Chapter 2229 - 256: Chief Architect of Britain’s Police Reform_3

"Sir Arthur..." Leisen sensed the opportunity: "The reason he was able to take action in Ramsgate was because the circumstances at the time were fundamentally different from what we discuss today."

Victoria lifted her head, stubbornly insisting, "How were they different? There was no authorization then either, yet he still stopped the villain."

Leisen deliberately tried to provoke Victoria’s temper: "Your Majesty, Sir Arthur was dealing with an incident that posed a direct threat to you at the time. Any gentleman, any soldier, any conscientious Englishman could take action under those circumstances. Legally, this is about protecting the Monarch from harm, not police power."

"I was not the Monarch at the time!" Victoria put down her fork, "Moreover, if any conscientious Englishman could take action under those circumstances, why were only you and Sir Arthur standing in front of me in the end? Leisen, you’re not even English! This is utterly ridiculous!"

The firewood cracked crisply in the hearth, yet it couldn’t conceal her breath of anger and incomprehension.

Leisen paused for half a second, as if gauging whether the Queen’s emotions had reached a point where they could be guided rather than needing soothing.

Then, she gently put down the spoon: "Your Majesty... as for the details of policing and law, I actually don’t know much. After all, I’m just the daughter of a Hanoverian priest, never attended university, and never studied at the Lawyers’ Association."

Victoria was startled, not yet fully recovered from her emotions.

"What I know..." Leisen continued, "is only the fragmented information I heard from newspapers, social charity gatherings, and social circles. But precisely what falls under law enforcement authority, what is under Parliament’s jurisdiction, and what the Police Commissioners can decide... I dare not assure you that I fully understand it correctly."

Victoria stared at Leisen: "So, you’re saying I don’t even have the power to figure out what’s happening in London now?"

Leisen shook her head: "Of course not, Your Majesty. As the country’s Monarch, there’s nothing you cannot inquire about. It’s just that police matters... especially such complex and sensitive public security issues as in London... truly require a professional who understands the situation to explain it to you."

Having put it so clearly, Victoria didn’t even need to ask who that "professional" was.

The chief architect of police reform in Britain, the initial driving force of the 19th-century order revolution, the eyes that precede any case, the central nervous system moving public security systems from chaos to scientific management, the most steady hand behind police ordinances, the visionary of London’s metropolitan police system, the eternal guiding star of Scotland Yard—the Secretary-General of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Police Commissioner Committee...

Man, What Can I Say?

Quickly call upon Sir Arthur Hastings.

Seeing the Queen’s silence, Leisen couldn’t help but add another sentence: "Public security, police authority, the protection of the poor, the management system of London streets, all these belong to a reasonable and necessary communication scope between the Government and the court. Sir Arthur has long worked within the police system, and if you wish to make an informed judgment, having him explain these to you... could not be more appropriate."

Not because I want to see him, but because the country needs me to know the truth.

It’s not out of caprice, but out of responsibility.

Victoria’s heart leapt, suddenly feeling her reason for summoning Arthur justified much more.

"Leisen."

"Your Majesty?"

"Please write to Sir Arthur, tell him I need him to come to the palace today, to explain to me the current public security situation in London."