"King John II, I hid that native book in the false lining of my captain's chest... Please let me go to the ship and fetch it..."
"No need. The things from the ship are in the palace right now... Mm, consider them collateral for your smashing of the pier... Guards! Go bring Captain Columbus's chest here!"
"Yes!"
Soon, two guards carried a pried-open wooden chest into the great hall of the court. At the sight of the open lid, Columbus shuddered and lunged forward to inspect it. Sure enough, the bag of gold dust he had hidden inside—gold he had only managed to get from the natives by killing, robbing, and cheating—had vanished without a trace.
"Holy Mother! My gold! My gold! My money!!..."
Columbus let out a wretched howl, even more heart-rending than when he had been searched outside the court earlier. John II's brows lifted slightly as he looked at the two guards who had brought the chest. The two instantly stood at attention and explained in low voices.
"His Majesty, when it was sent over from the harbor earlier, the chest was already open... The kingdom's navy... the soldiers who boarded the ship to make the arrest... and the harbor constable..."
"Mm..."
John II nodded and said nothing. Whether it was the navy that boarded the ship, the harbor constable, or the palace guards, this sort of thing was always unavoidable. As a king who ruled over men's hearts, he had to learn to keep one eye open and the other shut; some matters could not be made too clear... And so, he waited patiently for a while, until Columbus had calmed slightly, before speaking in a flat voice.
"Columbus, where is your evidence that you discovered the Eastern?... Surely it was not lost as well?..."
"Ah!