The King dismissed every guard except Captain Roen from the private archive doorway. Two royal recorders stayed beside Gazel's opened file, while Eirwen and Ferra withdrew beyond the blood line with the fitted prayer case.
Hajin remained where Didi could see him across the table, and his commission seal stayed beside the service pages, keeping a family explanation tied to the witnessed record instead of allowing the Crown to turn it into a private apology.
Didi's palm hovered above the frost spreading through the wood. Three Shards stayed closed around her wrist, yet silver pushed against the center of her pale-blue mana whenever her eyes reached the King's seals.
"I asked what you were protecting me from, and I will not accept another sealed office or guardian oath as an answer," she said.
The King removed his hand from Gazel's final renewal page. Paternal warmth, sovereign pressure, and the council smile he used before a public decision all left his face.
