After learning that his men had been unable to restrain Philip, Harrison feared that the matter was getting out of hand. Still, he was confident that he had been thorough enough in dealing with the matter of Moon Country. In the worst-case scenario, he could simply dismiss his accuser as a liar and admit to nothing. If no proof was brought against him, then nothing could be done to him.

Hoffman was uneasy as well. After all, because of his mistake, two hundred thousand soldiers had been poisoned and one third of them had died. And then he and Harrison had ordered the slaughter of five thousand more. If their secret got out, his future would be ruined.

For the moment, though, there was nothing more to be done, so he busied himself with copying work in his study. While he was doing this, a servant appeared in the doorway. "Your Highness, someone from the Imperial Palace is here."

"Very well. Bring him in." Presently the visitor appeared, and Hoffman looked up calmly. "What a surprise. It's Ge

urself?"

"Nonsense! How could I possibly do such a thing?" Hoffman retorted passionately. "Sir, here I thought you were fighting under my command, defending our country against its enemies. But now here you are, slandering me. What is the meaning of this?"

"Slander?" Simon was so furious that even his eyes seemed to turn red. "I know a lot of people among those two hundred thousand who are still alive. You can send someone to ask them whether you saved a girl or not. Then we'll all see whether it's slander."

As unpleasant as this situation was, Hoffman remained untroubled. He had prepared for such an eventuality. Simon stood alone with nothing but his own word, which was not proof. All Hoffman had to do was deny everything. Drawing himself up, he said, "The one you refer to was named Leena Hu, and I did in fact save her life. Unfortunately, she fell seriously ill and died while we were engaged in battle. She was a poor, defenseless woman, not a spy, as you are outrageously insinuating."