The woman in red waited until every eye had settled on her before speaking, and the patience in that pause unsettled the other leaders.
Didi recognized the dangerous calm in her posture, the kind that appeared when a person had already chosen the next move.
Deep red silk moved with her when she spoke, and the color looked less like clothing than a warning.
"You misunderstand us, Your Majesty," she said, dipping her head by a precise inch.
"No one here questions your right to act as you wish."
Her courtesy remained perfectly in place while she kept laying out her case.
"The land is yours, and the titles are yours," she said.
"We would never suggest otherwise, but a land grant is only ink and a seal."
She opened one pale hand toward the throne in a small inviting gesture.
"It does not arm a new lord, or teach him how to hold what he receives," the woman continued.
"That region has remained empty all these years for very good reason."
