“Understood.” Ockham smiled, to show his restored confidence. “Thank you for making that clear, Member President.”

The Duke inclined his head.

“¿What do you think Tribune Mason will do if they learn? ¿Tell the Emperor?”

“They must not learn.” Ganymede switched back to English here. “Our hope in all this is that Martin has not yet informed Prince Mason of their… it is still just theory.”

Casimir Perry frowned as he scratched his fraying ponytail. “You think young Guildbreaker would go to an outsider like Papadelias before they’d go to their own boss?”

Andō breathed deep. “Martin knows how devastatingly painful Tai-kun would find all this. I believe they would want to be absolutely certain first.”

Ockham nodded. “Then we have time. It will not be easy for Guildbreaker to assemble real proof, even with the help of Papadelias.”

“And we can slow them down,” Andō confirmed. “I will tell Tai-kun I am displeased with this slow progress, and have them order Martin to focus on hunting down the Canner Device and Seven-Ten list thief. Tai-kun is very willing to be told to pursue one question but avert their attention from another. That’s why we all agreed to put this in their hands in the first place.”

“Yes, that’s consistent with what I’ve seen,” Ockham agreed. “Tribune Mason only came in person to the bash’house once, and after some… very strange interactions exposing the Mitsubishi traitors within my security, they left saying they were afraid that, if they stayed, they’d learn too much. They intentionally avoided investigating more.”

The ghost of a smile on Ganymede’s somber face tempted the others to curse inside that there were no cameras to make it immortal. “Their Highness tried their best, then. Martin is the problem.”

“And Papadelias now,” Andō added. “Tai-kun can control Martin.”

Ockham turned to Perry, who was fidgeting with the wrinkled fabric of his trousers. “Papadelias is European. Do you have any influence with them, Prime Minister?”

“Me?” Perry looked from face to face. “I… It’s true Europe will suffer if O.S. comes out, but, from what I know of Ektor Papadelias, they’re a detective first, a Greek fifth, and a European Member somewhere around priority twenty, after many other things like truth, and the Alliance, and reliving the glory days of Mycroft Canner. I don’t think even the King of Spain could have persuaded Papadelias to hush anything up, not for Europe and politics.”

Quiet faces mulled on that.

“As far as Papadelias goes, Excellencies,” Ockham braved, “my instinct is that we do nothing.”

“Nothing?”

“The biggest danger is giving ourselves away. If some intervention hinders the investigation, that will only make us look more guilty. Martin has a pattern, nothing more, and there is no true proof against us that I know of, not outside the bash’house itself, which neither Martin nor Papadelias can access.”

The Duke President nodded agreement. “There are no tracks for us to cover. If we leave it alone, and continue to demand that Martin concentrate on uncovering who planted the Seven-Ten list, they won’t be able to waste more time chasing shadows. Do you agree, Perry?”