282 Royal plots across the oceans (part 2)

Kaiser cleared his throat. "Well, yes. Back to the reason why we visited. I actually wanted to have a private audience with my son-in-law, while my wife gets to have a casual conversation with our daughter."

Sasha pouted, "Separate interrogations, eh? That's no fun."

"I would prefer to have an open conversation that includes my wife." Egon declined respectfully. 

The Archduke, momentarily surprised, nodded in agreement and began, "Very well, then. I wanted to address the matter of the injured horse that was brought to my attention yesterday."

Feeling her body tensing beside him, Egon held Adela's hand.

"The shortage of knights in Lanark has been an unfortunate inconvenience," the Archduke continued, "but there was no way around it."

It was Leopold's turn to visibly tense at the implication that Arkin's actions had caused turmoil in Lanark, and sensing his uncle's discomfort, Egon navigated the conversation in another direction.