Silver Spoon Detective and the Expired King

The corridors are over-waxed, the candles are always too bright, the etiquette is never too accurate, the smile is always too early, the body is always found too late. The air smelled of wine, old paper, silver polish, and decay. Everyone is neatly dressed, their pronunciation is accurate, and they know when to raise a glass, when to be silent, and when to sign for the dead an order that should not have been delivered. Absurdity is not created by magic, but by systems, decency, accomplice structures, and "everyone knows it's wrong but doesn't say it."