Release that Witch

After two weeks’ learning and exploration, Barov, the governor of the City Hall, held the first municipal plenary session in the castle hall at the end of the first month in spring of the new year at His Highness’ request. Aside from the directors of all the departments, some of the nobles in Stronghold were also invited to the session, bringing the total number of the attendees to 65.

Barov knew the learning process itself was also an evaluation. After working as a City Hall governor for a year, he could now easily distinguish capable nobles from useless dandies and idlers. It was why half of the nobles had already failed the assessment.

As His Highness described, he had offered these petty nobles an opportunity to ”catch the express train”, but the reality was ruthless. People who were unable to keep pace with changes would be naturally obsolete as time went by. Barov shared the same thoughts. Whether His Highness was a demon or a god, it did not change the fact that his territory had manifested an atmosphere entirely different from those in other kingdoms. If this was a new era, he would be happy to dive into it with the prince.

The main topic of the discussion for today’s meeting was the final vote on the unification act which would be enacted after the city construction. He would also need to inform the nobles in Stronghold of the act’s contents. Barov had prepared for this moment for a long time, and now it was finally the time to uncover the details.

Everyone was given a thin hardcover book with gilded letters on its cover, which read Basic Laws of the Kingdom. It contained some core subjects of law drafted and edited by His Highness himself. He could tell just by its name that His Highness had big ambition, and he also believed the prince had the capacity to make towns beyond the Western Region flourish.

”Let’s get started.” Roland, who seated himself at the end of the long table, instructed with a nod.

”Yes, Your Highness.” Barov cleared his throat and ventured. ”Perhaps all of you have heard that we’re going to build a city in the Western Region. The book in front of you is the unification act to be enacted in His Highness’ territory once the construction of the city is completed. Feel free to read it through by yourself, or you can listen to my presentation. If you have any questions or concerns, interrupt me anytime, His Highness will answer them.”

A slight rustle of pages swept over the hall. Barov flipped over the cover, revealing the first page of the book made of fine parchment.

”The first thing you see now is the outline of the contents, which contains the structure and institution of the new territory...”

”Article One: Roland Wimbledon shall reserve all the rights with respect to the territories under his jurisdiction.”

”Article Two: The City Hall is the highest authority of the territory, administering all the matters concerning the territory under the supervision of Roland Wimbledon.”

”Article Three: Every person, upon entry to the territory, shall have the right to gain the status of citizenship through multiple channels. The City Hall has the obligation to guarantee the provision of at least three such channels to the public.”

”Article Four: Every individual, upon gaining the status of citizenship, shall not be discriminated based on gender or their former status, namely freeman, farmhand, servant, and slave. Every citizen of the territory has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law, and has the legal obligations to pay taxes, defend the territory and serve in the military.”

”Article Five: Every noble shall be treated equally as a regular citizen and shall no longer be privileged based on his/her title. Titles shall be honorary without granting the subject noble executive power, and they shall be conferred by inheritance in accordance with the law.”

”Article Six: Every citizen has the right to seek protection of life, security and personal properties from Roland Wimbledon.”

”Article Seven: Every citizen has the right to education, liberty of work and marriage.”

”Article Eight: Commercial interactions and free trade are encouraged in the territory, provided that such activities are carried out in accordance with the law.”

”Article Nine...”

Barov ran his fingers through the pages while explaining the articles one by one. Few codes drafted by the nobles concerned civilians. Even freemen in the city were viewed as subjects of exploitation by great nobles. It was indeed a rare thing that the laws made by His Highness involved so many rights and protections of civilians. The prince probably believed they could only win the Battle of Doomsday with the help of people’s power.

Barov didn’t care who His Highness relied on. To him, nobles and civilians were the same. He only cared about trying his best to complete His Highness’ tasks and keeping a firm grip on power. In King’s City, he had been transferred from the Astrology Association to the Ministry of Finance, serving as an assistant to Treasurer. He had thought he would soon stand on the highest level of authority in the Kingdom of Graycastle, only to realize a decade of waiting had turned his ambition into a desolate, hopeless dream. He had obeyed King Wimbledon III’s order to accompany Prince Roland to Border Town due to a faint and tenuous promise made to the past king, and also due to his morbid disappointment brooding for years. Yet, he had never expected his long-awaited dream would somehow come true in another way.

Barov had not seen a real demon, but he knew well the strength and power of the armored knights. If His Highness could defeat the knights at a single blow, he could certainly sweep away all his obstacles in the Kingdom. Eventually, the prince would ascend to the throne and become the reigning sovereign of the state, and he would be the Hand of the King. If the Treasurer was still alive by then, what a bitter countenance would he show to Barov?

...

As most of the contents in the outline had been read out to subjects in plain language before, none of the directors were surprised. However, when he read the part that stipulated the prohibition of human trafficking and the abolishment of slavery, the nobles began murmuring. All the other articles were passed unilaterally.

No one questioned the article on the reform of the noble. These petty nobles had not benefited much from their territories since most of their lands were in deserted areas, so they did not care much about the so-called feudal power and legislative power. Besides, after two weeks of study, many of them had planned to sell the territories to the City Hall and use the proceeds to start a new business, such as a machinery factory and a chemical plant.

The conference started in the morning and did not stop until the afternoon. Everybody was focused on the presentation. When it was time for lunch, the servants placed the food on the table to let the attendees eat while reading. Barov had a lot of water. Although he had a sore throat, he was happy to explain every detail of the articles to the people present.

Finally, they entered the last topic of discussion, which was the only article in the Basic Laws of the Kingdom that required everybody’s opinions. It was the flag and the name of the new city.

The conference hall was soon filled with a buzz of debate.

Barov asked everybody to come up with a name and an ideal design for the flag. The attendees would have to place their work on the table and pick the best one.

After several rounds of voting, the flag and the name of the new city were nailed.

The design of the flag was based on the emblem of the royal family of the Kingdom of Graycastle. Its basic pattern was a gun and a tower, above which was a big pentagram with three smaller ones below. The big pentagram represented Lord Roland Wimbledon, while the smaller ones each represented the City Hall, the Army, and the Witch Union.

As for the city name, they picked ”City of Neverwinter”.