Half the Votes Crushed, an Astonishing Reversal

"Clang!"

As the clock continued to swing, time quickly slipped away with it. Before long, it was time for the vote.

The voting session began at two in the afternoon.

Compared with the morning, the atmosphere in the Upper House chamber was much tenser now.

The Old Guard Party's legislators had already completed their internal mobilization during the waiting period. Everyone's voting intentions had been unified and recorded, so they remained silent, quietly waiting for the vote to begin. The Reformist Faction's legislators, meanwhile, gathered in groups of three or four and whispered among themselves. All of them looked worried, clearly harboring little hope for the upcoming vote. The Neutral Faction's section remained as relaxed as before, but a closer look revealed that several legislators who had previously been resting with their eyes closed had already opened them. Those who had been staring blankly at their documents had also closed their folders and were quietly looking toward the front.

"Tap, tap!"

Under everyone's gaze, Wolf slowly left his seat as prime minister. He then strode steadily to the speaking platform and slowly began, "The bell has rung, and the vote shall begin. I hereby announce that the third proposal for the management of the Empire's territories, the Special Act on Restricting the Military Expansion of Autonomous Regions, is now officially open for voting."

"Those in favor, press the green button. Those opposed, press the red button. Those abstaining, press the white button."

"To demonstrate efficiency and fairness, this vote will last ten minutes in total. Unless a special request or an unforeseen circumstance arises, the voting period may not be extended or interrupted. Anyone who fails to vote before the time expires will be considered to have abstained!"

"Now, I ask all Imperial legislators to formally vote on this bill!"