In Troy’s intimidating throne room, Princess Alexia prepares to face the empire’s aristocracy while seated below the vast Serpent Throne. Lady Severa, Duke Michael, Jakob of Thorn, and Brother Diaz sit with her as allies, though Alex is visibly anxious about whether she can command the room. The nobles arrive in force, cool and skeptical, and Arcadius appears last, charming rather than openly hostile. Once everyone is seated, the nobles make clear that they will not simply accept Alex’s accession; they intend to press grievances, debts, and legal objections first.

Duke Michael argues that Alex’s birth and formal recognition make her the rightful heir regardless of noble complaints, but the aristocrats insist that the crown owes them compensation and justice after Eudoxia’s harsh reign. When Duke Kostas begins with a claim about land lost to an imperial naval base, Brother Diaz interrupts. Presenting himself as a librarian who has searched the Athenaeum’s records, Diaz produces deeds and ledgers proving that the land was imperial property all along and that Kostas’s family has actually been using crown land without right. Instead of the crown owing Kostas money, Diaz calculates that Kostas owes the crown.

That reversal sets the tone for the rest of the session. Brother Diaz methodically answers each complaint with archived contracts, expired leases, overlooked clauses, and counterclaims for unpaid obligations. Because Diaz has documentary proof, the nobles’ attempts to pressure Alex become increasingly dangerous for them, and the balance of power in the room shifts toward the princess. Alex grows more confident as Diaz crosses claims off his list, while Michael becomes openly pleased. When Count Julian threatens violence after Diaz exposes his forged deeds, Jakob warns that Alex’s party already stopped Arcadius’s brothers from attending at all, and the threat collapses.

After breaking the nobles’ legal offensive, Brother Diaz quietly turns that victory into leverage. He suggests that if Alex continues his work in the Athenaeum, he may uncover even more damaging debts and irregularities, but he also hints that nobles who pledge support can expect generosity in future negotiations. Faced with that choice, several aristocrats quickly swear loyalty to Alex, others hesitate, and some remain resentful. Arcadius, amused and impressed, remarks that the nobles only need a powerful figure to rally behind and implies that their final support will depend on his own position.

Once the nobles are dismissed, Arcadius reveals the hidden bargain: he is proposing marriage to Alex as the compromise that would stabilize the empire. Brother Diaz immediately understands what is happening, and Michael admits he kept the plan from Alex because he feared she would refuse outright. Severa and Jakob both support the match on practical grounds, arguing that Arcadius is politically effective, militarily powerful, and capable of helping Alex produce heirs and hold the throne. Michael then reveals that Cardinal Zizka backed the idea as well. Alex reacts with fury and disgust, realizing that the support she has just won may lead directly to a deeply unwanted political marriage, and Diaz can only concede that the arrangement would solve many problems.