The General’s office went silent as a crypt, as he and Count Reidmark looked at each other. Brenn, Korrin and the adjutant stood silently on the sidelines.

  “There must be some sort of mistake,” Count Reidmark said, his tone instantly flipping from angry to genial. “My son is a loyal servant of Her Majesty.”

  “The evidence says otherwise,” General Hrodric rested a hand on a ledger, as if taking an oath on a sacred text. “But fear not. We will not prosecute an innocent man. A thorough investigation will be held before I take this matter in front of Her Majesty.”

  The Count almost leapt forward to grasp Hrodric’s hands. “Oh, come now, General. We need not bother the Queen with such a trivial matter. There must be some way to resolve it in an agreeable manner.”

  Hrodric narrowed his eyes at the Count. “I am sure you would not stoop to bribery, my lord.”

  Reidmark’s face froze for a few heartbeats. Then his back grew stiff and eyes hardened. “No, Sir Eberwald, but I hope you understand the implication if you move forward with this foolishness. Do you think the nobility will accept such an attack on our honor?”

  “What honor does a man have who steals from his liege and needlessly endangers the lives of his men?”

  Reidmark turned around and left the room in angry strides.

  Hrodric sat down on his seat and let out a long sigh.

  “Sit down,” he told the others. “I want concrete proof before I take this to Her Majesty. You need to be quick, as the nobles will do everything in their power to wipe it out. How many of these merchants,” he tapped the ledgers, “do you have in captivity?”

  “Two,” Brenn answered promptly.

  “Not enough. Get as many of the culprits as possible, and as soon as possible.”

  The men nodded and left.

  ──────── ??? ────────

  “Close the gates!” Brenn shouted, his voice cutting through the din of the crowd. His horse tried to navigate its way through the tightly packed road.

  The guards manning the eastern Outer Gate hesitated.

  Ahead of him, the crowd was darting away from the speeding carriage like a school of fish in front of a predator. The guards still hadn’t moved. He dismounted and hit the ground running, pushing past the panicked people.

  He pulled out a dagger. The angle was wrong. The crowd was wrong. Everything was wrong, but his quarry was going to flee, which he could not allow.

  He threw.

  The dagger struck one of the horses pulling the carriage. It didn’t stab the beast, but the graze was deep enough that it reared back in pain. The carriage lurched, and almost tipped on its side. Wood cracked. Someone inside cried out.

  For a heartbeat, Brenn stood frozen. If it tips, anyone standing on the other side is dead.

  The carriage slammed back down instead, crashing into a fruit stall. Cherries burst underfoot like spilled blood.

  He reached the carriage and wrenched the door open hard enough that the hinges shrieked. It swiveled open to reveal the ashen face of a gaunt man, covered in jewels and sweat.

  “Master Valthar,” Brenn said between labored breaths, “you are under arrest for conspiring to defraud the Royal military.”

  “I haven’t done anything wrong!” he shrieked. “Do you know who I-”

  “Save it,” Brenn said flatly. “We have proof.”

  He stood back as his men reached inside with weapons drawn, eyes hard, to seize the man. The crowd murmured all around them. A young man cheered.

  Brenn kept his eyes on the horse. The wounded animal’s leg trembled, smeared with dark blood.

  That evening, Brenn fanned his face as the smoke threatened to choke him. Heat licked his face, even from a distance. Not that he could care at the moment, covered in sweat and grime as he was at the end of the long and grueling day. The lack of sleep from last night made it even worse.

  “Well, time to move again,” Korrin said, as they looked at the half-burnt ruin that had been their headquarters that morning, glowing against the darkening sky.

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  Brenn chuckled in response.

  “Captain?” Korrin asked, worried.

  “The nobles are scared, Korrin. Scared of us,” he replied, forcing himself upright.

  He had spent the entire day running from one corrupt merchant to another, forcing open doors, seizing ledgers, and dragging men from their mansions, ignoring their bribes, threats and pleas, only to find the Military Police’s headquarters had been burnt down, again.

  Luckily, all of the important evidence and culprits had been sequestered in the fort that was the Royal military’s headquarters.

  Brenn could have asked for more soldiers to secure the building, but he was adamant about picking the men himself. He needed men who could be trusted beyond reproach. He looked at them, standing alongside him. They were as tired as him, but stood proud and resolute. And proud they should be; they had shown their mettle, fighting off guards and threats until a half dozen accomplices of the corrupt officers had been captured.

  They reached the fort upon nightfall, shoulders slumped and eyes weary, with the last culprit shouting and swearing from a carriage in tow.

  The gates that closed behind them sounded like judgment.

  Inside, Brenn delivered his report to the General with precision, leaving nothing out. He listened without interruption and assigned them quarters in the fort.

  The moment Brenn entered his quarters, the weight of the day came crashing. He did not undress or even clean himself; letting his body fall on the bed.

  The image of the rearing horse replayed in his eyes.

  If the carriage had tipped.

  Sleep took him before he could contemplate the consequences.

