But the legends of the Falling Star Kingdom were relatively independent.

They did not directly obey the King, but followed the decisions passed by the Kingdom Council of Falling Star.

For this reason, when the throne was vacant, and the Kingdom Council was divided, with the Parliamentary Party and the Lilac Party continuously squabbling, they unanimously maintained neutrality.

This was also related to the identities, responsibilities, and characters of these three legends.

Duke Gael, the Legendary Sword Saint, defended the north, constantly battling sea beasts that harassed the coastlines, with little interest in politics.

The Great Sage Brin was much the same, immersed in magic research; many of the alchemy tools and magic-guided technology of the Falling Star Kingdom were said to be his creations, and even his private relationship with Yulster was quite good.

Viscount Lorenzi, the Red Dragon Knight, however, was somewhat different.

As the Group Leader of a Mercenary Corps, his main concern was to be paid for the work he did.

Nevertheless, the Red Dragon Mercenary Group was officially attached to the Kingdom Council and was a mercenary group supported by the Council, so although it was semi-independent, it still followed the Council's decisions.

Of course, the influence of the Kingdom Council of Falling Star was far greater than that of the Noble Council of New Moon Kingdom, and on many occasions, it could even influence royal authority, so... following the Council did not mean obeying the King.

This was also the main reason why Viscount Lorenzi remained neutral in the royal succession.

According to Charlotte, during the Star Moon War, there were far more than three legends in the Falling Star Kingdom, but those firmly loyal to the Royal Family ultimately died in the war, at the hands of Louis V; in the end, only these three more conservative and peace-seeking legends remained.

But that did not mean these three legends were entirely useless.

Though neutral, they still had the responsibility of defending Falling Star and remained loyal to the Falling Star Kingdom, and they were ultimately a force that the Nais Bloodline could not ignore.

Indeed, their existence was why the New Moon Kingdom, despite overwhelmingly overpowering Falling Star in the later stages of the Star Moon War, did not dare invade Falling Star territory, and also why the Nais Clan did not flip the table during the competition for the throne.

In the Falling Star Kingdom, various powers almost always checked and balanced each other.

The King was the ruler, but not the absolute authority.

This was not necessarily a bad thing for Charlotte; for her, the throne of Falling Star was essentially for the taking, and the balance of power actually helped the nobles of Falling Star accept her more easily, and even facilitated her hands-off rule over the New Moon Kingdom.

As for strengthening centralization...

There was no rush, and for the current Charlotte, it wasn't necessary.

Gaining the loyalty of the Nais Clan, controlling the Church Branch, becoming the Queen of Falling Star...

For Charlotte, she already had the power and ability to completely control Falling Star, and in a secular sense, centralization was no longer as important to her.

Let alone that her goal was not to build a powerful kingdom; her pursuit was different from that of other monarchs, she aimed for Divine Enthronement, to reach the pinnacle of transcendent power.

By then, centralization and such would be entirely irrelevant.

In a sense, Charlotte and the three legends of Falling Star had something in common.

For beings whose strength had reached the peak of the secular world, often their gaze was no longer confined to worldly matters.

That was why legends seldom directly intervened in wars, except for legend versus legend.

The audience with the three legends further legitimized Charlotte's position.

It indicated that the Parliamentary Party nobles had reconciled with the Lilac Party nobles, and the Falling Star Kingdom Council had resumed normal operation.

Not long after, Charlotte's coronation date was officially set for February 13, 1477, of the Holy Calendar.

That date... well, it evoked a complex feeling in Charlotte's heart, but indeed it was the second Friday in February, a date she had set herself.

She regretted a bit that she hadn't carefully checked the calendar for the exact date of the Blood Moon that month.

But what was set was set.

The throne of Falling Star Kingdom had been vacant for months already, and now that the situation was settled, whether it be the Parliamentary Party, the Neutral Party, or the Lilac Party nobles, none wanted to delay any further.

Even with a balance of powers, the King was still the ruler of the kingdom and the leader of the country.

Without a king, political instability lingered, and even with noble autonomy, many matters could not proceed.

Especially the formation of the cabinet.

Until Charlotte was crowned, she would not have the authority to restructure the cabinet, and relying on the current temporary cabinet, led by the Parliamentary Party nobles, simply could not support the normal operation of the kingdom.

Of course, the pressure from the belligerent New Moon Kingdom was another reason; at the welcoming banquet, many nobles had witnessed firsthand New Moon's coveting of the mainland enclaves of the Falling Star Kingdom.

Even considering the threat from the New Moon Kingdom, the succession to the throne could no longer be postponed.

Of course, even without a formal coronation, Charlotte had effectively taken over the great powers of Falling Star.

Ruling a kingdom was different from ruling a Count Territory, and even with the aid of a temporary cabinet, Charlotte had come to see firsthand in this age what was known as a mountain of paperwork.

Her perspective had also changed all at once; previously, Charlotte had only dealt with the various lords of the New Moon Kingdom, but now... she might have to start considering other countries on the continent.