"She found the culprit! She found the culprit!"
The words resounded in King Bayard's mind. His daughter did it. He had actually given her two days because he had hoped that the time frame would have been too short, so she wouldn't make Prince Owen lose face and cause him to be punished.
King Bayard looked up at Gerald, his eyes and mouth opened wide with astonishment. Gerald looked up from the scroll, his gaze meeting the King's, no one spoke, but their eyes and bewilderment did all the talking.
"She did it," King Bayard said in a low voice. "Cyrena did it. That's my girl," he boasted.
He had a huge grin on his face when he did; Gerald couldn't help but smile at the King who was ignoring his royal status and being a proud father right now.
"Your Majesty," Gerald called out, breaking King Bayard from his bliss.
"Yes?"
"I hate to break your brief moment of joy, but wouldn't this put His Highness in a very bad situation?"
