SC.2023.39. Han Tsu'Reik, the younger

The Honorable Han Tsu'Reik, Strm.Maed. (a.k.a. The Panther)

"Many call me the spider, or the panther, crouched in shadows."

"They don't know the half of it."

— Quote attributed to Han Tsu'reik without any identifiable source

Musings

"Welcome, I take it your highness is having a fine morning?"

"Argh, women, they vex me so!"

"Ah, yes, I remember those days, young prince."

"They no longer trouble you?"

"Well, perhaps in different ways now, than in my youth, certainly."

Some days, it doesn't really pay to have a conscience... And it was no accident your father recommended I reuse the name of one of my predecessors, the better to hide my misdeeds behind.

Refusal

"Father told me you refused to be the voice of the new initiative? Can I ask why?"

Your father knows me too well to ask that question. Ever since he hired me to take care of the ministry, I've been at my best when I stayed away from the limelight, when I allowed him to catch all the glory... I take it he expects you to pick this up?"

"Yeah... Should I?"

"You're his heir! You're expected to be the one in the limelight, sooner or later..."

"Should I plan to keep you on, to distract others from my light, then?"

"I don't know if you'll need it. When I met your father, he had many many more enemies than you do. Doing what was required meant striking unexpectedly, most days. You won't need that, perhaps I will just retire, seventy is after all, a perfectly respectable retirement age..."

"Who died, and let you have an age like a normal arndan?" Donovan asked, winking.

"Hahahaha! No one, yet, but should your father pass, I certainly will become more human, in that respect..."

Obscured

"Oh, that's odd..."

"What is it Mako?"

"Seeing my ex on tv, sorry, just feels strange. For this kind of news, I'd expect to see our new ministry friend... He knows much better the insides and outs of such an unpopular motion. He even emitted a 'no comment' for the press, curiouser and curiouser."

Biography

1. Adopted by the royal family as a cousin of the king. Changed his family name from Thian.
2. Stromae Maediplo of The Tsou Emeritus School.
3. Longest-serving minister of the current regime.