The recent days of distance seemed to have accumulated all emotions deep within.
After reconciling, Caitlyn and Li Lin chatted until the early morning, completely opening up to each other.
Due to Caitlyn's fighting eyelids, almost succumbing to sleep on the couch, Li Lin firmly escorted her back to her room.
When Li Lin finally climbed into bed, it was already past three in the morning.
In a drowsy state, unsure of how long he had slept, he was abruptly awakened by urgent knocking.
Rubbing his groggy eyes, as the world gradually came into focus, he realized the room was still dimly lit.
The sky outside was just beginning to brighten, with the morning sun yet to rise.
Only a few hours had passed...
Li Lin, feeling drowsy, almost went back to sleep, but the persistent and grating knocking from outside the bedroom made it unbearable.
"Blast it!"
Veins bulged on Li Lin's forehead as he angrily got out of bed, threw on some clothes, and went to the guest room to open the door.
Standing in the corridor was the housekeeper of the Kiramman estate.
"Apologies, Mr. Li Lin." The butler bowed politely, hand over his chest. "Lady Kiramman asked me to remind you to prepare quickly; today's council meeting is scheduled."
"The council meeting? Is the Lady awake? How are Lady Kiramman and Mr. Eldrow feeling?" Li Lin was well aware of the Kiramman couple's health; they were generally fine after a few hours of sleep.
However, maintaining a certain formality in front of others was essential, so he inquired nonetheless.
"Lady and Sir have recovered quite well. The first thing they did upon waking up was to instruct me to send tube messages to the other council families and Mr. Talis. They then asked me to notify you and Miss Caitlyn this morning."
"I understand. Thank you." Li Lin nodded at the butler.
As the butler bowed and turned to leave, Li Lin closed the door and slapped his face to wake himself up a bit.
"Another council meeting... How bothersome."
While he complained, he knew he couldn't dawdle; there were things to be done.
Li Lin quickly took a cold shower, donned the formal attire of the Kiramman family, and briskly left his room, heading downstairs to the dining room where the Kiramman couple and Caitlyn were already having breakfast.
"Li Lin, over here!"
Caitlyn, eating a sandwich at the table, saw Li Lin entering and waved him over, indicating the empty seat beside her.
Lady Kiramman shot her a disapproving glance. "Cait."
Caitlyn smiled awkwardly, quieting down and focusing on her food, but her eyes occasionally glanced at the young man at the doorway, urging him to join them.
"Good morning, Mrs. Cassandra, Mr. Tobias."
"Good morning," Mr. Tobias replied with a courteous nod.
"Let's have breakfast quickly; time is limited," Cassandra said without turning back, her tone quite flat.
But Li Lin had somewhat figured out her temperament; she never liked to let her emotions overflow in words.
The colder her expression and voice, the more intense Cassandra's confidence seemed to be.
This room wasn't the usual dining place for entertaining guests during dinner, but a long table with a European traditional style could still accommodate around twenty people.
Since there were no guests, there was no need to focus too much on etiquette. The Kiramman couple sat side by side at one end of the long table, with Caitlyn across from them.
Li Lin walked over to the young girl and took a seat. A servant immediately approached to fasten the napkin around him, then placed the utensils and still-warm breakfast in front of him.
To save time, he opted to skip the knife and fork, following Caitlyn's lead in grabbing a sandwich and enjoying his meal.
"Thank you for saving me last night. I won't dwell on gratitude, as actions speak louder than words."
While eating, Mrs. Cassandra briefly mentioned the events of the previous night. However, her visibly displeased mood indicated she didn't want to delve too deeply into her own kidnapping.
"Today's meeting will mainly discuss the attack during the Progress Day assembly last night. I woke up this morning and heard from Caitlyn. It seems the mastermind behind it has been captured, and there seems to be a grudge against us.
"The Kiramman family has never been afraid of offending others, especially when the thief has also violated the interests of our family. We just followed Piltover's laws and threw him into prison. If he chose to end his own life, it's his own business, unrelated to us.
"However, it's clear that the mastermind behind this incident is just an ordinary citizen of Piltover. Other council members are not very satisfied with this outcome.
"I suspect they will try to shift blame onto the restless Undercity, taking the opportunity to suppress them."
"But, Mom, this has nothing to do with the Undercity..."
Caitlyn furrowed her brows slightly, thinking about her promise to Silco and her desire to resolve the conflicts between the twin cities.
"That's why I want to remind you both not to speak out of turn during the meeting. Try to go along with their narrative."
Caitlyn's brows furrowed even more, an expression of discontent apparent. "But I feel like we shouldn't..."
She couldn't finish her sentence when she suddenly felt a poke at her waist.
Caitlyn caught a glimpse of Li Lin's small gesture, realizing he was the one who had just done it.
Caitlyn caught a glimpse of Li Lin's subtle movements from the corner of her eye and realized it was him who had just acted.
Quick-witted, she instantly grasped Li Lin's intention and sealed her lips shut.
The tensions between the Twin Cities had been building up for a long time, especially after the "Day of Ashes" a few years ago, reaching a point where reconciliation seemed almost impossible.
Even Lady Cassandra wouldn't predominantly favor Zaun in most aspects.
Arguing with her at this moment would be meaningless, and it might even trigger her temper, which was already at a critical point.
"Do you have anything to say, Cait?" There was a slight change in Lady Cassandra's expression.
Caitlyn, with her exceptional observational skills, could certainly sense that her mother was about to get angry. She immediately shook her head, "No, nothing."
The tense lines at the corners of Lady Cassandra's eyes relaxed a bit. "Good."
Subsequently, she began discussing what Li Lin and Caitlyn should pay attention to in the upcoming meeting.
Following the same procedure as last time, they would accompany Lady Cassandra into the council chamber and wait on the side for a moment.
However, what differed this time was that representatives from all the prominent families in Piltover would be present as observers in the meeting.
After the seated members of the council had discussed matters, Li Lin and Jayce would step forward and vividly describe their experiences during the rescue mission of the Kiramman couple in Zaun.
Then, they needed to shift the blame onto Zaun, stirring up anti-Zaun sentiments among the representatives, ensuring enough familial support for the council to dispatch enforcers to suppress the Undercity.
Except for Heimerdinger, who was like the council's mascot, each council member knew exactly what was going on.
As long as proposals involving the two city-states had the majority's approval and did not harm the interests of the Ferros family, the figure behind Piltover wouldn't interfere.
Moreover, exploiting Zaun was in the interest of all the families; almost no one in Piltover would refuse, except for the noble houses from Zaun and those genuinely advocating for peace.
Therefore, over the years, these upper-city families had not hesitated to use this approach to suppress the Undercity.
The "Day of Ashes" incident a few years ago erupted precisely because it exceeded the critical point that had been accumulating in the hearts of the people of Zaun for years.
The more Li Lin and Caitlyn heard Lady Cassandra's requests, the more unpleasant their expressions became.
Especially considering that she, like Heimerdinger among the councilors, was quite conservative.
But even she had put forward a series of overly audacious hypotheses, indicating that other councilors might suggest even more extreme proposals to exploit the Undercity's interests.
Politics in Piltover was indeed shrouded in darkness...
(End of the Chapter)
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