Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters
Chapter 1029: 65: Vortex (Seven)

Chapter 1029: Chapter 65: Vortex (Seven)

[Election Day, Early Morning]

[Steel Castle City Hall]

Before the public debate began, Winters met with Mayor Wooper first.

Mayor Wooper was changing into his debating robes, attended to by two servants who scurried back and forth. In front of him stood a mercury mirror taller than an adult. Winters had never seen a mirror of that size before.

Mr. Mayor meticulously inspected his appearance, making adjustments from time to time, as if every strand of hair and every badge had a designated spot.

However, even the thickest layer of powder could not hide the uneasiness and irritation on the gentleman’s face.

“[Old Tongue] Answer me, my lord Baron.” Paulo Wooper, looking at Winters through the mirror, asked bluntly: “[Old Tongue] Whose side are you truly on?”

“[Old Tongue] You can trust me, Mr. Mayor.” Winters replied calmly: “[Old Tongue] I would never side with the United Provincials.”

“[Old Tongue] Then why…”

“[Old Tongue] I respect you, Mayor, but business is business. If you can persuade your partners to accept my offer, I will be your most loyal ally.”

…

Then, Winters met with John Servette.

Steel Castle councilor [John Servette] was forty-nine this year but appeared just over forty at a glance. He was tall and thin, with light grey short hair and a deep black coat with every button done up tight, showing an expression that brooked no smiles or idle chatter.

Only Winters and Servette were in the room.

Servette sat upright in a dark red armchair, flipping through a thick stack of speeches. He lifted his deep-set eyes briefly to look at Winters, and the atmosphere became instantly heavy.

“Mr. Granacci.” Servette’s voice was deep and chilly: “Are you attempting to buy off my supporters?”

This was Winters’s first encounter with Servette, and he restrained himself from showing any emotion: “I must reject that accusation.”

“You first appeared at the Este family’s reception, and then you made contact with a dozen Forge Masters one after another. What should I assume about your purpose?”

Winters pondered for a moment, then said sincerely: “Worry not, Councilor. I can assure you with my honor that I am neither a man of the White Eagle nor belong to Paulo Wooper, and my dealings with the master craftsmen do not involve any political scheming.”

Servette’s gaze cut across the young Baron. Although he found no trace of deception, mere words were not enough to win his trust: “If that is the case, what exactly are you seeking?”

“Money, Councilor, the jingling of Gold. If you can persuade your supporters to accept my offer, I don’t mind letting the Gold flow in your name.”

…

…

Winters’s visits to the two “representatives of public sentiment” were but minor episodes; the main event of the day was the public debate before the election voting.

Decades ago, when everything around Rose Lake still belonged to the property of the Erwin Monastery, the gathered blacksmiths practiced a boisterous guild-style democracy.

Upon entering the republican era, with the increasing wealth, the people of Steel Castle genteelly adopted the ancient procedures practiced in the Elder Council of the Ancient Empire.

Even the Steel Castle Elders’ Hall was constructed after the imagined halls of the ancient Elder Council: a high dome, concentric tiered seats, and a debating platform at the center of the hall.

However, the people of Steel Castle also made a small improvement: they added a second floor to the hall, allowing those without the privilege to attend the debates to listen in from the sidelines.

The Forge Masters of Steel Castle gathered in the first-floor council chamber, a significant number of whom were no longer “blacksmiths,” and some had never engaged in smithing, but this did not hinder them from being among the few who controlled the ironworks industry of Steel Castle.

Winters, Carlo Aide, and Caman watched the debates from the second floor of the Elders’ Hall.

The acoustics of the council chamber made the words of Paulo Wooper and John Servette ring out powerfully, with occasional deafening echoes emanating from the tiered seating.

“How is it?” Carlo Aide asked Winters.

“Mayor Wooper is formidable,” Winters replied in a low voice, “but Councilor Servette is likely to win.”

It had to be admitted that Paulo Wooper’s spectacular performance in the debate greatly altered his image in Winters’s mind.

The initially flamboyant, frivolous Mayor turned into a different person after stepping onto the podium; he spoke fluidly and passionately, recounting the glorious history of Steel Castle’s rise from nonexistence to greatness, gaining thunderous applause from the members of the blacksmith guild.

After recounting his grandfather’s, father’s, and his own achievements, Mayor Wooper shifted his tone and started pointing his attacks towards Horn Castle and “those whose names we cannot mention,” vehemently exaggerating the peril that Steel Castle currently faced, as if it were sitting atop a volcano oblivious to danger.

Following a brief mention of his ancestors’ great deeds, Paulo Wooper concluded that only he—a faithful servant of the Wooper family—was the leader capable of leading Steel Castle out of adversity.

If Paulo Wooper was previously [a debauchee playboy] in Winters’s eyes, then after this passionate oration, at least he became [a rhetorically skilled debauchee playboy].

In contrast, John Servette’s performance was lackluster.

In Winters’s opinion, Councilor Servette’s biggest problem was his unappealing voice, which was tense and lacked the magical power to move emotions.