CHAPTER 667: CHAPTER 40: MARTIAL CONTEST CHALLENGE

"This is too barbaric," the housekeeper said. "What we need to choose is the next Family Head of our clan, not a warrior. Wisdom is far more important than martial force."

"I am not asking you, I am informing you," Harman said.

"According to the ancient traditions of the Western Territories, if a direct member of the family is dissatisfied with the choice of heir, they can initiate a combat challenge."

"You must be making this up. How come I have never heard of such a tradition in the Western Territories?" Galin frowned.

"Uh... To decide the heir through a combat challenge, there indeed seems to be such a tradition."

The one who spoke was the oldest direct member of the Immanuel Family now, an uncle of Diodosi.

His expression was somewhat hesitant, as if trying hard to remember, "Long before the Enríquez family ruled over the Western Territories, the Komen people were the masters of this land, and this tradition must have been established by them."

"Are you serious?" the housekeeper turned to Harman. "The Komen people have been extinct for thousands of years, and no one cares about their traditions."

"But their blood flows through our veins," Harman said, "though only a small part, tradition is tradition... and it needs to be respected."

"The Komen people also liked to dance naked and all the brothers in the family shared one wife. Why don’t I see you respecting those traditions?" Galin retorted with biting sarcasm.

A flash of anger crossed Harman’s eyes, but in the end, he suppressed it.

"If I win the combat challenge, I will acknowledge Angela as the Family Head of the Immanuel Family."

"Count me in as well," Rafael said.

"Are you really going to fight your own sister?" the housekeeper’s brows furrowed tighter.

"If she does not wish to accept the challenge, she can choose to give up her right to inherit."

"It’s ridiculous to issue a challenge based on traditions from thousands of years ago," Galin said. "Miss Angela would never agree to this."

"How do you propose we resolve the current situation?" Rafael asked.

"Voting," the housekeeper said. "Since you refuse to acknowledge Lord Diodosi’s will, let’s decide the next Family Head by vote. One vote per direct family member, fair and just."

"Your idea of fair and just means that you’ve already spent a lot of money to buy over half of the voters early on, doesn’t it?" Harman scoffed, reiterating his stance.

"Combat is the only solution I can accept."

"I too find the idea of combat to be a good one."

A voice arose from outside the door, followed by a tall figure entering from outside.

As everyone in the hall got a clear look at the newcomer, they were all taken aback, then they rose from their chairs one after another.

The arrival was none other than "Winter" Gwen, the great uncle of Hels, the current Family Head of the Figrola Family.

Before leaving the Western Territories, Hels had appointed his great uncle as the proxy City Lord of Rock Snow City, which also meant that he entrusted the entirety of the Western Territories, including the Figrola Family, to the latter.

At present, there was no one more honored on this land than Gwen, and consequently, when Gwen appeared, people rose to pay their respects.

Today, the mood of Rock Snow City’s proxy City Lord seemed quite good, as his usually stern face rarely showed a trace of a smile.

He strode into the room, took off the mink cloak he was wearing, handed it over to a servant behind him, and then addressed the housekeeper.

"I hope I haven’t disturbed you. I was just taking a walk to clear my mind, and I happened to be near Black Stone City. Hearing that there was some excitement in town, I thought I’d come take a look. Don’t mind me,"

Even though Gwen spoke casually, no one was naive enough to think he had really just wandered here by chance.

As the proxy City Lord of Rock Snow City, not staying in Rock Snow City and suddenly appearing here clearly indicated his interest in the outcome of these negotiations.

This wasn’t surprising, as the Immanuel Family, being the wealthiest noble family in the western territories, would inevitably involve many interests in the succession of their next Family Head.

However, Gwen’s personal appearance still surprised many people.

The Housekeeper glanced at Harman not far away. He had not brought many allies this time, but he always seemed confident, and the pleasure was evident on his face after Gwen’s appearance.

Clearly, this was the strong support he had truly been counting on.

Even though Gwen said not to mind him, the moment he entered, he had already made his position clear - the phrase "I also think a duel isn’t bad" had been heard by everyone.

And since the Immanuel Family was a vassal of the Figrola Family, especially after Ilkand’s betrayal of Marquis Kuren, they urgently needed to demonstrate their loyalty, which made it impossible for them to ignore Gwen’s opinion now.

Miss Galin’s face looked somewhat troubled, but with things as they were, she finally had no choice but to accept the result, taking a deep breath and saying,

"If it’s a duel, Miss Angela will fight using a proxy knight."

"Agreed," Harman nodded, and then added, "But the choice of proxy knight must be limited to within the family."

Although he did not look at Miss Rabbit when he said this, everyone knew whom he was targeting.

If the champions of the dueling tournament were allowed to participate, what was the point of competing? They might as well just wash up and go to bed.

"Why?" the Housekeeper countered, "I don’t remember there being such restrictions on choosing proxy knights."

"Usually, there aren’t any. But selecting a Family Head is an internal family matter. It is best resolved by someone from within the family, don’t you agree, Miss Galin?"

The Housekeeper heard the threat in Harman’s words, and he did indeed have the capital to threaten.

Because Gwen was sitting right behind him.

If she agreed, she couldn’t think of anyone who could reliably beat Gwen on short notice, and found herself caught between a rock and a hard place.

Ireya pondered that she had taken so much money; it didn’t seem quite right to simply sit there and watch the excitement. Moreover, she was feeling a bit itchy for a fight at the moment.

Thus she cleared her throat and volunteered, "As someone has issued a duel challenge to Miss Angela, according to the rules of the Watcher’s Council, I can fight for her."

"Watcher’s Council? What is that?!" Gwen frowned and asked.

"It’s an organization I founded, aimed at mutual vigilance, assistance, and common defense against strong enemies; its members can provide help to each other," Miss Rabbit explained. "The Watcher’s Council was mainly established to guard against those dwarves from Dragon Ridge Mountain, and the Wing Tribe people..."

But she was interrupted by Gwen before she could finish, "I fail to see what purpose it serves... The Figrola Family could do everything you’re saying."

Miss Rabbit originally wanted to say that if the Figrola Family were really that effective, they would not have been defeated by those dwarves previously, and that she was the one who recovered Marquis Kuren’s body, but after giving it some thought, she held back.

Such words were a bit too treasonous for a vassal to utter.

The Lady felt that she had truly grown.

Seeing that Ireya was no longer speaking, Gwen was satisfied, "Then let’s proceed this way. Miss Angela’s proxy knight will be chosen from within the family."