King Eduard and Queen Eleanor were both fairly calm despite the situation. That reassured me a little bit. After all, those two have probably been in places like this many, many, many times before. I just hoped they had some sort of plan.

  "Saint Gustav, follow me. We must speak with incredible secrecy," he said.

  I followed the monarchs as they moved through the castle. We entered a large room. When every one of us was fully inside, Queen Eleanor gestured with her hand, and the door closed. Then, King Eduard raised his fist.

  "Now, no one will hear us," he said, lowering his arm.

  The monarch turned to me, his expression dead serious.

  "This is a matter of espionage, Saint Gustav. So, only those who need to know should learn what was said in this room," King Eduard stated.

  "Yes. And make sure that everyone who needs to know is someone who can keep their mouth shut," Queen Eleanor added.

  I nodded.

  "Alright. I won't tell anyone who doesn't need to know, and I'll make sure that everyone who needs to know can keep a secret," I said.

  Then, I placed a hand over my heart.

  "This, I swear to all the gods."

  For a brief moment, a faint smile crossed King Eduard's mouth.

  "Good. Now, let us continue," the monarch said.

  His expression turned dead serious as he spoke.

  "I am not certain if you understand how grievously Duchess Ardone has angered me, Saint Gustav," King Eduard stated.

  "And me as well," Queen Eleanor nodded.

  That didn't make any sense.

  "I do not mean to offend, Your Majesties, but why are you two mad?" I asked. "You barely know Astrid. Neither of you could have bonded with her, and she isn't even from Greenrivers, even if she serves it now."

  King Eduard gave me a single nod.

  "That is all true, Saint Gustav. However, she is also a guest in my castle. And that puts her under my protection, same as you, same as your other retainers, same as my servants. By trying to have Dame Astrid assassinated here, Duchess Ardone did not just insult me. She insulted all of Greenrivers. This is a matter of honor, and it cannot go unpunished. Even though we were expecting assassins to go after Dame Astrid as part of our trap, this is still something that we must punish," he said.

  That made sense. If someone was assassinated in King Eduard's own castle, that would make him look weak. And that would endanger all of Greenrivers. Even if he doesn't know Astrid well, King Eduard is still honor bound to keep her safe as her host and her king.

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  Queen Eleanor grimaced.

  "What we must do is clear. Duchess Ardone, or whoever else sent these assassins, will not be allowed to get away with this," she added. "She sealed her fate the moment she started on this foolish plan of hers."

  Ah, they were going to try to kill her. I had...mixed feelings about this. Shifting nervously, I dared to speak.

  "Your Majesties, I cannot think of any logical objections to this. Duchess Ardone tried to kill Dame Astrid, who is both my retainer and my friend. For that alone, she should die," I said.

  "And yet, you have an illogical objection?" King Eduard asked.

  After a moment of hesitation, I spoke.

  "Yes. Duchess Ardone is Astrid's cousin. Would she really want to kill her own flesh and blood? And to take such a big risk to do this? We expected assassins to come against Eris, but I didn't expect someone as high-ranking as a duke to send them. A duke or duchess should know better than to target someone under your protection. But perhaps you did?" I questioned.

  King Eduard the Defenestrator scratched his beard.

  "While the idea that Duchess Ardone would not want to kill her own cousin is questionable, you raise a good point, Saint Gustav," he said.

  "I do?" I asked.

  "Yes," King Eduard the Defenestrator answered. "Why would Duchess Ardone take this big a risk? I considered this myself, so let us discuss it now."

  Queen Eleanor nodded.

  "Duke Armand will probably be able to give more insight. But we can discuss this with him later. Right now, he is preoccupied," she added.

  That explained his absence. Duke Armand probably had a lot of work around the castle, considering how he was the resident scheme expert.

  "The main reason why is the disgrace of having her bastard commoner cousin betray her in her eyes," King Eduard said.

  "Yes," Queen Eleanor agreed. "And if Astrid stays in this castle until the affair with Motteburh is over, she won't have a chance to kill her outside of it until it's too late."

  As much as I'd hate to admit it, they had a point.

  "It could be that," I stated. "But the assassins she allegedly sent were dumbasses. Surely, a duke could afford to hire someone more competent?"

  D?é??om's voice entered my head.

  "That's a good point. And these guys don't have the excuse that they're working for the god of alcohol and insanity," he pointed out.

  This was another good point, but I doubted that King Eduard cared about dark elf ninjas worshipping some god he never heard of.

  "My thoughts exactly," King Eduard stated. "And that is why secrecy here is incredibly important. If someone is trying to frame Duchess Ardone for this incident, we must find out who. And if someone leaks this to the outside, we might not have a choice but to act before we have all the information."

  A grimace crossed my face.

  "I'll make sure Eris and Johannes keep this a secret, but do you think the assassins were lying?" I asked.

  "It is possible," Queen Eleanor answered. "But it could also be that someone used shapeshifting magic or mental manipulation to persuade them that Duchess Ardone was really behind it. If mental manipulation was used, our experts will be able to detect it."

  King Eduard grimaced.

  "But shapeshifting magic is a different story. The only way we'd be able to confirm it is if we found the original shapeshifter," he commented.

  I nodded.

  "Then, what will I do?" I asked. "I'll be going to Motteburh to infiltrate them, right?"

  King Eduard scoffed.

  "Of course, not. Your economic knowledge is too useful to risk you on some espionage venture. That and you have no training in spycraft," he answered.

  That...was a surprise.

  "You...don't want me to go out like I did with the dark elves?" I questioned.

  "That was a diplomatic venture and to a kingdom not hostile to us. Plus, the dark elves would not harm a saint unless the saint did something egregious. The risks were far less," King Eduard pointed out.

  I bowed.

  "Thank you, Your Majesty. You certainly have a higher opinion of my knowledge than I do," I said.

  Queen Eleanor let out a sigh.

  "You have been in the field for too long, Saint Gustav," she stated.

  "Of course, Your Majesty," I replied.

  "We will reconvene after my wife and I discuss this with Duke Armand," King Eduard said. "He likely has a scheme ready for this."