Everyone shook their heads and sighed.
To them, the rise of the commoners meant more than just a loss of economic benefits. It also shook their social status and dignity.
"The boundary between nobles and commoners is growing blurred," Count Aiden Faren said gravely. "If we allow this to continue, we will lose control of this country."
Prince Jassim listened in silence. He knew the nobles' anger was not entirely without reason.
The emerging class of wealthy commoners was rising rapidly, and their existence threatened the interests and status of the traditional nobility.
Yet he also knew that stopping this trend entirely was unrealistic. After all, Mellon Garnard's success was plain to see, and the prosperity of the Westport Special District had brought tangible benefits to the kingdom.
The candlelight cast long shadows across the stone walls, illuminating faces filled with anxiety and resentment. Their ancestors had once expanded the kingdom's borders, but now they could only watch helplessly as power and wealth slipped through their fingers into the hands of those "upstarts" with neither bloodline nor tradition.
Prince Jassim slowly rose to his feet. "We must find a way to strike a balance."
His words instantly silenced the entire hall. The firelight outlined his calm and dignified figure.
"Gentlemen." His voice was not loud, yet it clearly reached everyone's ears. "I have heard your concerns, and I understand your anger."
His gaze swept over every noble seated there—Thorne, Hall, Faren, Mackey, Cranton... These surnames had once been inscribed upon the kingdom's earliest battle standards. They had once swept across the barbarian tribes alongside former kings and built Crystal Radiance's towering walls.
"This country did not stand here out of thin air. It was your ancestors who carved a path through the wilderness with sword and blood. It was your