The Queen's Admiral

Chapter 36: What Happened in a Grecian Garden

"Ten percent!" Prince Karl of Gormund thundered in the hall. "That's preposterous. Gormund's share in the damages should be increased to twenty considering what we've lost."

"I beg to differ your highness, but considering the figures you've presented, ten percent is a fair share to be provided to Gormund as compensation for damages," Queen Constanza pointed out. "And you will be receiving some antiques and prized objects that we've obtained from the Weselton palace."

Prince Gormund harrumphed audibly. "The Venetian paintings and the Tang Dynasty pottery are fine. But this rug is an insult."

"It's a fourteenth century Arabian carpet," Queen Constanza argued. She was referring to the colored carpet that was brought out for display encased in glass. It was among one of many Weselton valuables recovered after the war that were now the subject of division among the allied nations.

"It's damaged!" Prince Karl exclaimed with a sneer at the object.

It was true that the carpet had a burn mark on one edge and one of its tassels was a bit singed. But it was still beautiful with its fine weave that formed the symmetrical images of a pair of flames each flanked by two tigers in a harmonious balance of purple, red and gold threads. It was a fine piece of art but I suppose Prince Karl wasn't interested in anything attractive unless it was worth a lot.

The Coronan conference resumed only after a two-day recess. During that time, the Coronan guards made rounds of interviews of all the foreign representatives and detained a few suspicious looking individuals-mostly merchants within the castle with no ties to the elite guests. However, nothing conclusive was ever found on the assassin. There were simply too many people coming in and out of the castle to pinpoint who did it.

Most of the delegates from the other countries speculated that it was indeed King Sigurd who planned the attack and dismissed it as an internal problem between the Southern Isles princes. And with the assurance of tighter security provided by the Coronan guards, they all clamored for an immediate resumption of the conference proceedings.

Things went on smoothly in the last six days since the conference resumed. Of course, when I meant smoothly, it meant there were no further threats or assassination attempts. The conference debates however, were quite another story. Day after day, we sat for one grueling session after another. Our allies fought over the division of the properties of the fallen Weselton royal court while determining the fate of its citizens. Document after document of reports were read, witness statements were given and countless debates raged on in the grand chamber. And unlike the start of the conference when anyone can just walk out when one wanted to, the increased security forced everyone to stay put into the chambers while the sessions were going on. It was so tedious that at times I even longed for Peter to appear with a distraction to get me out.

Unfortunately, the troublesome Coronan prince made himself scarce since the evening of the assassination attempt. I figured his parents made sure he was kept out of suspicion by concealing him from the public eye. They even made his twin Flynnigan stop attending the proceedings, perhaps to make things appear normal.

It was rather obvious to me by now that my aunt and Admiral Westergard were conspiring to hide the truth of the assassination attempt with the Coronan royal family. It was frustrating to know they were deliberately keeping this from me but I understood why they were doing it. Days after the incident, Prince Heinrik and his aides kept on the prowl with me for any clues. After I almost crumbled during Prince Heinrik's interrogation, I didn't trust myself either to not reveal any vital information. So I decided I should remain blissfully ignorant until my aunt deemed it necessary to take me in her confidence.