Only after leading his Red Gloves team back to Saint Samuel Cathedral with the two suspects and watching them pass through the Chanis Gate did Leonard return to his office with the newly purchased newspaper tucked under his arm. He took off the police uniform and cap he had used as a disguise, undid his shirt buttons, and cautiously locked the door.
"Old Man, what do you think it means that the King has sent his eldest son to the front lines at a time like this?"
He lowered his voice as he asked.
"Since when did you start caring about these things?" The aged, ethereal voice of Pales Zoroaster countered in his mind. "Doesn't the newspaper explain it all? Loen and Feysac are currently locked in a stalemate. A Prince visiting the front lines would provide an enormous boost to morale."
"I want your opinion, not the useless things in the newspaper."
As Leonard spoke, he glanced at the newspaper he had just bought. Printed on it was a photograph of Gowenton Augustus leading a new legion aboard a steam train bound for the front. The Prince was over thirty and slightly overweight, looking rather out of place in his crisp military uniform. His forced smile was decidedly ugly.
"My opinion... under normal circumstances, sending the eldest Prince, a potential heir to the throne, onto the battlefield means weakening the royal family itself. Whether he accidentally dies on the battlefield or has to advance for some reason and loses his chance to inherit the throne under the supervision of the Three Great Churches, neither would be good for the Augustus family. It could also easily provoke discontent within the military... they're most likely deliberately making a show of goodwill toward the Churches."
Pallez answered with amusement in his voice.