After a month,
Morning light spilled through the palace windows, gold against the cold marble floors.
Banners of Bolt Kingdom hung high… still stitched with black ribbons.
Cid stood behind Yuri's right shoulder in his new uniform, dark steel plates trimmed with silver, boots polished, dagger, and his gun at his hip.
Elias was on the left, smirking faintly, still adjusting to the weight of his own role.
It was Cid's first day as a sworn Royal Bodyguard. He stood motionless. But inside? His mind was roaring.
The Table of Senates gathered.
Hana leaned against a column, arms folded, rifle slung across her back.
Vara sat with his glaive propped beside her.
Loki Falk, the King's elder brother, didn't speak. Didn't move. He just watched. And that alone was enough to make half the room tremble.
Something woke up inside Cid.
He blinked once. Memories flared.
His past life. Pages of books, systems, maps, and governments.
"I know how to fix this," he realized, pulse hammering.
"I know exactly how to fix this."
"Cid?" Elias whispered, noticing the shift in his face.
Cid stepped forward.
"Your Majesty," he said calmly and clearly.
Gasps.
A bodyguard daring to speak in the Senate's hall?
Yuri looked at him.
"...Speak."
Cid's boots echoed through the marble as he moved closer.
"For centuries, you've hoarded power by bloodline. That same legacy poisoned us. It birthed greed. Division. War. If Bolt is going to survive... we burn the old system to the ground."
"Outrageous!" someone shouted.
Cid didn't flinch.
"Hereditary titles... dukes, counts, barons... they're dead weight. From this day they are nothing. The King will hold the majority of power. Sixty percent of the realm's command… centralized."
A senator shot up, face red. "You would make us slaves!"
Cid's eyes locked on him.
"No. Citizens. Earn your place. Former dukes become Governors... one for each state... sworn directly to the King. Counts become ministers... agriculture, economy, health, arcane studies... positions appointed, not inherited. Viscounts and barons? Local administrators. Earned. Not born."
He stepped even closer.
"Four Chiefs will stand with the King. Chief Commander. Chief of Arms and Weaponry, Chief of Intelligence. Chief of Education and Finance. Chosen by the throne. No more feuds. No more rot."
The chamber went wild.
"You can't..."
"This is madness."
"Treason!"
Then Loki Falk stood.
The room went cold.
"My brother died for this kingdom's future," Loki said softly. "And you whine over titles. If you can't see the sense in his words... you're unfit to stand here."
Silence. Nobody moved.
Yuri's lips parted. He looked to Loki. Then to the throne. Then back to Cid.
Voice low but steady.
"...I agree with Cid."
More gasps.
"This kingdom will not be chained to the past. We rebuild on merit, loyalty, strength... not lineage."
A few senators started again, but Loki's stare burned them silent.
Later.
In a quiet chamber, Yuri dismissed everyone else. Only Cid and Elias remained.
Yuri turned, staring at him like he'd never seen him before.
"...I didn't know you knew politics."
Cid gave a small shrug. "Neither did I. Not until now."
Elias let out a low whistle and punched Cid's shoulder lightly. "First day on the job and you just rewrote an entire kingdom. Damn, man."
A few hours later.
The air was heavy with ink, parchment.
The great marble table had been cleared of its usual clutter; now it held only a single scroll, freshly unrolled, waiting for Yuri's words.
Loki Falk stood at the far end, hands behind his back, watching with that unreadable calm.
Cid stood at Yuri's right shoulder.
Elias leaned against the wall, arms folded.
The senators, now stripped of their pride, faces pale and drawn, sat scattered around, some still too stunned to speak.
Yuri gripped the quill.
For a long time, he had not written. He just listened.
Cid spoke softly, outlining the structure again, reminding him of each step.
Loki added subtle corrections, matters of power balance, old alliances, and practical reach.
Even the senators, though bitter, threw in suggestions, desperate to maintain some shred of influence.
Finally, Yuri set the quill to the page.
"By decree of the Crown of Bolt Kingdom,
Let it be known that the nobles titles of Duke, Count, Viscount and Baron are hereby dissolved as hereditary rights.
In their place shall rise a system built on merit and service."
The scratch of the quill filled the room.
"The Five Dukes shall henceforth serve as Governors of the Five States, answerable only to the King and the Crown.
The Counts shall become Ministers, each appointed to oversee Agriculture, Economy, Health, and Arcane Studies, with additional portfolios as required. Some reporting to Governors, others to the Table Chiefs directly.
The Viscounts and Barons shall serve as local administrators, chosen by recommendation and proven service."
The old men shifted in their seats, but none dared speak.
Yuri dipped the quill again.
"The Table of Senates is dissolved.
In it's place stands the Table Chiefs, composed of the following:
Chief Commander.
Chief of Education and Finance.
Chief of Arms and Weaponry.
Chief of Intelligence.
These Chiefs are appointed by the Crown and serve at the Crown's pleasure."
Loki's eyes flicked toward him. "Good," the old man murmured.
Cid added quietly, "Leave space for amendments later. Systems evolve."
Yuri nodded, finishing the final lines:
"All existing authorities shall report to their new Chiefs or Governors by the coming fortnight. Defiance of this decree shall be met with removal and forfeiture of lands and wealth in service of the Crown.By my hand and seal, let this decree stand as law."
He then signed it.
King Yuri Falk.
He set the quill down. His hands trembled.
"It's done."
Loki gave a single nod. "Now comes the hard part, enforcing it."
Cid's hand rested briefly on the hilt of his blade. "Let them try."
Silence.
After a while,
Loki's voice broke the silence first.
"We need five governors. Men or women with enough influence to stabilize the states... but not enough ambition to rebel."
Yuri scanned the list. His hand trembled faintly over the first name.
"Duke Renn Orland," Yuri said. "He was loyal to my father. Held the Western Front for three years. His people trust him."
One of the old senators cleared his throat. "He's... stubborn, Your Majesty. Proud. He will not take kindly to being called "Governor.'"
"Then he can take kindly to exile," Loki said flatly. "Do you have someone better?"
The senator fell silent.
"Governor of the Western State, Renn Orland," Yuri confirmed, striking his quill through the old title.
Next.
"Governor of the Northern State... Vaross Kine?"
Another old senator cleared his throat, saying. "The Kine family traded weapons to both sides during the war with the Omega Kingdom. He's efficient, but not loyal."
Loki's gaze cut through the air like a blade. "We'll leash him. Give him the seat, but place Hana's regiment in his state permanently. If he stirs, we cut him down."
Yuri hesitated, then nodded. "Vaross Kine. But under watch."
For the Southern State, Yuri paused. "Duke Alvara. She saved thousands in the famine."
"She's a healer, not a ruler." Elias murmured.
"She's also the only one the southern villages will obey," Yuri countered. "Governor Alvara," Yuri said softly, writing it down.
For the East and Central, the names came slower. Arguments rose, simmered, fell away under Loki's steady gaze and Cid's blunt reasoning.
By the time the list was sealed, five names were inked. Each one a gamble, each one a weight.