The heavy door closed behind Ray with a muffled sound. It was not loud, but it was decisive enough to declare that what had been said inside had come to an end, and that what would happen outside was no longer open to discussion.
He continued walking without looking back, and after several steps his pace slowed slightly. At the first turn in the corridor, he cast Sislin a brief sideways glance and said,
"Go and deliver the red file to everyone whose name was announced alongside Philip at yesterday's meeting, including those who never entered the hall. As for the black file, send it to Duke Philip, as well as to those who chose not to attend."
His voice was practical, as though he were assigning routine tasks rather than decisions capable of changing the fate of entire families. Then, without looking at him, he added,
"Remember, I'm giving you this opportunity because of your daughter... and because of your father's respect for the throne. What you do after receiving the golden file will determine your future."
Sislin stopped, not because he failed to understand, but because he understood perfectly. Then he bowed, though his bow came half a second later than it should have.
"As you command."
He did not raise his eyes afterward, and remained standing even after they had passed him, as though his legs had not yet been given permission to move. Then he slowly exhaled, and his clenched fist gradually relaxed in surrender.
Ray continued walking with Morgana and Ri.
The silence between them was not comfortable... It was the kind of silence that comes after everyone has said more than they should have. After a few steps, Ray sighed when he noticed Ri's lingering gaze.
"What's with that look?"
[I didn't say anything.]
Morgana asked quietly,
"Is this really alright?"
"With Sislin?" Ray said, as though he had expected the question. "It's fine. He may be a fool... but he's not stupid. More importantly, he's useful. Especially after exhausting himself over the past few days trying to satisfy me."
"Do you trust Sislin?" Morgana asked.
"I trust his self-interest."
[An accurate definition of distrust.]
"That isn't distrust."
[It's the administrative definition of it.]
"What's wrong with you today? You seem irritated." Ray asked Ri without slowing his pace.
[Side note: I was kept standing throughout the entire meeting without any clear tactical justification.]
"You were presenting the names," Ray replied without looking at him.
[I was announcing the names. There is a difference. Announcing names does not require standing for that long.]
Morgana said, trying to hide a smile,
"I thought you never got tired."
[I don't. But I do have operational dignity.]
Ray and Morgana exchanged a brief glance.
"File an official complaint," Ray said flatly.
[Already filed.]
"Of course you did," Morgana muttered.
[And I'll file it again if it happens another time.]
"Why did you have him announce the names? Wouldn't it have been better to leave it to those who normally handle it?" Morgana asked, looking at Ray.
[Same question.]
"If one of the officials had read them, it would have been over in minutes. But when they're forced to wait..." Ray paused before adding calmly,
"They begin imagining what I never said."
"The fear created by their imagination is harsher than any decision I could have announced... and it lasts much longer."
[Wonderful. I was psychologically tortured.]
"Well, cheer up. I'll buy you some sweets later."
[Sometimes I wonder why I still put up with you.]
"Then don't wonder."
Morgana smiled as she walked to Ray's right, while Ri continued grumbling in a voice only the two of them could hear.
At one of the corridors, Morgana went her own way, while Ray headed toward his office. The moment the door closed behind him, the sounds outside seemed to be cut off by a thin thread.
The air inside was not stale...
But it was still, saturated with the smell of old ink and accumulated dust.
He paused at the threshold for a moment.
Papers were everywhere.
On the desk.
On the cabinet beside it.
On the chair opposite.
More piles stretched all the way to the floor, stacked on top of one another without any order, leaving only a narrow path barely wide enough to walk through.
The office had not originally been small...
But almost all of the empty space had disappeared.
Amid all of that, the golden files were lined up neatly on the main desk—excessively organized, perfectly straight along the edges, as though they belonged in a different room.
Ray pressed his thumb against his temple and hesitated before stepping inside.
"It would be nice if you knew how to clean as well."
[Allow me to remind you that I'm a strategic assistant, not a maintenance unit.]
"What a shame."
Ri entered behind Ray, walked toward the desk, then looked at the mess and said with a smile,
[How about unlocking more of my abilities? I could solve this problem for you.]
"Is that advice... or another request for funding?"
[I prefer to call it an investment.]
"The only investment I remember making in you ended with me losing half the mana stones I got from the Blue Tower."
[An insignificant detail.]
"I'll think about it."
Ray sighed, stepped over what remained of the scattered papers until he reached his desk, and finally sat down.
Leaning his head back, he closed his eyes and let out a long breath. Ri looked at him while sitting on the desk that had once belonged to Sislin.
[Are you worried?]
Ray sighed without answering.
Only recently had he come to understand the weight of the "pressure" created by people's eyes; all those gazes watching his every move, weighing his every word, waiting for him to slip.
Standing firm before them had become exhausting work, and a faint doubt had begun creeping into his mind.
Had he been too hasty in pushing the Duke of the North toward leaving?
Yet he quickly dismissed the thought.
Without that firmness, the nobles would have torn apart every appointment before the ink had even dried.
