"I want to be useful," Larus said simply. "And I meant what I said before—I want to be your partner. That includes the boring parts."
Heena felt something warm settle in her chest. "Alright. Let's see what you've got."
She pulled over a stack of documents and started explaining what to look for—discrepancies in valuations, suspicious timing of reports, patterns that indicated fraud.
Larus listened carefully, asked intelligent questions, and started working through his own pile with focused attention.
They worked side by side like that for a while, the only sounds the scratch of pens on paper and the occasional rustle of documents.
At one point, Larus found something and made a small sound of surprise. "This noble claimed his estate was worth half its actual value for tax purposes?"
"Common trick," Heena said without looking up. "Mark it for investigation."
