13

Andre

In typical Ian fashion, he did not let any grass grow under his feet. He had a meeting arranged with the king, queen, two of his aides in the ministry, the head of the judges, and a few other people who were apparently needed. Plus, three of the senior captains of the police force in the capital and myself.

Before lunch.

And we weren't meeting on the king's turf.

"Commander Lessa has uncovered a massive scandal and issue with corruption by the Minister of Finance," Ian started with a bang. "Weeks ago, things came to a head on an issue that was reoccurring and I thought simply the normal of a good man wanting the best for his people, but the kingdom does have limited resources.

"But something in his wording finally clicked for me and I made him stop and explain something he'd been trying to tell me. I take full responsibility and the fault was and is mine. I should have been a better minister and handled this better. I will take the proper course of action and be reprimanded for my failings."

I simply blinked at him. That wasn't what I wanted at all.

"A huge part of the situation is Commander Lessa has done too good of a job policing the kingdom, and the role of the Minister of Justice has become too big for one person. As such, I will be outlining a proposal for it to be split between my role of the justice system and the courts and Commander Lessa taking over the law enforcement side completely. But that will come later."

"The idea has promise and yes, Commander Lessa has done an exceptional job beyond what any of us could ever have ever thought, and we have not given him the right credit for that," the king said, dipping his head to me. "I take full responsibility for that as well, Commander. It's a situation I will be rectifying soon and with my full apologies that I did not do it sooner."

"Time flies too fast and you work too hard, Your Majesty," one of my captains said when I couldn't seem to find my voice. "Everyone understands that." He gave an awkward chuckle. "I cannot believe I am as old as I am most days. I blinked and I was no longer a young man."

Others chuckled with him and I did as well, managing a thank you to the king.

"In front of you are copies of the past few years of budgets I have submitted for all the ministers and the king to approve. They are public record even along with the adjustments we have had to make and what is the final product. The other set are copies of the original budget requests from Commander Lessa. He wisely kept copies before submitting them."

"It's sad he thought he would have to, but this shows he's the right person to run the kingdom's police," the queen said as she looked over what Ian had provided. "Forgive my asking if this is basic knowledge, but why would the budget for your ministry change without your knowledge, Ian?"

"This is where it's my failing, Your Majesty," Ian answered. "When I accepted the position, I was told it was the way things were done and I did not question that."

I did a double take, my stomach tightening in a knot. I had never considered that.

And I hadn't been fair to Ian then.

Shit.

"When I took over the position, the Minister of Finance said all of the proposed budgets were turned in to his office for his people to process and flesh out. From there, they would leave notes on the politics—who we had agreements with or who provided services to the kingdom so we never embarrassed the king or ourselves."

"That sounds reasonable, but clearly that's where it went wrong," she muttered. "And very wrong if I am seeing this correctly."

"Yes, in theory, it's not a bad proposal, and I even think we should keep it, but the minister also receives the rough copy as well so this can never happen again. Some good did come out of the process. I made one of them happen."

"Yes, the ink issue," the king muttered. "That idiot tried to monopolize everything and have all the taxes be spent on ink. You opened a business and helped us and many."

"Exactly."

"Yes, you were doing many things like that to help many, Ian," the queen said gently. "The mistakes and lies of others cannot be laid at your feet even if you should have maybe listened better."

And then she met my gaze, clearly saying to cut Ian some slack. I gave a slight nod of my head that I heard her.

"Thank you, but I will accept my fault. Apparently, I was not the only minister to fall for this."

"How many?" the king bit out.

"Four that I know of and can prove," Ian answered, nodding when people couldn't hide their upset or shock.

And I was one of them. I hadn't thought about this being bigger than his ministry. But, of course, Ian did, and he immediately jumped on it.

No matter our issues or my upset with him, I could never deny he was an impressive man. Plus, he truly did care. Once you could get through his thick skull and make him listen, he cared so much more than most people.

"And given the Minister of Finance is in the opposition party to your rule, you do not have to guess hard the ministers who were targeted," Ian added.

"My supporters," the king seethed.

"Two of your party," Ian corrected. "And two of us who are neutral." People flinched and Ian looked like he was reaching for patience. "As I have repeatedly explained to my cousin, I should be neutral in politics as the Minister of Justice. He agrees. I am loyal to my family and this kingdom, but neutral in politics."

"The commander is the same, Your Grace, and those of us under him respect and appreciate it," one of my captains said. "We hear often even from nobles that it makes them feel safer. I think it's a wise choice even if difficult or unpopular at times."

