Aside from founding the Plantagenet Kingdom and becoming a great ruler of his age, King Louis was best known across the continent for his remarkable charm with women.
His wife and his lover got along famously, and both maintained a steady relationship with the king. This made many men who had the desire but not the courage green with envy. After all, both Queen Elizabeth and Countess Margaret were exceptional women, the sort one could never forget after meeting.
Yet today, Murphy had discovered that King Louis's "talents" went beyond even that.
The queen, who seemed so gentle and delicate, had shown striking decisiveness in her conversation with Murphy. Now, hearing the request and offer she had made, Murphy knew she was no exquisite vase resting in King Louis's arms, as the rumors claimed.
This woman was a force to be reckoned with.
The fact that she had led the restorationists on Helm Island for thirty years without her husband ever finding out was enough to reveal the remarkable qualities hidden beneath her fragile appearance.
But Murphy still had plenty of questions.
He frowned and said:
"Leaving aside the reward and the obviously complicated relationship between you and Whitecliff, I need to know some things first. For instance, what's the current state of the Kingdom of Isha's restorationists on Helm Island? And what are the various suspicious details surrounding the kidnapping of Princess Bridget?
"You say you didn't plan this, but honestly, if I look at it in the simplest possible way, I can't help reaching a startling conclusion: if anything happened to Princess Bridget, wouldn't your son be the one to benefit most?"
"That is exactly what those people want you to think. It's a vicious frame-up, and those bastards nearly succeeded. Fortunately, Margaret is a wise woman, and