"If my Emperor sees what has been done, he will be incensed. And Leo will draw him into argument over it. He will make my Lord seem weak for causing discord over something as trivial as a beaten slave when no law has been broken." Not so trivial to Sinric but to the peace of the throne, he knows he means nothing.

But next time it could be one of the other, one of the younger boys less able to take the pain. And what then. "What must I do to stop him?" The question is asked more of himself than of the doctor.