Chapter 622 622 Who Tells The King?
Chapter 622 622 Who Tells The King?
Nobody caused a fuss as they were quietly escorted out of the Sitting Room and down to the Palace Dungeon. Similar to how the Intelligence Minister had listening spells everywhere, the Palace Security Minister had tracking spells on all the handcuffs that he carried, so he could keep track of everyone who was detained by his people.
“Alright, they’re safely in the VIP holding area. Technically, it’s the dungeon, but it’s more like the visitor’s quarters with bars and solid doors. What are we going to do to keep the other corrupt Ministers from voting them to be released in exchange for a kickback?
They’re bound to learn how much money has been squirrelled away by the Advisor and her cronies, and that’s going to tempt a lot of them who have debts or failed businesses.” Minister William asked.
The others in the room considered their course of action for a moment, while Rail frantically flipped through a small notebook from her pocket. It looked like the investigator’s handbook, the basic rules that all investigators had to follow, along with some basic legal codes, and after a bit of searching she seemed to find what she was looking for.
lightsnοvεl “I’ve got it. Because the conspiracy involves both an Advisor and a Minister, we can use the “Personal Bias” Clause to require them all to recuse themselves from the hearing, and appoint an unbiased outside council to advise the King on the case. All we need is someone who doesn’t have a vested interest in the future of any of the Noble Families to step forward. They need to be Rank Three, not connected to any of the parties by blood, oath or debt, and acceptable to the Crown.” She announced.
All eyes turned to Wolfe, who looked over his shoulder in hopes that someone was standing behind him.
“That means me, doesn’t it? Well, I suppose that it’s inevitable. I really don’t have anything to do with the Noble Families, to an even greater level than anyone born in the Kingdom. They would at the minimum likely be a tenant of one of the Ministers or Advisors, since they operate most of the land in the Kingdom.” Wolfe reluctantly agreed.
“So, who will inform the King and convince him to agree?” Minister William asked.
“Thank you for volunteering.” The Interior Minister informed him with a smile.
“Dammit, I should have known that I was walking into that one. Alright, but if I need help convincing him that it’s the only course of action that won’t lead to more corruption, I’m calling you in.” William muttered.
He left the room, headed for the King’s quarters, while the Intelligence Minister sent out messages to cancel the lockdown, informing everyone that the thief had been caught.
Then he followed with another message to his men to see if anyone tried to go to the sitting room or leave the Palace in a suspicious way. They might have the five who were directly benefitting, but there would be many more who were in on the scheme.
News travelled quickly through the Palace, and after such a public spectacle, there would already be a dozen versions of the days’ events going around the staff. Listening to the truth change as it made its way through the staff was one of his hobbies, and the results were always amusing, even if he didn’t have his staff help shape them into more desirable outcomes.
Already there was talk that the Steward had been caught in an affair with the Advisor, or one of the Ministers, depending on who was telling the story, and that they were caught by either Minister William or a pair of guards who were sneaking into what they thought was an empty room for a tryst.
Or maybe it was a guard and a servant. Because what one of the staff would turn down the muscled up young guardsmen?
The whole room listened in on the dozens of reports from the listening spells that the Minister had active, as the stories got more and more wild before a grain or two of truth began to sneak into them.
That was when he started to pay real attention. Truth in the rumours meant someone knew something, or had seen what was going on. Those were the ones who needed to be tracked, in case they were part of the problem. Even if the truth was bent in a malicious way, it was still a sign that someone knew, so the Intelligence Minister kept notes about all the rumours and where they started.
“You know, where I’m from, it’s teenage girls who are obsessed with gossip to that level.” Wolfe joked to Rail as the Minister made careful notes about the rumours.
Rail smirked at him. “You should see him when he gets excited about something new going around the castle. It’s like my middle school sleepover days all over again.”
The guards that had come in with Minister William pointedly ignored the conversation, not wanting to get caught up in the backlash as the Minister looked up from his work.
“You know that I can hear you, right?” He asked.
Wolfe nodded. “I wouldn’t have said it otherwise. It’s rude to talk about people behind their backs.”
That was enough to make the Interior Minister and his agents laugh out loud.
“Is that a Magi belief, or a personal tenet that you follow?” He chortled.
“I would like to think that it’s both, but mostly it’s just my personal belief. My Uncle always told me that if you weren’t willing to tell a man to his face, you shouldn’t say it at all.”
The laughter cut off as the Minister raised his hand and brought out a red communications spell charm. It started out with the sound of a door closing, and then the distinctive sound of small feet walking on the stone tiles.
“William, what a pleasure to see you today. What news do you bring me?” The King asked.
“Well, Your Majesty, it’s like this…”