Ian thanked the man and moved on. "The budgets for this year have been approved. They are set to be sworn in—"

"Next week," the queen chuckled darkly.

I blinked at Ian. This wasn't something he pulled together last minute because of what had happened the day before. He'd been working on it and pulled me in last minute, so I knew he hadn't sat on what I'd given him. Also to get me in front of the king for my apology and acknowledgment.

Wow.

"Yes. And that is when I think we spring the trap. There are too many paid off in the royal guard or army. It's unfortunate, but we all know it's a reality. Most are innocent and simply gossips. But they do not understand that sometimes it's not just gossip. It would tip our hand this time."

"You would trust the police instead?" the king hedged. "That seems—I mean no disrespect to you or your officers, Commander. It—the scope—"

"It's a bit over our normal duties, Your Majesty," I accepted. "Yes, but I believe the grand duke wants to capitalize on that and work with his knights."

"I do," Ian confirmed. "Once the Minister of Finance swears in the approved budgets, his crime is complete. For this year, and we have him red-handed. We can say we set it up this year and the king can approve the original ones. We have eyes inside now and we know exactly who else was party to it. From there, we let the dominoes fall."

"People will focus on that instead of the fact it's been going on for years right under my nose," the king grumbled.

"That's my hope. We will both take hits and we deserve them, but like the queen said, we are not perfect and we have too much going on. We apologize to the people this has hurt, fix the mistakes that let this happen, and we move on."

"And do something extra for them," the queen muttered. She gave the king a look I couldn't read and tapped the papers in front of her. "He slashed the budget for the police alone, Gerald. And they were still dedicated and kept us safe—our people safe. I have heard what Ian said about officers not having to spend unpaid time copying reports because of that ink."

"That shouldn't have ever been allowed," the king agreed… And looked upset. I was shocked and hoped I hid it. He never seemed like he cared to me.

Then again, my only interactions with him had been horrible, and of course I'd let that influence my feelings.

He turned to me. "Commander, if you could work up some sort of bonus structure. We cannot try and compensate those who are new to the force. Maybe so much according to who were affected most by rank and multiplied by the years this has hit them."

"Yes, Your Majesty, but I can tell you that my officers would rather make sure changes are implemented for things to get better in the future," I told him. "The copying ink—it's changed and helped with so much, but improving their work life day to day would make them happiest."

"We will handle both, Commander," he said firmly. "The police in our kingdom are stellar. I am furious this has hurt them in all areas. We will make both happen if we have to cut the budget of the damn palace."

"Agreed," the queen said. "And some sort of recognition ceremony. You have been talking about that for years now, but it always gets pushed to the back burner because—"

"Yes, there's always just too much and we need to build a new prison and…" The king trailed off and let out a slow breath. "Not this time."

The queen looked worried and reached over to pat his arm. "Keeping us from war is always the biggest fight, Gerald, and you have done that. No one forgets that." She sighed when he snorted. "No one with a brain. We have not had a famine. No war in so many years. We will fix this and do better. The commander and Ian did well. It's going to be okay."

"You are right like always, my love," he accepted before looking toward Ian. "You know we have to put in a new Minister of Finance. That's going to be a huge mess."

"It will be, but I suggest someone from the neutral party, and you frame it just as I did about my stance," Ian told him. "Some of the ministers can have their hands in lots. Not finance. Justice. A few others. Let the neutral focus on the kingdom and stay tiebreaker votes as we should."

"As you wish. I will take whatever suggestions you have after this mess gets cleaned up," the king accepted. "And I will hear your proposal then. We will announce granting the title to the commander as well for cracking this open—all of it. Set up the timeline and work it out with my office."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Come up with some sort of penalty the four of you ministers pay," the king decided. "This was targeted and an oversight—we are all at fault for not discussing it. I never thought to outline something like that. I am at fault as well. So nothing too much. It goes to some cause you four agree on even."

"We have already discussed that and we think the hospitals in the kingdom," Ian told him. He explained to the others what the doctor at the capital's hospital had told us about the best healers going to work for nobles and dragging down the standard of care in the kingdom. It was now apparently a pet project of Ian's.

Honestly, I would crumble with the amount of everything and the range of it on his shoulders.

I sent the other officers ahead and waited for Ian after the meeting. He did a double take when he saw me waiting for him and excused himself.

