The Hidden Extra: The Lazy Prince Refuses to Ascend The Throne Chapter 1050 Voting (2)

"I choose Isabella as the acting ruler."

Her words took Armand and the others by surprise.

"Y-You're choosing Concubine Isabella?" Armand exclaimed.

Melinda nodded slightly.

"That's right. Is there a problem?"

Armand was at a loss for words.

Blame her?

Of course not. He couldn't do that. After all, everyone had the right to choose freely.

"M-Melinda, are you stupid!?"

Clarisse couldn't contain her anger and snapped, "How could you possibly choose Isabella over me!? I'm far more deserving of becoming the acting ruler than she is!"

She pointed at Isabella, who was standing beside her.

Isabella remained unfazed by the blatant taunt.

Melinda smiled faintly.

"At least between the two of you, Isabella is the better choice. Besides, it's up to me who I choose, isn't it? What right do you have to tell me what to do?"

Clarisse was left speechless. She gritted her teeth in anger but forced herself to keep her rage in check. If she lost her temper now, she would only embarrass herself.

After taking a deep breath, she shot a piercing glare at Armand and the other ministers, as if to say, "Choose me, or I'll wipe you all out."

Her glare sent chills down their spines. Some ministers who had initially planned to vote for Isabella began to waver.

However, the same couldn't be said for the ministers supporting Elina in the battle for the throne.

Since Isabella was Elina's mother, it was only natural for them to support her in this vote.

"I vote for Concubine Isabella," a young minister said casually.

"Me too," another minister chimed in.

Clarisse's expression grew even gloomier at the sight of this. Fortunately, several other ministers immediately declared their support for her.

Of the fifteen ministers, seven supported Isabella, while the other eight supported Clarisse.

With Melinda also supporting Isabella, the vote was tied. Only one minister had yet to cast his vote.

That minister was Armand.

Feeling Clarisse's piercing gaze on him, Armand remained calm.

He closed his eyes for a few seconds before finally speaking.

"I choose Concubine Isabella."

His words exploded like a bomb in the throne room.

"Armand!" Clarisse screamed. "What do you mean by this!? Have you gone mad!?"

Armand took a deep breath before slowly exhaling.

"I'm not crazy, Concubine Clarisse. I'm simply following my conscience," he replied frankly.

Compared to Clarisse, Isabella was clearly the better choice.

Although she was relatively reserved compared to the other concubines, Armand had confidence in her abilities.

After all, a concubine chosen by the emperor couldn't possibly be an ordinary person.

"Oh… So, you've chosen to follow your conscience, have you?"

Clarisse burst out laughing. Her beautiful face was now twisted by a terrifying madness.

"Just wait and see how this empire crumbles because of your decision."

Without another word, she turned and left. However, as she passed Isabella, she shot her a cold glance.

Isabella ignored her, which only made Clarisse even angrier.

She snorted coldly and continued out of the throne room.

"Congratulations, Isabella. You're the acting ruler now," Melinda said flatly.

Isabella let out a long sigh.

"Thank you, but why do I feel like you're mocking me?"

Melinda simply smiled without saying a word.

"Concubine Isabella."

Armand walked toward her with a hesitant expression.

Noticing his unease, Isabella waved her hand.

"I know. Are all the documents that need to be processed in His Majesty's office?"

Armand nodded.

"Everything is ready."

"Good. In that case, I'll go ahead and take care of them."

She turned and walked away.

Armand wanted to stop her, but Melinda held him back.

"It's okay. Since Isabella seems confident, she'll definitely be able to handle it."

Armand swallowed his words before finally nodding.

"You're right."

...

The battle between the rebel forces and the imperial army on the Corvil Plains raged on.

Tens of thousands of imperial cavalry and infantry easily overwhelmed the rebel forces.

On top of that, the archers and mages in the rear ranks gave the imperial army an even bigger advantage.

Clang!

Elina parried a sword strike from a soldier attacking her from behind. She shoved him away, spun around, and slashed at his stomach.

"Argh!"

The man cried out in pain.

Elina didn't stop there. She twisted her sword and stabbed him in the chest.

The soldier screamed in agony and tried to pull himself free, but he couldn't escape the blade piercing his chest.

His strength soon gave out, and he collapsed.

Elina pulled her sword free and turned around, only to find two more enemy soldiers charging toward her.

She bent her knees and darted toward them.

Meanwhile, Freya walked casually, parrying every attack from the soldiers who approached her.

"Die!"

A soldier leaped at her from behind, intending to strike her by surprise, but his attack missed.

Slash!

Freya spun around with incredible speed and sliced the soldier in two with a single stroke.

The sight terrified the enemy soldiers who had been about to attack her.

Freya smiled faintly as she swung her sword to the side, wiping the remaining blood from its blade.

"Why are you all just standing there? Come on, attack."

She extended her left hand and wiggled her fingers, challenging them to attack.

The rebel soldiers were furious, but none dared to make a move. After all, they had witnessed Freya's abilities firsthand.

"Tsk! You're truly pathetic."

She bent her knees, preparing to charge at them, when she suddenly sensed danger coming from the side.

Freya immediately leaped backward.

Whoosh!

A black shadow darted toward her at incredible speed.

"So, you're Freya Lorian, huh? You're my opponent."

The figure that appeared was a tall, slender man. He wasn't wearing full armor, just a chest plate.

He looked disheveled. His gray hair fell past his ears, and his eyes looked weary. Yet, his pupils burned with fighting spirit.

"Who are you?" Freya asked indifferently.

"Me?"

The man chuckled softly.

"You don't need to know. What matters is that you're my opponent now. Those weaklings are no match for me."

He twirled his sword, seemingly showing off the thick, vivid bloodstains clinging to its blade.

Freya raised her eyebrows slightly.

'This guy's pretty tough,' she muttered.

"All of you, step aside. Don't interfere, or you'll all die," the man said to the soldiers behind him.

The rebel soldiers didn't dare object and hurriedly backed away.

"All right."

He turned back to Freya and pointed his sword at her.

"Let's get this started…" he whispered, grinning as he licked his upper lip.