บท 28: Harriet's Proposal
Harriet and the rest of the assembly sat listening to the Emperor's assistant read out the facts gathered about every critical point in the wars in the West. A written document containing each incident was distributed to everyone, which was much more in-depth and detailed than what was read.
Harriet stared blankly at the document, most of which was information she had written down with her own hands from the North and sent to the Emperor after hearing the story of the Old Duke returning from the war.
After the Emperor talked about her offer at the dinner table last night at the meeting, everyone stared at her, asking for confirmation. Harriet just nodded, adding a sentence.
“But Almandine and Amaryllis will only help defend the continent, not to launch a counterattack on the West Continent.”
Everyone nodded in understanding because this was fair.
“So that's your offer, Marchioness?” asked the Emperor.
Harriet shook her head.
"I'll make my offer clear," said Harriet with a faint smile.
She reminded everyone that in this war, the only victims who fell were the Lycans fighting, her brother's aide knights, and her brother, Heath. And of the enemies, only one mage and prince from one of the Kingdoms on the West Continent lost his hand.
"Let's wait for their response," said Harriet calmly.
The woman raised her three fingers.
"My offer and terms are," she explained. “One, if all the kingdoms of the West Continent unite and attack us, Almandine and Amaryllis will only help defend the continent. While Harriet Goldlane will help organize a counterattack.”
"Two, if the Kingdom that attacked us invites us to take a peaceful path by apologizing and handing the culprits over to us, then the culprits will be handed over to Goldlane, Almandine, and Amaryllis. Without anyone being able to interfere."
“Third, if the Kingdom that attacked us doesn't want to take the path of peace and insists on going to fight against us on its own, without the help of other kingdoms from the West. Then the fight will be resolved by Goldlane, Almandine, and Amaryllis alone, without anyone being able to interfere.”
Finished with her words, Harriet suddenly added another finger.
"Four," she said, and everyone fell silent.
“If they use their scheming again and tarnish the honor of the Lycans to harm our people, then Almandine and Amaryllis will join in on the attack. Even if we are against the entire West Continent.”
Harriet had finished her statement representing the position the three clans would take under the four scenarios.
“You must be aware that in all four scenarios, no matter what happens, I will be involved, right?” asked Harriet with a smile. "I promise not to abandon my responsibilities."
The woman stood up.
“My presence here is no longer needed. Contact me when we have an answer. Let's all hope that only the Lycans and I are needed to solve this problem, and our entire continent won't have to endure the war,” said Harriet calmly.
She bowed to everyone and walked away with her Lycan guards.
As soon as Harriet left, the meeting room became very noisy and filled with relief. The Emperor smiled faintly, but it was a little bland. Harriet ultimately decided to take on new responsibilities by volunteering to help protect the Continent with her strength.
The Emperor had always had high expectations of Harriet, and he wasn't surprised that Harriet had suggested that she sort things out, no matter what ensued. But it seemed that he'd been too hard on her...
The Emperor tapped his gilded wand on the floor, stopping everyone's discussion.
“Let's respect the Marchioness' statement and do our duty to protect the continent according to our respective roles,” said the Emperor.
Everyone looked up at the Emperor.
“But don't forget that Almandine and Goldlane are also the people of our continent that we must protect. They may not be weak humans, but we have coexisted peacefully for centuries. The Marchioness takes full responsibility knowing our Empire's difficulty in dealing with attacks, so we must repay her sense of responsibility in the same way,” the Emperor said.
"Let's protect our peace together."
Everyone answered firmly to the Emperor's firm words.
“Let's protect the Lycans as they protected us!”
Loud cheers were heard.
Walking away from the closed throne room, Harriet looked back and smiled at the thunderous cheers. She chuckled.
Sir Russell smiled at Harriet, who looked satisfied.
"If we show our intention to protect, then we will also be protected," said Harriet gently. Sir Russell nodded with a chuckle.
While watching the back of Harriet's figure as she started to walk away, Sir Russel felt that the Old Duke had made the right decision.
But at the same time, A light blue-haired young man furrowed his brows deeply in disapproval.
Harriet again.
It was always her, again and again.
Seeing his father supporting the woman again in front of everyone and seeing everyone moved by the woman, Ezekiel was unhappy.
Couldn't they see that that villainous woman was manipulating them?
Why can't they see it? He clenched his fists to the sides. Ezekiel hated Harriet Goldlane with all his heart.
***
"Is that true? So now she's married to the Young Lord of the Almandine family?” asked a pretty girl with brown hair.
The young girl looked displeased to hear the news. She showed a complicated expression.
Ezekiel nodded with a cold expression and furrowed his brows.
“I promised to make her pay for everything she did to you by exiling her to the outskirts, but now she has become the future Duchess,” said the Crown Prince.
The brown-haired girl shook her head gently.
“It's not your fault, Zeke. We don't know what will happen. Moreover, we know how cunning Harriet Goldlane is,” the girl said but with an uncomfortable expression.
Ezekiel sighed softly.
"That's right, she's cunning," said Ezekiel quietly. The man then talked about what Harriet suggested at today's meeting. Ezekiel told her how his father supported Harriet and what she unthinkingly proposed.
The brown-haired young girl nodded.
“She wants to steal everyone's attention again, right? Why is she so obsessed with power?” she sighed in concern.
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