Arik had discovered that allowing the population to elect the next prime minister did not reduce political maneuvering.
It merely redirected it.
The announcement had not even been released publicly yet, and half the parliament seemed to have developed sudden, passionate opinions about electoral regulations, candidate eligibility, regional representation, campaign financing, and the precise definition of public-service experience.
The nobles had found another problem entirely.
If they could not reliably control who became prime minister, they wanted everything surrounding the prime minister.
Arik sat behind his desk with twelve applications, seven recommendations, three handwritten personal appeals, and one extremely expensive bottle of wine someone had apparently believed would improve the qualifications of his nephew.
He looked at the bottle.
Then at Severin.
"Can I keep this?"
Severin glanced up from the tablet in his hands.
"The wine?"
"Yes."
