After the heart-stopping events of the previous night, the nobles had barely slept.
Early the next morning, they headed back to yesterday's banquet hall.
But the banquet hall had been completely transformed. Its lavish curtains were gone.
In their place stood orderly tables and chairs, plain furnishings, and the Empire's emblem hanging high overhead, as though solemnity and oppression had congealed in the very air.
The banquet hall had become a true chamber of deliberation.
The nobles took their assigned seats. Many remained uneasy; remembering Joseph being taken away the night before, they still felt cold sweat on their skin.
This time, Louis was not late.
He had arrived before everyone else and stood in the center of the hall, his expression calm and genial.
He wore a well-tailored black military uniform edged in gold, with even the Shield of the Northern Frontier pinned to his chest.
As he surveyed the simply furnished hall, stripped of its excessive decorations, he greeted the arriving nobles one by one.
"Lady Grant, that violet brooch suits you beautifully today."
Louis spoke gently to the perpetually cautious, middle-aged noblewoman with slightly rounded cheeks, even giving her a small nod.
Lady Grant froze, seemingly overwhelmed by the attention. She hurriedly lowered her head to hide her flustered expression and stammered, "Ah... thank you, Lord Governor... I... I only..."
She had been frightened of Louis to begin with, and the scene at yesterday's banquet had nearly kept her awake all night.
She had come today determined to make herself as inconspicuous as possible, only to find herself singled out at the first greeting.
But Louis merely exchanged that polite remark before moving on to the next noble.
She breathed a sigh of relief.
"Baron Bernal, thank you for making the journey. With the snow still unmelted,