Annan placed the Parchment Scroll beside the chessboard.
An invisible hand picked up the parchment and floated it before the Council Chairman.
[King Clo ordered Grand Duke Babatod to leave Princess Sails forgotten in the Dungeon.]
The first line alone silenced the Council Chairman.
"You have a lot of nerve," he said.
"I could hardly lie to you..." Annan let a hint of nervousness show.
For a piece rather than a player, he knew far too much...
The Council Chairman read on. His hands never stopped moving as he continued setting out his pieces.
Annan glanced at the board again. It seemed full of hidden meaning, but he could not make sense of it. He only thought the piece called the Witch looked rather nice.
"This is Babatod's plot to smear the King."
The floating parchment silently disintegrated. No third person would ever see it.
"I think so too. His Majesty is the King of Reekan. How could he betray his own Kingdom, his people, and his family?" Annan agreed readily, sounding either sincere or sarcastic.
"...But Babatod wasn't lying about one thing. Someone gave him his orders."
"Who else could give him orders?" Annan asked, though he already knew.
"That is for you to investigate."
A pass flew out of the Council Chairman's wide white sleeve.
"There should be clues in Babatod's Manor. I'm assigning the investigation to you."
"Understood."
Annan caught the pass. He was hardly surprised the job had fallen to him.
"Go. Find the true culprit..."
I already did, but you said it wasn't him... Am I supposed to find you a fake one?
Annan grumbled inwardly, glanced once more at the chessboard, and left the Lounge.
"Phew, I thought I'd burst!"
Not long after Annan left, a chattering voice broke the silence of the Lounge.