"It wasn't intended for the prince," stated the shadowy figure. "That was an unfortunate error."
The knight regarded the speaker gravely. This was a man who was once a highly respected intelligence agent and trusted confidant of the king. Now he was a mere vagabond, gone into hiding after a particularly egregious incident which lead to the death of the knight's charge, and thus the reason for his own subsequent unemployment.
Naturally, the former knight held the man in front of him with nothing but contempt. Yet even so, he agreed to sit and listen to the man's story. It wasn't as though he had any other means to occupy his now copious free time. Furthermore, he wasn't eager to drench himself in the steadily increasing rain shower outside the walls of the tower that was their makeshift shelter.
And so the man continued.
"Rather, it was intended for the lad's lover. The king, you see, did not approve of his choice of partner."
Despite his best efforts to maintain his countenance, the knight could not contain his surprise at these words. "What lover?" he asked. "The young man never showed any interest in romance. He would barely even glance at the dancing girls brought in for entertainment."
"Indeed, he made meticulous effort to keep the affair a secret. Even from you, his loyal guard."
"But to what end? He was the first prince and future king. Of course he should find a bride to provide him an heir of his own. To go to lengths to hide her... just what manner of person was she?"
"He."
"...He?"
"He."
The wind blew bitterly through the cracks in the decrepit old tower's walls, yet the knight took no notice of the building chill, for his mind was reeling with the implications of his conversation partner's revelation.
The prince had taken another man as a lover. Desperately the knight wished to refute the possibility, yet despite his misgivings about his informant, he knew the man to be steadfast in his duty to the kingdom. The disgraced spy was many things, but he was not a liar. Not outside of his missions, at any rate.
A male lover. Instead of a king and queen, the future might have seen two kings. No direct heirs would be produced. Not unless either king were to lie with a concubine. And what effect might that have on the subsequent line of succession? If both kings were to father children, or if only the second king had any sons...
The spy stoked the fire beneath his meagre soup cauldron as he gave the knight a moment with his thoughts, less for the benefit of the pitiful brew inside, and more to fight off the unpleasant effects of the increasing storm outside. "The king would not have it," he then continued, "and sought my assistance in... dealing with the matter."
Naturally. The king would want this matter kept discrete to prevent any public outcry, so of course he would have his most trusted agent attend to the situation.
"But, rather embarrassingly, it seems I was out-deceived by the prince. I had conspired with the king to have the lad sent to our western neighbour, ostensibly on a diplomatic mission. Yet it seems he managed to slip away from his own guard to instead visit his paramour."
At this, the knight was forced to drop his eyes in shame. For though the spy placed no direct blame on any but himself, nevertheless the knight felt that, in truth, the fault was even more his own for failing in his duty to keep an eye on the prince, than it was the unintentional assassin's.
"And so, instead of the poisoned tankard being taken up by the intended victim, it was the prince who drank from it, sparing his lover, but at the cost of his own life. I regret now that I stepped away to take care of other business instead of remaining to observe the proceedings."
The knight paid little attention to the remainder of the story, as it contained no further details he was not already privy to. Upon learning of the death of his son and the circumstances surrounding it, the enraged king declared the former agent a criminal, and ordered his immediate arrest, though thus far no one had been able to capture him. The knight, though spared any more serious punishment, was also relieved of his duties, for his failure to prevent the prince from sneaking away in the first place.
The knight had briefly hoped that by his happenstance locating of the wayward spy, he might be able to regain at least some of his former prestige. Yet upon hearing the man's story, he began to feel uncertain about turning him in.
Death is as much a knight's trade as it is a spy's, so he could not fault the man for his hand in that. Nor could he fault the prince for falling in love with a man, rather than a woman. Which left only one person on whom to place responsibility for the incident.
Knowing his own heart, the knight questioned whether he truly wished to return to employment under that person...