Chapter 24: Going All In
The heavy doors to the Crown Regent’s office swung open with a groan, and Lancelot stepped inside with a slow exhale. The confrontation in the council chamber still echoed in his mind—the sneering faces, the clenched fists, the startled expressions when the guards had marched in with muskets aimed. For the first time in weeks, he allowed himself a small, tired grin.
Alicia followed behind him, setting a fresh stack of documents on the corner of his long oak desk.
"I assume you won’t be sleeping tonight," she said, half teasing.
"Probably not," Lancelot replied, loosening the collar of his coat and walking toward the large map of Aragon mounted on the wall. The map was dotted with ink markings—some fresh, others faded. Red circles showed areas of unrest. Blue ones marked recent tax audits. Green flags indicated new schools and clinics being built in the provinces. His eyes rested on the wide swaths of land labeled under noble names. Names that had ruled regions for centuries without question.
"Something’s missing," he muttered, almost to himself.
Alicia raised an eyebrow. "What is?"
He turned around. "I’ve struck at their power. I’ve put the law over their titles. I’ve reclaimed trade. But the structure that gives them their control... that’s still there."
Alicia crossed her arms. "You mean feudalism."
He nodded. "Yes. That."
She tilted her head slightly. "Are you really planning to go after the whole system?"
He didn’t answer right away. He walked over to his desk, pulled out a fresh sheet of parchment, and dipped his quill into the inkwell. The first words he wrote across the top were bold and final.