"Approved!" Sylvester abruptly bellowed but corrected himself right after that, "Holy Sovereign sounds brilliant, First Guardian. I shall be holding complete authority over every aspect of Sol and its administration from now on. Every law that is proposed must pass through , with my signature. As for the kingdoms, there shall be none anymore.
Sol will be divided into various districts of varying sizes according to the population."
Furiously, almost every single mber present started writing down whatever Sylvester said. But so of them still had utterly great mories and didn't bother with writing it.
"Your Holiness… I an Holy So—"
"My designation is Holy Sovereign, like the Pope. You are still to call His Holiness." Sylvester corrected Aurora before she finished.
"Yes, Your Holiness. I was wondering who will be managing these districts. A Clergyman?" She inquired.
Sylvester shook his head and pointed at the map of Sol behind him on the wall. "Just like the Judge examination, an Administrative Service Examination will be held to pick candidates to work as administrators.
At the lowest levels will be the various overseers of departnts, and in the middle levels will be the Magistrates who will administer whole districts, with its security forces under their limited control. On the higher levels, there will be Division Chiefs, who will oversee a cluster of districts.
"All of the previous duchies will be called States from now on, and a senior Clergyman personally appointed and evaluated by will be at its help. All the Magistrates and Division Chiefs will report to the said Senior Clergyn, who will be called State Counciln."
One after another, they all narrowed down the list of matters that needed to be solved at the quickest. What sort of structures would the various essential departnts, such as Road Construction, Agriculture, Waterways, and Water Supply, have?
"From now on, a new Tax Departnt will be created in the Holy Land, which will work under the leadership of the Saint Keymaster. It will be responsible for focusing on District-level Tax Sub-offices, and collecting tax throughout Sol.
All that money will gather here, and will then be distributed across the realm as per the need in focus," Sylvester announced and concluded the short eting with the clergy, as there was another group desperate to et him there.
"I will be here for the next seven days with no break. Co to at any ti if there is any confusion, or if you encounter a problem that requires further expansion of departnts." He dismissed them and called his pretty and bubbly assistant in. "Mother Anya, call the kings and queens waiting outside."
Sylvester moved the chairs around his table in the anti, as the major crowd had left.
The place had undoubtedly beco a playground for Miraj as he jumped around and tried to catch the sunlight's reflection in the room. He wasn't dumb, just playful, despite knowing what it was.
Bam!
"Chonky, stop ssing around. You'll break the portraits." Sylvester was quick to scold the bored cat. "If you're so bored, just go ho to Mum."
"Nyo! I wanna be here and see everything. You're the Big Pope now, and I'm the Big Chonky protector. I can't leave your side, Maxy," Miraj argued and continued his playful chase.
Knock! Knock!
Just then, the door opened, and Queen Xylena peeked inside with a huge grin on her face. "There's my favorite father!"
"There is my lazy daughter?" Sylvester joked. "Get in here and sit down."
One after another, all of the ex-monarchs entered and took their seats. Despite losing their kingdoms, they didn't seem annoyed, or depressed. There was a solemn smile on their faces as they silently looked at Sylvester to start.
"How are you?" Sylvester asked about them before anything else.
King Highland, sitting very closely with his beautiful wife, held up his thumb to Sylvester. "Alive and unhard, Your Holiness. After losing to Leyon, I had lost my dignity. But now, you brought my honor back, and lifted off my burden at the sa ti. I have no reason to be wary or hateful anymore. Perhaps… I can focus more on my marriage now."
'That Ginseng did really well, it seems. Or perhaps it was a placebo needed to heal him subconsciously.' Sylvester pondered, knowing what the ex-King had ant. It appeared Rex was going to have so more siblings soon.
"I will, however, feel empty without the reports about the kingdom's various issues to read." Queen Trinity added.
Sylvester had sothing for them but waited until other monarchs concluded their words. "And you, Kaecilius? I know Isabella is happy as she can live her newly married life in peace now. The sa is true for Xylena, who will surely pester here every now and then. What do you think about this change?"
