When Viscount Andrew Leslie and Lady Ropeney Ge'lan departed, the seven-hundred-year-old feudal aristocratic system in the southern borders officially came to an end.
If the cannons at Broken Stone Ridge and the rocky ridges Fortress had destroyed the physical entity of the aristocratic system, then the thirty-three voluntary reform contracts and the joint declaration document bearing the signatures of all southern aristocrats effectively destroyed the soul of this system.
Gawain held the "Reform Alliance Declaration," which seemed to still carry the fresh scent of ink. On the signature page of the declaration, the thirty-three names, including Viscount Andrew and Lady Ropeney, seemed to symbolize the end of an era. He carefully imprinted each name in his mind before picking up the pen from his desk and signing "Gawain Cecil" at the document's end.
