given all the circumstantial evidence, I would also believe that I was the perpetrator. Its not an ideal situation.

Then, I have no choice but to ask for your thoughts, Tanya.

Princess Penia, brushing her gleaming platinum locks aside, joined Tanya at the table across from her.

Looking at the girl, who resembled Edel so closelyfrom her fiery golden hair to her featuresit brought back memories of the man whose life ended so absurdly and prematurely.

While Edel was no longer of this world, Penia could vow not to repeat the same mistakes.

If you werent the one who instructed the murder of Edel Losteller, then who could have orchestrated it?

The question was tied to a long-standing doubt that Princess Penia harbored.

The deep and dark mystery surrounding the Losteller family. Should she even manage to grasp a fragment of that darkness, helping Tanya wouldnt be entirely meaningless.

That is

Tanya hesitated, looking down.

The suspects for the murder, Cadec and Nox, were long-standing vassals of the Losteller family.

Being a vassal implied not just personal loyalty, but carrying the honor of the family on ones shoulders, trained to conduct oneself carefully so as not to tarnish the family name.

What were the chances that these individuals, without any directive from their house, would independently commit murder?

Moreover, having been dispatched from their homeland to Aken Island, to the fantasy of stabbing their once-young master to death was certainly not something done on a whim.

The situation may have spiraled into crime, but there had to be a mastermind dictating such an assassination.

That could be perhaps

Tanya knew that if she hadnt given the order, only a few people would have been capable of instructing Cadec and Nox to take such drastic measures.

The most likely suspect she could think of was her father, Crpin Losteller, whom she had deeply respected.

If not him, there was nobody else who could have commanded the murder of Edel Losteller.

Penia didnt need to press, as she could infer the mastermind just by observing Tanyas reluctance. After all, Princess Penia had harbored doubts about Crpin Lostellers shady intentions all along.

Nevertheless, she did not pursue the matter further. The notion that Tanyas trust in her father, who had performed such actions without a second thought, might be shattered was too hard for Tanya to digest on her own.

Cadec and Noxs reason for coming to Sylvainia the pretext of assisting me seems to have been just that, a pretext. Their true purpose was to kill Ed. Brother

Suddenly, clarity struck Tanya, and she began to speak.

Tanya

I was merely a puppet.

Tanya whispered, head bowed down.

On reflection, Tanyas life had always seemed to fall into that pattern.

How often had she truly decided anything for herself and achieved something significant?

After becoming sensible of the surroundings, she had grown up under Eds wayward tyranny, biding her time.

Even after arriving in Sylvainia, she had done little beyond exuding the aura of accomplishment predicated on the glory of the Losteller name rather than her own merits.

Without the backing of the Losteller family, Tanya realized she hadnt achieved anything on her own meritwithout the dignified status of a noble ladys birth, she was merely a young girl who had studied slightly harder than most of her age.

That painful realization hit hard as she stifled a sob with her head still bowed.

But she did not let the tears flow. As she firmly held her gaze upon Penia once more, the fearful expression had largely vanished. Her efforts to fight back the tears and maintain a steadfast demeanor deeply impressed Penia.

The Losteller family was considered arrogant and greedy, and Penia had been unable to trust them.

Now, seeing Tanyas demeanor, Penias preconceived notions about the Lostellers gradually started crumbling.

The 1st Grade Combat Department top student Wade was already supporting Princess Penia, and the 4th Grade Alchemy Department top student Dorothy supported Tanya, so they were not considered.

Moreover, the 2nd Grade Magic Department top student Lucy and the 3rd Grade Magic Department top student Yenika refrained from voting until the end. Lucy out of laziness, and Yenika out of absolute neutrality.

Hmm

If everything had followed the script, the events should have unfolded thus, but the actual story has become twisted in unexpected ways.

The fractures that began in Act I swelled into an uncontrollable snowball by Act III. The election dynamics are unpredictable at this junction.

Thus, hoping for everything to proceed exactly as I know is pure greed.

However, there is hope that Princess Penia will seize power as this will be of great benefit during the later Crepin subjugation questa wish that it would flow according to the original setup.