Kaecilius sighed and stood up. Suddenly, he placed his hand in his regal coat and took out a crowd, placing it on the table. "I wish to surrender my kingship, Your Holiness. I was a rchant, then a slave, and finally a King because of your aid. I was never supposed to be a monarch, Your Holiness.
Unlike my fellow monarchs here, I do not co from a long line of nobles, nor does my bloodline have thousands of years of enriching history."
Sylvester picked up the crown and checked it carefully. But then he chuckled and threw it back at Kaecilius. "Don't be so quick with this decision, my friend. I have abolished royalty as a title of power, but it still remains a title of prestige. You may not have direct control over your kingdoms anymore, but you can still be a special inspector assigned by .
"Citizens can still co to you to share their troubles, or you can visit common spaces to see if the people are facing any issues. After that, you have a direct communication priority with to relay those issues. Be it lack of water, poor harvest, or even corruption in administration.
"Consider yourselves a King and Queen who still has to honor their title—be the last bastion to save the people's rights to a decent, respectful life."
The four monarchs silently sat there and thought about the opportunity. It appeared they wouldn't be so useless after all.
"Furthermore, as monarchs, you will still be able to knight people ceremoniously for their great contribution in particular fields. Such as a great inventor, soone who saved a lot of people, soone who brought great social change, or perhaps a valiant soldier," Sylvester added and placed four docunts on the table.
"And this is the official declaration of the accession of your kingdoms into the union called Sol Theocracy. Please sign it to make it official."
"I'll go first!" Xylena, being the youngest, jumped forward and picked up the pen to sign before the opportunity slipped away from her. Nobody could be sure, after all. "With this, I proclaim freedom from the mountains of paperwork, and snobbery of the nobles—an!"
"We just need to find a suitable groom for you now," Sylvester teased her where it hurt the most.
"Hmph, as if there's anyone good enough for I, Xylena Sor Maximilian Blackhart," she proclaid proudly, puffing her chest out and flicking her ashen-black hair with one hand.
"..." Sylvester lacked the words. "When did you add my last na to yours?"
"Just now, of course. I'm a queen, I can do anything." Xylena replied, taking a softer and more emotional tone. "If not for you, I wouldn't be alive, nor would I be a Queen. I owe you a debt of life, and as a daughter in all but blood, I wish to slowly repay it… sohow."
'If you are the key that was foretold, you've already repaid the debt and done much more, Xye.' Sadly, Sylvester couldn't say it aloud.
"Then make sure you study hard and work directly under . Due to its past tragedies, the Blackhart Kingdom requires the most work oversight." He sternly instructed her and moved on.
Next, Isabella signed her na on the agreent. "This is the greatest marriage gift I could have hoped for, Your Holiness."
Sylvester simply smiled and let her sit again, for King Highland and Queen Trinity to co and sign their nas. It appeared the two held the rank of monarch equally, instead of just one.
But when Kaecilius showed hesitation, King Highland slamd his fatherly palm on the man's back. "Just go and sign your na, boy. I know what you've done in your life. Surviving those slave-fighting pits for so many years was no small deed. You led the uprising, and the people of Riveria unanimously supported you. You still have a duty to them—to ensure they get the best."
'My old Spartacus.' Sylvester reminisced about the ti he plotted to have this man loyal to himself. The sches he had to play to lure him over. 'Without any power to oppose , you will certainly be a decent King.'
"King Highland is right, Kaecilius." Sylvester gave the last push.
With that, the burly, strong man, now showing signs of age, rose and signed his na on the accession agreent. But he went further and wrote down another clause in it. "After my death, I want my family to return to being commoners, Your Holiness. If my children have enough talents, they will make a na and life for themselves."
'And that's why I chose you.' Sylvester nodded, affirming his own choice.
Sylvester picked up the papers again at last and signed on each of them one after another, and as a witness, there was space left for Gabriel to sign later. But unknown to any, a secret witness had already signed.
A little paw mark was present at the corner of each historical paper—a mystery for historians to ponder for eons to co.
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