"Q–question my ability to uphold my duties?! My King… You-"
"Me what?" Alexios's voice cut in. "I don't have the right?"
Alastair's lips sealed. He didn't dare speak the words aloud, but in his mind, they rang as clear as a war horn: 'Exactly that.'
"By the Law of Accord, signed and sealed by our ancestors, resigned by us upon taking our current positions, the Five Ducal Houses recognize the Valorian Crown as their sole sovereign. All land within the Vraven Kingdom belongs to the royal Valorian family. The Dukes are entrusted with the governance of their duchies, but sovereignty was surrendered when the Accord was signed. You were given stewardship, not ownership."
The hall seemed to grow colder with each syllable. Alexios's tone was not a shout this time around, but it didn't need to be. The weight of the law itself hung over every noble present.
