Aaron had always been a man who acted decisively.
After settling on his plan, Aaron got up early the next morning when Aunt Mellie woke him, changed into his full Inner Court Knight's ceremonial robes, and prepared to visit the young lady's manor to see the Princess Regent again.
The ceremonial attire of an Inner Court Knight differed considerably from that of a Purple Dragon Knight or a Viscount. The greatest differences were the purple dragon crest of the Obarskyr Royal House on the chest and the Ximrazar Sword within the dragon motif on the gold-trimmed coat.
The crowned royal purple dragon crest signified that an Inner Court Knight represented the royal family. Challenging an Inner Court Knight was tantamount to challenging royal authority.
The Ximrazar Sword within the dragon motif symbolized the authority the royal family conferred on Inner Court Knights. It meant they could invoke royal authority to exercise privileges including, but not limited to, searching homes, detaining people without evidence, making arrests in the street, carrying out executions without a court ruling, and entering and leaving the palace freely.
In theory, Inner Court Knights answered only to the Obarskyr Royal House.
Of course, these powers existed largely in theory. In practice, few Inner Court Knights dared exercise them recklessly without instructions from the Obarskyr Royal House.
The reason was simple: an Inner Court Knight's authority came solely from the royal family. It was a relationship of complete dependence.
For example, the Princess Regent could dislike Aaron or even loathe him, but that did not change the fact that he remained Viscount Salian. Stripping him of his noble title without reasonable grounds would be illegal. The kingdom's laws would not support it, its parliament would not approve it, and the nobles would unite in opposition.
Stripping Aaron of