Please Vote for Your Knight! Chapter 47

“Lastly, Sir Kusto.”

“Yeah, I’m not picking him.”

David Marie muttered it even more obnoxiously, as if talking to himself.

She could feel the scorching glare from beside her, but she desperately kept her eyes fixed straight ahead.

Honestly, it really hurt when he grabbed me by the hair.

She never wanted to experience that again.

But His Grace David really does seem to like Kusto.

She could tell that he wanted to team up with Kusto every time.

There had even been reports of the two of them being seen together last time.

There’s even a rumor that they’re living together at His Grace David’s residence.

Surely that couldn’t be true.

To be honest, David Marie wasn’t particularly fond of the idea of pairing Kusto and David together.

No matter how much his image has improved lately, they’re still not on the same level.

It was selfish, but she wanted David to be paired with a knight ranked higher.

Just look at Pavel and Denny. Denny is basically riding on Pavel’s coattails.

That was the problem when a popular knight was paired with a less popular one.

One person ended up benefiting overwhelmingly more than the other.

Of course, the popular knight also gained something from the relationship itself.

But fans who passionately supported only one person often had a hard time acknowledging that.

On top of that, the rumors about Kusto that had been slowly circulating were getting on her nerves.

They were so terrible that she didn’t want to believe them.

No way. They have to be baseless rumors.

Still, she couldn’t help worrying about it.

Next, Joan selected her team members.

As expected, she picked only the outstanding knights.

“Of course. Joan’s smart. That’s exactly how you should pick them…… huh?”

When Joan chose Dmitri as her final member, Joan Marie was taken aback.

Dmitri’s image had improved by then, but at that point, it was still a time when people couldn’t openly say they supported him.

On top of that, Dmitri was ranked dead last.

She couldn’t understand why Joan had chosen him.

But that question didn’t last long.

Because Edith made a shocking announcement.

“The team members will compete against one another, and the knight who receives the highest score within their team will earn 100,000 points.”

“What?!”

“No way!”

David Marie and Joan Marie groaned at the same time.

Then the two teams, which had been assembled with powerful members, were actually at the greatest disadvantage.

Of course, David and Joan were ranked first and second respectively, but they couldn’t let their guard down for even a moment.

After all, they were the two people receiving the most scrutiny.

Soon, they decided on their positions and began practicing.

Everyone was scrambling not to take the support role.

It was the least noticeable position, so obviously they would get the least screen time.

The leader position, on the other hand, was highly coveted.

“If I don’t get attention this time, I’m seriously going to be eliminated.”

“Same goes for me.”

“Honestly, who would want to be in the support group? Everyone wants to be in the acquisition or strategy group.”

They even started clashing over their positions.

The editing especially focused on Dmitri and Joan.

“I told you to stay put, didn’t I?”

(Joan glares at Dmitri. Just then, Pavel speaks up!)

“We succeeded thanks to our Dmitri. Shouldn’t we consider changing the leader, then?”

(Joan looks dumbfounded.)

“You want to change the leader now?”

(The team atmosphere rapidly freezes.)

“Dmitri’s insane. Why is he sticking his neck out when Joan’s the leader?”

Joan Marie shouted irritably.

Then a rebuttal came from somewhere.

“Honestly, Dmitri seems more like a leader than Joan.”

“Exactly. Then we should change the leader. If it’s for the good of the team.”

“I think Joan’s being a little selfish.”

“The selfish ones are the people suggesting we replace a perfectly good leader.”

Joan Marie argued back, but by then, the majority disagreed with her.

David Marie covered her mouth with her hand.

“That’s unfortunate. What are we going to do?”

Then she muttered under her breath.

Joan Marie glared at her sharply.

“Take your hand down.”

David Marie slowly lowered her hand.

The corners of her lips were curled into a grin.

“This is really……!”

But Joan Marie couldn’t get angry.

Because a bombshell statement from Mila appeared on the screen.

“To create the perfect team, I will give you the opportunity to eliminate one of your team members.”

