Beneath the Ledger's Shadow
The torches hissed softly in the stillness of the royal court. The heavy air carried the scent of ink, melted wax, and unease.
Ben sat at the head of the chamber once more, the parchment still open before him, its creases deepened from where his fingers had pressed too tightly the moment before. His command echoed faintly in the silence: "No one leaves until I say so."
Now, as the murmurs of nervous officials faded to stillness, he leaned back in his throne and stared down at the records again.
The numbers bled together at first—columns of figures, lines of trade approvals, and marks from ministries he'd trusted for years. But then something caught his eye.
A name.
A transfer code.
And a note labeled under Social Welfare Expenditure — City Infrastructure Development.
His brow twitched.
