"Are you sure?"
Queen Poovizhi asked the man who was respectfully waiting for her to address him for the past few minutes. While she usually loved to test the patience of her servants, this one instance was different. It had taken her some time to digest the news the man had relayed to her.
"Yes, Your Majesty," the man replied without so much as a quiver in his voice.
If someone else had been this bold in her presence she would have made sure there was a quiver present in their voice the next time they met. But, not this man. He was someone whom she had handpicked for the role of Spymaster. The spymaster had proven himself to be useful in the past many times. And once more he was proving her trust in him.
"I hope you are not mistaken," Poovizhi said in the ensuing silence.
"I wouldn't dare Your Majesty. I know the importance of this matter. That's why I had ensured to personally check into this matter before bringing it to your attention."
"I take it that this matter has been going for a while?" Poovizhi asked with apparent displeasure evident in her voice.
"I wouldn't say it has been going on for a while, Your Majesty. It has been at most a day in the delay to ensure the authenticity of the news. And I assure you no major damage has been done due to it."
"Major damage?" Poovizhi pressed with narrowed eyes.
"Your Majesty, as you are aware, his reemergence is sure to cause a stir. A little damage is to be expected. It is in the nature of things. But, I assure you that nothing major has changed. My first priority was to confirm the news and get a read on the situation before informing you."
"And what did this read entail?" Poovizhi asked with amusement in her voice.
"He has been appearing publicly in the last few days, Your Majesty. And he has made sure that people knew it was him that they had brushed shoulders with. As usual, he is remaining low key. But, once my people got a bead on his location, he is under our constant surveillance. If he does anything that would cause us to worry, my men would immediately notify me."
Poovizhi drummed her fingers on the arms of the chair she was occupying as she immersed in thought. Anything that concerned that man was sure to give her some worry. The old fox had resurfaced after fifteen years. If anything, his timing has been as impeccable as ever.
"I take it that I should be prepared to welcome him back to the capital?"
"No, Your Majesty. In fact, the opposite is happening. He seems to be traveling towards the border."
"Interesting," Poovizhi mused, "I would expect him to travel towards the capital and shake things up here. This is troubling indeed. It seems he has different priorities. And the game he is playing is indecipherable at this moment. And he couldn't have done it at a better time."
The Spymaster remained silent as Poovizhi spoke. She stood up from her chair and started pacing deep in thought.
"Why would he do that? This would be an ideal time to contact her. Yet, he is refraining from doing so. I am not prepared to believe that he has no intention of contacting her. There must be something else we are missing. What is it? What is so important to him that he even refrains from contacting her?"
"If I may, Your Majesty," the man interrupted her musing with a slight hesitation in his tone.
Poovizhi stopped her musing to eye him in irritation.
"Speak!"
"I think he is looking for allies."
"Allies?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. Regardless of how powerful he is, he can't take you on alone. You are far too deeply entrenched for that. His only option is to get allies. And with her being safe in the academy, away from our sight and reach, this would be the ideal time for him to find some allies."
"I see, that is clever. And whoever is discontent with us will probably be living on the outskirts. That makes sense. But, that is not all. No, no. That is where you are wrong. When it comes to him, you must think like a General moving his troops. There will be overt movement of troops with which he would grab the enemy's attention. But, if you think that is all there to it, you would lose. He always loved sneaking in soldiers to places one never expects. Keep a lookout for people trying to contact her outside the academy. In fact, there will be someone who will try to get close to her within the academy too. We need to have someone befriend her there."
"Yes, Your Majesty. I will make sure of it."
"She is not stupid too. Despite how she acts or what my son believes. She will be expecting someone to worm their way into her confidence."
"Then, we will indulge her, Your Majesty."
A small smile crept across Poovizhi's face at that statement. She nodded her head in appreciation.
"And there is one more matter that needs mentioning, Your Majesty."
"What?"
"We are nearing the one who is behind the Street Performers. I estimate we will catch that person within a week. My men are working on it around the clock. How do you prefer to deal with that one, Your Majesty? Silently or publicly?"
Poovizhi stopped midstride in her pacing. A smile that resembled a cat eyeing a canary blossomed on her face.
"Delay it,"
"Your Majesty?" the man asked in confusion.
"Delay dealing with it. In fact, lead her to them. That way we could deal with both problems at the same time and force that old fox's hand."
Understanding dawned on the man's face and he nodded fervently.
"Still keep your head to the ground. His reemergence at this particular juncture is sure to stir things up. If we are on our toes, we can end all our problems in one fell swoop. We must not, I repeat, must not let go of this opportunity. It is time to weed out all that has been festering."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"And, I will deal with that old fox once and for all."