Belboz's Unexpected Knowledge

"Naturally I had heard about the two statues that have recently been moved into your throne room, and that one of them was of your sister. That was no secret, after all. It seemed likely that they were the source of the enchantment that you referred to. As for knowing that one statue is truly Astra herself, I happen to be a friend of the wizard who was responsible for her petrification. One day about thirty years ago, he mentioned to me that he had recently petrified - now let me see if I can recall his exact words - 'some bitch of a princess from Aquilaria and a dozy Allarian knight'. Knowing that your sister had recently gone missing, it wasn't too hard for me to guess the princess's identity."

"So you've known for the last thirty years what Astra's fate had been. Why didn't you say anything at the time?"

"Why should I? What was in it for me? While we're on that subject, I imagine that it's worth quite a lot to you that nobody should discover the statue's true nature...

1. "So the price for my silence and for masking the enchantment will be 100,000 Gold Crowns."
2. "However I will do what you ask for nothing. All I want is your sacred pledge to return this favour with another - no questions asked."
3. "But it so happens that I have a use for the statues, so I will take them off your hands in lieu of payment. Their disappearance from the throne room will solve your problem. Your courtiers will be mystified, of course, but that doesn't matter."
4. "By the way, you do realise that no spell lasts for ever? Sooner or later the enchantment will wear off."
5. "You've never married. I want to be your husband and the Prince Consort."

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