Manipulating them through the arrangement of the hall had worked exactly as he had expected, but that manipulation had its limits, and he had found no alternative to that shocking confrontation if he wanted to establish his authority.
I only hope the backlash this decision creates is something I can handle, he muttered to himself as fatigue slowly spread through his limbs. Then he let out an irritated sigh.
"This is really troublesome."
[Well, your decision during the meeting was reckless.]
"It was necessary."
[Necessity does not make it any less reckless.]
"The result matters more."
[The results haven't appeared yet.]
Ray sighed and closed his eyes briefly.
"I know what I'm doing."
[Congratulations.]
The steady sound of papers being turned continued for a few more seconds before a light knock came from the door.
Ray slowly opened his eyes.
"Come in."
Morgana entered without haste. She paused for a moment at the threshold, as though measuring the atmosphere. She looked at Ray... then at Ri.
"Again?"
Ray did not answer.
He remained silent for a moment, then sighed quietly. He ran a hand across his forehead before motioning for her to come closer.
Morgana stepped forward and handed him the documents.
"This is what you asked for."
Ray took them and examined them in silence.
"Is this all?"
"For now... By the way, I'm planning to have the first and second wives work with me. But the concubines are still unaware of the situation."
Ray raised his eyes to her.
"Did the Duke of the East agree to let his daughter remain in the palace?"
Morgana hesitated for half a moment.
"It seems the decision was his daughter's."
Ray sighed quietly.
"Do as you see fit."
"As you command."
[Well... take a look at this.]
Ri's eyes narrowed as he reviewed the papers before him. He stopped at one of them and remained silent for a second longer than usual.
Then he stood and held it out to Ray.
Ray took it without any visible interest...
But the moment his eyes fell on the first line, his expression changed.
[What do you think?]
He did not answer immediately.
He was silent for a moment, then slowly exhaled.
"This... is what I'm missing."
.....
The main hall...
The hall had not calmed down after the announcement of the restructuring of the Empire's administrative system.
The decision had landed heavily, and it was not the kind that people applauded and then forgot.
The whispers had split into parallel streams, crossing one another without ever truly mixing.
Near the front rows, the circle surrounding Alexander continued to tighten and loosen.
He spoke very little, offering no more than a brief nod or a carefully measured half-smile, while everyone else rushed to fill the silence with their own words.
Shoulders drew closer.
Handshakes lasted longer than necessary.
Names were spoken with a familiarity that sounded old, even though most of those acquaintances had not existed before today.
Not far from them, the ten newly appointed ministers had become another center of attention.
Some maintained rigidly formal postures.
Others tried to appear more confident than they actually felt.
Eyes examined them openly.
"Who will last?"
"And who will be replaced first?"
Everyone knew they had another meeting of their own.
That alone was enough to make approaching them a carefully calculated decision.
One noble leaned slightly toward his companion, his eyes never leaving Lily.
Beside her stood Elena, the widow who had now become the Minister of Finance.
His interest was not focused on the reforms themselves, but on the opportunities he saw before him.
In a low voice, with a damp smile lingering at the corner of his mouth, he said,
"It seems the ladder suddenly became shorter."
Without waiting for a reply, he adjusted the sleeves of his coat and continued,
"You know... some positions change an entire life."
His companion's gaze drifted toward Elena before quickly returning.
The first noble continued as he slightly raised his glass.
"A widow... and the Ministry of Finance. The Empire must be feeling generous this year."
Then he tilted his head toward Lily, his meaning clearer than it should have been.
"And Health... It's always wise to stay close to the one who signs the reports."
His voice was not loud, but neither was it quiet enough.
He was not objecting to the decision.
He simply hated that he had not been part of it.
Some distance away, Lily's posture did not change.
Nor did Elena turn around.
But the air retained the whisper the way a cold wall retains moisture.
And he was neither the only one...Nor the last.
Then, without warning—The side gate opened.
Palace attendants entered in an orderly manner that drew no attention...At first.
They moved steadily between the rows, each carrying an identical light-red file.
The conversations continued for a few seconds more...Then they began to slow.
The first attendant stopped before a particular seat.
He bowed and presented the red file.
The noble raised an eyebrow in mild surprise before accepting it.
He made no comment.
He opened it.
Reading it took no more than a moment.
Something changed in his expression—Not fear.
Not shock.
Something closer to sudden realization.
He closed the file more quickly than he should have and tucked it beneath his arm.
Elsewhere in the hall, a second attendant stopped.
Then a third...
Their number was neither small...
Nor large enough to be a coincidence.
They passed entire groups without stopping, walked past men who received nothing, then suddenly bowed before someone else.
The gazes began shifting from the red files...To the people carrying them.
"Those aren't being handed out at random..."
"So they remembered."
"The selection was calculated."
"And some debts... are never forgotten."
The whispers changed subjects without announcing it.
They were no longer about the new ministers.
Amid that silent shift, another group of palace attendants moved.
This time, they headed directly toward the ten ministers.
A formal bow.
A brief notification.
A nod of understanding.
----------------------------
End of Chapter
-----------------------------
[End of Part One: The Imperial Council Meeting]