Five minutes later
The Queen, along with Ladies Digori, Fossai, Burke, Clement, Ji Xiaodao, Kassandra, and Cedric had already gone to the kitchen to prepare some surprises for the upcoming dinner, while the others accompanied Emperor William to a cozy and luxurious side room on the second floor of the palace, ready to make use of this spare time for a light chat.
Of course, everyone knew that this 'light chat' was actually the main event of the day, with the dinner being just incidental.
The Queen had earlier asked the ladies to leave with her precisely for this reason. Lady Miranda Fischer did not join in not because of her lack of culinary skills but rather because as a Marquess, she had to partake in the discussion that would follow. Cedric, although a man and set to inherit the Digori Marquessate in the future, was not yet qualified, so Miranda used this as a pretext to exclude him.