“What? We suddenly have to kick someone out?”

“Oh my gosh, that’s so cruel!”

“We’ve been practicing together all this time. How can we just kick someone out……?”

“Honestly, isn’t it obvious which member is the weak link on each team?”

“Good. Anyone who’s dragging the team down should be cut.”

Murmurs erupted from all around.

Naturally, the atmosphere among the team members on the screen turned vicious.

“I really can’t get eliminated. I came here risking everything.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Hey, honestly, you’re getting in the way every time we practice. If you have any conscience, you should leave.”

“What did you say? Do you really think you’re qualified to be a leader? You loudmouth!”

Some teams fought, while others burst into tears.

The audience couldn’t take their eyes off the screen as one provocative scene followed another.

In the end, Episode 5 ended without revealing whom they had chosen.

“Ah, why did they have to cut it off there again?!”

“Her Highness the Princess is seriously cruel.”

“Come on. They won’t actually eliminate someone, right?”

“Exactly. They’ll probably go, ‘Surprise! It was a teamwork test!’”

Those who hadn’t been able to watch it live chatted hopefully among themselves.

Then it happened.

The screen, which everyone thought had gone dark, suddenly displayed the interim rankings.

 

< Cartamen Interim Rankings >

1st ?
2nd ?
3rd Pavel Schurbe
……
……
6th Maurice Arnaud
7th Denny Vinosh
……
9th Raphael Laurent
10th Kusto
……
17th Olivier Morty
……
21st Pierre Simon
……
27th Killian Grouchy
……
39th Dmitri Cassel
……

Overall, there hadn’t been any major changes in the rankings.

If there was one notable change, it was that Dmitri’s ranking had risen dramatically.

And more importantly, first and second place were not revealed.

“What? Why aren’t they showing first and second?!”

“It has to be either Lord David or Joan.”

“Are they hiding it because Joan is first?”

“They’re really whipping everyone into voting even harder.”

Even after the broadcast ended, not a single person left for home.

Everyone was too busy voting and leaving comments.

Some people even dragged along those who hadn’t come to the plaza and made them vote.

The voting fever was growing increasingly intense.

 

————————————————————————————————————————–

Anyone else hear about this?
Rumor has it people are actually paying money to buy voting tickets lol

– Isn’t that illegal?
– Who is it? Name names.
– No wonder the interim rankings looked weird haha
– I know who this post is targeting… but honestly, doesn’t everyone do it? lol
ㄴ Everyone does that?? First I’m hearing of it.
ㄴ Look at you talking nonsense because you’re feeling guilty.
ㄴ You guys are the ones who bought the voting tickets, aren’t you?

————————————————————————————————————————–

 

The Emperor’s expression darkened as he watched the reactions.

“My, buying voting tickets…….”

Duke Frederick cautiously spoke up.

“Your Highness, I believe the voting fever has become far too intense. Perhaps we should do something to calm the atmosphere…….”

“No. We can’t do that.”

Edith answered firmly.

The Emperor loved his strong-willed daughter, but at that moment, he was worried.

“They’ve reached the point of buying and selling voting tickets. Shouldn’t we take measures?”

“Of course. We should thoroughly investigate anyone who bought or sold voting tickets and punish them severely.”

“Good. Exactly.”

“But I don’t think this atmosphere is necessarily a bad thing.”

“What?”

The Emperor and Duke Frederick looked at her in disbelief.

Edith, however, smiled leisurely as she continued.

“As the voting fever has grown hotter, most of the common people have obtained identification cards. This time, while severely punishing those who buy and sell voting tickets, we can also teach them how important it is to protect their rights as citizens.”

“Even so, everyone is getting excessively excited. Isn’t that dangerous?”

“Indeed. The composition of Cartamen is also becoming increasingly provocative, which concerns me even more.”

Duke Frederick joined in with the Emperor.

But Edith remained adamant.

“Great achievements always come with risks. And I think we need something even more provocative than what we have now.”