Duke Macheze promptly glanced around the officials and realized that if he kept on arguing, it could backfire on him. Not to mention that the Marquess had a point.
The accusation was thrown at him just a while ago and no one would believe him to have time to collude with anyone!
"The man should be summoned," many of the officials said, putting King Hamon in a dilemma. The whole time, Nicien Vamieres stood still without saying anything. It even seemed as if he wasn't the one who threw the accusation at Marquess Ives!
"What is your stance on this, Nicien?" King Hamon finally asked his nephew from his throne. Then the hall quiet down again as everyone waited for the Prince's response.
Though the Prince knew that every eye was on him, it was Alerone that bothered him the most. Maybe because he knew that even when the other officials were busy debating, his cousin's attention was on him.