"I did not want you to do that," I said quietly. "I did not do any of this to get you into trouble or—this wasn't what I wanted."

He blinked at me a moment before giving me a soft smile I hadn't seen in over a decade. "I know that. You just wanted things fixed. You want what's best for your people. You always have. This was my mistake though. This was my failing. I deserve it. I have felt that from the moment you handed me the real budgets." He dipped his head to me and went to leave.

"Can we talk tonight?" I blurted when he was about ten feet away from me. I cleared my throat and quickly walked to catch up with him. "My apologies, Your Grace."

"None needed," he forgave, probably realizing people might still be around as I did. "I will drive you back to the station."

"Yes, thank you." I wasn't sure why I accepted or what to really say as we walked.

But he did once we were in his carriage. "Are you okay, Andre? You seem in more shock than I thought you would be."

I let out a heavy sigh and took off my hat, rubbing my hand over my hair. "How the king acted surprised me. I have never seen him…"

Ian nodded with understanding. "For all of his many faults, my cousin truly does love this kingdom and the people in it. Being at the top is not easy. Perspective with that type of power is not easy. I saw even my grandfather struggle with it and his heart was pure. I do not envy Gerald." Ian snorted. "I do not want the damn job."

"I never understood what you ever saw redeeming in him," I admitted. "I did not know him, but then when I did meet him and he was such a rat bastard to me… I was so angry at you for ever getting closer to me and thinking he would—we could be…" I shook my head.

Ian let out a slow breath. "Some part of me will always see the teenager who cried for days when Grandmother died and would not leave her tomb. Uncle kept finding him there because he did not want Grandmother to be scared down there and alone." Ian looked out the window and wiped under his eyes. "I might be a fool, but I want to have faith that the same Gerald is still there."

That was the moment I remembered why I had fallen so in love with Ian. No matter how horribly he'd grown up and the darkness that had touched his life, the pain he'd endured, he still had such hope and optimism for the world. He saw the world in a way the rest of us didn't—couldn't even because we had the eyes of a human.

He had the eyes of something more than human and a hawk. It was as if he saw a world better than we did, and being around him gave me a chance to catch glimpses of that.

And I had forgotten that feeling having been so angry and hating him for all these years.

"I forgive you for the budgets," I whispered.

He flinched and slowly looked at me in shock. "I do not deserve it."

"You do," I sighed. "You—they fucking tricked you too, Ian. I would never have thought the Minister of Finance and his whole office would have the guts to do something so outrageous. I am not the only one who sees those budgets. There were dozens of us before we submitted them. I am honestly shocked it took this long to figure out."

"I am too," he grumbled. "It makes me feel so much more foolish."

Me as well. Why had I never just shown up to his house or office and demanded to know why understandable requests had been cut? Ian was reasonable.

"I let my hurt cloud this as well. It's not only on you," I whispered sadly. "Goddess above, I did this to my own people."

"No, the Minister of Finance did, and I will make that bastard pay," Ian seethed.

Even better.

"I do not know that I can forgive you for everything that's happened, Ian," I said sadly when we arrived at the station.

"I do not expect you to, Andre." He waited until I looked at him, the deep sadness in his beautiful violet eyes hurting my heart. "I never thought to ask for that when I came to you. I do not deserve it. I…" He let out a slow breath and rubbed his neck. "I had to tell you the truth. That was all that was on my mind. You deserve the truth. I could not think of anything else."

He shrugged as if that said it all.

And it did because I knew Ian.

It made it all the more confusing for me. I mumbled a thank you and exited the carriage, not sure what else to do or say.

But I knew exactly where his mind had been. He saw the problem as linear… In a way. Like compounding interest on a bank account. I'd spent so many days in pain that continued to grow that started with my thinking he'd agreed with Gerald. Ignoring context and the rest of the situation, he wanted to fix that misconception. He needed to treat that wound.

It was simply who he was.

I just didn't know what to do with that at the moment.

Luckily, I had piles of work to keep me distracted.

And an amazing woman in my life who truly cared for me.

Mabel was waiting for me at the station with a bright smile but a worried look in her eyes, asking if she could take me to lunch. It was everything I needed and wanted in that moment.

We went for a quick sandwich at the place she was now in love with, and she made me promise to come over after work and not stay late. Her concern for me was like a balm on my reopened wounds. I knew they had to be reopened to heal… But that still hurt.

