The palace did not sleep easily after the declaration.
Though the torches lining the corridors had long since dimmed into quiet embers and the servants had withdrawn into the disciplined silence expected after midnight, the weight of what had been set into motion during the court assembly lingered within the walls like a pressure that refused to disperse, settling itself into every corridor, every chamber, every careful exchange of glances between those who now moved through the palace with greater awareness than before.
Nothing outwardly appeared different.
The servants still bowed.
The guards still rotated positions with practiced precision.
The attendants still carried trays of tea and parchment through the endless maze of marble corridors that formed the imperial residence.
And yet—
The palace had changed.
Not loudly.
Systemically.
The declaration had not made the court noisier.
It had made everyone careful.
