"Explain," Kaelus said, his tone entirely neutral, humoring the chaotic logic of his new daughter.
Seraphina twisted around so she could look him fully in the face.
Her dark eyes were serious, stripped of their usual childish feigned innocence.
"The Emperor has a big castle. He probably has lots of warm soup," Seraphina reasoned, utilizing her toddler economics. "But the bad man took money from the people outside. The people with the dirty clothes. And he took money from the orphanages, too, right?"
"He did," Kaelus confirmed, his eyes narrowing slightly as he followed her train of thought.
"If you take all the shiny coins to your big castle, or give them to the Emperor, the people outside are still going to be hungry," she said, her voice dropping to a quiet, emotional register. "And the... the floaty people who are crying in the walls... they are crying because their families don't have anything left."
