"Everything I saved from the drop in the crime rate I shared with Keyla to help her stabilize her fief, and it was more than enough." Jadon said.
"Or rather, it was supposed to be enough. How the entire Lustria's budget to fight crime cannot be enough to keep the fraction of its underworld that moved to Ghishal under control is beyond us."
"Then there is a problem." Lith said. "Why did you try to keep it a secret from me?"
"Because we are ashamed of our incompetence, Lith." Kelia clenched her hands so hard that Lith heard them pop from under the fur muffler. "Dad ran Lustria like clockwork for decades while corruption ran rampant and the Kingdom was on the brink of civil war.
"He annexed Ghishal to our fief and laid such a solid groundwork for us before he retired that it barely needs maintenance. Yet what did we achieve? We have a Magus under our roof whose name is enough to make nobles and criminals tremble.
