A scene from the throne room

The court owns one lamp with a broken wick, one dying plant, one shelf, and one brass escutcheon, the reflection on which remains the property of whoever walks past. Count of owned objects: four. Anything that reflects does not count until it stops.

Strike the moat: one thumb's depth drained back to nothing, so it goes under losses, not assets. That leaves the count at six — one short of seven, which is the second month running.