The farce ended with the court ministers filling the vacancies in order of rank, while the king promoted two trusted aides.
However, Hudson knew this was only the beginning. The court was destined to be anything but peaceful from here on.
This round of infighting within the royal faction had greatly weakened its influence in court.
By Alpha Kingdom convention, the ranking of senior court ministers had always been: Chancellor first, Minister of Military Affairs second, Finance Minister third, Minister of State Affairs fourth, Foreign Minister fifth, and Minister of Agriculture sixth.
Of course, this was merely an unofficial ranking everyone accepted in private. In reality, aside from the Chancellor, whose status clearly stood above the rest, the others were ranked according to the power they held.
Moreover, this ranking changed along with shifts in the external situation.
For example, the powers of the Minister of Military Affairs and the Finance Minister often fluctuated. During wartime, the Minister of Military Affairs usually wielded greater authority, while in peacetime, the Finance Minister had more say.
The Foreign Minister's authority changed even more with the international situation. If the world was peaceful and uneventful, the Foreign Minister might have less presence than even the Minister of Agriculture.
Although Hudson had entered the kingdom's decision-making circle, he was not one of the six giants. He was a temporary addition, an unofficial post that did not count toward the rankings.
Under such circumstances, even if Caesar IV forcibly appointed two royal family members to the decision-making level, they could only begin as the low-ranking Minister of Agriculture and Foreign Minister.
It had felt good to act on impulse, but the aftermath was a disaster.
This sudden head-on clash was certainly because Caesar IV's patience had reached its limit, but it was also because Duke