Queen Mary flipped through the report submitted by Baron Joann on the situation in Tunisia, a document she had in fact already perused several times the day before, and frowned:
"Attacks, always attacks, who exactly is behind this?"
Baron Joann stood at the end of the conference table, cautiously saying:
"It's still unclear, Your Majesty. However, the attacks seem to be related to the Tunisian Guard."
Queen Mary asked some more specifics about Tunisia and then turned to the ministers present:
"What are your thoughts on this matter?"
The Duke of Orleans glanced at the empty seat of Foreign Minister Vilran—who had been sent to the Nordic regions by Brian to "tend to" the war between Sweden and Russia—and suddenly felt a hollow sense of loss. Less than a year ago, his power commanded nearly half of the seats in Cabinet meetings, but now, he was left to fight alone.
He cleared his throat and nodded to the Queen: