Can't I develop my own character?

Ryan wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. Fortunately, both legs were saved.

...

After about ten minutes, everyone entered the conference hall.

The spacious hall was decorated in white and gold, with a huge crystal chandelier hanging from the top. In the middle stood a large round table with each person's ID card on it, and a wool blanket under the table.

The quiet atmosphere was broken by the influx of people. Maganna walked to her seat and sat down. She glanced at the Saint Lin Qi beside her, curled her lips, threw away her ID card, and then asked Ryan to sit down.

Ryan: "..."

No, sister, isn't this a bit against the rules?

Looking around, only people who were invited came in. It was already a problem for him to come in, and now he was occupying the seat.

"How about sitting here?"

Maganna glanced to the left, wow, Casradi, Ryan was stunned for a moment, oh Janus is up there, this is not my seat!

"Or else this."

Maganna jumped off the chair, put the ID cards of Lin Qi and Casradi on the other side, then took two ID cards whose identities she didn't know and placed them on both sides, and then picked up the two on the left and right.

"Where do you want to sit?" meaning that she would throw it wherever you sat.

Not far away, the two nobles holding the identity cards stared at them with wide eyes, angry but not daring to say anything.

At this moment, another group of people came in from outside the hall, and Casladi and Lin Qi were among them.

Kasradi was followed by Hainuo, Lin Qi was followed by Andni in red, and everyone else came in alone.

"Ryan."

Casradi walked over, nodded to Ryan with no expression on her face, then walked to the place where her ID card was placed and sat down.

Hainuo followed and was puzzled to find that his ID card was not next to Casradi. Then he walked over and found that it was to the left of Maganna's left - Casradi should have been sitting on the left.

On the other side, Lin Qi looked at his ID card, took it, and sat down next to Maganna.

Andrei looked at it with some confusion, then sat down to the right of Lin Qi.

"Okay then." Magna threw away the ID card in her left hand. "Lian, sit here."

This action made Kasladi on the opposite side stunned for a moment, and then he realized that he seemed to be sitting in the wrong seat... No, it was Maganna who made a mistake.

Should I sit back down? But Ryan took the seat again...Casradi looked to Hainuo's left, thinking about going over, when 'Vene' appeared from the side door of the hall.

"Everyone, everyone is here."

At this time, 'Vine' was wearing an exquisite beige long dress, with a brooch on her chest that symbolized the Augusta royal family, a white lace shawl on her shoulders, and her long golden wavy hair spread out, making her look generous and elegant.

She walked to the position directly above the round table in the hall, motioned for everyone to sit down, then glanced at Ryan and said, "Come here, add a chair for Elder Goode."

Good was so moved that he almost cried, because his ID card was thrown away by Maganna just now, and Ryan sat in his seat, so he had no place to sit.

"Your Highness, I'll sit here." Good quickly walked to a nobleman with whom he had a good relationship, and then asked the servant to bring a chair over and squeeze in.

The round table was large enough to accommodate a few more people, but it was obvious that the place for people like Maganna and Lin Qi was much more spacious. The imperial nobles sat next to each other, like a group of chicks huddled together for warmth, and in front of them was Prince Odysseus, the old chicken.

"Your Highness." Prince Odysseus was a little unhappy at this time. "We came here at your invitation. You decide who should sit and who shouldn't, and who should sit where, right? But why do I see people arbitrarily changing seats and even letting people who shouldn't be sitting down sit down?"

He is the boss of the Senate, and if Good is squeezed out, it will be a loss of face for the Senate.

Moreover, the situation has changed now. If he does not show strength at this time, the Senate will completely withdraw from the stage of history.

"Shouldn't you be sitting down?" 'Vine' wondered. "Who is Prince Odysseus talking about?"

"Who else could it be? Even Magna's followers can sit down. What do they really think of this meeting?"

"Hey! What are you talking about, you bastard?" Magna raised her eyebrows. "Who is the follower? Ryan is my fiancé. I'm asking him to express my opinion on my behalf this time. Do you think he's qualified?"

"So what if they have a fiancé? Does that mean everyone here has a seat because they brought a fiancé in?"

"Then why don't you bring a fiancé, you idiot."

"I'll take..." Prince Odysseus was stunned. No, why would he take his fiancé? He's a man!

At this time, 'Vene' raised her hand and said with a smile: "Mr. Ryan, please join the meeting temporarily. Who is in favor? Who is against?"

Odysseus was the first to object, and several nobles around him also expressed their opposition.

"I agree." Lin Qi said.

Cardinal Andoni beside him was stunned and whispered: "Saint, why are you speaking for Magna?"

