Inside the Parliament of Nobles in the Nekso Palace …
It was raining heavily outside, and the thunder was rumbling and the lightning was dazzling, as if it were the end of the world. All the members of the Parliament of Nobles in Renstadt had gathered in the half-circle hall. They were all wearing white headgear and black cloaks.
Had it not been for the fact that the natural lightning was so powerful that the experts below the level of gold Knight did not dare to fly here in the thunderstorm, the Parliament of Nobles would've been full. At this moment, it had only been an hour since King Feltis and Prince Patrick were summoned by the Lord.
Of course, the nobles who could not make it in time also learned what happened from their spokespersons and allies in Renstadt remotely and conveyed their opinions.
At this moment, they were more grateful to the Allyn Telephone and Telegraph Company than ever. Although the "wired telephone" that they promoted was still losing money because of the complicated infrastructure, and it was limited to the capital cities of Renstadt and the few counties, it was a rare channel of communication in such weather for the nobles who could not deploy and use the expensive transmission circles. Many nobles decided to help promote it after tasting the benefits.
"How did the prince get summoned by the Lord?" Count Henson took a hot bath in the lounge of the Parliament of Nobles and changed his clothes and headgear, finally getting rid of the shock. Wearing the paper flower on his chest, he sat in the front row and asked James, Duke of Paphos, Russell, Duke of Wolfburg, and Viscount Harrison, who came in a hurry after notifying the Congress of Magic.
The four of them were the leaders of the liberals other than Prince Patrick. They had to communicate with each other in advance without internal strife, or the nobles on their side would lose confidence.
Duke James also put on a white headgear in the Parliament of Nobles to cover his bald head. He said gloomily, "I don't know. It was already like this when Russell and I arrived at the Nekso Palace. We have examined the prince's body and found no abnormalities. His body collapsed because of grief. I don't think anybody could've assassinated him under Kritonia's protection. "
Kritonia, the Heart of Time, was one of the two legendary Knights in the Kingdom of Holm. No more than five knights in the entire world could reach level three of legendary, including him and Rudolf II. As for the legendary Knight who had reached the peak of legendary, apart from the "monsters" such as Prince Dracula, the Prince of Abyss, and the Lord of the first level of hell, there was only one among human beings, Saint Melmax, the captain of the Temple Knights and a member of the Grand Cardinals.
James claimed that no assassinations would happen under Kritonia's protection, but there was not the slightest certainty on his face.
"His Excellency Kritonia is a hero in the War of Dawn. He is a legendary Knight who crushed the Magic Empire's reign in Holm together with the late king. However, he is already very old and is about to reach the end of his life. He has more things to consider and arrange than ordinary people do." Said Duke Russell emotionlessly, "He cannot observe the situation in peace like His Excellency Winston of the Solefen family."
'Night Walker' Winston was another legendary Knight in the Kingdom of Holm. He was currently responsible for guarding the colonial countries that the kingdom had won over in a few alternate dimensions.
Viscount Harrison sneered, "I don't believe that the prince would pass away because of grief for His Majesty."
Harrison, Henson, and the rest of them knew that Patrick had been the crown prince for thirty to forty years. It was inevitable that there would be conflicts of power between him and the king. Their relationship had long been strained, especially after their ideologies differed greatly. They might believe that Prince Patrick's body collapsed because of his joy.
"With everything coming to this point, we need to hold back our grief and do two things well. Firstly, we need to secretly ask the sorcerers of the Congress of Magic to investigate the truth of the prince's death so that we can take the initiative in the future. Secondly, we need to start the backup plan and support David to ascend to the throne." After calming down, Count Henson's blue eyes became sharp again.
Patrick had always been in poor health. The liberal nobles had been prepared for his death before the king. Therefore, they were not at a loss after the brief shock and panic.
David's father was King Feltis's cousin and Archmage Morris's nephew and student. Although he had died in an adventure, under his influence, David, the Grand Knight, was completely inclined to the liberals in his daily life and in his territory. In the eyes of Duke James and the rest of them, he was the most suitable candidate for the throne. Also, his bloodline was very close. According to the law of nobles, he was the fourth heir.
"Alright." Duke James nodded his head heavily and communicated the result of their discussion to the other liberal nobles.
After a while, Rex, the president of the Parliament of Nobles, who was wearing a black cloak and a white wig, walked in, followed by a black-haired man with a gentle smile. His silver eyes clearly told everybody that he was a member of the Hoffenberg family.
"Gordon!" Count Henson and the other liberal nobles narrowed their eyes.
Duke James' face was so awful that it seemed that water was dripping out. "Didn't he claim that he would serve the Lord for the rest of his life? Didn't he quit the Sword of Truth's Knight Legion and join the Temple Knight Legion in the Holy City? "
"A level-eight Knight who is less than fifty years old … Tearing Sword …" Duke Russell and Viscount Harrison said to themselves solemnly.
Exclamations suddenly burst out in the hall. The other nobles, whether they were liberals or conservatives, couldn't help but whisper to each other. Count Gordon was a genius and an anomaly in the Hoffenberg family. He became a Knight when he was only thirty-five and was appointed as the deputy captain of the Sword of Truth's Knight Legion by King Feltis. However, he was a devout believer and went to the Holy City when he was forty, joining the Temple Knight Legion.
He was much more distant from King Feltis than David was, but his rank as a Knight was enough to make his succession order soar. He was almost at the top of the hierarchy like David. The Hoffenberg family, on the other hand, had a lot of people, but most of them were either distant from their bloodline or were not Knights, making it difficult for them to compete with the two of them. Some of them had already embarked on the path of magic and automatically abandoned their qualification.
