Joseph Caradi was publicly executed for treason, aiding the enemy, and other grave crimes. At the emperor's command, his entire family was also subjected to a thorough purge.
A once-prestigious house had fallen overnight, sending shock waves through the Empire's aristocratic circles.
Yet the man who had set this entire storm in motion was currently curled up beneath a thick quilt, sleeping like the dead.
He could hardly be blamed. Between his grueling workload, the days spent establishing the Council and the Inspection Office, and investigating and courting the various noble factions...
He was truly exhausted.
And so Louis Calvin, the Northern Frontier's youngest Commandery Governor, founder of the Council, mastermind behind the inspection system, and architect of the Revitalization Fund...
Was snoring away in bed.
"Young Master Louis, time to get up." Sif's voice sounded beside his ear.
The heavy curtains were drawn back, and a shaft of sunlight suddenly slanted into the room, passing through the sheer drapes and falling on the figure bundled up on the bed.
He had given those instructions himself: no matter how tired he was, he had to be woken before nine every morning, lest he one day succumb completely to indolence.
Feeling the sunlight on him, Louis frowned and muttered something, but finally managed to open his eyes.
He sat up, looking just like any ordinary person forced to get out of bed in the morning, his hair tousled and his eyes vacant.
"It's been over a year," he murmured, gazing at the dawn light outside the window. "Since coming to this world, I really have degenerated into a full-fledged noble..."
But however exhausted his body was, however groggy his mind, his habits were already deeply ingrained.
As his first act upon waking, he instinctively raised a hand and lightly swiped through