The night before the election was when the magic happened. It was the last hurrah before the election, so the candidates were either relaxing by then, or doing everything they can last minute.

And for Alistair, why would he pick 1 when he can have both?

Inside a private room of an upscale restaurant, Alistair was sitting across from another man at a dining table. A set of expensive food was in front of them, as well as an open bottle of wine that cost a few thousand dollars.

The man across from him was Director Palce. He was the head of the city’s Election Administration Office. In simple terms, he was the one responsible for overseeing how the entire election would be conducted across the city.

He was the one who approved of polling stations, ballot handling, and even vote counting procedures. Everything ultimately passed through him before it was announced to the public.

"Well," Director Palce lifted his wine glass and took a small sip before placing it back down on the table. "Tomorrow’s the big day," he said with a casual smile.

"Indeed, it is." Alistair leaned back in his chair comfortably.

Unlike the public version of himself that looked friendly and all that, Alistair was looking far more serious right now.

"Don’t worry, Mayor. The preparations are complete," Palce continued with a small smile on his face.

"Voting machines are all working properly, and we have trusted staff assigned to certain stations." He paused briefly before giving Alistair a small, knowing look.

"Everything is ready."

"Good." That put a big smile on Alistair’s face.

Alistair gently swirled the wine in his glass. The deep color of it showed that the wine has been aged finely.

"I trust that you already know what to do." That wasn’t a question, but a phrase.

Director Palce chuckled softly at it.

"Of course, Mayor." His lips curled into a playful grin. "You’ve funded our department well over the years. How can we forget you?"

That’s right. Alistair’s eyes glinted slightly at that statement. Over the years, his office had quietly directed generous amounts of city funding toward the election administration office.

Officially, it was for improving voting infrastructure. But the truth was...

"You’ve taken good care of us," Palce leaned back in his chair as he continued. He had now gotten his own wine glass. "So naturally, we should just take good care of you."

Alistair playfully grinned at that. That was exactly what he liked to hear.

"The counting process tomorrow night," Palce added casually before cutting into his steak, "will proceed very smoothly. Exactly as planned."

Alistair let out a satisfied breath.

"Good."

For the first time in days, the tension in his shoulders had eased. He wasn’t thinking of doing this, but he was left with no choice. His allies have been acting strangely, so he had to take matters into his own hands.

After a moment, Alistair raised his wine glass.

"To a successful election."

"To you, Mayor." Director Palce lifted his glass as well, his grin widening slightly. Their glasses clinked lightly at that.

They resumed their dinner soon afterward. However, just minutes later, the door of their private room opened. The two of them both turned their head slightly, and a moment later, Gray could be seen stepping inside.

He had arrived a little later than expected because of traffic on the way. He had already informed Alistair about that minutes ago. He was expecting for Alistair to be alone. However, a man was sitting across from him.

Gray’s forehead creased at that. His eyes landed between Alistair and the unknown man.

’I thought we were just having dinner?’ he thought in his mind. He wasn’t informed that they would be with someone.

It would have been fine if it were someone he knew. However, he didn’t have a single idea who this man was.

’I thought I would have an easy night today, but I guess not.’ He sighed at that. He was thinking of just having dinner, then going home, so he could prepare for the big thing tomorrow.

Still, Gray quickly composed himself. He walked further into the room and gave a polite nod to Alistair.

"Mayor."

Alistair immediately smiled when he saw him.

"Ah, Gray. You arrived at perfect timing." He gestured toward the empty chair beside him. "Come, sit."

Gray stepped closer to the table, but before he could take the seat, Alistair casually waved a hand toward the man across from them.

"Oh, right, let me introduce you to this person." Alistair gave a small nod to Palce.

"This is Director Palce," Alistair said. "The head of the city’s Election Administration Office."

Gray’s eyes moved back to the man.

’So that was who he was.’ He slowly smiled and extended his hand to the man.

"A pleasure to meet you." Director Palce accepted his hand and nodded to Gray.

"The pleasure is mine." Gray returned the smile and gave a respectful nod. But inside his mind, a completely different thought appeared.

’What is the head of the election office doing here... the night before the election?’ Despite his confusion, Gray calmly pulled the chair and sat down beside Alistair.

For a moment, the three of them just simply sat there before Alistair chuckled.

"Well, since you’re already here, Gray," he said casually while cutting a piece of steak, "there’s no point hiding it from you."

"Hiding what, Mayor?" Gray raised a brow slightly.

"Director Palce will be the one ensuring our victory tomorrow." Alistair gestured lazily toward the man across the table.

"What do you mean?" Gray’s forehead creased, quite unsure of it.

With his question, the man in front chuckled.

"It seems your guy here hasn’t still learnt from you," Palce muttered while laughing.

Alistair just chuckled, too. He turned to Gray and patted his shoulders.

"You should know what I’m trying to say, Gray."

"Oh!" Gray let out another soft chuckle as if he had just understood what they were trying to say. "I see." He nodded.

’So that’s what this is,’ Gray secretly sighed.

For someone to meet privately with the head of the election office the night before voting started...

It didn’t take a genius to understand what was happening.

’Alistair really has gotten desperate.’ He thought.

"Well," Gray said lightly, glancing between the two men, "it sounds like tomorrow will be a very smooth election then."

Alistair and Palce grinned in satisfaction.

"That’s exactly our plan."