The envoy arrived an hour after the horn with his own wine, and he took the map table like an invited guest.
Drinking from a besieged town's stock would have been rude, and the man clearly knew how to avoid needless offense.
He praised the repaired walls, the steady patrols, and the smell of bread drifting through the streets.
None of the praise carried any surprise, which told Hajin the reports had reached Seliza long before the wine did.
Hajin let the man talk while Ash slept in the crook of his arm, warm and heavy against his ribs.
"My lady's position is quite simple," the envoy said at last, turning his cup slowly by the rim.
"You sit on more gold than any vault in this kingdom," he continued, watching Hajin over the cup's edge.
"Every road that could carry it belongs to people who want you starved into a bargain."
"She finds that arrangement wasteful," the envoy finished, presenting ruin as though it were a scheduling inconvenience.
