The other passersby who received a flyer were also shocked. Some were terrified. "If the courts lose the support of His Majesty the King, will their verdicts still be valid?"

In the hearts of the old farmers and common folk of the Holy Kingdom, the most powerful and just judgment came from the Divine Spirit, the Lord of Order, followed by His designated landlord on this earth—the King. If they suffered a great injustice, they would inevitably share one wish: to petition His Majesty the King.

Most of the Kingdom’s commoners still believed the King was wise and devoted to his people, and that any corruption came from the ministers and tax collectors above. To this, Rorschach could only think, ’Different world, same fantasy.’

But the Kingdom had so many subjects, and everyone had grievances. If they all petitioned Charles XVI, even if he only listened to each person ramble for five minutes, His Majesty would have no time for anything else. Thus, the Royal Courts were established to issue rulings on the King’s behalf.

It wasn’t just the Supreme Court in the Royal Capital, but also the local Royal Courts. Before the ’heretical’ idea of natural law became widespread, they served to convey the King’s judicial will and restrain the local nobility.

That is, until that genius of a king, Charles XVI, had a falling out with these disobedient judges and, in a fit of rage, signed the order to dissolve the Royal Courts.

With this scene unfolding in front of the Magic Guild, the road was already blocked by vehicles. The addition of the Wandering Court’s propaganda wagon only made the congestion worse. But just then, the harmony of brass instruments sounded from the other end of the road.

Those clearing the way at the front carried red banners with white borders, emblazoned with a holy radiance. The arrivals were none other than the Order Church! A group of Monks, led by a Priest, advanced slowly as a band played. Four Holy Knights served as an escort, and the carriage in the center carried something that was completely obscured by velvet cloth and fresh flowers.

’The Church, making such a grand display, right at the Magic Guild’s doorstep? A provocation?’ Rorschach and the Guild staff were all stunned. Rorschach had thought the procession was transporting a coffin, but under his [Arcane Vision], the container emanated a dim Spiritual Light.

The road at this time had no lanes or designated directions, and the two processions brought traffic to a complete standstill in front of the Guild Building.

Compared to the Church’s procession, the Wandering Court’s propaganda wagon was rather shabby. But these progressive lawyers refused to yield an inch, even starting to preach, "The Divine Spirit only accepts the offerings of the rich and ignores the suffering of the poor! Its servants use the name of god to intimidate the ignorant and amass fortunes..."

Such heretical words made the merchants in the crowd tremble. The Holy Knights stood under the blazing sun, their armor reflecting a golden gleam. The Holy Knight at the front of the procession raised his Great Sword, and just as the onlookers thought the crazed lawyer would be struck down on the spot—even the man himself puffed out his chest, ready for a heroic martyrdom at any moment.

But no one was harmed. The speaker simply found himself silenced, his face flushing red as he was unable to utter a single word. To the onlookers, it appeared as if a beam of light had descended upon the lawyer, stopping his heretical speech. Awed, the common folk began to praise the mercy and might of the divine.

The lead Priest explained to the opposing party, and also to the Magic Guild, "We have no intention of causing a provocation. We are merely passing through here as a shortcut. We have urgent business, so please, let us pass..." ’His tone is surprisingly urgent,’ Rorschach thought, ’and is that a hint of... a plea?’

While the Priest spoke conciliatory words, the Holy Knights spurred their horses, pressing in on the propaganda wagon. Finally, its driver, shrouded in the Knights’ shadows, yielded to the pressure and cleared a path. The other carriages and horses quickly followed suit.

’Weird! This is too weird!’

Rorschach hadn’t deactivated his [Arcane Vision]. With his purple-level proficiency, the longer he stared, the clearer the Spiritual Light became, to the point where he could even begin to parse information from it...

Ah! Rorschach cried out. But to those in the real world, the Mage had merely frozen in place, his mouth slightly agape, without making a sound.

It was Rorschach’s soul that had screamed. His consciousness was being pulled from his body, as if it were about to crash straight into the ’coffin’ and be sucked into the dim Spiritual Light.

