For a moment, silence settled over the room.
The news shocked me as much as Bodo's kidnapping had.
I glanced down at the letter I'd dropped without realizing it, now lying at my feet. Its contents struck me as so absurd that I wondered whether I'd misread them.
Who died? The Finance Minister?
That sly old fox?
The Finance Minister was a sly old fox who had stood at the center of court politics for decades, a man with an exceptional talent for ensnaring his opponents with a silver tongue. He was full of tricks and tenacious to boot.
Back in my days as a knight of the duchy, defying his will was nearly impossible. Without the Diplomat Scouter's help, I'd never have escaped his grasp. Fortunately, the Finance Minister was on terrible terms with his son.
That was the one crack I could exploit.
