The meeting that evening went quite smoothly, with the Archduchess explaining everything in a fairly comprehensive manner. Almost without a single interruption, she explained the current situation in the grand duchy as well as the rest of the empire, the need to go to both the Calanthian as well as the northern territory, and finally the plan to test allies to see where their allegiances lie. The specifics were brushed over for the sake of time, but by the end, everyone at the table had a pretty good idea of what was going on. That's when the actual conversation began, unsurprisingly starting with Josie raising concerns.