It seemed the Finance Minister's goal was to pretend to help while eliminating the count who had bankrolled him so lavishly, swallowing the borrowed money whole. If my guess was right, it was exactly the sort of thing that old fox would do.
For Count Heinlein, it was a knife in the back he never saw coming, but that is the world of intrigue. Any opening is an invitation for a blade. You have to be careful who you trust.
And there was one more person involved, the one who had set this entire affair in motion.
"Underestimating Prince Louis was your fatal mistake, too."
"I should have known the moment that consumptive invalid sent Viola to you!"
"So the dead prince made a fool of the living count."
Louis never once danced to the count's tune, right up until his death. By sending Viola, pregnant with his illegitimate child, to me, he had effectively crushed Count Heinlein's ambitions.
Louis must have been certain I would get involved.