Lin Qi said nothing, but simply agreed.

Andrew had no choice but to obey the saint. This was the Pope's order, so he could only follow and express his opinion.

"I agree," said Casradi.

"Damn it!" Prince Odysseus cursed inwardly. He thought everyone would join forces to suppress Maganna's momentum, but in the end he was the only clown?

"Then I agree too." 'Weine' said with a smile.

Well, the future emperor agreed, and the nobles on Odysseus's side who had not expressed their opinions also followed suit and "agreed". In the end, the majority obeyed the minority, and Ryan successfully joined the meeting.

Magna suddenly smiled triumphantly.

Ryan looked innocent, everyone saw it, it wasn't him who had to get involved.

"Let's get down to business." 'Vine' sat down. "As everyone knows, the Augustus Empire has just undergone a major transformation, and some matters must be dealt with quickly. Regarding some changes to the old system, I need to decide on them at this meeting, and they will take effect on the day of the inauguration ceremony."

"First, Grand Duke Maganna, when will your Western Frontier troops withdraw? An imperial civil war shouldn't break out on the Morte Line; it's there to defend against foreign invasion."

Magna looked at Ryan.

Then everyone looked at Ryan.

"Ahem." Ryan coughed lightly. "Regarding this matter, the Grand Duke has decided to withdraw the Iron Blood Army tomorrow. Not only that, the Iron Blood Legion will go to the Tartar Defense Line to deal with the invading Western Barbarian Army to protect the safety of the empire."

"Guarding the Talta defense line was originally the mission of the Iron Blood Army. Don't make it sound so great." said a noble.

Ryan looked at him with a smile on his face: "Marquis Novia, the Empire has conferred a title on you. Why didn't you rush forward when the demon army invaded during the Barron War?"

"Leave the war to the Imperial Army. It's not my job."

"So you mean, everyone should do their job?"

"Of course," Novia said calmly, "Nobles have their own duties. Otherwise, if everyone oversteps their bounds, wouldn't that just be chaos?"

"Oh, I see." Ryan looked at 'Vene'. "Your Highness, I understand what Marquis Novia means. He wants you to send the Imperial Army to the Western Territory to defend against the invasion of the Western Barbarian Army. After all, the Western Territory is also Imperial territory, and the Imperial Army has the responsibility to do so. Our Grand Duke only needs to defend the small territory of Childe City and must not overstep his bounds."

Novia was stunned and said quickly: "That's not what I meant!"

"Grand Duke, let's just guard Childe." Ryan said to Maganna.

Magna nodded. "That's fine. Those westerners wouldn't dare attack Childe anyway. We'll just let them bypass them. Maybe they'll even attack the North directly. Haha~ Let them deal with the westerners on their own."

"Great! Thank you, Marquis Novia. He saved our Western Frontier Army a lot of trouble. We no longer have to worry about casualties among the Iron Blood Army."

"Thank you, Marquis Novia."

Ryan and Magna echoed each other.

Novia broke out in a cold sweat. He looked at 'Vine' and his heart skipped a beat when he met the coldness in the latter's golden eyes.

"Marquis Novia, I now suspect you are a remnant of the Blood Archbishop, intent on sabotaging the unity of this meeting and disrupting the order of the Empire. I hereby declare you stripped of your noble status and exiled to the Western Territory. What do you think?"

"Your Highness Venetian! You can't do this. I'm a hereditary marquis and a loyal subject of the Empire! I can't possibly be a remnant of the Blood Archbishop!"

"You don't have the final say. Let's vote now. Please raise your hands if you agree with my decision."

After saying this, 'Weine' raised her right hand first.

"This woman is quite sensible." Magna whispered to Ryan, "No wonder that unlucky guy Kasradi lost. Compared to her, Kasradi is just a little brat."

The Grand Duke also raised his hand in agreement.

Ryan raised his hand.

Lin Qi raised his hand.

Casradi and Heino raised their hands.

Almost everyone who had a say agreed.

Prince Odysseus looked hesitant, he knew that 'Vine' was trying to make an example of someone, and someone would surely suffer, it was better if it wasn't him... Thinking of this, Odysseus also raised his hand.

Passed unanimously with a vote of -1.

"Someone, take Novia away!"

Ta-ta-ta-ta.

"Your Highness Venetian! Your Highness Venetian!!!"

The struggling Novia was speared away by two Holy Blood soldiers.

