The Minister of Internal Affairs searched the entire Royal Palace but found no sign of the King, nor of the Court Guard Captain. A sense of foreboding washed over the minister. He began questioning the guards, from the innermost posts to the outermost, asking when they had last seen the King.
"I don't know, my lord. I just came on duty." Most of the answers were like this. It wasn't until he questioned the military police at the gate that he received a different story: His Majesty, unable to sleep due to the stress of state affairs, had gone to the hunting grounds early this morning to relieve his worries.
'As if!' The Minister of Internal Affairs could guess with the toes in his calfskin shoes that the entire story was a lie. The King and the Guard Captain must have pulled some trick to slip away during the changing of the guard.
