Something about the word “worth” drew out a smile but he smothered it by bringing his glass to his mouth instead of offering up any contribution of his own. It was not Eoin’s place to offer up the full support of his House even if he had wished to, but they would support him if he were to suddenly be the sole candidate for the crown. Even without that being the case, his word was unlikely to hurt.
In any case, touching upon the topic cost him nothing and if word spread, as it was wont to do, Lord Mehkal could see that he would not find the southern territories unprepared.
It was a clever move on Eoin’s part, and Mikino was content to give him credit for as much. Appealing to their similarities was an obvious tactic, but that didn’t make it a bad one. Miki had said it himself—the young Lord Viorel was a man after his own heart. That did not seem to be the case with the Chaldean, and she had even drawn Mikino’s eyes back to her, with a flicker of surprise making its way through. He didn’t miss a beat with his own response, but he was a bit slower in actually turning his physical attention from Reihana.
“In this case, I would venture to agree with those staunch traditionalists in believing it to be a flaw in character. Not one I would condemn a soldier for, but… A King is another matter. A man seldom does a thing with the intention of being caught. But I concede your point. We learn from our mistakes, and I am most certainly not without mine. We haven’t all been granted a mask and the means to leave them behind.” He made a point not to look to Reihana this time. “Why do you want to rule?” The question came abruptly, as if it had only just come to him, though all present knew better than to think he spoke as carelessly and thoughtlessly as it seemed. He was not mincing words, however, as one might have expected (or at least hoped). He knew how the game was played, but he also knew when he could ignore the typical rules and replace them with his own.