Singh pressed his palms together in greeting, but his gaze was as sharp as a spear tip. "Monsieur Salah de Casselin, France's plenipotentiary liaison officer on the peninsula, your Kanada is spoken like someone who grew up in Srirangapatna."
"Casselin" was the surname Salah had taken after converting to Catholicism.
Salah's heart instantly tightened. In the entire Mysore palace, no more than five people knew he was impersonating the Sultan's envoy—the Sikh King clearly had an extraordinary inside man in Srirangapatna!
"'Eternal truth.'" Singh gestured toward the kalaprasada and vanilla milk laid out on the carpet. "According to the information I've heard, you have been strongly supporting His Majesty Tipu Sultan in joining forces with the United Kingdom to attack the Marat Alliance from north and south."
Salah tried hard to control his expression, but the surprise that flashed across Prince Muhiddin's face as he knelt behind him had already given the answer. Singh nodded in satisfaction. "If I'm not mistaken, Monsieur Salah, you do not truly wish Mysore and the United Kingdom to ally. Rather, it is a ploy to lull the British.
"Another of your diplomats—perhaps even you yourself—should already have held secret negotiations with Holkar and Bhonsle. As for whether Scindia was included, I am not entirely certain."
Scindia, Holkar, and Bhonsle were the three strongest powers in the Marat Alliance. Among them, Scindia lay on the farthest north side. Though he did not directly border the Bengal region controlled by the United Kingdom, the British vassal state of Oudh was the true front line of this war, so Scindia faced the greatest pressure from the fighting, and he was also the strongest state in the Marat Alliance.
Bhonsle was on the east side, directly bordering Bengal, so his pressure was not small either.
Holkar, located on