"Of that I have no doubt," he remarked on the Notary's capabilities.
"As an incumbent I have the benefit of my actions to aid, where hypothetical situations are where manipulation can thrive." He thought a moment, "Chess can teach a great deal of strategy in many applications. The zwischenzug is one such example. Reading the room the night the Ventrue were to select a new Priscus, I felt Mister Boyle had some degree of success in his manipulations and for other reasons that amount to my family clutching their pearls." He lifted a knight to move, "I had a choice between the gamble of Thomas being unanimously selected or a tie- either of which would not have been ideal."
The flipped his wrist as he reminisced, "The zwischenzug means 'in-between move'. You don't make the expected move, but instead play an alternative piece that creates a risk that must be answered by your opponent." His lips pressed into a wry grin, "This is how Ms. Black came to be Priscus. I did it to buy more time to prove his lies, but of course Boyle couldn't help but immediately disrespect her. Revealing his true colors against the will of the clan, I was able to retain my seat as Whip to help steer my family forward in the right direction. If Ms. Black had become a liability I would be able to challenge her for the position. Ultimately, my zwischenzug worked far better than I had hoped, as not only did he fail for his bid for Priscus, but he immediately fled the Domain." He lifted his eyes to look over to the Lady Prince, "It is always enjoyable to watch the trash take itself out."
"It is. I'm only sorry to be so vague with the details but I'd rather keep such fantasies to myself until they can be verified. There are enough breadcrumbs in the tomes to make it plausible though," he shrugged with smirk. "You have the power to change the game with each action, but I have a decent idea of how to get to a victory." A little modesty never hurt, but the Prince would have to earn a win with him. This Lord wouldn't simply throw a match because he's playing his boss.