Its impossible to match every minor flow, but to prepare for later events, the major currents must align favorably for my position.

But The words of Rortel cannot simply be ignored.

First, Ill make Tanya the student council president, by any means necessary.

Sitting on a tan rock with the crashing waves as a backdrop, I cracked a wry smile.

Behind that facade lies the grand merchant of Elte Company, teeming with thousands of wily schemes.

When asked why he wanted to make Tanya the student council president, the girl from my memories replied.

Because shes your sister, after all.

That was Rortels tailored picture-perfect answer.

Rortels true motives always hinted at deeper intricacies.

As such, I cannot remain passive in this situation.

However, what action to take is ambiguous. Currently, I am officially dead.

I must quickly put an end to this pointless charade of death to move more freely.

*

Ive gathered the necessary documents for submission here. Youve really decided to run for student council president, Representative Rortel.

Thank you, Secretary Lien. You may leave them there.

Rortel hummed a tune with apparent glee, giving quick instructions to the cute, red-haired secretary.

Rortel, who usually handled most tasks without a secretary, left Lien, a low-ranking employee at Elte Companys Silvenia branch, with a rather peculiar job. Certainly, Rortel taking on student council election work seemed too vast an undertaking.

The oddity lay in throwing his hat into the ring, knowing full well the workload. Did he intend to abandon company work if actually elected?

Deputy Rortel, I have

Lets avoid unnecessary questions, shall we?

Perceiving Liens curiosity, Rortel, without pausing his document-flipping hand, replied sharply.

Quite frankly I have no intention of becoming student council president.

Then these documents are for?

Suddenly, Rortels dancing hand over the documents came to a standstill. Ink slowly spread beneath the stationary quill.

Can we stick to necessary questions only?

Despite his warm and beautiful smile, Lien felt a chill run down her spine and hurriedly apologized before closing the office door behind her.

Alone again, Rortel resumed his tune, reanimating the quill.

After all itll all come out eventually

Tanya Rostrail feared Rortel, seeing him as someone who believed she caused Eds death.

By keeping that notion alive and subtly hinting at retaliation, Rortel became the whip pressuring Tanya.

On the other hand, whether its Penia or Tanya theyd both feel a strange debt to the officially deceased Ed Rostrail.

Their psychological debtstemming from not recognizing the mans sincerity, mistreating him, and neglecting him until his deathwont easily fade. Considering the nature of their personalities, thats even more likely.

If left undisturbed, this debt could fester, elevating Ed Rostrail in their consciousness, turning him into an untouchable sanctuary.

Then, when Ed Rostrail returns, the accumulated guilt and a budding desire for compensation will finally blossom, making Eds recognition and actions difficult for them to refusethe carrot they wont be able to resist.

By continually stirring this sense of indebtedness towards Ed Rostrail, its possible to find them all ensnared by Eds devices sooner or later. Peoples psyches become more extreme when cornered. The whip intended for such manipulation is Rortel himself.

A balancing act between resistance and acceptance, conquering others on his palm, tuning them to his accord.

Holding both the whip and the carrot, gradually pulling the future student council president into his grasp is akin to a puppeteer controlling marionettes.

For Rortel, whos lived manipulating human relationships within the mercantile world for half his life, the sticky web of power play is as natural as breathing.

*

Hey, Bell.

You have 24 days and 3 hours left.

Bells response was almost automatic, but the days did not dwindle.

Lucy sat, legs hugged to her chest in her private room chair, and began to click the chair out of sheer restlessness.

-Clatter-bang!

Eventually, she lost balance and fell over. Lying aimlessly on the floor and gazing at the ceiling, the world remained motionless.

Just kill me.

I cannot do that.

Just kill me!!!

She had vowed never to succumb to emotion and cause a ruckus again, but separate from that, she still had 2/3 of her punishment to serve.

Silent prayer.

Only the face of the stoic housekeeper Bell gleamed as if freed from the worries of the world.

To Lucy, Bells face was utterly unbearable.