A blank sheet of paper lay before Kael.
Marco Beltran was no longer smiling. The polite smile that had lingered at the corners of his mouth until moments ago had vanished completely.
He looked at Kael's fingertips.
A pen.
A blank sheet of paper.
And the seizure order pushed aside.
"Young Master."
Marco spoke in a low voice.
"This joke has gone too far."
"A joke."
Kael dipped the pen nib in ink.
"That is a fine thing to say for a man who came to take someone else's home."
Orban Gray folded the order.
"Young Master Kael, today's procedure is a matter that has already been reviewed by the government office. There may be consequences if you obstruct the seizure."
"You like procedure, it seems."
"It is my duty."
"Then let us proceed by procedure."
At the top of the blank sheet, Kael wrote a title.
Counterclaim.
The people in the hall did not immediately understand the word.
Counterclaim.
A bill presented in return to those who had come to collect.
No one could be certain whether such a thing was possible.
But uncertainty alone was enough to shake Marco's position. A seizure proceeded fastest when the other party believed they had already fallen.
If the other party could still write something, procedure suddenly slowed.
And delayed procedure consumed money.
What men like Marco Beltran hated most was not defeat.
It was a calculation that dragged on.
"A counter... what?"
"A counterclaim."
Kael enunciated the word clearly.
"You demanded that we repay our debt to you, so I am writing down what you owe us."
Marco gave a short laugh.
"The Riorden Barony owes us a debt. It is not the other way around."
"That is what a man says when he has not read the ledger to the end."
Kael wrote the first line.
Return of illegal interest.
"The principal the Beltran Guild presented is 4,800 gold coins, but the additional costs added overnight amount to 1,430 gold coins."
"They are procedural costs."
"A seizure notice fee, an overnight document storage fee, a clerk standby fee, a carriage dispatch deposit, and an enforcement-delay risk charge."
Kael lifted one of Marco's contracts.
"Three of these items are not in the original contract."
"They are specified in the additional terms."
"Additional terms are valid only if the debtor has signed them."
"Lady Riorden confirmed them yesterday."
Selena's face hardened.
"I only confirmed them. I did not agree to them."
Marco spoke gently.
"My lady, the situation was very urgent at the time. Your memory may differ somewhat."
"It is not her memory that differs."
Kael pointed to the bottom of the contract.
"It is the record."
He tapped the signature line for the additional terms.
"My mother's name is written there, but the handwriting is different."
"A common variation in handwriting."
"The ink is different as well. The ink on the original contract has oxidized brown, but the signature on the additional terms is still black. It is ink from a day or two ago."
Marco's fingers tightened around his document case.
"Are you an ink appraiser, Young Master?"
"No."
Kael set down the contract.
"I am a Treasurer."
The hall fell silent.
The Kael of this era was a nineteen-year-old fallen noble who had not even entered the central Treasury Office yet. But his gaze did not belong to someone of that age.
For the first time, Marco failed to hide his displeasure.
"An amusing imitation."
"You will soon learn whether it is an imitation or not."
Kael wrote the second item.
Forged signature and improper fees.
He wrote the third line more slowly.
Attempted seizure of rights.
Marco narrowed his eyes.
"Seizure of rights?"
"A bundle of old military supply-related documents."
"I told you they were useless documents."
"If they are useless, why did you put them on the seizure list?"
"It is for the sake of organizing the documents."
"What if those documents contain the price the Imperial Army has yet to pay Riorden for its supplies?"
Marco's mouth closed.
Kael did not let that silence pass.
"Three thousand sacks of provisions. Twenty-seven carriages. One hundred and twelve crates of medicine. Eighty bundles of iron repair tools."
Selena drew in a breath.
Edric's eyes widened.
Only someone who had seen the ledger could know those figures.
"Imperial Army Eastern Quartermaster Office inspection complete. Payment withheld. Office in charge of processing: Eastern Treasurer's Office."
Orban's face hardened.
"That document is scheduled for administrative expiration."
"Scheduled. Not complete."
"The deadline has passed."
"And why did the deadline pass?"
"As a matter of procedure..."
"Who delayed that procedure?"
Orban closed his mouth.
Kael did not take his eyes off him.
"The Riorden family provided supplies to the Imperial Army in advance. The Imperial Army confirmed that it had received them. Yet the payment was not made. The relevant documents were subsequently omitted, the warehouse records were deleted, and now the creditor is trying to seize that bundle of documents."
He lightly tapped the counterclaim with the tip of his pen.
"Is that not strange?"
One mercenary stepped forward.
"Guildmaster. At this point, we should simply proceed."
As if he had been waiting for it, Rowan stepped forward.
His worn sword came halfway out of its sheath.
"One more step."
Rowan spoke.
"Then I will cut down your interest, finger by finger."
The mercenary's face twisted.
Marco raised a hand to stop him.
"I told you that I do not like seeing blood."
"A wise judgment."
Kael wrote the fourth line.
Demand for suspension of seizure procedure.
"Treasurer Orban Gray."
Orban looked at Kael.
"Now you must answer my question."
"I represent the government office..."
"Who deleted the entry records for Warehouse No. 3 of the Grayden Military Supply Depot?"
Orban's eyes wavered.
"There are no such records."
"Of course there are not. They were deleted."
"That is a baseless insult."
"Then we may verify it."
