Poisoned Chalice

After a moment's thought, Ivan took Conrad's hand.

It differed somewhat from the plan, but now that he had drawn the emperor's attention, he had no other choice.

“A wise choice.”

Conrad, too, had never considered that Ivan might refuse his offer.

After they released their clasped hands, Conrad snapped his fingers once, and the stationary carriage began moving again.

“So the coachman was in on it too?”

“Of course. The intelligence bureau put considerable effort into this operation.”

“When did you start watching me?”

At that question, Conrad stroked his chin as though troubled.

“It was originally a top-secret matter, but now that you've caught us following you, there's no point hiding anything else. We began seriously tracking your movements right after you made contact with Grand Duke Edwin.”...