One morning in early October, Mulan was summoned to the Royal Palace. When he arrived, he found quite a few others already there. Several leading military and government figures had gathered in the Queen's office, though Nisheriel herself had yet to arrive.
"Oh, Lord Jonester." "Ah, Jonester."
"Mulan is here too!"
"Hello, Sir." "Hello, Your Grace."
Mulan was now a prominent figure in aristocratic circles. With the Queen still absent, he exchanged greetings with everyone present. The smooth implementation of the Black Castle's recent restructuring, in particular, had kept everyone on cordial terms, at least on the surface.
A few more people arrived afterward, and some asked what was going on.
"Everyone is here, then. What happened?"
"No idea. Her Majesty hasn't arrived yet." "Perhaps Lord Jonester knows something. The Queen does favor him, after all."
"No, no, I have no idea. I only just arrived myself."
As Mulan waved his hands, another door on the inner side opened. Nisheriel emerged, accompanied by guards and two trusted courtiers.
"Greetings, Your Majesty!"
"Mm."
By the time everyone raised their heads, Nisheriel had reached her seat. She looked over those present and nodded in satisfaction.
"I summoned you at short notice because there is something we need to discuss. A secret envoy from the Ilkhan Kingdom has arrived. To preserve secrecy, I have not granted him a public audience."
"Ilkhan?"
Everyone present frowned. Dierjia's current opinion of Ilkhan was far from favorable.
"Yes, Ilkhan."
Nisheriel smoothed her skirt and looked around at everyone, finally resting her gaze on Mulan. He spoke up to ask a question.
"Then, Your Majesty, why has Ilkhan secretly sent an envoy? Surely their domestic troubles aren't something they expect us to intervene in?"
Anyone paying attention could have noticed the Workers' Party uprising and the current unrest