Thomas smiled as the Duchess talked. It was interesting to see someone take an active role in security, at least outside of himself and the guards around the palace. Most people accepted that the palace was governed by enough security to protect the Emperor. This was one of the first times he remembered that someone took an interest in a nation wide security issue. His eyes ran over the Duchess, grinning as he did so. She was pretty, and at least openly intelligent. Different from most of the people that he met around here. A grin came to his face as he thought about her husband again, shaking his head as he did so. No real man could allow his wife to have all business control of their estate. He couldn’t even remember meeting the man in court.<br/><br/>Stepping forward, he nodded slowly. The Duchess was right, but he didn’t like the idea of having people who didn’t answer to him on his land. There were items he was working on that he didn’t want anyone to see. He often employed people to find new ways to wage war, either through machines or better weaponry.<br/><br/>“I don’t need help searching my lands. My men are more than adept in the security of my territory that they can find the Empress if she is hidden somewhere. I have no problem with aiding anyone else in their search, but my men already search my lands every other day, for criminals, spies, and enemies. I am sure that my lands have already been scoured at this point.”