Del's Weakness

"So, I think we're both in agreement that Del's got the best shot at the crown at the moment, right?" Alice asked, gauging Blake's reaction. It wasn't a lie. If everything went according to his plan, Del would have Jamis ousted with ease. The fact that Jamis had the army meant nothing when they lacked the funds to properly equip them or the discipline to train them, whereas Del had a continental network of merchants working day and night for him. The difference in influence are power was far too large for anyone to overcome...except for herself of course.

"Absolutely," Blake replied without hesitation. "In fact, I'm already in talks with him, much like what you're doing with me right now. But that wasn't actually your one question, was it?"

"No, I want to know if there's I can use, anything I can exploit," Alice replies, getting straight to the point. "Del isn't perfect, no one is. Surely there's something I can use to even the odds, if only by a little."

"Nope," Blake replied bluntly, a smile on his face. "There isn't."

"Nothing? No hidden mistress, no penchant for eating human flesh? Literally nothing?" Alice asked, shock seeping into her expression for the first time.

"I'm sure he's got some skeletons in his closet, but I for sure don't know about them, and if I don't know them, then I doubt anyone does," Blake admits. "So, why don't you ask something else, something I can actually answer?"