The grand administrative wing of the royal palace rose in pristine pale marble, flanked by towering colonnades and banners bearing the golden crest of the royal realm.
Hajin walked through the gilded double doors of the Ministry of Territorial Affairs, his confident footsteps echoing across the polished obsidian floor.
Behind him followed Elise, Sable, Jonas, and Cassie, their crisp military posture and focused demeanor parting the gathered clerks and noble envoys like a sharp prow through calm waters.
The head palace clerk, an austere man in crimson velvet robes with silver-rimmed spectacles, looked up from behind a towering mahogany counter.
When the clerk's gaze fell upon Hajin's snow-white hair, shimmering azure highlights, and piercing dual-colored eyes, the haughty sneer habitual to court bureaucrats vanished instantly from his face.
