Chapter 332: Chapter 284: Star Chamber, Kingdom Review
On the Hightins mainland, at Capital Kingston, resided Ganquan Palace.
At the southeastern corner of the palace complex stood a majestic white marble building, its entrance adorned with a plaque engraved with the emblem of a Golden Lion wielding a sword.
Servants passing by would subconsciously hold their breath, as cautiously as if they were walking past the King’s study.
For this was the very nerve center of the current Royalist Party—the Privy Council!
Around a long table sat sixteen high-backed chairs, each inscribed with different coats of arms. At this time, nine of them already had their owners present.
Some were there in person, while others employed lifelike legal projections.
The Privy Council Speaker, who had personally come, nodded to the other eight figures wielding supreme power beneath the King.
"We have more than half the members present, so according to protocol, we may commence the emergency meeting," he announced. "The two key issues for today were submitted by the Colonial Affairs Division and involve our overseas expansion endeavors. We must offer our opinions immediately."
After being endowed with the Magna Carta, Edward IV had ascended as a true Fifth Order Kingly Title and naturally acquired his own sixteen The King’s Right Hands.
Moreover, they were not mock-ups established from scratch like those of Byron, but the true, pinnacle state of The King’s Right Hand.
The positions of two Knights and eight Guardians were given to the sword-wielding nobility at the core of the Kingdom’s power. These were essentially the true power-holding lords with the greatest military and economic might, who naturally had to be rewarded for supporting Edward’s ascent.
The two War Chariots usually belonged to the Kingdom’s Guardians who had trodden farthest along the extraordinary path, their strength formidable.
To be worthy of the title of Kingdom’s Guardian, one must at least belong to a High Sequence within the legendary domain; if they had ambitions to establish a system, perhaps a Kingly Title could also be consolidated.
Such individuals were revered even by the Royal Family.
These sixteen individuals, united around the King, held the highest status under the current legal system.
In the Kingdom of Hightins, under the rule of the York Family, aside from the King, Queen, and one Legendary Level Kingdom’s Guardian, the other thirteen people collectively formed the Monarch’s consulting body, the Privy Council. Its official full title in state documents was "His Majesty’s Most Honorable Privy Council," and to the outside world, these individuals were known as Privy Councilors.
After an incident occurred in the colonies, the relevant department immediately brought this challenging issue to their attention.
The Privy Council Speaker continued, "You are all already familiar with the details of this vicious event. The Governor of the Royal Port, Jefferson Newman, and his brothers were assassinated. Apart from a daughter with no aptitude as a Transcendent, their entire family was wiped out. From the causes and consequences shown in the Intelligence, this is clearly a long-planned act of revenge.
"Now we face two problems to solve. First, we need to identify the true criminal and bring them to justice. Second, the Right to Protect in the colonies has been approved by His Holiness the Pope and will soon be initiated. This concerns the Kingdom’s collective overseas interests, and we must compete with the Castilians for it. Essentially, both issues boil down to one: who should next lead the colonies in the struggle for the Right to Protect."
A Guardian, scrutinizing an incident report signed by all the colony’s major officials—guaranteeing no collusion or fraud—immediately identified the key issue.
"By logical deduction," the Guardian stated, "only two parties had the motive and capacity to pull off such an act in just over ten minutes: the Lancaster Party we drove out, and our esteemed Kingmaker.
"Jefferson’s command to dispatch the main fleet from port was amateurish, but the key reason he and the Newman Family died was the subsequent, unexpected failure of the Magna Carta to affect the bandits. Had the laws not failed, we wouldn’t have learned of Newman’s death until the next day.
"And what about the Sea Hunter, one of the seven Pirate Generals who saved Royal Port? Hasn’t he captured several infiltrators dispatched by Warwick? The culprits were caught red-handed!
"Currently, it appears that only the titular power of the Kingmaker could possibly challenge His Majesty’s authority. Gentlemen, there’s an eighty percent chance the enemy is within."
The others subconsciously nodded in agreement.
Both in reality and in their minds, they were inclined to suspect Warwick’s involvement in this affair. Perhaps he had not acted directly, but it was highly probable he had fanned the flames and reached some tacit understanding with the Lancaster Party. Otherwise, there was no explaining why the laws had failed.
"Gentlemen, we must be vigilant," one councilor warned. "Besides having a tacit understanding with the Lancaster Party on this matter, could Warwick also be exchanging covert signals with them on other issues? His power now far surpasses that of Lancaster, who are reduced to mere remnants. This Kingmaker, who has siphoned off His Majesty’s authority, is the Royalist Party’s greatest enemy!"
"Warwick has committed treason!" another exclaimed. "I can’t wait to see the expression on his face when we throw the evidence at him!"
