The Restriction Bill and Cain's Letter

After hearing Wolf's words, every councilor in the hall fell silent. They watched the prime minister at the podium, though their expressions differed sharply. The Old Guard Party members looked thrilled, while the Reformist Faction glared at him. The Neutral Faction studied him with amused interest. Wolf had not named the target of the bill, but the councilors who formed the Empire's backbone knew exactly what it was. On the surface, the bill would reclaim powers granted to the frontier autonomous regions. In truth, it targeted only one region.

Its target was John Maslow, the newly appointed lieutenant general who had recently received His Majesty William's favor. His activity of late had made him look increasingly like the leading lord of the Empire's south. Apart from the Reformist councilors, however, no one thought Wolf's attack shameless.

After all, there were the local financial reports John had recently submitted to parliament, the taxes generated by his trade partnerships with the great families, and the crisis he had so easily resolved not long ago—while killing yet another active Crown Tier powerhouse.

All of it showed how frighteningly fast the Empire's new autonomous region had grown in just a few months. Give it another ten years under that extraordinary governor, and the Faoken Autonomous Region might become the Empire's strongest territory. The Old Guard Party's attempt to obstruct His Majesty William's plans would then be crushed beneath its overwhelming power.

Anyone in the Old Guard Party with any sense would refuse to let it keep growing.

As if to confirm everyone's suspicions, Wolf's flat voice rang through the hall. "The bill's core provisions are as follows."

"First, the total strength of local defense forces in every autonomous region, including troops assigned to its army theater, shall not exceed five thousand personnel! Second, no