Arion had been staring at the same projected budget line for long enough that the numbers had begun to lose meaning.
Not because the report was particularly complicated.
Because Otto had decided that scheduling the next quarter's financial approvals personally was more efficient than letting three separate ministries coordinate their own deadlines.
"It avoids overlap," his father said, moving another expenditure review two weeks forward on the shared calendar.
"It creates overlap."
"With defense."
"Yes."
"That is intentional."
Arion leaned back in the chair and looked across the long table.
The emperor's private administrative room was cooler than the rest of the palace, the late-August heat kept beyond the tall windows by thick glass and shaded terraces. Reports covered one end of the polished table, while the central projection displayed ministry allocations, infrastructure commitments, and enough colored scheduling blocks to offend anyone with functioning eyesight.
