Looking at Andronikos, Methodios smiles wolfishly.

And where you not yourself looking for advancement by asking for the hand of my daughter ? Your father had bypassed you in making me heir to the throne in place of one of his sons... That should tell enough of your valour.

As to the matter of Zagreb, you were still at your mother's breast when the Catholic rebels marched on 'my' city. I managed to obtain a temporary resolution to that conflict and managed to gain much needed funds for ouor war economy by selling that city to the Hungarians, in the hope that Catholics would not prey upon other Catholics... iwas wrong in that and I bear that burden since that day, believe me...

As to power, I have never sought power so muich as service to this Empire... It has brought me power, I won't deny it, but looking back, at the cost of it, there are a lot of things I would do otherwise... I don't know but your allegations carry a faint reek of jealousy... Maybe you would like to be a 'hero of the people'... Then get to it, lad...

You profess you know of the love of my daughter for Helarionas but who are you to know of such things ? All we know is that the man abducted her and is now trying to get himself married to her against her will, and surely against mine...

Should I acquire certain evidence that this marriage is what my daughter wishes, I may reconsider my position.

But it would have to be very convicing because I can see behind the pretense the shadow of the threat we thought destroyed so many years ago...

The Organizaton we thought dead and gone with the banishment of Aleksander ek Kallipoleos is back, and with a vengeance it seems... But where years ago, they tried to work covertly by way of threat and assassination, they now work through guile and connivence, worming their way to the top of our Empire by trying to marry one of their own to the daughter of the heir to the throne.

Now, I hope you can all see where this leads us ? Shoudl anything untoward happen to me and Basileus Ioannis, who gets a chance to sit upon the Throne of Constantine ? None other than those we all fought so many years ago...

So think again before throwing your support behind that pig Helarionas...