The Young Brute's Student, the Old Brute's Successor

"... It was only when I reached the strangest point that I realized that the [Iron Rule of Order] might really have a problem."

"What point?" Cheng Shi's eyes were serious, and he even softened his breathing.

"Kainlaur, you will no longer circumvent the [Iron Rule of Order]!"

As a constitutional Law Codex bestowed by Lord of Grace, the Iron Rule of Order have always been regarded as His embodiment, the only guide He left for the world in His mercy.

All laws of the Grand Inquisition that should be enshrined in the Constitution must be reported to the Chief Judge and recorded in the Iron Law.

In the past, this was a necessary task for the three Chief Judge during their rotations, but I have discovered that long before Loart's incident, Kainlaur has never shown any devotion to the Iron Rule of Order!

Whenever the Supreme Court issued a new decree, he would leave Kato Court due to being tied up with foreign affairs, and then pass on this honor, which was almost equivalent to worshipping God, to Loart. Loart was the most devout follower of my Lord, and naturally would not refuse such an opportunity.

And his excuse was so perfect that I didn't notice the problem for a long time because the Grand Inquisition did indeed need the attention of the Chief Judge in various places.

Looking back now, it's likely that Kainlaur had already sensed the anomaly of the [Iron Rule of Order].

What's even stranger is that this operation lasted for a long time, yet apart from the two people involved, even Essares never questioned it.

The Grand Executioner, the Grand Justicar, and the Grand Investigator, aside from their monthly rituals of piety, are not required to pray to the Iron Rule of Order in every matter. Yet, the Chief Judge are in frequent contact with Him. How could they not have noticed anything amiss?

That's why I realized that Essares also had a problem.

So I turned my attention to him and began investigating the second Chief Judge.

Essares is quite old, and according to the ruling laws and Justice laws of the Supreme Court, he will soon choose a successor, and then gloriously relinquish this burden, spending his twilight years in the admiration and cheers of the people of [Order].

In his final years in power, he made no mistakes, but he also failed to achieve anything remarkable.

He no longer balances the legal factions, no longer guides the legal trend, no longer makes public appearances to tour the country; he simply stays quietly in Kato Court, silently offering his devotion to the Order.

Essares has dedicated his life to this country and deserves a good rest at this age. But then this happened at the Supreme Court, which makes me wonder if he concealed the anomaly of the Iron Rule of Order in order to ensure that his devout life would not leave any stain.

Otherwise, this would not explain why he never questioned the irrationality of Loart's audience with Him in place of Kainlaur.

This Chief Judge deserves respect, so instead of investigating secretly, I visited him as a confused junior, hoping to awaken his last vestiges of piety and get him to tell the truth!

Upon hearing this, Cheng Shi was taken aback.

No, lady, have you lost your mind? How could you do something so stupid?

Didn't the attitude of the other party at the scene of the arrest of the Grand Justicar say everything? How could he still be so foolish?

He looked at the Grand Investigator with a puzzled expression, suppressing the urge to complain and waiting for an explanation.

Lidyaala gave a bitter laugh as she said this, a rare hint of sadness flashing in her still sharp eyes.

"He... is my adoptive father."

"???"

"When he was young, he was inspecting the borders of the Grand Inquisition when he rescued me during the war and brought me back to Kato Court."

He taught me how to Faith "Order," enlightened my wisdom, and discovered my abilities.

He taught me through his devout life that Order is the greatest authority in the world.

I cannot go against my conscience to investigate the Lord of Grace he worshipped his whole life behind his back in his old age, or even to investigate him secretly.

I understand him. I know his piety is different from others; he wants His gaze to pervade the world, and he wants the Isle of Hope to be forever at peace.

"Tch—" Cheng Shi couldn't hold back this time. "What a touching story. It seems your adoptive father understands you, so he sent you here, right, Lidyaala?"

But as soon as he finished speaking, Cheng Shi regretted it, because he was afraid that Lidyaala would faint from anger like Laquis.

Fortunately, this Grand Investigator has a stronger will than the old man.

Her face was filled with sorrow as she said:

Isn't that ridiculous?

But no matter how ridiculous it is, how can there be Order? How can Order no longer be ridiculous?

His followers had clearly established a kingdom of Faith in Him on this vast land, and the whole country Xin Xin, but at this very moment, His own will went awry.

This is the most ridiculous thing in the world.

Cheng Shi frowned, sighed, and said, "So, Investigator, you haven't found the most direct evidence to show what exactly is wrong with the [Iron Rule of Order]?"

"You've merely confirmed one thing through your investigation, something Lord Laquis already said."

"... Yes, I didn't."

"..." Cheng Shi was stunned. He took two deep breaths, checked the time, and felt that the harvest tonight might not be much.

But the matter was far from over, because Lidyaala continued:

"I have never faced the Iron Rule of Order after the mutation. The only ones who have faced Him are Laquis and his student, Chenosli."

"?" Cheng Shi was taken aback again. "Chenosli is Lord Laquis's student?"

"Indeed, he is still the Chief Judge candidate favored by Essares. If nothing unexpected happens, he should be the new generation of the Son of Order, succeeding Essares in a few years and taking the Judgment Seat of the Supreme Court."

But now..."

"No, wait a minute!" Cheng Shi suddenly perked up, looking intently at Lidyaala and asking, "You mean, Chenosli has faced the [Iron Rule of Order] directly?"

Was he imprisoned because of his teacher?

"Yes, this child did not believe that his teacher would betray the Order, so he started a secret investigation like I did."

But none of us expected that this audacious Adjudicator would dare to sneak into the Supreme Court and investigate the "Iron Rule of Order" face-to-face!

Good heavens!

What courage!

What a reckless fool!

No wonder he's the old brute's student!

I don't know about anything else I didn't learn, but I certainly learned the recklessness to the fullest extent.

What did he find out?

"He..." Lidyaala's face darkened. "He's gone mad, just like Loart."

The current Chenosli is no longer the upright and capable first Adjudicator, but has become a paranoid madman.

And all of this...

I suspect it was all bestowed upon him by the "Iron Rule of Order."