Chapter 458: You are henceforth dismissed from the Council.

“Choose.”

Lavinia spoke as she stared at every single Elder present in the Council room one by one before turning back to Morvain and—

“Either Kael, the ’tyrannical’ man you all wish to avoid so much,

Or Draksis, the ’poor victim’ of Kael’s ’tyranny.’

Choose and keep it in your mind,

This will be your final choice.”

The Mage declared, and in an instant, the air inside the Council Hall turned heavy.

No one moved at first, not even Morvain. The early morning glow that came from the window cast long shadows, making everyone look older, tired, and… uncertain. Lavinia sat with her back straight, showing that she had no intention of backing down. She also held Kael’s hand tightly, as if showing him that she was here for him no matter what.

Kael simply looked at Lavinia—who was still staring daggers at the Council Members—with a light smile on his face.

Other than him, every person sitting in the Hall remained still, their bodies tense.

In a situation as burdening as this—

Aelindra was the first to speak.

“Lady Lavinia… please,” she said carefully, “we can’t just—”

Lavinia raised her hand, cutting her off without even looking her way.

“We can,

And we will.”

She replied instantly.

“We have wasted three meetings on this nonsense—petty arguments, wounded egos, and a man too scared of his own mistakes to move forward.

That is enough. I believe every one of us wants to put an end to this farce.”

“Lavinia.”

Morvain called out in a sharp tone.

“You are crossing a line.”

“Am I?”

Lavinia tilted her head, her eyes bright and cold.

“Tell me, Matriarch, how many days do you think we can waste before the next attack? Or perhaps we can call another meeting, cry about trees and corpses while the enemy sets fire to the rest of our land?”

“Watch your words.”

Morvain raised her voice.

“I am watching my words.”

Lavinia raised her voice as well; it was clear that the woman was prepared for a fight.

The tense air got even tenser.

“Lady Lavinia, no one is denying the urgency, but perhaps this can be settled after—”

Korvath tried to step in but—

“No.”

Lavinia interrupted again.

“It ends now. We will vote and be done with it.

We have real problems to face, and this Council seems too fond of arguing over the smallest of them.”

“And what exactly do you mean by vote?”

Morvain questioned as she raised her eyebrow.

“Simple.”

Lavinia shrugged.

“Since it is clear that Draksis and Kael cannot stay in the same room, it is time we decide who to keep.

We vote between the two, and the one who gets voted out will no longer participate in the Council Meetings.”

The Mage explained.

At those words, Draksis, who still hadn’t moved because of the Dragon that was still glaring at him, finally felt his heart thump. For the first time since all this began, he felt a flicker of hope.

’Good,’ he thought.

’Let them vote. Let them see. The Council would never choose an outsider over one of their own.’

Yes, the Leader of Forge was confident.

But then—

“And of course, it goes without saying, the one who is voted out will be stepping down from his title and all the responsibilities they have been carrying till now—no longer needing to do what they have been doing till now and only working like a normal Velmourn in any of the six Veins they are best fit in.”

Lavinia added, and no one in the Hall was dumb enough not to understand the underlying meaning behind her words.

It was a threat.

A threat that if Kael was voted out, he would stop everything he had been doing for the Velmourns till now—a threat that instantly made the Elders nervous.

“And if we refuse to take part in this farce?”

Morvain crossed her arms as she questioned.

“Then I’ll assume your refusal as fear of the truth.”

Lavinia shrugged.

“We can’t call ourselves leaders if we can’t face the truth, can we?”

“Enough with the games.”

The Matriarch finally snapped.

“You’re using politics as a weapon, Lavinia. This is nothing but a threat.”

“A threat?”

Lavinia frowned.

“If calling for clarity and efficiency is a threat, then by all means, consider me threatening.”

She answered.

“You’re counting Kael’s deeds like coins, weighing their worth against loyalty.”

Morvain’s voice deepened.

“Do not think we do not see what you are trying to do.”

The Matriarch stared at the Mage.

The Mage, however, just chuckled.

“Oh, I’m not stopping anyone from counting, Matriarch.

If we are to compare, let us do so properly, no?”

She then turned toward the man who was still frozen and—

“The Leader of Forge has served the Council and the People for decades. Surely, his accomplishments must fill volumes, right?”

Her smile then widened.

“If anything, I am giving him quite a big advantage. Compared to his decades of service, Kael, who has only been here for mere weeks, should be nothing, no?

If we count them all and compare, I am sure the Leader of Forge will come out on top. If not then…”

The Mage turned silent for a moment, staring at every Council Member and then the Matriarch—

“Then you might want to use what happened today as a self-reflection of what you and the Council have become.”

She spoke.

