TPTM 17

Chapter 17

A few days later.

Many vassals had gathered for the irregularly convened family council of the Prezier house.

However, the seats of honor were reserved only for the direct descendants of the Prezier bloodline.

This time, even the respected elder retainers of the territory were not allowed to sit there.

That was because the matter up for vote was one of the most important decisions among the many councils held by the Prezier family.

“So the Grand Duke has finally put the Statis Plain on the table.”

“That fertile land has been left unused for so long.”

“He didn’t give it up willingly. The fact that he pushed it to a vote among the direct line shows he’s still leaving room for it to be rejected.”

Seated in the most prestigious position was Lilius Prezier, a direct descendant of the Prezier family and currently the only son of the Grand Duke residing in this territory.

Lilius wore a gentle and humble expression.

But several seasoned elders caught the fleeting flashes of low-grade smugness that occasionally crossed his face, and silently sighed.

“His Grace, the Grand Duke, has arrived.”

As Asis Prezier entered the meeting hall, everyone—including Lilius—bowed respectfully.

“Sit.”

Asis Prezier took his seat as the head of the family and slowly looked around the room.

“Father, did you rest well last night?”

Lilius quickly asked after the Grand Duke’s well-being.

Grand Duke Asis merely gave a faint nod before shifting his gaze elsewhere.

Among the seats reserved for the direct bloodline of the Prezier family, only Lilius was present.

The other sons and grandchildren were away from the territory, and Tedric Prezier had been stripped of the authority of the direct line, making his participation impossible.

According to the conservative principles of the Prezier family, daughters-in-law or sons-in-law had no right to participate in this voting council.

There was only one person who could sit in the highest seat without sharing the family’s blood.

The spouse of the family head.

Grand Duke Asis glanced at the empty seat beside him.

It had remained empty for over ten years.

The elder presiding over the meeting cleared his throat.

“Ahem. Since His Grace the Grand Duke has arrived, we will now begin the emergency voting sess—”

BANG.

“…?”

The retainers, who had been as silent as the grave under the Grand Duke’s presence, doubted their ears.

Click. Click.

With the crisp sound of heels striking the marble floor, someone walked past the gathered retainers and headed straight for the highest seat.

“…A lady?”

“Pink hair?”

“Miss Tullia?”

The last whisper came from Leck Kelfosher.

Tullia Prezier, her pink-tinged hair neatly braided, stopped in front of the most prestigious seat.

Directly across from Lilius Prezier, who was staring with wide eyes.

And just beneath Grand Duke Asis Prezier.

“Hello, Grandfather.”

Tullia bowed politely toward him.

When she raised her head again, her large eyes sparkled like summer greenery swaying under sunlight.

“I’m sorry I’m late. But I heard that I also have the right to participate.”

“…Ahem. Then we will proceed with the meeting.”

I sat comfortably in the soft chair, listening attentively with a constant smile.

“The matter concerns granting permission for the commercial use of the Statis Plain, located in the central region of the Grand Duchy.”

A small murmur spread among the vassals.

Right after my appearance, Lilius had shown a mixture of shock, displeasure, and disbelief. Now he cleared his throat and straightened his posture.

It must have been something he had been pushing for a long time.

That eager look on his face made it obvious.

“According to family law, those of the Prezier direct line who support this proposal, please raise your hands.”

Lilius immediately raised his hand in favor.

Then another nobleman seated one rank below Lilius and me also raised his hand.

“Ah, the representative of Count Nigella…”

It seemed Nigella Prezier was confident enough not to attend personally.

“Apparently his two sons are planning a joint venture on the Statis Plain…”

“Well, with two votes, that’s already a clear majority.”

“Ahem.”

The chairman cleared his throat to settle the room and spoke again.

“Those of the Prezier direct line who oppose this proposal, please raise your hands.”

I raised mine.

But unlike when Lilius voted in favor, no murmurs erupted.

In fact, very few of the retainers even considered me a true member of the Prezier family.

To them, it probably looked like some clueless fifteen-year-old girl randomly raising her hand.

‘Most importantly, I’m only one person.’

But you see—

If you think about it carefully,

I’m the only one.

After playing <Geumilbbang> dozens—no, hundreds—of times, I had experienced the Prezier family voting council event more times than I could count.

Thanks to that, I knew a way to quadruple my single vote with just one sentence.

“Chairman.”

Wearing a wicked and malicious—

No, confident and righteous—smile, I declared:

“All members of the Prezier Marquis family vote in opposition.”

“…!”

In the end, the voting meeting dragged on for another hour.

And the atmosphere was an absolute mess.

But the result?

“According to family law, the proposal to grant commercial use of the Statis Plain has been rejected.”

Lilius protested fiercely, veins bulging in his neck as he argued with the chairman.

But what could he do?

Family law was family law.

“Lilius Prezier.”

To make matters worse, the one who coldly asked whether he had a problem with family law was Grand Duke Asis Prezier.

At that, Lilius immediately fell silent.

Though his face turned red and then pale in frustration.

‘See? Focusing on one thing really does pay off.’

I felt proud thinking about how I had spent all my time playing <Geumilbbang> and nothing else.

‘Originally, this was a card even Koriko could never use.’

In the game, Koriko remained only a prospective daughter-in-law until right before the ending.

Of course, even after becoming a daughter-in-law, she still wouldn’t have voting rights according to Prezier family law.

That’s why in one of the endings, one of the male leads inherits the position of Prezier family head early, just to grant Koriko authority as the Grand Duchess.

That ending had been particularly difficult.

I still remembered struggling so much to achieve it.

The male lead of that incredibly hard pure-love ending—

The future head of the Prezier family—

‘Is Tullia’s real older brother. The elder of the twins.’

Lysian Prezier, heir to the Marquis of Prezier.

The owner of one of the votes I had just used today.

Another vote belonged to Tullia’s other twin brother.

And the last one, of course, belonged to Tullia’s father, Marquis Aster Prezier.

“Family sure is convenient.”

You could pull in voting rights like this.

Of course, if I had to choose between being born as Koriko or Tullia, I’d choose Koriko without hesitation.

Tullia was still a villain destined to die if she made the slightest mistake.

Still, protecting the Statis Plain and giving Lilius a proper slap in the face made me feel pretty good.

I happily hummed to myself as I walked toward my bedroom—

But I stopped less than a second later.

‘Gasp.’

“G-Grandfather?”

Hic.

“Ugh.”

A hiccup escaped, and I quickly covered my mouth with both hands.

Grand Duke Asis Prezier, who had been staring at me like a wrathful demon, suddenly turned around.

‘…Is he leaving?’

For a moment, hope flickered.

But then—

As he began walking, he said,

“Follow me.”

I glanced around nervously and hurried after the Grand Duke.