Seeing Walter taking a step back, she was slightly disappointed; as she was hoping he would take the lead. But thinking a little more, she discovered she had not told Walter what they were there to do. Of course, she understood that Walter knew the man in the chair was the minister of finance, but still; she had yet to tell him why she wanted dirt on the minister. Taking a deep breath, she turned to the man tied to the chair.
“Official Yrum, do you know why you are here?” she asked the minister.
The minister had heard people arrive, but could not muster the energy to look up. He had been taken from his home as the night began to descend and tortured a few hours before being brought here.
His family was the first to disappear, when he wanted to report this, a threatening note arrived. He thought they would ask for something in return for his family, but here he was. Looking up at the person speaking to him, his eyes shrunk; before him stood Lady Steinhouse. Of all the people he imagined could have been responsible for his state, he never would have guessed her.
“Lady Steinhouse, why is it you?” the minister seemed stunned for a second, before bursting in rage.
“How dare you kidnap an official of the crown? Do you know that you will be executed; all three generations and after you?! Do you have no fear?!” the minister heaved in anger, as Lady Steinhouse let out a melodious laugh.
“Official Yrum, has your treasonous heart lost all respect for the crown that you will go as far as cursing the king dead? Or do you now think that that foreign woman you call queen is best to sit on the throne?” Lady Steinhouse asked in an amused tone.
The minister's eyes shrunk in fear. If the lady did not have anything to hold him publicly before, she did now. He could be paraded publicly in chains for cursing at the royal family. He cursed at himself. Lady Steinhouse, she has been called for so long, that people forget that she is a legitimate princess. A title she got from birth, and later conferred officially by the king; cursing at his niece that entire generations of her family would be wiped out, is the same as cursing at the king himself.
“Lady Steinhouse, don't beat around the bush. Tell me why I am here!” he insisted.
“You have been caught stealing funds from the royal treasury; I hold satisfying evidence of this. Something I will be presenting before the king soon. What do you say for yourself?” Lady Steinhouse asked.
The minister paused. Evidence? He understood what she was talking about. But did she think it was wise to go against the queen?
“Lady Steinhouse, I will warn you as an elder. You best not interfere with things beyond you. You will not like how it ends,” he said gravely. The lady frowned at his words. He still wanted to threaten her? Did he not understand that he was the one sitting in the chair? She was not sure how to go about this. She glanced at Walter sitting in the corner and bit her lip. She could not ask him for help because she would have to explain the king's plan. Her pause caused the minister to feel glad. He viewed Lady Steinhouse as a novice and woman of society that knows not her left from right in the world of men, as opposed to the right tea set to display in her tea room.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
Walter had his head bowed from the beginning. Listening, he understood that they would be letting the minister go later. He had no intention of letting the man recognize him the next day if this did not work. Hearing the lady's loss of words, he sighed inwardly; as he could tell it was already not going well. She had all the evidence, but could not strike fear in the heart of her hostage.
“The one she must not offend is the queen right?” Walter asked. The minister looked his way with a frown.
“You should be more worried about yourself. We've taken your entire family you know, what will happen to them is entirely up to you,” Walter said.
The minister's eyes were still devoid of fear as he asked, “Who are you?”
“You miss the point. Not only do we have evidence of your treasonous act, we also do of three more ministers,” Walter said and the minister turned solemn.
“Of course, you are too worried about the queen to care what we might do. After all, you've got it all planned. Even if you agree to what we say, you will change your mind later and tell the queen. That way, she can return all the money, before we can take the evidence to the king,” Walter said and the minister's face fell. He was shocked at how Walter knew what he had in mind.
To him, this was nothing more than a child's plan. What evidence? As long as they are faster, it will become slander. They could not harm the queen with such a plan and the queen, in turn, would protect him.
“It's true; It's a stupid plot we've got here. But do you want to know a secret? the queen will not be returning that money. It's all gone,” Walter said and the minister's eyes shrunk.
“What are you going on about? Nonsense!” the minister bellowed.
“Oh. So you don't know what the queen did with the money you helped her take? How is that possible? You must know it was handed to the Mclears to keep amongst their countless wealth. Do you know what has become of the Mclears today?” Walter asked. The minister could suddenly not breathe. He tried to take in deep breaths but it failed him. He understood what it meant. Though the queen could ask her brother the king of Northern Lan to come faster with the gold to replace the one taken, Northern Lan was too far from the capital. By then, he would have already been executed. The queen could escape this with her formidable backing, but he certainly won't! Who is to say the king won't kill him to sedate his anger of being incapable of killing his queen? He trembled. Knowing that his family would be joining his fall, did not make it any better.
“Breathe, Official Yrum. This is a full-proof plan. The capital will soon be chaotic, but do you know why we brought you here? We have chosen you to survive this,” Walter said and the minister trembled; this time, not in fear but at the possibility of hope.
“You are a smart man that has seen it all. The queen was powerful, so you chose her side. But she will soon fall from grace. Do you intend to join her? I don't think a man such as yourself has such blinding loyalty. If you did, you would not be here,” Walter said.
“What do you want me to do?” the minister asked.
“You will produce evidence of the other three ministers to back ours and the one who will take the fall for your incompetence in the ministry. When you have it, you will be the one to take it before the king when we tell you to,” Walter said.
“Me?” the minister asked. He was not sure they would win, so putting him out there was a plan he was against.
“How else do you intend to show the king that you are trying to repent for your incompetence? Besides, I assure you, there are layers to this you have not seen. This is but one of many. The queen will fall; that will not change. You have been given a chance by this information, to choose a side,” Walter said and the minister's head dropped in surrender.