A collective gasp rippled through the nobility. Harrison blinked, utterly thrown off balance. They had prepared for weeks to fight a refusal; they had entirely failed to calculate a sudden, absolute acceptance.
"However," Elara continued, her voice dropping into a register that made the Northern prince's posture turn completely rigid, "the contract has been heavily revised to align with imperial efficiency. Section Nine has been altered. The Northern prince will yield all personal, military, and administrative jurisdiction over the iron valleys directly to my office upon the signing of the registry. Furthermore, he will reside in the separate guest quarters of the eastern wing, possessing zero authority within the domestic court, zero access to the imperial treasury, and zero marital privileges."
She looked directly at the Northern prince, her expression as vacant and ruthless as a winter sky.
