Shien elected Tear Knight Governor

The Silver Gate of the Candidate Room creaked softly.

The already tense atmosphere froze in an instant.

The four men inside stopped what they were doing almost simultaneously and turned toward the door.

The Silver Gate slowly opened from outside. The Recorder stood in the doorway and bowed to the four of them. "The results of the first round are in. Would all four candidates please return to the Weeping Council Hall?"

Shien steadied himself, then followed the Recorder back to the Weeping Council Hall, walking among the other three.

The four reentered the Weeping Council Hall. The white-gold sacred flame still blazed beneath the dome. All the Ballot Tokens had now been collected in a sealed case.

Only after all four had returned to their seats did the Chief Councilor rise and unfold the document containing the voting results.

He cleared his throat twice, then announced the results in a solemn, resonant voice. "The first vote has concluded. Candidate Sheen Greenwood has received more than half of the valid votes of support, and the sources of those votes meet the requirements of the Succession Statute.

There is no need for a second round of voting."

The instant his words fell, an invisible force seemed to press down on the Assembly Hall, plunging it briefly into deathly silence.

Even though most of those present already knew the outcome, the official announcement was still stunning.

As for the four candidates who had yet to hear the results, each reacted differently.

Lorenhill's hands, which he had raised to applaud, stopped in midair, while Raymont clenched his fists.

Even Shien's mind went blank. Only Edwin remained seated calmly, his expression remarkably composed.

The Recorder then laid out the detailed vote counts and seats on the table, listing the votes from each system