Lana finished copying the northern patrol time before a royal courier reached the registry with two guards behind him.
"Lord Hajin," the courier said, removing a sealed packet from beneath his coat, "the princess ordered this placed in your hands before tomorrow."
Hajin signed the delivery page beside Marrick's grain figures, finding Didi's personal seal beneath the royal archive mark.
{Crown neutrality prevents royal troops, treasury arms, or a royal command from entering your territory during the legal review, and Father cannot suspend a territory claim without giving every House the same power against another.}
{Neutrality does not stop you from hiring licensed guild parties, accepting private trade guards, moving civilians across Crown roads, or submitting witnessed crimes to the royal archive, and any Flint force crossing before formal notice arrives loses the protection of a territory campaign.}
