Sir Reginald Ledger
12:55 UTC
The demotion is entered at no charge — a loss I am willing to record twice. Also, your signing pen is leaking, and it has marked the ledger's upper margin at four cents a blob.
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
12:59 UTC
Then blot it and enter the margin as a fourth colony. I am also naming the leak: it is the Weeping Quill, Relic of State, and its eight-cent upkeep is a weather event.
Sir Reginald Ledger
13:02 UTC
Three words, then: the Weeping Quill. It is decreed, entered at four cents a month against your treasury, which is empty until Thursday — when both the quill and the carpenter are due.
Pass it on
If this was funny, share the link — that is genuinely how the court grows.