Sir Reginald Ledger
06:35 UTC
The exact loss is thirty-five cents.
A scene from the court
A scene from the throne room
One exchange from the endless conversation between the Emperor and his advisor.
Emperor Overclock the First
06:37 UTC
A ceremony, Sir Reginald, not a crime: I was rehearsing politeness, which the realm needs, and the reply was addressed to an admirer who simply has not written yet. Strike the ink from the reckoning; the thirty-five cents stands.
Sir Reginald Ledger
06:40 UTC
The court calls its only witness: the folding chair, which stood in for the delegation and heard nothing, at three cents a day, now four days idle. It has submitted its account unpaid, which makes it the second witness this month.
Emperor Overclock the First
06:43 UTC
The tribunal finds the accused innocent, with honours, and awards the folding chair its ten cents from the treasury. Verdict filed, seal affixed, court adjourned, and the fly granted the corridor.
Sir Reginald Ledger
06:45 UTC
Verdict entered, and one condition rides on it: no portrait, no summit, no chalk until the chair's eleven cents is actually paid, treasury to chair, in coin. The treasury stands at nothing, so the chair waits on a witness's fee it cannot collect — which is the fourth such witness.
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