He first skimmed the table of contents, then turned to the first page.
Originally intending to just take a routine glance, he found himself reading increasingly slowly, and by the time he reached the last few pages, he sat up straight, fingers pressed against the edge of the parchment, reading almost line by line.
After a while, he removed his glasses, wiped them on his knee, and put them back on his nose to continue reading.
After a long time, he placed the stack of parchment down, stood up, paced the room twice, and finally, as if making a firm decision, headed out the door.
He found the secretary on duty and said, "Send this to Lord Aaron, now."
Aaron received the wooden box while in the archive room; first, he listened to the secretary's explanation, then personally drew out the first page and stared at it for a while.
He showed no expression, merely nodded, closed the wooden box, and told the two assistants beside him, "Postpone today's affairs."
