What Cairncross Thought

When Emperor Gerhart converses with Edwin Cairncross, information about the state of the Empire is principally conveyed not by what Gerhart says but by what Cairncross thinks:

their period is an age of plots, murders, revolutions, betrayals and upheavals;

Gerhart is widely believed to have killed his brother and predecessor, Dietrich;

however, Gerhart is tolerated because the Empire needs a strong hand against civil war, Merseians and barbarians;

the Molitors' only claim to the Throne is their strength;

they are not descended from the Founder.

The reader either already understands or will soon realize that Cairncross thinks that that strong hand should be his, not Gerhart's.

At least four men plot or attempt to seize the Throne by force during Flandry's lifetime:

McCormac

Molitor

Cairncross

Magnusson

Flandry defeats McCormac and Cairncross. Molitor succeeds. Another Intelligence agent, Targovi, leading a neat little combo including Flandry's daughter, defeats Magnusson. During Gerhart's reign, Flandry is able to influence Crown Prince Karl. And we want to read more.