?A week later,
People gather in the heart of every city in the Republic of Cerdeauxia. Commercial activities were halted today as the citizens of the republic won't be available to do any sort of business.
Today is voting day. The voting centres are filled primarily with blue and white colours. Flags were hoisted at the top of the building where voting would take place.
The military was placed nearby to prevent any sort of provocative action among the voters.
There are eight channels to vote, according to the group's age. One needs to bring proof of city residency to be able to vote for the staff to check and validate.
Due to that, a long line formed on its own.
However, it did not prevent voters from fulfilling their responsibilities.
The validation process may take most of the time. But once you've been validated, the voting process itself starts and finishes within a few minutes at most.
You simply go into the designated room, draw an 'X' on your choice, put it in the ballot box and leave.
....
At CRP Headquarters,
While the voters lined up under the scorching sun, the election candidates were enjoying breakfast without any care for the voters' wellbeing.
CRP had done all it could to turn public opinion in its favour. Now, they simply sit back and wait for the results.
Walter or Russell, despite being reassured by many people was sweating profusely. He had been warned multiple times by Acellin about the consequences of his failure to win.
Given how much he knows about the whole thing, the death penalty would be an excessively lenient punishment for him.
Even now, he can feel eyes on him.
Watching his every move.
The venue suddenly became louder.
Russell looks up and sees Acellin coming through the door. His entire body instantly was assaulted by a jolt of fear. How could he not? This man tortured him as a part of 'training'. Despite that, he's willing to bear it for the sake of revenge and claim his rightful ownership.
Russell watched from afar.
Acellin's arrival was enthusiastically greeted by the highest members of the party. He is, after all, the biggest fundraiser for this campaign. CRP members naturally have to pay respects to him.
"I see all members of the supreme council smiling from ear to ear. Are you confident in winning this elecxia?" Acellin displays a polite gesture by asking them that question.
He basically can guess the outcome because his subordinates always had their eyes on the PoR and voting centre all the time. They're ready and waiting to change the result election if needed.
"Of course, Mr Acellin. How can we not be confident when we spend all the money you gave for this sole purpose? We need to show everyone that we accept young leadership in government, not some usual brain-stiff old men."
Acellin nods in agreement, "Good, good. If Ryntum can do it, Cerdeauxia can do it too. They're not the only ones with a young and capable leader."
"Hahaha, you're absolutely right, Mr Acellin. Things are looking good for us."
"Is that so? How's the attendance of the people at the voting centre by the way?"
"The latest report we received stated that 38 per cent of Cerdeaux citizens already cast the vote."
"Really?!" Acellin exclaimed. "It's not even noon yet."
"We know. That's why we're excited." The supreme council member then called for their president's candidate. "Mr Walter, what're you doing in the corner alone? Come here and meet your cousin. You're the star for today."
Russell makes his way toward them in a hurry, "Acellin..."
Staying true to his character, Acellin hugs his 'cousin', "Walter, my dear cousin!! Who would know that you would compete for the presidential seat? Your parents must be proud of you. May you achieve a glorious victory today. Your future depends on it."
Acellin wishes him good luck mixed with a subtle warning right in front of council members. However, their ears judge it as only a congratulatory wish from cousin to cousin.
Russell nods his head slowly. Blackout has spent a lot to get to this point. So, they obviously want it to succeed.
"Excuse me, gentlemen. I want to speak privately with my cousin."
"Alright, Mr Acellin. We won't disturb you anymore."
As soon as the council member got far enough, Acellin changed his friendly tone to a stern one.
"Russell..."
"Y-Yes, sir!"
"There's something I had to tell you." He put his hand on Russell's shoulder. He whispered to him, "Apparently, PoR had received help from your brother in this campaign. Though his involvement isn't as deep as ours, he still throws a substantial amount of money to the Party of Royalists. Once you win, I need you to put pressure on that party but don't make it too obvious. We didn't want people to see you as a leader with a vengeful attitude."
Acellin proceeded in giving future Blackout puppet president several ideas he can use.
An unclear source of income, explicit behaviour of party members, bribery, nepotism and so on.
Russell nodes obediently upon hearing Acellin's suggestion.
For once, he's grateful for Riz's uncaring attitude. He doesn't know if Riz wishes to reclaim this land or not.
One thing is for sure, he'll be in deep trouble if Riz wants to be involved in this elecxia. He knows firsthand just how cunning his brother is.
Naturally, he had no reason to refute Acellin's order as this would help him stabilize his position.
Yet, at the same time, he feels one step closer to becoming a puppet of Blackout.
Thus, Russell tried his best to rationalize his life choice. He didn't want to lose his ability to think and end up dancing in their palm blindly.
'One day, I'll crush all of you under my feet!' Silently, he resolved to break free from these shackles.
Acellin on the one side completely unaware of his puppet's inner thoughts. He couldn't care less about it. If he is dissatisfied with Russell, he'll replace him with another person.
Before he leave, he didn't forget to give a little warning to this little puppet. "Wait here quietly until the result is announced. Don't try anything funny just because you become president."
The sunset marked the end of the voting process. No one can cast a vote anymore.
Darkness befalls the continent.
The Cerdeauxians however isn't one bit of care about it. The usage of candles on this particular night is at an all-time high in a five-year period.
Everybody is nervously waiting for the results.
The election committee proceeded with the process of counting and tallying votes.
The faster they counted, the faster they can announce the winner.
This is where Acellin's subordinates shine. In every vote-counting centre, they'll ensure the CRP got a landslide victory. Without the absence of electric light, the counting process depends entirely on candlelight.
At midnight, the results from all cities arrived at the capital. Cerdeauxians who stay awake are aware of this development.
The capital was once again abuzz and the city centre once again became crowded with people, reporters, politicians and foreign spies.
The palpitations are increasingly felt by every Cerdueaxian.
A man walked up onto the reassemble stage, holding a piece of paper.
"Good evening ladies and gentlemen. I'm the chief election committee for this round of elecxia. As all of you may guess, I'm currently holding an election result with me. Without wasting any time, I'll directly announce it. Out of 35 parliament seats, 28 of them won by Cerdeauxia Reformation Party while the rest belong to the Party of Royalists."
The man later announces the breakdown by explaining the results from each city.
He pays no attention to the reaction below.
Some of them cheered with joy while others wept with sadness.
The sourc𝗲 of this content is fre(e)webnovel