The trouble started at the eastern docks.
Aldric was still eating when Captain Rovan entered without knocking.
"They've blocked the river," Rovan said. "House Corvain."
Aldric paused mid-bite. "Fully?"
"Yes. Chains across the water. Armed retainers on the piers."
Aldric swallowed, set the plate aside, and stood.
"So they chose noise," he said calmly. "Good."
Rovan frowned. "Good?"
"They've made it simple."
The docks were already packed when Aldric arrived.
Idle ships bobbed uselessly in the water. Dockworkers argued with armed men wearing Corvain colors. Merchants shouted about delays, contracts, losses.
At the center of it all stood Lord Maeric Corvain, relaxed, confident—far too confident.
When he saw Aldric, he smiled.
"Your Majesty," Maeric said loudly, so everyone could hear. "I hoped you'd come personally."
Aldric stopped a few steps away.
"You blocked the river," Aldric said.
"Temporarily," Maeric replied. "Until the Crown answers for the damage it's caused."
Murmurs spread through the crowd.
A merchant shouted, "He's right! We're losing money!"
Maeric turned slightly, feeding off it. "You see? Even the people—"
"Unblock it," Aldric said.
Maeric laughed. "You don't have that authority."
The laughter lasted exactly one second.
Aldric turned his head slightly.
"Captain," he said, "seize him."
Silence crashed down on the docks.
Maeric stared. "What?"
Rovan moved instantly. Guards grabbed Maeric's arms before he could step back.
"This is madness!" Maeric shouted. "You can't just—"
"I just did," Aldric said calmly.
The crowd erupted.
"You can't arrest a house lord!"
"This will cripple trade!"
"Who do you think you are—"
Aldric raised a hand.
Not high.
Not dramatically.
The noise faded anyway.
"Listen carefully," Aldric said, his voice carrying without effort. "House Corvain does not own this river."
Maeric struggled. "My family has controlled these docks for generations!"
"And today," Aldric replied, "you proved why that was a mistake."
He turned to the crowd.
"You think this blockade hurts the Crown?" Aldric said. "It doesn't."
He gestured at the idle ships.
"It hurts you."
The merchants hesitated.
Aldric continued, "You wanted leverage. You chose the river."
He looked back at Maeric.
"And you forgot something important."
Maeric spat, "What?"
Aldric leaned in slightly.
"You're replaceable."
Aldric straightened.
"House Corvain is stripped of dock control," he said clearly. "Effective immediately."
Gasps rippled outward.
"But— but then who—" a merchant stammered.
Aldric turned to him.
"You," he said. "And you. And you."
He pointed at smaller guild banners hanging near the warehouses.
"You move goods," Aldric said. "You load ships. You get paid."
The dockworkers stared.
Rovan understood instantly.
"Cut the chains," he ordered.
Steel rang.
The river opened.
Ships began to move.
Slowly at first—then faster, like water remembering how to flow.
A merchant whispered, "Wait… prices won't spike."
Another muttered, "We're already moving again."
Someone else said, almost in disbelief, "He didn't stop trade. He freed it."
Maeric went pale.
"You can't do this without destroying the system," he said hoarsely.
Aldric met his eyes.
"I didn't destroy it," Aldric said. "I removed you."
By sunset, the docks were running smoother than they had in weeks.
Smaller houses stepped in eagerly. Competition returned. Fees dropped instead of rising.
The crowd dispersed—not angry, not confused.
Relieved.
That night, Lysenne joined Aldric on the balcony.
"They understand now," she said.
"Yes," Aldric replied.
She glanced at him. "You didn't beat him with law."
"No."
"With force?"
"No."
"Then how?"
Aldric watched the river glitter below.
"I showed them," he said, "that the problem was never the blockade."
"And?"
"And that I could end it whenever I wanted."
She smiled faintly. "That's cruel."
Aldric shrugged. "That's clarity."
Captain Rovan reported later.
"No unrest. No protests. Other houses have already asked for permission to cooperate."
"Of course they have," Aldric said.
"And Corvain?"
Aldric didn't answer immediately.
"They thought blocking the river made them powerful," Aldric said finally. "Now everyone knows it made them unnecessary."
Rovan nodded slowly. "That's… terrifying."
"Yes," Aldric agreed. "For them."
Far away, something else noticed the change.
Not politics.
Not laws.
Speed.
The king had acted without hesitation.
Without warning.
Without resistance.
Aldric rested his hands on the railing.
No more games, he thought.
If they wanted to test him—
—he'd make sure they understood the result.