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When they arrived at the Queen's room, Hector reached toward the door to knock on it, but her voice arrived first.

"Enter."

They did so and found her sitting on the edge of her bed with the adjacent lamp to her turned on. Mehlsanz was floating there next to her, which explained how she'd known they were there before Hector even knocked.

There was something else, however, which probably shouldn't have been an issue but was.

The Queen was in a nightgown.

It wasn't particularly revealing, but it still made Hector feel intensely awkward all of a sudden. Where did she even get that? Hector hadn't seen any luggage when she and Lynn arrived.

Ah, Ms. Rogers had probably procured it for her, hadn't she?

"Mehlsanz informs me that something has happened," said Helen.

Hector did his best to explain, though it was made more difficult because he didn't know where to put his eyes.

"...So you will be leaving for Lorent immediately, then," she summarized.

"Y-yes."

"I see..."

There arrived a long pause.

Then the Queen stood up from her bed and started toward the bathroom. "What coincidental timing. I was just thinking about paying a visit to Lorent, myself."

Hector blinked, awkwardness forgotten, and he exchanged looks with Lynn.

She seemed just as surprised.

"Y-your Highness," said Lynn, "it could be very dangerous. You really shouldn't--"

"Oh, I know." The Queen assessed her own hair in the bathroom's mirror while speaking through the open doorway. "I will not be accompanying you on your mission. I will simply be going to Riverton, P.J. and meeting with President Dance."

Lynn shook her head, not with disapproval but with confusion. "What? Why?"

"I was planning to do so soon, anyway. Now seems like a good time. Hector wishes to operate discretely, no? But he has become quite famous there. My presence in Lorent will provide a helpful distraction for both the government and the media."