NOVEL WEB Chapter 14: Chapter 14: The Court of Power
Chapter 14: The Court of Power
The capital's royal court shimmered with tension beneath the surface calm, its marbled halls echoing with footsteps, whispers, and the faint notes of a morning lute. Aurelius entered with his council at his back—Calista in scholar's blue, Sir Lucien clad in ceremonial silver, and the Duchess wrapped in a vivid crimson cloak that commanded respect without a word. House Davian, once maligned, now moved through the palace as a force the kingdom could not ignore.
Servants hurried with tokens of favor, while nobles arrayed in silk and velvet watched Aurelius's every move, weighing alliances and plotting intrigues. The court's ceremonial splendor—a harmony of banners, gilt, and perfumed air—masked the sharpened edges of ambition and suspicion. At the heart of it all, the King presided beneath a canopy of state, his gaze never straying far from the golden lion crest stitched to Aurelius's surcoat.
Today's gathering was no mere spectacle. The royal council was convened to resolve disputes sweeping through the city—legal contests, claims of lost inheritance, and accusations of sorcery fanned by House Wesker and its supporters. The courtroom's benches groaned with those seeking judgment, their hopes clinging to the old system of justice... or looking to the power and reform Aurelius now threatened to bring.
The Duke of Wesker sat in cool defiance, but as cases unfurled, Aurelius leaned forward, blending courtesy with an iron logic learned on two worlds. His own advocates turned each accusation into opportunity—every spurious claim rebutted with documented generosity, every charge of magic or malfeasance melted beneath the harsh light of evidence and testimony. More than once, Aurelius invoked the crown's own renewed statutes, showing fluency with both law and legacy, recalling before the watching court that justice, properly wielded, belonged to both the King and the people, not the whims of any single house.
When a merchant's fate hung in the balance, accused by rivals of accepting Davian gold in exchange for loyalty, Aurelius stood and addressed the assembly:
> "Let it be known: wealth is not a chain, but a bond, freely offered and received. If House Davian's gifts build roads, heal wounds, and feed the hungry, let the suffering testify before royal justice if ever they were coerced or wronged."
Murmurs filled the chamber. Not a single hand rose against him. Even the most jaded courtiers remembered last week's markets—how Davian gold had rebuilt walls and filled pantries emptied by war.
The King watched the room settle, his features unreadable. "Let judgment be fair, and let none confuse charity with domination. I see the good done with my own eyes."
As the royal seal stamped each decree, Aurelius glimpsed the tides turning. In the subtle game of appointment and patronage that ruled the court—positions gifted in exchange for loyalty, justice granted for public good—Davian's legend took new root: not as upstarts, but as architects of a fairer realm.
That evening, walking beneath the violet dusk, Aurelius confided to Calista, "The court is a theater, but not for mere entertainment. Every gesture is a lesson, every word an investment in the future." She nodded, recognizing the new stage upon which they now played.
For now, the kingdom's laws and loyalty favored the house of gold and resolve. Yet outside the palace, shadows gathered. Old families, stung by loss and pride, plotted their riposte. Aurelius knew that the court's favor was never permanent—but, for today, it was enough.
**To be continued...**