Jalen made decisive decisions, his gaze harboring a tinge of madness.
He turned to look at the most cunning old fox, the new Minister of Finance, who immediately put on an apologetic smile. "Your Majesty, how could we betray you to side with a traitorous scoundrel? Many of us here hold grudges against him. Even if we wanted to betray, we lack the means and path to do so."
Many in the audience had changes in their expressions, reminded of their betrayal to Ivita's father, indeed holding grudges against Ivita himself—if they were to surrender directly, they might well be skinned alive, indeed they could not just yet pledge allegiance to a new lord.
They still needed some bargaining chips in their hands.