The rest of the day seemed to fly by, and tension that had been on my shoulders for too long began to lift when I drafted the notice I would be sending to all the captains about what the king said. Getting to tell all the stations that the king understood that we'd been neglected and wanted to make amends, make sure we were treated better going forward was amazing.

It would be everything to the officers in the kingdom.

I went home and changed before going next door. Mabel was working in her study and Viscount Bryd was actually there. I apologized for interrupting, but they hadn't realized how late it had gotten. The viscountess was actually there as well since we were all going to have dinner it seemed.

Mabel gave me an apologetic look, so clearly it had been sprung on her as well. She managed to whisper to me that they were worried about her after rumors there was something that happened at the palace. But luckily, Lady Kathy had done a good job defusing the situation with the viscountess and we had a delightful meal.

Truly, it was great, and the Bryds were a lovely couple who couldn't care less that I was a commoner—rare for nobles—and genuinely cared for Mabel.

"I was warning young Kathy that my popularity has soared," the viscountess told Mabel as we enjoyed the dessert they brought. "The gossips are under the assumption that her brother or father are the ones that bought the company and reinvented it."

"I have heard the same, but the savvy ones think it's the grand duke backing a mage," Kathy said. "I think that's the smart move. It lines up with the king getting help from the mage for that balm to help victims of severe burns. I heard it's going to be something in emergency reserves in every hospital in the kingdom."

"We were told the same," I confirmed. "A doctor will have to train at the hospital." I cleared my throat when they seemed confused why I would know. "The police normally are on scene to help the medical professionals that come to the scenes of fires or emergencies."

"Oh of course," the viscountess said, looking embarrassed. "I apologize, Commander. I did not—I meant no offense—"

"I did not think so, My Lady," I easily forgave. "Knowing all the roles of the police is something most people do not know until they unfortunately experience it. I am grateful that you haven't experienced that one."

She smiled at me for understanding and then the viscount did as well for not embarrassing them. I understood it completely. They'd never been to a huge fire or that sort of situation.

And I was glad for it.

"How dangerous for your officers," she worried. "I never thought of that. I always worry for the knights who handle the fires. So horrible for them."

"Yes, when I worked as an aide before the noble retired, the water reserve for fires froze one winter. A dozen died because of that and he never forgave himself. He put everything into making sure that couldn't happen again and updating all of the systems in place," the viscount explained. "He told the king, and the king made it the standard across the kingdom."

That shocked me, and I could see the same from Mabel, the viscount and viscountess clearly catching it.

"The king has many failings," the viscount said quietly. "But we are a bit older than you both. He is better than his father. Not quite what his grandfather was from what I heard or really remember, but his father… I hate to speak ill of the dead but—"

"Part of that was the grand duke's father always being a threat," the viscountess muttered. "That horrid man."

"Yes, and the previous king always let himself be baited," Viscount Bryd said firmly. "Luckily, the grand duke is his own man and shuts all that nonsense down. I wish the king would more and stop letting himself be tricked by snakes. Anyone who has spent time with the grand duke knows he does not want to be the king. He wants his own path and to be his own man."

"Very true," Mabel agreed.

Viscount Bryd nodded. "But we are lucky with the king. Even with his faults. Especially because he chose a wise and caring queen. She… I hate they are having troubles, but I believe she will get everything back on course."

"As is her job to keep you silly men in line," the viscountess purred, the couple chuckling and sharing a loving look.

It was only then that I realized Kathy hadn't said anything and looked a bit uncomfortable.

"I apologize if we went too far in what we said, Lady Kathy," the viscountess muttered, realizing what I did.

"No, not at all, and everything was completely respectful," she said easily with a smile. "I simply cannot be objective. I have known Ian since I was a small child. The—I… The queen is like an aunt and really the only female role model in my life until Mabel. I have seen so much more to the king that it's hard for me to see these other sides to him. I am disappointed in him as well."

"I lost my mother young as well," the viscountess said. "I feel for you and your father. You are very lucky to have such an amazing brother who stepped in."

Kathy agreed but looked uncomfortable which the viscount picked up on and hurried to bring the focus back to them. "Unfortunately, my wife did not have the same. Her father quickly remarried to a horrid woman. She is a very jealous woman and only wanted her natural children to matter. She would not even attend our wedding."

"I have barely spoken to my father since we started courting and I refused to marry that old fossil she wanted me to so I would benefit her children," the viscountess said, anger in her tone. "Funny how they both want to speak to me now."

Oh, that set off warning bells. And lots of them.