Her tone was light, but her words were venomous—words that even made the ever-so-expressionless Morvain react strongly.

Draksis felt his body shudder when he heard those words. His confidence shook for a moment, but he still believed that after the voting ended, he would come out victorious.

If anything, he wanted the Matriarch to stop delaying the matter and get on with it. Of course, he still did not say anything; after all, the Dragon was still here.

“Enough of this performance.”

In the end, Morvain said coldly.

“We will not divide the Council over pride.”

She declared.

“Oh, but it’s already divided.”

Lavinia laughed.

“You simply refuse to admit it.”

The Mage then turned to everyone and—

“Let’s not waste another breath; we have more important matters to attend to after this.”

She spoke and finally—

“Those who wish for Kael to remain and Draksis to step down—raise your hands.”

She spoke, raising her hand.

Obviously, her vote was for Kael.

But…

“…”

“…”

“…”

No one else said anything.

Draksis inwardly grinned at that sight. Just as he expected, the Elders chose him. He slowly looked at Lavinia, secretly hoping to see her despairing face but…

Lavinia’s expression was calmer than ever.

She simply added another statement,

“The voting ends in a minute.

If no one raises their hand before the time ends, Kael will have one vote.”

And in an instant, everything changed.

“…I choose Kael.”

The first one to speak was Aelindra.

“You…”

Morvain’s face darkened.

Draksis too looked shocked.

Aelindra, however, completely ignored Draksis and glanced at Morvain with a hesitant look on her face—

“She won’t step back, Matriarch. While I stand with you and do not want this, I also realize that we Velmourns cannot lose Kael for Draksis. There is no comparison between the two.”

The Warden of Provision answered.

Morvain’s jaw tightened. She wanted to say something, she wanted to stop this, but… she could sense the shift in power.

She could sense how Lavinia had taken control of the Council Meeting. This was the reason she didn’t want this woman to start speaking.

But… this wasn’t her primary problem because—

“I choose Kael too.”

Korvath, the Commander of Watch, raised his hand as well.

He didn’t act before because, just like Aelindra, he wanted this to stop. But again, like Aelindra, he too realized Kael’s importance; he knew they could not lose him.

Yes, Lavinia’s ’threat’ worked on them.

“You too…?”

Morvain was taken aback.

“We have no choice.”

Korvath answered directly. As someone used to making difficult decisions, he knew he had to do what was right.

“…”

Morvain turned silent.

She looked at the other Elders; no one else raised their hand. If Kael only got half the votes and Draksis got the other half, she might be able to stop this foolishness.

With that thought in her mind, she raised her hand as well.

“I choose Draksis.”

She spoke, staring at Lavinia.

Both women knew that the Matriarch went against the rules, but it did not matter. There were no fair rules to this in the first place.

Sensing what the Matriarch was trying to do, the oldest Elder, the High Chronicler, raised her hand as well.

“Draksis.”

She spoke, supporting the Matriarch.

Finally, all Elders turned towards Tarevian.

Morvain sighed inwardly. Now, as long as Tarevian understood what to do, this would be over.

Or…

That was what she thought, but then—

“Considering that me and Kael came here as one entity, inseparable from each other, this voting affects me too.

So I do not think it is fair to Elder Draksis if we count my vote.”

Saying those words, Lavinia lowered her hand.

“What are you trying to do…?”

Morvain asked, her annoyance now clear on her face.

Lavinia, however, just tilted her head.

“What do you mean? I am simply making this fair for everyone. My vote is biased, and we, as the Council that works for the people, should remain unbiased, don’t you think?”

She answered politely, but obviously, the Matriarch could tell what the Mage was trying to do.

If she pulled out her vote now, Kael would then have two votes. If Tarevian voted for Draksis now, like she wanted him to, then Kael would leave the Council…

And just like the other Elders, Morvain too knew that this couldn’t happen.

The worst part?

She couldn’t do anything about it now. After all, there was now no way to balance the votes, and just as the Matriarch expected—

Tarevian gave her a guilty look before he slowly raised his hand and—

“I choose Lord Kael too…”

He spoke in a low voice, and Draksis, who thought he would win after Lavinia took her vote back, widened his eyes in disbelief.

“W-Wha…?”

He called out in utter disbelief.

And Lavinia—

She smiled.

“Then the result is clear.”

She shrugged.

“No! What do you mean clea—!?”

Draksis raised his voice, ready to snap at the Mage, but the moment he moved, the Dragon moved as well. The pale-faced Draksis froze in fear, swallowing his words with a gulp.

And Lavinia—

She glanced at Draksis with a smile and—

“Draksis Velmourn,

As decided by the Council’s unanimous decision,

You are henceforth dismissed from the Council.”

She declared.

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