Duke James and the rest of them thought that Rex would favor Alex, his nephew who had just activated the bloodline of the Sword of Truth. By then, David would be able to inherit the throne without any suspense due to his strength as a Knight and the distance of their bloodline. Little did they expect that Gordon would come back.
The sound of mallets hitting echoed in the front, and the hall of the Parliament of Nobles immediately fell silent.
Drawing a cross on his chest, Rex said sorrowfully, "Our great king, King Feltis, and the honorable crown prince, Prince Patrick, were summoned by the Lord one hour ago. Let's have a moment of silence for them and pray that they will be blessed by the Lord in Mountain Paradise."
James and the rest of them all stood up. They drew crosses and lowered their heads. The atmosphere was quiet and sorrowful.
Five minutes later, Rex, the speaker of the Parliament of Nobles, gestured for everyone to sit down. His eyes hardened. "Since Crown Prince Patrick, the first heir of the kingdom, was also summoned by the Lord and did not leave behind any children, according to the law, the Parliament of Nobles will elect a crown prince. The criteria for the election will be based on the order of succession and the premise of receiving the Lord's blessing."
By 'the Lord's blessing', it meant that a grand cardinal would come to host the coronation ceremony.
Instead of letting the nobles speak, Rex pointed at Gordon next to him and said, "The royal family of Holm is in a precarious situation after such a strike. Therefore, Count Gordon made up his mind to put his family first. After asking for the Lord's forgiveness, he quit the Temple Knight Order and returned through the teleportation circle of the Church. He is a level-eight Knight in his prime years. Also, he has the pure bloodline of the Sword of Truth. I propose that he should inherit the throne. Please raise your hands. "
"Wait a moment." James stood up and said loudly, "Under such circumstances, according to the code, the candidate can't inherit the throne without the consent of more than two thirds of the representatives and no objection from any of the nine dukes. Is that right, Speaker Rex?"
Rex looked at James gloomily. "Yes, and no. When the other candidates can't get more than one fifth of the votes, the last candidate doesn't need to meet the requirement. In emergencies, the candidate who gets more than half of the votes will be directly granted the right of succession. I believe that this is exactly an emergency. The throne cannot be left empty for long."
"Whether or not it is an emergency is not up to you. It needs everybody's vote. Right now, I propose Count David. He is closer to His Majesty. According to the succession order, he is far ahead of Count Gordon. Also, he is a Great Knight and has activated his blood power. "
James did not speak on the stage but simply looked around at the other nobles. "I don't think any of the representatives will object to the succession order, right? Whoever sets an example first, when his son or grandson inherits the title, can the other candidates in the family who are more powerful cite the example and compete for the title? "
That was the foundation for the stability of the noble class. Which noble did not want to leave the title to their immediate heirs? If the strong could compete for it, the families would've had internal conflicts and assassinations long ago!
Of course, that was also one of the reasons why they were attached to the Church. An independent and powerful Church could ensure that nobody ignored the rules with their strength.
A conservative noble stood up and bowed to everybody gracefully. "According to Article 7, Paragraph 6 of the succession section of the Code, 'blood power is the foundation of the nobles' status. Powerful strength can be used as a reference for the succession order. 'I won't talk about the specific calculation method. Taking the strength of the Great Knight into account, Gordon Count and David Count are in the same order. Therefore, electing Gordon Count does not violate the Code, and it will not cause the collapse of the order of the nobles."
"Also, David Count's father is a sorcerer. We have to consider if he can be blessed by the Lord."
His words were concise and to the point, completely collapsing James' attack.
Count Henson stood up with a quill and bowed gracefully as well. Then he continued, "The father is a sorcerer, but it doesn't mean that the son is not a devout believer. David Count has never been absent from the church and often donates to the Church. His devotion is well known. I believe that the Lord can see it and tolerate it. There are many sorcerers who have repented and converted in the night watchers, aren't there? Count Gordon used to be a Knight in the Temple. In the future, I don't believe that he will put the interests of the Kingdom of Holm and everyone's interests first. This is not blasphemy against the Lord, but a confusion between theocracy and royalty. "
At this moment, he had no time to be tactful. He was blatantly pitting theocracy against royalty.
Gordon raised his hand and smiled. "Speculation is not proof. I believe that I will look at the problems of the nobles from the perspective of the king of Holm, not from the identity of a Knight of the Temple."
The liberal nobles and the conservative nobles stood up one after another to express their opinions. In the end, Rex said, "Now, please vote. Those who support Count David, raise your hands."
Sparse arms were raised. It did not seem very many, but it was already one third. While the liberals had fewer people than the conservatives, they were more united.
It made Rex frown. He could not use the first special clause anymore. Thinking for a moment, he continued the discussion. "Those who support Count Gordon, raise your hands."
Arms were raised one after another. Seeing that more than half of them were not a problem, Rex began to consider how to pass the motion of the state of emergency.
Suddenly, the arms stopped halfway. Rex looked at Duke Solefen in shock, only to see that he shook his head, indicating that he would not support the candidate who was too obviously associated with the Church. As the leader of the conservatives, his attitude directly influenced most of the nobles.
Duke James smiled. "President Rex, it seems that we have to have a long discussion and negotiation."
While Duke Solefen hesitated, he was confident that he could remove Gordon through mediation.
Rex fell silent and looked at the mallet in his hands. Suddenly, he raised his head. "I propose another candidate."
He had intended to force Duke Solefen and the rest of them to support his proposal through the urgency of the situation, but they were unbelievably stubborn. He could only resort to the backup plan.
"Who is it? Who is higher in succession than Count David and Count Gordon? "Duke Russell expressed his objection.
Rex said unhurriedly, "Natasha Orvarit, the Violet Count. She has activated the bloodline of the Sword of Truth. She is more related to His Majesty and His Highness than Count David. Also, she is a Knight and a devout believer. She can be blessed by the Church."
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
