"And the more people we bring in, the greater the likelihood someone will try to steal this from under me. Which I absolutely will not stand for." Perhaps rather unexpectedly, his voice has dropped to a growl.

"He's on my team. He's my—" and he breaks off, changing track almost without a beat. "I'm responsible for him! I won't let them run riot through his Palace doing who the hell knows what without me!" And yet, even after days of work, he's still too weak to even dream of going in there.

Huh, look at that. His hands are trembling on the counter. Maybe he really has been overdoing it.