The silence stretched for a long ti. It was one thing to witness the fall of the minister of defense so abruptly and entirely another thing for sobody to rise in that position at the very sa hour.
Inevitably the gathered politicians began to gossip among themselves.
"Really? A mortal woman being appointed the minister of defense? Has Magmorious really fallen so low?"
"Oh, so now you are starting to place doubts? Why did you keep your mouth shut when that greedy man abused his position? I can bet you have received quite generous donations from him."
"Baseless accusation!"
"Livia as the new minister? I am on board with the idea, but she should change how she carries herself."
"I want to object! I believe I am much better suited for the position!"
A deep frown etched on the pri minister’s face. He hadn’t just appointed Livia as the new minister of defense on a whim. Before the eting took place, he had conducted a thorough investigation and uncovered that not only was Livia the most worthy of the position, but also she didn’t have even a single scandal about corruption.
Sothing that sadly has been incredibly rare in human politics since ancient tis.
’These fools really love to act like children.’ He thought. The place had beco so loud that even his own voice was going to be drowned out.
Ughm!
Yet in a heartbeat, all voices, whether of agreent or disagreent, were silenced.
Robert hadn’t yelled or risen from his seat, nor did he release a part of his aura. Simply clearing his throat was enough to freeze the entire place in silence.
"I, for one, am fully on board with the idea and would like to extend my utmost gratitude to the pri minister for making the most logical conclusion." Robert said, his lips curling into a charming smile that held the power to smite any mortal woman.
"..."
The silence that followed was palpable. Magmorious might have been a city driven by democratic voting, but it was essential to rember the foundations that made such a system possible. The Lords, whose long-standing protection had kept the capital secure, rightfully held significant sway in the voting process.
Though usually abstaining from giving their opinions since they always shifted the outco in their favor, today Robert had taken upon himself to stand alongside Livia.
She, in turn, still stunned that she had been selected for the new position, glanced at him, her heart racing with emotions.
A second later another voice sounded.
"I agree, Livia is the best choice."
Another Lord had taken the initiative to speak.
A third waved his hand. "Abstaining from voting."
"I support Livia."
"There isn’t a better option than Livia."
"If a comrade deems her worthy, then she is."
Like a domino effect, Robert’s opinion quickly swayed the other Lords. They rarely disagreed with each other. If one had an opinion, the others usually backed it without question. They found human politics dull and simply wanted to move past it as quickly as possible.
"It seems that the Lords do not find flaws in my assessnt." The pri minister said, a smile tugging his face.
"This is your one and only chance. If sobody wants to object, speak now or remain silent for eternity."
"..."
Unavoidably, with the Lords sharing their stance, nobody dared go against them.
"There you have it. I congratulate the new Minister of Defense, Livia. I expect great things from you."
Just then did Livia seem to grasp what had really transpired. Taking a shallow breath, she put her hand over her heart.
"I will do my best!"
The rest of the eting passed swiftly, coming to a few decisions.
First and foremost, the governnt would confirm the existence of the rogue AIs that have been going around kidnapping humans to experint upon them.
Second, it was to assemble multiple squads dedicated to exploring the network of illegally dug tunnels beneath the city and revealing their hidden truths. It was no surprise that the proposal ca from Livia, ensuring that Michael’s job of navigating the tunnels beca significantly simpler.
Third, the old minister of defense that had tried to cover the real reason for kidnappings, causing thousands of humans to die and indirectly tearing countless families apart, was sentenced to death. His execution was to be carried out imdiately.
This had been sothing the pri minister insisted on. When he had declared that he was going to kill the ex-minister of defense, he in fact had been deadly serious.
Promptly after the eting was dismissed, everybody left the main assembly hall in a hurry, having to deal with the aftermath of the rogue AIs.
Livia too walked towards her office, though her eyes were glued to the floor, looking strangely unfocused. Her mouth was moving with no voice coming out.
Robert, who was walking next to her, patted her on the shoulder, bringing her out of her daze.
"Don’t doubt yourself. We have been together for long enough to tell you this. You deserve this more than anyone else."
"..."
She stared at him blankly before scoffing. "Easy for you to say. Do you even have an ounce of an idea how much workload is going to be dumped on from now on?"
The Lord shrugged. "No, but you are going to deal with it just fine."
Livia didn’t answer, though from the side it was clear her lips had curled into a faint smile.
Reaching the entrance of her office, Livia was surprised to see Michael and his crew eagerly waiting.
"Oh, you are back?" Michael glanced at her with a warm smile.
"Judging by the large grin plastered over Robert, I assu that it went well?" He guessed, tilting his head to the side in mischief.
Exhaling slowly, Livia shook her head. "You have no idea."
Unwilling to let them linger outside her office for long, she gestured for the crew to enter.
"Co inside, we have to talk. I don’t know if what happened was all according to your calculations... Regardless, it’s going to benefit you massively anyway."
Michael couldn’t help himself, starting to grin just like Robert was. Her words were like music to his ears.
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