Elara finished the last page of budget reconciliation just as dawn light started filtering through the windows. The work itself hadn't been difficult—just tedious, requiring focus and cross-referencing. But what she'd found while reviewing household regulations and imperial law had made her pause multiple times, not from emotion, but from sheer logical incredulity.
The laws governing beast knights were insane.
She spread three different legal texts across the desk and read through them again, confirming what she'd absorbed the first time.
Beast knights—soldiers bred specifically for combat, enhanced strength, and magical resistance—were treated as disposable equipment. They served in the palace guard, yes, and their combat capabilities exceeded human knights by significant margins. Yet every single beast knight was placed under the command of weaker human officers who could override their decisions, assign them to menial tasks, and discipline them without oversight.
