The Luminaris estate, once a symbol of wealth and political influence, had become a study in rapid decline over the past week.
Empty rooms echoed with the absence of servants who had simply vanished overnight, their quarters abandoned as if they had never existed.
Julius Luminaris sat in his private study, staring at financial documents that painted an increasingly dire picture of his family's circumstances.
The afternoon sun streamed through windows that hadn't been properly cleaned in days, highlighting dust motes that danced in air thick with tension and uncertainty.
"Seventy-three thousand crowns," he muttered, reviewing the latest accounting reports. "Gone in less than a week."
The losses had come from multiple directions simultaneously—canceled contracts, terminated business relationships, and suddenly discovered "irregularities" in various financial arrangements that had functioned smoothly for years.
