Gotta say, they've been teasing the exile so long and my expectations were exceeded like a bottle rocket reaching Mars. The Queen was in on it! There was a second hole! The gardener figured it out immediately and said "Oh hell yes I am ready for this."
It's interesting how it has resulted in a loss of symbolic authority for Nobility as a governmental system, and that it's hinted as a transition point into something else. It's not exactly the same Feudalism->Capitalism from our history. It's an unspecified "Media Empire." Which has some real world parallels to our current post-modern society, it just hasn't been described enough for us to know exactly what the author means.
With this transition from Feudalism to Somethingism, we get another reference with the Mecha Kingdom. Capitalism started in agrarian societies and then it persisted through the transition to Industrial societies. Mecha Kingdom sounds industrial as heck- Steampunk or Magipunk or something. Nia will get to experience something totally different from Magical Power Heirarchy, but still get to be the blood-soaked Princess.
All this is to say that I really enjoyed this mini arc, and I'm eager for the next arc. This series is not what I expected, it's way better. :)