"Alright, let's continue the meeting." 'Vene' tapped the table lightly. "As for the second question, as everyone can see, in order to completely eliminate the threat posed by the Blood Archbishop and maintain public order in the Imperial City, the Holy Blood Legion will replace the existing Imperial City Guards from now on. At the same time, Marquis Holman has been promoted to Commander of the Royal Guards, responsible for public security within the Barron Territory. Marquis Holman has also been awarded the hereditary title of Marquis."

In the crowd, a middle-aged man with a military demeanor raised his hand and gestured to others.

He is the person in charge of the imperial army this time. He now has more than 30,000 men under his command, and they have all sworn allegiance to "Vene".

Originally, Ryan thought that some special means would be needed, but 'Vine' was obviously a genius in negotiation, or perhaps the profession of soul singer was naturally suitable for this job. Even words could affect the soul, so it was perfect for her to be the emperor.

"It seems everyone is fine with it."

No one spoke, which was expected. After all, it was now a foregone conclusion that "Vine" would become the emperor, and the military power would definitely be taken back, unless Holman rebelled. It was already a great thing that he could continue to be reused and even promoted now.

"Then, the third question."

Next, 'Weinei' successively proposed several things that needed to be confirmed, mainly focusing on the stability of order after the civil strife in the empire. Some people were reused, and some were cleared out. The nobles present realized that 'Weinei' had not invited them to win them over. Although some people were promoted and given salary increases, more people were liquidated like Novia.

Under the 'fair' system of voting by raising hands, even if someone is dissatisfied, it's useless. Don't ask, because it's absolutely fair!

As for the voters, don’t ask who voted, just say whether it is fair or not.

Strictly speaking, people like Lin Qi and Andni, who belong to the Gate of Janus, cannot directly participate in the imperial affairs.

But 'Weinei' allows it, who would dare to object openly?

A saint and a cardinal, even if they had the heart, they didn't have the courage.

The meeting lasted nearly an hour to make decisions and express opinions. In the end, nearly half of the people at the round table were kicked out, leaving only fifteen people left.

"...Okay, now for the last question." 'Vine' glanced around at the others present. "To stabilize the imperial regime, I will abolish the Senate and establish an imperial political body composed of 'High Lords'. The original Senate members will be removed from the Senate, but will retain their noble titles. The High Lords Council will consist of eleven people. Currently, I, Duke Maganna, and Princess Casradi serve as High Lords. Saint Lin Qi will serve as Honorary Lord. Subsequent members are yet to be determined. What do you think?"

"I object!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Prince Odysseus angrily said, "The Senate is the political institution that has been passed down by the Empire. How can it be abolished just like that?"

Wei Nei said calmly, "This isn't just a casual remark. It's the result of careful consideration. According to the rules, everyone voted by raising their hands."

A fair vote began and the plan was eventually passed with twelve votes in favor and three against.

"Damn it, you are trampling on the inheritance of Augustus and the aristocratic system! Vene, do you think you can decide the fate of the entire empire by winning over a few people? The existence of the Senate involves far more than you think. You will definitely regret this decision today!" Prince Odysseus said angrily.

"Then let me ask you, has such an important Senate done anything meaningful for the empire at a critical moment?"

Vinet snorted coldly, "Prince Odysseus, I didn't punish you because of your status as an imperial elder. Do you think you still have any value in the empire after Emperor Kahn's death? If you weren't a member of the royal family, you would have been taken away like those people just now!"

"I..."

Odysseus was speechless.

"Long live Her Highness Vine, I support Her Highness Vine's decision!" Ryan shouted.

Magna was stunned: "Ryan, what are you doing?"

"Nothing, just to set the mood. If I were Odysseus, I would have laid down long ago. It would be good enough for me to enjoy my old age in this situation. He still thinks he can be in power and is not afraid of being beheaded at any time." Ryan sneered.

The sound was loud and Odysseus turned pale.

The other two nobles who voted against it did not dare to speak.

There is no way, the minority must obey the majority, and this majority holds the decisive power.

Of the fifteen people present, five nobles including Holman have already defected to 'Vene'. Casradi and Heino already knew this so they would not object, and 'Lin Qi' had even less objection. When Andni saw that the saint agreed, how could he not agree?

This eliminates ten people, and if we include Ryan himself and Maganna, there are twelve people in total. Simply put, they are all family members. See, isn't this fair?

"I have another opinion!"

At this moment, Maganna raised her hand.

"I have no objection to you holding this High Lords Conference, but this Grand Duke wants two positions, one for me, and Ryan also has to join the High Lords Conference, otherwise I won't accept it!" Although she didn't know what the use of the High Lords was, who cares? Maganna remembered that Ryan said that if there were benefits, she would take it.