The people in the conference room began to murmur among themselves in hushed tones. Rulu spoke up: "Everyone, feel free to share your thoughts on the proposal I just made. If you refuse to accept it, then there's no point in continuing this meeting. In that case, please have someone inform Shunaizel and the Emperor that all the other princes and princesses consider themselves inferior to Lord Euphemia and dare not compete against her — and therefore it would be most fitting for Euphemia to remain the ruler of this territory."
At those words, the people in the room turned their furious gazes toward Rulu. A tall, muscular man with a fierce expression stood up and said gruffly, "Fine. I accept your proposal. Let me — the 406th Prince, Huasen — compete against Euphemia."
"Wait — you cannot compete against Euphemia," said a white-haired old man.
"Why not? You think I can't beat her?!" The muscular man glared at the elder.
"That's not it." The white-haired old man stroked his beard and said, "Didn't you hear what the young man just said? Whoever defeats Euphemia will obtain her territory. If you go up against Euphemia and win, you'd walk away with her lands. That's far too good a deal for you."
The muscular man raised his chin with a proud expression. "I've been in the Sanctuary for so many years, faithfully serving His Majesty and the Sanctuary. My contributions are too many to count. What's wrong with me becoming a lord?!"
The white-haired elder replied, "That logic doesn't hold. Everyone present has made great contributions to the Sanctuary. Does that mean none of them deserve to become a lord and hold territory?"
The muscular man said, "Then what do you suggest? Who do you think should compete against Euphemia?"
Someone proposed, "How about we make it fair and draw lots to decide?"
"No good. What if the person drawn is too weak? If they lose to Euphemia in the match, we'll all be disgraced. His Majesty and everyone else in the Sanctuary will think we're inferior to Euphemia."
"In that case, let's choose the most outstanding and strongest person among us to compete against Euphemia."
"That won't work either. People will think we're ganging up on Euphemia. And how do you determine who's the strongest? If I say I'm the strongest, does that mean I get to go?"
"If that won't work and this won't work, then what are we supposed to do?"
The people in the conference room erupted into heated debate. Since everyone wanted to be the one to challenge Euphemia, no one was willing to defer to anyone else, and after quite some time, they had still reached no conclusion.
At that point, Rulu spoke again: "There's no need to rush, everyone. You can take your time deciding on a candidate. If you can't settle it in one day, take three. If three days aren't enough, take ten. Whenever you've made your decision, we'll arrange the match. How does that sound?"
The people in the room looked at one another in silence, with no one voicing an objection. Then Shunaizel suddenly said, "Hold on — a large-scale competition between members of the imperial family, with territory as the wager, is something that requires the Emperor's approval. We cannot make this decision on our own."
Rulu said, "Then I'll leave it to you, Shunaizel, to inform the Emperor. Knowing his character, he would never stand in the way of this match."
Shunaizel glanced at Rulu with a look of surprise and said, "That's true. Knowing the Emperor's temperament, he wouldn't just allow it — he'd actively support and encourage it."
Rulu said, "Then we have no problem. Good — if no one has any further objections to what I've proposed, then it's settled. As for the specifics of the competition, Lord Euphemia will notify everyone in due course. I trust everyone is satisfied?"
This time, no one raised any further objections. After a short while, the meeting was adjourned. Euphemia, Lady Jessica, and the others left the conference room and returned to the study.
Lady Jessica fixed her gaze on Rulu and said in an accusatory tone, "Mr. Qin Lulu, why did you take it upon yourself just now to speak in Lord Euphemia's name and propose a competition to determine the ownership of this territory?!"
Rulu replied calmly, "Lady Jessica, you saw the situation yourself. Those people formed a united front and launched a collective assault on Lord Euphemia, trying to corner her. If I hadn't done what I did, things would only have gotten worse."
Lady Jessica said, "Even so, you shouldn't have proposed a team competition as the method for deciding territorial ownership. You have to understand — although Euphemia is a lord, she is still very young and has few capable subordinates. Those princes and princesses may not have territories, but they have been in the Sanctuary for many years and have cultivated many powerful and skilled followers. In a competition against them, we have virtually no chance of winning."
Rulu said, "It's precisely because we have no chance of winning that they won't oppose the proposal. That's how I was able to help Lord Euphemia out of this predicament."
"But what good does that do? If we lose the competition, the end result is the same anyway!"
"If you had a better idea, Lady Jessica, why didn't you speak up during the meeting instead of leaving it to me to get Lord Euphemia out of trouble?"
Lady Jessica fell silent. In truth, she had been unable to think of any way to help Euphemia during the meeting, so she could hardly continue to reproach Rulu.
"Everyone, please — perhaps this is for the best. Perhaps I truly am not suited to be a lord." Euphemia spoke with a look of sorrow on her face.
At that moment, the Suzaku Guard Captain, who had been silent until now, spoke up: "Mr. Qin, how is the other matter coming along? You mentioned before that you would find the person who was secretly manipulating Hydra to attack us. Have you identified who that person is?"
"No," Rulu said plainly.
"No?!" The Suzaku Guard Captain repeated the word, with added emphasis.
"I haven't found them yet — but I'm close. If my plan goes smoothly, that person will reveal themselves to us."
"What do you mean by that? Please speak clearly."
"Do you know why I had them select a representative to compete against Euphemia?"
The Suzaku Guard Captain thought for a moment and said, "Are you saying that whoever they select as their representative is the true mastermind behind the Hydra incident?"
Rulu said, "Exactly. The mastermind went to such elaborate lengths to scheme against Euphemia — there's no way they would let this lordship fall into someone else's hands. They will do whatever it takes to secure the right to compete against Lord Euphemia and seize her territory."