Bruce remained where he stood.
Duke gestured vaguely to the building around them. "This place? It's not merely indulgence. It's a listening post."
He picked up his teacup again but did not drink.
"Guards. Captains. Merchants. Nobles with too much pride and too little discipline. They come here to relax. To boast. To complain. To whisper things they would never dare say in council chambers."
Bruce's gaze sharpened slightly as the implications aligned.
"You built this."
Duke smiled without turning. "Yes."
His tone remained light.
But something beneath it had hardened.
"I built it with a little hidden assistance. Quiet funding. Quiet protection. Quiet removal of competitors who were… inefficient."
He finally sipped his tea.
"When I first arrived in Eiskar, I suspected something was wrong."
The night wind stirred the curtains. Moonlight shifted across his profile.