Just as he was about to be sucked in, Rorschach felt that familiar sense of ascension again. He pierced through layers of chaos, forced to rise up to the infinitely high and distant Star Realm.

In the Supreme Heaven, it was no longer empty; something was there. Rorschach’s vision was permitted to see only a giant hand formed of nebulae, pinching a tiny point of starlight.

’That must be a star...’ Rorschach was uncertain. Between the giant hand’s fingertips, the star was no bigger than a pea. Then, the hand flicked it, and the celestial body shot straight toward Rorschach!

Like an expanding point of light, everything in his vision was consumed by a cold, white radiance.

Somehow, Rorschach could tell just from the light that it was a dying star.

The white light engulfed him.

"Master Mage? Master Mage?" a passerby called out instinctively, seeing Rorschach’s unfocused eyes and the tears streaming from them.

"Ah, excuse me." Rorschach snapped back to his senses and quickly wiped away his tears. His eye sockets burned with a searing pain, but he paid it no mind, desperate to catch up with the Church’s procession.

...

A royal decree could be signed without going through the Prime Minister. Although Dipresy had spent the past few days urging His Majesty the King to reconsider, the judges’ provocations had grown increasingly outrageous, and the monarch’s fury had swelled in kind.

The order to dissolve the courts was issued from the hunting grounds. Charles XVI had been hunting more and more frequently; as a hobby, it was starting to replace his clockmaking. Dipresy knew this was His Majesty’s way of venting his frustrations, and also that... ’I’m a cripple, so I can’t join the hunt!’

And so, the royal decree was issued in the Red-robed Prime Minister’s absence and swiftly transmitted to the provinces via telegraph.

In an instant, all the courts lost their legitimacy! At least, that’s what Charles XVI believed. He wanted those audacious judges, who didn’t know their place, to understand exactly who was the master of the Kingdom and who had granted them their power.

Charles XVI already had a plan for his next steps. ’Arrest a few of the extremists and throw them into Bastille Prison. Win over some of the others, replace a few with new faces... But restructuring the courts can wait. Let this teach them a lesson...’

"Foolish! Utterly foolish!" Dipresy thundered. His only restraint was not saying directly who the fool was.

However, this didn’t mean the provinces would spiral completely out of control. The Prime Minister had single-handedly established the system of Imperial Auditors, who had the authority to oversee all local government affairs and had already evolved into the highest-ranking local officials, directly managed and appointed by the royal court. If Rorschach were to translate the title, he would probably have called them ’Inspectors.’

"My lord, telegraphs have arrived from the three northern districts. They all report that judges and lawyers are inciting the populace, creating instability. They request permission to mobilize troops if necessary, to prevent..."

Dipresy denied the request before his secretary could finish reading. "Mobilizing troops would inevitably cause widespread panic and make the current situation deteriorate completely. They want their courts, do they not?

"Reply as follows: To stabilize public sentiment, order the Imperial Auditors to supervise. Have the local legal community publicly elect a provisional Chief Justice and organize a provisional court. Inform the public that the King will soon issue an order to establish new Royal Courts.

"As for those inciting the public, contact the local Holy Knights to apprehend the ringleaders. The arrests must not be expanded beyond that.

"Temporarily investigate all newspaper offices and printing houses. Prohibit the publication of any news related to the Royal Courts and ban all public speeches. All related news is to be issued by the authorities.

"If public sentiment remains unstable after these measures are implemented, you may advance the elections for the representatives of the Third Estate to the Third Level Estate Assembly. It is imperative that the public believes the process is open and transparent.

"Have you memorized that? Repeat it back to me."

"Yes, sir!" After the secretary confirmed the reply, Dipresy thought of something else. "One more thing. Until the telegraph office is independent of the Magic Guild, official correspondence cannot be transmitted in plain text." ’Sending it so directly,’ he thought, ’is giving that bunch of Mages a free show!’

"Then your reply..."

"The situation is urgent. Just send it as is." The Lord Chancellor was helpless as well.