A third councilor added, "Gentlemen, the Newman brothers were members of our Royalist Party, comrades in our united front, and intimate friends to us all. Their deaths absolutely cannot be dismissed like this. If Warwick doesn’t make a painful sacrifice to compensate the Royalist Party, this matter will not end!"
Before any verification, those in power had already, one after another, defined the nature of this heinous event.
Clearly, Byron’s frame-up had achieved its desired effect; the situation developed largely as he had anticipated. It wasn’t that these individuals weren’t intelligent enough to spot suspicious points; it was simply Human Nature, and the nature of politicians. This course of events best served their interests. For Byron, who had once been on their level, understanding Human Nature and skillfully guiding events accordingly wasn’t difficult.
The Privy Council Speaker, who also held the title of Prime Minister, cleared his throat. "Since we’ve reached a consensus, I’ll report this opinion to His Majesty. However, a necessary inquiry into this vile case of family annihilation must still be conducted. Moreover, the struggle for the Right to Protect is urgent. We must select a candidate within three days to allow the new Governor to assume office. We no longer have time to dispatch the most suitable candidate from the mainland. For now, let’s temporarily choose a successor from the colonies.
"I have a few strict criteria: they must belong to the Royalist Party; be loyal and reliable to His Majesty; be exceptionally capable; and be held in high esteem by all parties. Ideally, they should also be familiar with the colonial situation, requiring no break-in period, and can become effective immediately to represent us in a tough fight against Castilia."
The Speaker glanced at the name recommended by the officials on the Intelligence report, silently committing it to memory. He decided to wait until the inquiry was over before saying more.
At this point, a Knight voiced his concerns. "The formal appointment of a Governor of the Colonies requires the approval of Parliament, which Warwick controls. Even if we directly appoint colonial personnel, saving a month’s travel time, the wrangling and exchange of interests alone will take more than a few days to resolve. Even though we hold leverage over Warwick for his collusion with the enemy and treason, we cannot use the law to punish this thief who shares His Majesty’s authority. Royal authority cannot be centralized. No matter what we do, the first step is always internal strife."
Hearing this, the Prime Minister and Speaker pondered for a moment. "Then let’s appoint an acting Governor first. If he satisfies us in the struggle for the Right to Protect, it won’t be too late to grant him the official position. This timeline is perfectly manageable. Assign this task to the Star Chamber Court. Have them immediately dispatch operatives to investigate the case and conduct the necessary vetting of the candidate."
The others had no objections.
"Seconded."
"Seconded."
The Star Chamber Court was the highest judicial body of Hightins, named after a hall in the Royal Palace with a star-decorated ceiling. It specialized in punishing nobles, seditious factions, and Dissenters who were disloyal to the King or plotted rebellion. Its members consisted of Privy Council officials, Bishops, and senior judges, most of whom held Classes in the Tribunal Sequence and were directly under the King’s jurisdiction. This was one of the core power institutions that Henry V of the Lancaster Dynasty had wrested from the nobility, seeking to change the "King is under the law" status quo. In reality, it served as the King’s hounds.
The efficiency of the Star Chamber Court was extremely high.
No sooner had the Privy Council’s order been issued than a team of three Third Order Executioners from the Star Chamber Court arrived at a spherical building within the Royal Palace.
On the central altar lay a golden orb. This was one of the seven Sacred Relics used during each King’s coronation: the Cross Holy Orb, also known as the Sovereign Orb.
Its main body was a hollow golden sphere about 30 centimeters in diameter, inlaid with 9 Emeralds, 18 Rubies, 9 Sapphires, 365 diamonds, and 375 pearls. The Cross above the sphere symbolized the Church. At the coronation, the Archbishop would present this orb to the new Monarch to remind him that "power comes from the Creator"—the divine right of kings.
Simultaneously, it was also one of the most critical anchors of a King’s Royal Iron Law in the real world and the central hub used by various authorities to manipulate the law. It could be considered an Emperor’s imperial seal.
At this moment, the Royal Authority Orb was exuding a bright light of law, forming a vertical, dragon-eye-like pupil that monitored all abnormalities within its legal coverage area. If it weren’t for a group of ’Outlaw Madmen’ who had automatically hidden themselves in the blind spots of the network, the mainland wouldn’t be so oblivious to the events unfolding in the colonies.
The lead Executioner among the three produced a warrant and commanded the orb, "Activate! Law, descend upon the colonial land, upon Royal Port!"
Once permission to use it was obtained, it could significantly enhance all capabilities of those in the Tribunal Sequence, truly a Divine Artifact for this Sequence.
As Divine Light bloomed, the three Executioners each settled into a stone chair and slowly drifted into slumber. They activated one of their professional abilities as Third Order practitioners—Dream Execution, also known as Dragon Slaying in Dreams!