"You'll pardon the indiscretion, Your Majesty, but there is a rather personal question I would like to ask you. Is it true that your daughter suffers from a minor physical disability?"
"SIR!"
"The question is important, or I wouldn't ask it. Am I correct in saying that Princess Melina has little or no sense of smell? That this is the reason she could bear Prince Mello's presence, even enjoy being with him—"
"Enough!" the King interrupted. "You are insulting the memory of a dead man and my daughter as well!"
"There is no insult intended," Petion said, letting a cold touch of steel slip into the formal tones of his voice. "If we are discussing insults I might mention the fact that Your Majesty has filter plugs in his nose to enable him to bear my presence at his table. That could be called an insult…"
King Grom had the good grace to blush red and made no further interruptions when Petion continued.
"There should be neither shame nor blame attached to what is a simple physical fact. All meat-eating animals have a characteristically strong odor — particularly to non-meat eaters. To your people the men of other planets smell bad. That is a simple and undeniable fact. Princess Melina — lacking a refined sense of smell — was unaware of this difference. She befriended Prince Mello and enjoyed his presence. She even asked him to dine here and you all put up with his presence for her sake. Until that evening when he did. . what he did. And was killed for the repulsiveness of his crime."
Petion's final words hung in a shocked silence. The unsayable had been said, the unspeakable spoken. Then a chair grated back and a young noble jumped to his feet, white-faced. Kai appeared at Petion's shoulder gun pointing.
"You will sit down.” Petion said, "and you and everyone else will be quiet until I have spoken. We are on very delicate ground here and I do not wish any mistakes to be made. You will hear me out." He stared intensely until the man dropped back into his chair, then went on. "Prince Mello committed the crime and died for it. You all witnessed it and by law are equally guilty. That is why I am addressing you together like this. The Prince was killed and you conspired to remove his body and conceal your crime."
Some of the men were not looking at him now, but staring wide-eyed into space. Reliving that night they had tried to conceal and forget. Petion's voice flowed on as smoothly as the voice of memory.
"You stopped the flow of blood, but he was dead. You fought between yourselves as to what to do, but in the end all were convinced that dishonorable as it was, the crime must be concealed. The only other alternative would be the end of everything as you knew it. You thought your monarchy could not survive a blow like this. So you undressed the corpse and one of you put on the dead man's clothes. In the darkness of the courtyard it was easy for him to get into the official car. Without being seen clearly. The driver said that no order was given, nor would one be necessary. There was only one place for him to drive to. The disguised man simply sat in the car until it passed the agreed-on spot, then shouted 'Stop' and leapt out. He ran to the square where his friends were waiting with the body, having brought it there through the underground passage. There was more than enough time to redress the corpse before the driver became suspicious. The deed was done. Mello had left the palace safely, and been killed by person or persons unknown. A tragedy, of course, but not a world-destroying one."
"It is true," King Grom said, rising slowly to his feet. "The truth has been concealed…"
"You can protect me no more, Your Majesty!" a shrill, almost screaming, voice cried. The same young man was on his feet again. "I did it and I must pay the penalty, you have all protected me too long. ."
"KAI! STOP HIM!" Petion shouted.
With unbelievable speed the stocky body hurtled the table, crashing into the youth. But he was an instant too late. The man had his hand to his mouth, swallowing something.
He didn't struggle when Kai pinioned his wrists.
"Majesty…" the man said and smiled. Then a shudder tore through his body, his figure arched back in sudden torture. Kai released his hands and the dead man fell to the floor.
"That was unnecessary.” Petion shouted, turning on the King, his face twisted with anger. "Horrible waste!"
"I didn't know," was all King Grom mumbled, sunk in his chair, older now.
"We could have arranged something. . not this! That's why I'm here."
"I didn't know," was all the King could say, his face buried in his hands.
Petion dropped into his chair, suddenly exhausted. "Well then, that's the way it will have to be," he said. "This man killed Prince Mello, then committed suicide rather than be taken. A life for a life. The rest of you will receive a reprimand for concealing the fact, and there will be a two percent rise in the Empire duties on your planet for the next ten years. Agreed?"
From the shelter of his hands the King could only dumbly nod his head.
Commander Rissby was only confused after he read the report and the evening's affair had been explained to him. Petion was tired to exhaustion but held his temper well.
"This killer — the young man.” Rissby said, "I don't understand. Why didn't they just turn him over to us for trial?"
"For the simple reason that he didn't kill the Prince.” Petion said. "The King did. He was the only possible one. The insult was done to his daughter, directly in front of him. They all hate the taking of life, and would never consider it, even in anger. But the King is a killer — a ritual murderer perhaps — but the animals he kills are just as dead after the ritual. He kills with a knife and Mello was killed with a knife. The King must have been wild with anger and didn't realize what he was doing until it was all over. I'm sure he wanted to surrender then, but they talked him out of it. It would have meant the end of the regency and probably the royal family. For the sake of his planet — not for his own sake — he allowed the crime to be concealed. When I appeared the nobles must have sensed something in the wind and arranged for a suicide. Drawn lots or some such without the King's knowledge. A life for a life and the Empire still safe. The poison is a quick-acting one they used for euthanasia."
"Then the King. .?" Rissby asked.
"Is the murderer. And he is undoubtedly punishing himself every hour of the day much more than we could ever do. I'm telling you this so you won't start thinking after I have gone and figure it out for yourself. And send in a report. The King's culpability will not appear in my final report. If it did he would have to be arrested. As it stands now the balance is straight and everyone is happy. At least on paper. I'll tell the Empress the truth — off the record — just as I am telling you. I won't need to swear her to secrecy as I am swearing you now. Raise your hand and touch the scroll."
"I so swear. ." Commander Rissby repeated numbly, still shocked. He finally stirred to life and tapped the report. "But this— the roast leg of beef Mello got from the kitchen — what was wrong with that?"
"Use your imagination, Commander," Petion said with barely concealed disgust. "He brought this joint of meat, still steaming hot in insulating foil, unwrapped it and dropped it in front of the Princess, right there on the table. He was so stupid, he thought he was doing her a favor, letting her try some good food for a change."
"Yes… I know what he did. But why should the King kill him for a harmless thing like that?"
"Harmless?" Petion sat back and laughed. "These people are strict vegetarians with an absolute horror of our eating habits. Just try to put yourself in the King's position. Let's say that you invited a cannibal home for dinner — he's reformed, but still a cannibal. And he has never quite understood what all fuss was about. So he does you a favor, trying to introduce you to a whole new world of enjoyable eating.He drops a nice hot, steaming, crackling human arm on the table in front of you right in the middle of the meal! What would you do, Commander?"