interrupted your conversation was concerning enough, but reversing his thinking on the matter and asking you not to investigate tells me the dominee has influenced him. I sincerely believe—no. I know he wanted you to investigate it. He told me that was precisely the reason he wished to speak with you.”
“But he specifically asked me not to. Even after the dominee left, he didn’t change course and ask me to do it in secret.”
“Set aside the smuggling issue for a moment and consider this question: if you discovered that some of his investigators or cabinet members were committing treason, would you go to him with that information?”
“Yes, of course,” Jora said.
“Of course, because you’re a loyal Serocian citizen. You would want him to know so that he could hold them accountable. You might even gather evidence without anyone knowing so that you could either catch them in the act or arrange it so that the king could witness their vile behavior for himself.”
Jora nodded. “Yes, but to promise the king to drop the matter and then investigate would also be treason.”
“If you had reason to believe that the king was under duress when he gave you that command, and if the princess and heiress to the throne told you in no uncertain terms that he had planned differently only hours earlier, if she begged you to find out who was responsible so that we could stop the smuggling and perhaps one day end this awful, bloody war, would you not entertain the request?”
Jora chewed the inside of her cheek. Stopping the war was the ultimate goal, wasn’t it? And if the enemy soldiers were reliving because some traitors were selling away Serocia’s advantage, then it only made sense that stopping the smuggling would ultimately stop the war. Eventually, Mangend and Arynd Ban would run out of soldiers to fight, and they’d be forced to call a truce.
“Think of it,” Rivva said. “Having someone who could track down the leader of the smuggling operation by using the power you have would be much more efficient than using investigators who lacked those powers, even if those investigators were uninvolved in covering it up.”
“I-I don’t understand why the king hasn’t requested the help of the Justice Bureau,” Jora said. Her hands began to sweat, but she didn’t want to wipe them on her borrowed trousers.
“Because Elder Sonnis was involved. We don’t know how many more of them still are or who they might be. That’s precisely why he and I agreed to ask you to do it.”
The king could have reversed his conditions for her pardon after the dominee left if that was what he truly wanted. Jora shook her head doubtfully.
“Kings have a way of being murdered when they act contrary to someone with an agenda of their own.”
Jora gasped. “Murdered? Do you believe his life is in danger?”
“Not immediately, no, but if someone is getting ridiculously wealthy by working behind his back to prolong a war as the king searches for peace, they would work against even the most minor successes. The only way to end the war is to first stop the smuggling, and the only way to stop the smuggling is to first find out who is behind it.”
Now Jora found herself nodding. She couldn’t disagree with the argument, but what did she know about such things?
“In many ways, we’re alike, you and I,” the princess said. “We’re the kind of person who rolls up her sleeves and does what needs doing. The difference is that you’re free to act. I’m constantly hobbled and expected to sit back like a good little princess while others handle it. How can I not be dissatisfied with the outcome when those others have their own agenda? I need someone I can trust to do what I cannot.”
Jora wondered how one of the most powerful women in the country could feel hobbled. She thought back to her own life—a leatherworker from a seaside village who’d aspired only to marry an upstanding man and bear him sons while crafting leather
“But he specifically asked me not to. Even after the dominee left, he didn’t change course and ask me to do it in secret.”
“Set aside the smuggling issue for a moment and consider this question: if you discovered that some of his investigators or cabinet members were committing treason, would you go to him with that information?”
“Yes, of course,” Jora said.
“Of course, because you’re a loyal Serocian citizen. You would want him to know so that he could hold them accountable. You might even gather evidence without anyone knowing so that you could either catch them in the act or arrange it so that the king could witness their vile behavior for himself.”
Jora nodded. “Yes, but to promise the king to drop the matter and then investigate would also be treason.”
“If you had reason to believe that the king was under duress when he gave you that command, and if the princess and heiress to the throne told you in no uncertain terms that he had planned differently only hours earlier, if she begged you to find out who was responsible so that we could stop the smuggling and perhaps one day end this awful, bloody war, would you not entertain the request?”
Jora chewed the inside of her cheek. Stopping the war was the ultimate goal, wasn’t it? And if the enemy soldiers were reliving because some traitors were selling away Serocia’s advantage, then it only made sense that stopping the smuggling would ultimately stop the war. Eventually, Mangend and Arynd Ban would run out of soldiers to fight, and they’d be forced to call a truce.
“Think of it,” Rivva said. “Having someone who could track down the leader of the smuggling operation by using the power you have would be much more efficient than using investigators who lacked those powers, even if those investigators were uninvolved in covering it up.”
“I-I don’t understand why the king hasn’t requested the help of the Justice Bureau,” Jora said. Her hands began to sweat, but she didn’t want to wipe them on her borrowed trousers.
“Because Elder Sonnis was involved. We don’t know how many more of them still are or who they might be. That’s precisely why he and I agreed to ask you to do it.”
The king could have reversed his conditions for her pardon after the dominee left if that was what he truly wanted. Jora shook her head doubtfully.
“Kings have a way of being murdered when they act contrary to someone with an agenda of their own.”
Jora gasped. “Murdered? Do you believe his life is in danger?”
“Not immediately, no, but if someone is getting ridiculously wealthy by working behind his back to prolong a war as the king searches for peace, they would work against even the most minor successes. The only way to end the war is to first stop the smuggling, and the only way to stop the smuggling is to first find out who is behind it.”
Now Jora found herself nodding. She couldn’t disagree with the argument, but what did she know about such things?
“In many ways, we’re alike, you and I,” the princess said. “We’re the kind of person who rolls up her sleeves and does what needs doing. The difference is that you’re free to act. I’m constantly hobbled and expected to sit back like a good little princess while others handle it. How can I not be dissatisfied with the outcome when those others have their own agenda? I need someone I can trust to do what I cannot.”
Jora wondered how one of the most powerful women in the country could feel hobbled. She thought back to her own life—a leatherworker from a seaside village who’d aspired only to marry an upstanding man and bear him sons while crafting leather
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