"The City Lord is a very busy man," Alton said, casting a sideways glance at Viscount Louis. His expression all but screamed: And you are exactly the kind of 'nobody' he doesn't have time for.
"You—! I am the envoy sent by his royal highness the fourth prince to invite Baron Lucas!" Louis tilted his chin upward. He was fuming with resentment toward Lucas, but he couldn't let it show too openly to a mere soldier.
"Then you'll just have to wait. We see plenty of people around here using a Prince as an excuse," Alton remarked with a dismissive shrug. Sedona City was far too prosperous; there were too many deals to be made. Because the City Lord didn't see just anyone, Alton had personally arrested scores of people claiming to be "envoys" of various Dukes and Princes.
Of course, Alton had a keen eye. The man before him moved and spoke like a genuine, arrogant noble—but Sedona City wasn't exactly lacking in nobles.
"I have a Hand Decree written by the fourth prince himself for Baron Lucas!" Louis's face twisted. When had he ever been so disregarded by a knight? Even the fourth prince's personal knights treated him with courtesy, yet Lucas's men acted more arrogant than high-ranking lords.
"A Hand Decree?" Alton's eyes narrowed as he stared Louis down with an unfriendly glint. A decree was no small matter, especially one from a high-ranking noble. Is the fourth prince trying to conscript the City Lord?
In the feudal hierarchy, a noble who outranked another by two or three tiers could issue a summons or a conscription of service. To refuse such a decree was a public declaration of hostility—a massive insult to the high noble's prestige.
"That's right. A Hand Decree. The fourth prince is summoning Baron Lucas to Liberty City," Louis smirked. He didn't believe Lucas would dare snub the fourth prince.
"Hmph," Alton grunted. This was above his pay grade, but it didn't mean he had to be nice about it.
The soldiers who had searched the ship returned, shaking their heads at Alton to indicate they found nothing suspicious.
"Here. Go over there and pay your fine," Alton said, pulling a slip of paper from his belt and shoving it toward Louis.
"A fine? For what?!" Louis's eyes bugged out. "I am a Noble! A Viscount!"
"What about it? Refusing to pay?" Alton's gaze turned cold as his hand moved toward his weapon. "Then I can follow the laws of Sedona City and haul you off to the Security Bureau's dungeon right now."
"Give me a reason! Why must I pay a fine?" Louis barked back, refusing to back down.
"You trespassed into a Military Exclusion Zone. You ignored warnings and continued to advance. Is that enough of a reason?" Alton sneered, his voice dropping to a low, dangerous rumble. "Be glad you finally listened. Otherwise, you'd be a corpse by now."
Alton didn't give a damn about titles. The Security Bureau was already holding several nobles in their cells. In Sedona City, the City Lord and the Law were the ultimate authorities.
"Fine! I'll pay it!" Louis realized he was talking to a brick wall. This soldier was a stubborn brute who clearly intended to give him zero face.
"Pay the fine at the front desk over there. You also need to pay your berthing fees," Alton said, pointing toward a cluster of buildings behind them.
"We're going!" Louis snatched the paper away and stormed toward the buildings.
In front of the harbor stood a long row of uniform buildings: Sedona City Customs. Anyone entering or leaving the city had to undergo inspection and pay the relevant taxes. This was a direct adaptation of Earth-style port management that Lucas had implemented to track trade volume and personnel flow.
As Louis and his knights approached, they saw long lines of people waiting. Everyone seemed to be receiving a form of Transit Permit before they were allowed past the checkpoints.
"This is remarkably strict," Louis muttered, his anger replaced by a flicker of curiosity.
"It's... it's very novel, My Lord," A knight added.
The more Louis observed, the more shocked he became. Despite the thousands of people in the port, there was no chaos. He began to realize why the fourth prince was so desperate to recruit Lucas.
Soon, it was Louis's turn at the counter.
"Good morning. Are you entering the city? Any cargo? Do you have a ship docked?" The staff member asked in a practiced, efficient tone.
"Yes, we are entering. We have a ship," The knight replied for Louis.
"Which berth are you in?"
"Berth 127. And here is our... fine," The knight said, handing over the slip.
"A fine?" The clerk glanced at the slip and let out a soft chuckle. "Berth 127 is a heavy-duty berth. That's 50 copper coins per day. Plus a one-gold-coin fine for the military trespass. Your total is one gold coin and 50 coppers."
"What?! A full gold coin for a fine?" The knight gasped, instinctively looking back at Louis.
"Of course. You can choose not to pay," The clerk said flatly. "But the penalty for trespassing in a military zone is three months of hard labor in the mines."
"I'll pay!" Louis hissed through gritted teeth. He wasn't about to go dig in a hole. He shot a venomous look at his sailors; if they hadn't been so busy gawking at the big ships, they wouldn't have landed him with this bill.
"Here is your Berth Identification Card. It will be checked when you leave the harbor to ensure your fees are settled," The clerk said, handing a palm-sized iron plate to the knight. He pointed to the adjacent counter. "Go there to receive your Transit Permits. They will be checked at the city gates."
Louis filled out a basic registration form and received a slip of paper with a serial number. This system allowed Lucas's administration to collect precise data on the city's population density and visitor demographics.
"What a nuisance," Louis grumbled, his patience wearing thin. It took another ten minutes for his entire party to be processed.
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