Chapter 10: New Acts
March 10, 1788 — Royal Palace of Aragon, Madrid
The royal seal hissed as it met hot wax. Lancelot pressed it down with deliberate force, imprinting the lion-and-anchor crest into the parchment as if branding the future itself. The scroll before him bore the title: Edicto del Tesoro Sagrado—the Sacred Investment Act.
Four more decrees lay unfurled across the table. Each was penned in exquisite calligraphy by the finest scribes in the palace’s chancery, their borders lined in gold leaf and finished with velvet ribbons for immediate distribution.
In the Grand Hall of Ministers, light poured through cathedral-like windows, illuminating Lancelot’s silhouette as he stood before the assembled secretariat. Bureaucrats, recorders, and heralds lined the room like silent statues, waiting.
"Begin dispatch," Lancelot said.
A nod from Alicia set the machine of empire into motion. Runners moved like clockwork, bearing sealed orders to waiting messengers bound for the provinces. By day’s end, every diocese, noble estate, trade guild, and port authority would receive their share of royal command.
Lancelot stepped forward and addressed the gathering.
"Today, we do not merely govern. We reshape the bones of the realm."
He lifted the Sacred Investment Act and held it up to the morning light.
"The Church," he said, voice clear, "shall now partner with the Crown. Its vaults and tithes shall serve not only the heavens, but the realm it resides in. The Crown Trust Bank is hereby established. Bishops are to deposit ten percent of their tithe collections and leasehold incomes by summer’s end, in exchange for long-term sovereign bonds."
Several scribes paused mid-stroke.