Three days had passed since the sealed document disappeared. Kenji pushed that fact to the back of his mind as he made his way toward the grand hall for the imperial council. With each step along the stone corridor, his shoe soles echoed against the cold floor. Beyond the windows, a thin mist drifted over the morning city of Weltheim. Damp air flowed in from the direction of the Frontier River. Ten days since his enthronement. The renovated well was functioning. Small sprouts had appeared in Ferden's improved fields. The soap prototype had moved to the next stage. And yet—for these three days, one question had been circling constantly in a corner of Kenji's mind. Who had taken that document? And for what purpose? The doors to the grand hall opened. Among the assembled courtiers, Kenji lowered himself into the seat of honor. Reina stood silently against the back wall. Her silver hair swayed behind her shoulders. Gold on the left, deep purple on the right—her heterochromatic eyes surveyed the hall quietly. The doors opened again, delayed. What Kenji felt first was silence. The courtiers had been murmuring, but the air changed in an instant. A man entered. His height exceeded 185 centimeters. He was thin, but that thinness was not gaunt—rather, his very bone structure gave an impression of sharpness. Silver-gray hair was combed back with perfect precision, not a strand out of place. His gray eyes were keen, yet reflected no emotion whatsoever. A seal ring on the ring finger of his right hand. His gait was economical. Even his footsteps seemed calculated. Kenji heard one of the courtiers whisper softly to his neighbor. "He's returned from his foreign tour..." Valdeus Crawford. Prime Minister, fifty-eight years old. The man who had held substantive control of the nation's affairs since the twilight years of the previous king, Werner, now appeared before Kenji for the first time. Valdeus advanced to the front of the seat of honor and bowed deeply. "[serious] Your Majesty's wise decision regarding agricultural reform is truly admirable. I have also reviewed the reports from the experimental fields in Ferden. A most excellent insight." The angle of his bow was perfect. His words were perfect. The courtiers seemed to nod in relief. Kenji watched only his eyes. As he bowed, the gray eyes caught Kenji's gaze for a moment. He was not smiling. Even as he spoke words of admiration, those eyes were already calculating the next move. (This man came here intending to attack from the start.) "I have determined that an emergency convocation of the Noble Convent is necessary." His tone of voice did not change. Immediately after his words of admiration, without even giving Kenji a moment to pause, he continued. At the edge of his vision, Kenji saw Reina's expression freeze like stone. --- The Noble Convent—the Grand Veldt Kingdom's aristocratic council—was an advisory body composed of the heads of the twelve great noble houses. It had no legal binding force, but functioned as a de facto veto power. And its chairman was none other than Valdeus Crawford himself. The conference room was smaller than the grand hall. Twelve heads of houses sat across a long table. Kenji sat in the seat of honor and looked at their faces in turn. More than half would not meet his eyes. Valdeus stood. "[cold] First matter. The king directly instructing peasants and involving himself in agricultural policy. This constitutes an overreach of the Prime Minister's administrative authority. Agricultural administration falls under the jurisdiction of the Prime Minister's office—this is an explicit regulation since the kingdom's founding." Kenji typed keywords in his mind. —Grand Veldt Kingdom, agricultural authority, royal power, legal system. Result: 0 matches. "[cold] Second matter. The implementation of public works by royal decree without prior approval from the Noble Convent. This violates the precedent accumulated by our predecessors since the Kaleid Covenant was established 180 years ago. Though I do not presume to speak to Your Majesty—royal decrees without the approval of the twelve houses have traditionally been considered null and void." He cited modern administrative law papers. He cited the principles of separation of powers in parliamentary democracy. He cited foundational constitutional theory. All of it came up. But that was the modern world. There was nothing—not a single thing—that could overturn this world's "180 years of precedent." "[cold] Third matter. The implementation of reform without financial backing. Direct expenditure from the royal treasury on materials for rural villages strains the national coffers. Expenditure without scrutiny of revenue could plunge the kingdom's finances into crisis." A three-part syllogism. The first was overreach. The second was violation of precedent. The third was financial crisis. All of it was rooted in this world's institutions and customs. No search would yield results. A net that modern knowledge could not cut through. "Based on these three points, I recommend to Your Majesty the immediate cessation of agricultural and sanitation reforms." The twelve houses nodded in turn. The six houses belonging to the Iron Crown faction—Valdeus's faction—moved first, followed by four of the remaining six. Kenji opened his mouth. "A decline in peasant food production is also a financial loss. The increased yield from reform—" "[sarcastic] Your Majesty's insight is remarkable. Though I do not presume to speak to Your Majesty—precedent is the crystallization of our predecessors' wisdom. Gains obtained outside the system carry the danger of destabilizing that system." His voice was mild. The blade of sarcasm remained sheathed in the scabbard of courtesy. The courtiers' silence affirmed Valdeus. Kenji clenched his teeth. He could not refute this. Within this world's customary power structure, he had no means to act legally in this