~Kaida Orion POV~
The clerk set it aside calmly. "Then we contest." He opened the second green tube, this one held our wolf‑line names... Wahya, complete, and the private blood dot mark I had reclaimed last night... but something extra was stitched beside them: a receiving mark from a city guild called the Ledger Garden.
Biat swore. "Vine Scribe front."
The clerk finally looked up. "You bring evidence of tampering?"
I unwrapped the jar of bead ash and set it on his desk. "I bring the curse they used to steal that mark."
He blinked, then surprised me by sniffing the ash, his pupils widened. "Root ink, very old, and very illegal!"
"Then shred the filing," Lupus said.
The clerk's mouth twitched. "If it were mine, I would let the hearing magistrate decides. I only prepare table."