  ──────── ??? ────────

  Three days later, Hrodric stood at the entrance to the castle’s eastern courtyard, clutching a bundle of ledgers like an errand clerk. Count Nobart’s methods still sat ill with him, but he could no longer deny their effectiveness.

  I suppose the pen can sometimes indeed be mightier than the sword, he thought, as the servants led him to the young Queen. The garden was a beautiful place, carefully cultivated over the years to resemble an untouched forest. He savored the heat of the sunlight filtering through the branches on his skin. He had sorely missed it after days spent with parchment and interrogations. The faint smell of ripe fruits and the sea was in the air.

  The Queen sat under a gazebo, perusing through scrolls spread across a table, two knights of the Royal Guard at her back. She looked up as he approached.

  Hrodric stopped before her and bowed sharply. “Your Majesty.”

  “General,” she smiled at him, and gestured toward a seat.

  He sat his old bones on the comfortable seat and placed the ledgers in front of her. “Proof of the collusion between some of the officers of our military and some merchants to defraud your treasury, Majesty. We have already apprehended many of the culprits. Some have even confessed to their crimes.”

  “Not under duress, I hope?” she asked, with a hint of warning in her voice.

  “No, Majesty. There was no need. Count Nobart’s method of accounting laid everything bare. Some of the fraudsters’ habit of meticulous record-keeping worked against them.”

  “Good,” she said, exhaling for too long.

  Silence settled for a moment, broken only by bird song.

  “If it’s not too presumptuous to ask, you seem troubled,” he asked carefully. She was bright and responsible, but she had been suddenly thrust into a position she hadn’t been trained for, under dire circumstances. He worried for her like a daughter, not that he would ever say it out loud.

  “I am fine,” she said, smiling faintly at him, though her mask slipped for a moment, showing fatigue and worry. “I am just concerned for Jack, Oberstein, and… I never thought that I would say it, but my uncle. I thought he would be deep in the matters of governance by now, but he has sequestered himself in his mansion the last few days.”

  “That is unlike him,” Hrodric mused. “How is the Count doing?”

  “Fine. Healing swiftly. Oberstein should have contacted me by now.”

  “Oh, I am sure he is fine. The man is as crafty as a fox.”

  “That he is.” Her eyes trained on his. “So, what is the state of our military?”

  “The common soldiers’ morale is through the roof. I don’t know if you heard how Commander Alfgar Reidmark was captured. It’s quite a tale. I hear the bards are already singing about it in the taverns.”

  Her face wilted like a dying flower.

  “The nobles?” she asked.

  “Already threatening to bring down my door. I’ve somehow kept them at bay until now.”

  She smiled faintly at him. “It’s good that you have proof now. I shall arrange a meeting to address their grievances, with it in hand. Too bad the man responsible for all of our troubles isn’t here to pay the price himself.”

  Hrodric smiled for a moment. To be young and in love. Then composed his features.

  “Your Majesty, there is a risk of open defiance. Even with credible evidence, the nobles might still decide to rebel and the military is in a state of turmoil at the moment. If they come together-”

  “They will not,” she interjected.

  He blinked in confusion.

  “Jack has made an… shall we say, unorthodox suggestion. He suggests we announce amnesty for those who come forward with evidence of major corruption. That way the corrupt nobles stop being a unified group. They will be too busy being suspicious of each other.”

  Hrodric frowned. “I don’t think the Church will approve.”

  “No, but it does make sense.”

  It wasn’t very honorable, but Hrodric had to admit, the plan just might work.

  “What about his en-see-o plan?” she asked, leaning back. “Weren’t they supposed to strengthen the military?”

  “I have some trustworthy men searching through the ranks for reliable veterans, but even if we find enough of them, I don’t see how we can integrate them into the current structure. No son of a noble will listen to a commoner’s commands, or even suggestions.”

  “How about establishing new units?” she tilted her head. “Free from anyone who would object to the en-see-os appointments?”

  Hrodric’s heart skipped a beat. “That is unheard of, Your Majesty! Units without any noble leadership would be seen as an insult by them.”

  “If a noble is willing to accept these en-see-os, then he is free to join. The rest can keep their pride, and distance.”

  Hrodric gave her a hesitant nod. He doubted even the landless nobles would agree to it. And units without noble leadership would be another thorn in their eyes. His troubles seemed to double every day. That man was indeed a walking headache.

  A servant arrived with tea. They sat in companionable silence, enjoying the refreshing beverage.

  Their short respite was ruined by a steward walking toward them, with barely hidden urgency.

  He bowed in front of the Queen. “Your Majesty. An urgent message from Moonlake city for you.”

  She extended a small hand, and the steward gingerly placed the pigeon message in it.

  She unfurled the tiny piece of parchment. Her eyes narrowed as they traveled over it.

  She turned to look at Hrodric. “Prince Tejas Sindhu is coming to the capital.”

  Hrodric’s eyebrows rose as high as they could. “Unannounced?”

  Why would a Prince of a realm they were not on the best terms with arrive unannounced?

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