moment. "...I will accept it, temporarily." The words came out. Low, flat. A voice drained of emotion. Watching Valdeus's back as he left the room, Kenji saw the full scope of it for the first time. This man had spent years weaving this net. The institutional wall that even the previous king could not stop in his final years. It now stood before him. --- Several hours after the recommendation was established, as dusk began to seep into the castle, Reina returned. She was ashen. "[cold] Your Majesty. Mounted soldiers from Baron Kresser's territory have entered Ferden village." Kenji rose from his chair. The two of them drove their horses hard. From Weltheim southward, along the road to the Millennia Plain, they cut through the wind. The setting sun stained the plain red. That color seemed to overlap with an ominous premonition. When they arrived at Ferden—the air of the village had changed. There were no voices. The children had withdrawn into their homes. The large pot in the square lay overturned. And then, the fields came into view. Kenji dismounted from his horse. The improved fields. The soil that Kenji and the peasants had mixed with limestone, one bag at a time. The place where sprouts had emerged. The entire area was marked with countless hoof prints. Young leaves were buried in mud. The soil structure had collapsed. The layer of limestone they had mixed uniformly was crushed under the weight of horses. A man lay on the road. A young farmer. In his twenties, a large man. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. On his knees, he still tried to stand. Three mounted soldiers stood beside him, looking down from their horses. "[angry] When we said it was the king's order, what did you say?" The farmer looked up. "We cannot defy the Prime Minister's recommendation. This is the will of the Minister." Kenji stepped forward. The mounted soldiers turned and recognized the king, their expressions shifting subtly. But they did not move. Valdeus's recommendation was their backing. At this moment, Kenji had no legal grounds to immediately command these soldiers. He rushed to the fallen farmer. His name was Otto—the young man who had spoken to Kenji in Episode 3. "Are you alright?" Otto's mouth moved, but no sound came out. Regret and anger were etched on his face. And—despair. "...Your Majesty." A voice came. Kenji turned. At the edge of the field stood an old man. Village chief Bert Hofer. Fifty-five years old, a sun-darkened face with deep wrinkles. The man who had cooperated with Kenji in Episode 2, though with doubt. The man who had watched the sprouts emerge with Kenji in Episode 3. That man was not looking at Kenji. Staring at the ruined field, he murmured. "[sad] ...I should never have believed in a king." It was not a voice of anger. Not a shout, not an accusation. It was an exhausted voice. A voice of resignation. Anger could be refuted. But resignation—there was nothing to say to that. Kenji stood frozen. He had no words to refute this. There was no basis for him to stand here and say "I will restore it." He had accepted the recommendation. He could not stop the soldiers. The fields were ruined. That fact did not change. He could see Reina gripping her fists behind him. She said nothing either. The two of them stood motionless before the ruined fields for a long time. --- That night, back in the palace, Kenji sat in his study, staring at the wall. A single candle flickered. Outside, Weltheim was already dark. Bonfires in the city below swayed beyond the window. Reina entered the study. She closed the door quietly. "[serious] Prime Minister Valdeus is spreading word through his spies to the courtiers." Kenji shifted his gaze from the wall. Reina's face was harder than usual. Her tone was formal, but beneath it lay something different. "[serious] The sudden death of the previous king, Werner, was not natural but possibly poisoning—he is telling this to multiple courtiers. As evidence, he is showing them the contents of a document discovered among the late king's belongings." Kenji stood up. "The sealed document?" "[serious] Presumably. And...the person who benefited most was Your Majesty himself—this story is beginning to spread through the court tonight." The room fell silent. The candle flame wavered. Patricide. Kenji's name was being circulated as the one who poisoned the previous king, Werner. Valdeus had stolen the sealed document, read its contents, and transformed it into a political weapon. Whoever had unsealed it was likely the court mage, but there was no way to pursue that tonight. Kenji typed keywords into his mind. —Patricide, false accusation, political conspiracy, means of refutation. —Prime Minister's office, corruption, evidence gathering, seal magic, identifying the one who unsealed it. Results came up. Modern jurisprudence came up. Methods for dealing with political false accusations came up. But all of it was from the modern world. The method to identify who unsealed this world's seal magic did not exist on the modern internet. What had happened in a single day? Agricultural reform had been stopped institutionally. The fields of Ferden village had been ruined. He had lost the peasants' trust. And tonight, he was being accused of killing his father. Kenji stopped searching. He looked at the bonfires outside the window. They wavered. They did not go out. "[serious] Your Majesty." Reina stood before him. Her heterochromatic eyes caught the candlelight. Gold on the left, deep purple on the right. "[serious] There is not much time before this rumor spreads throughout the entire court. By tomorrow morning, it will have reached the ears of multiple courtiers." "I know." The words came out quietly. He did not shout. He understood this was not a moment to act in anger. "[serious] There is no evidence. There is no means to refute it now." "[serious] ...Yes." Silence continued. Reina did not offer easy comfort