"That would certainly be ideal," Ignis agreed.

And then hesitated a moment, with a certain reluctance, but he supposed this was as good as an opening as he was likely to get, and he should, at the very least, be honest about it.

"It maybe a while, though," he added, with a well-practiced nonchalance about it. "This treaty business is likely to demand a good deal of my time in the next couple of weeks."

With a sip of his wine, he considered some of the finer details of the terms being discussed.

"Or months, really, if we're being realistic."