Steiner opened his mouth to retort, but couldn't quite decide whether to agree or not. The queen did get on with Vayne, so it wasn't Steiner's place to badmouth him in public. But privately Steiner didn't trust the Emperor.

He hid his confusion by blustering at Ondore. "Ah, I see your motive now! You won't be getting any information out of me. Now move along!"