"This is barbaric," one of the younger lords said, staring at Ephraim with open disgust. "Dragging a man back into chains over a technicality buried within some forgotten clause."
"Barbaric or not," another lord countered, older, more cautious, "contracts of this nature carry legal weight in this kingdom regardless of personal feeling. If the original sale agreement truly contained such a condition, this court cannot simply dismiss it because the outcome proves distasteful to witness."
Elena stood rigid before her throne, fury radiating through her controlled posture as the court argued around her, several lords already debating the technical legitimacy of Ephraim's claim as though Logan's entire future hung on nothing more significant than contract law.
"Bring the document forward," El