Kael took out a document. It was the original imperial order he had made Edric find the day before. An old seal remained on the aged paper.
Edric let out a quiet breath.
The document truly had been in the storage compartment behind the southern fireplace.
Kael unfolded the document.
"Seventh Eastern War Supply Order. Issued by the Imperial Quartermaster Office. Advance supplies from the Riorden Barony are to be settled through the Grayden Military Supply Depot."
The color drained from Orban's face.
"That document..."
"It is the original."
Kael spoke calmly.
"The seal is still valid as well."
Orban's gaze darted to one side of the hall. Two junior clerks from the government office had come with him and were watching the scene.
Those who did not know would later write down what they had heard exactly as they heard it.
They were the most dangerous witnesses.
Marco quickly cut in.
"One old order cannot stop today's seizure."
"That is right."
Kael readily agreed.
"One order cannot stop it."
He lifted a copy of the seizure order Orban had brought and pointed to the number at the bottom.
"This number."
"It is an internal number of the Eastern Administrative Office."
"No. It is also the number attached to the entry records of the Grayden Military Supply Depot. It belongs to the same chain as the inspection documents for Warehouse No. 3."
"How could you possibly know that..."
Orban did not finish speaking.
Kael spoke slowly.
"I said there are two kinds of people who read documents."
He looked down at Orban's order.
"Those who see what is written."
Then he unfolded the original imperial order.
"And those who see what is missing."
No one in the hall spoke.
Kael wrote the final item.
Immediate confirmation of access rights to the Grayden Military Supply Depot.
Orban asked in a low voice.
"What do you want, Young Master?"
"It is simple."
Kael pushed the paper toward him.
"Today's seizure is suspended. Marco Beltran's additional interest and fees are held until review. And the Eastern Administrative Office issues the Riorden Barony a confirmation of access to the Grayden Military Supply Depot."
Marco laughed as though it were absurd.
"Why should we agree to that?"
"You do not have to agree."
Kael spoke calmly.
"Then I will tell the junior clerks here that the Treasurer of the Eastern Administrative Office treated a live supply payment as a dead right, and the creditor tried to seize that right."
The moment those words were recorded, Orban would become a party to the case rather than an observer.
Marco's face hardened.
"Is that a threat?"
"It is a claim."
"Wordplay..."
"And there is a marquis's house whose name I have not yet spoken."
At those words, Marco and Orban fell silent at the same time.
Selena's eyes turned to Kael.
Seradin.
The name had not been spoken.
But the unspoken name filled the hall most completely.
Orban gritted his teeth.
"Even if we issue confirmation of access to the depot, there will be nothing left inside but scrap."
"I will confirm that myself."
"The suspension of seizure is temporary."
"Temporary is enough."
"Holding the additional interest is outside the government office's authority."
Kael looked at Marco.
"The guildmaster will handle that himself. If he wants an examination of the forged signature, he may formally request one from the government office."
Marco stared at Kael for a long time.
Until moments ago, the young heir of a fallen noble house had been before him. At some point, he had become a negotiating partner.
No.
He had become a creditor.
"Very well."
Marco smiled as though baring his teeth.
"We will defer today's seizure. It is, after all, a measure taken in consideration of the lady's and the young master's health."
"Of course, you may record it that way."
Kael drew a line beneath the counterclaim.
"Records can be read again later."
Orban gestured to a clerk.
The clerk hurriedly took out a blank form. Orban wrote several lines and pressed a red government seal onto it.
Confirmation of Access to the Grayden Military Supply Depot.
Kael received the paper.
Red letters surfaced above it.
Access Rights: Valid.
Claim Target: Grayden Military Supply Depot.
The first door had opened.
That paper was not gold.
It was not bread, nor was it medicine.
But the air in the hall had unmistakably changed.
Until moments ago, this house had been subject to seizure.
Now, it was a house with a right that had to be confirmed.
The difference was a single sheet of paper.
But to a family on the brink of collapse, even a single sheet of paper could become a fortress wall.
The mercenaries who had brought the empty crates exchanged glances.
Ria had come all the way down from the railing.
Holding Selena's skirt, Ian looked at the paper in Kael's hand.
"Is that money?"
"Not yet. It is a door."
"Then we have to open it."
Kael smiled very slightly.
Marco closed his document case.
"Young Master Kael. Digging up dead rights smells fouler than you think."
"That is all right."
Kael folded the confirmation of access.
"I have already handled the Empire's final ledger once."
Without understanding the meaning of those words, Marco left the estate.
The empty crates remained where they were.
Ria came down from the railing.
"Brother."
Kael looked at her.
"Did we... win just now?"
Kael thought for a moment.
Marco had withdrawn.
Orban had given up access rights to the depot.
But Seradin had not even appeared yet.
"No."
Kael said.
"We opened a door."
Ian asked from behind Selena.
"Then they will not take it away now?"
"Today."
"What about tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow, we go to take it."
"Take what?"
Kael looked down at the confirmation in his hand.
"What was ours, but that we have not yet received."
Edric quietly lowered his head.
This time, it was not out of courtesy.
It was acknowledgment.
"Young Master. There may truly be nothing in the depot but scrap."
"That may be so."
"Will you still go?"
Kael tucked the folded confirmation into his inner pocket.
"Whether it is scrap or an unpaid asset is for the ledger to decide."
That day, Riorden did not repay its debt.
Instead, it sent its first bill to the Empire.