Mostly the pull she mentioned looks like getting let off with a warning for something most people would have faced actual consequences before, and then of course no one is carefully documenting warnings and most people don't particularly remember them. (Not that Mendev is doing a particularly good job of documenting more serious disciplinary consequences either, but it's more likely someone will remember those.)

In terms of foreigners... Mendev is perfectly happy to have foreigners fighting alongside them, and is willing to tolerate more culture clash than most countries (if less than he might like). Having foreigners as advisors is a bit touchy, but not so touchy that he and the Queen don't have several of them. What's really touchy is passing over Mendevians with Mendevian connections for command position in favor of foreigners, but she's guessing he could get away with doing a little bit of that, it just might make some people mad. And of course he doesn't want to look like he's planning to try something, even if it should be obvious he wouldn't. Oh, and Mendevians also get mad about foreigners showing up to do Mendevian jobs if they aren't fighting the demons, but that isn't going to come up here.

He meant more in terms of, who would have been making the calls on whether these things were warnings or memorably serious consequences and can the guy be farther away from whoever has proven thus susceptible.

The composition of his forces is such that he does not think he can be effective while also indulging Mendevian nationalism more than a very little bit but he will try to make sure that each round of promotions is at least not entirely foreign-born.

She can name a specific person who she knows let him off easy, but there might be others she doesn't know about.

Making sure he's always promoting at least some Mendevians sounds like a reasonable compromise to her, and if anyone is really bothered by serving under a foreigner he can always shuffle them around like he seems to like.

Yes he can. Shuffle shuffle and here are some promotion orders.

Some of his advisors whose suggestions he didn't listen to grumble about how he passed over their loyal, experienced candidates in favor of foreigners and nobodies!

(They've met the Knight-Commander, haven't they? Do they really think he's going to stop promoting foreigners just because they complained?)

That will stop some of them from bringing it up with him, but definitely not all.

He has considered all of their candidates and they are not getting promoted today for this and that and the other reasons but if they demonstrate improvement on these points over the next while it does not seem unlikely for more spots to open up, he's not trying to be unclear about what he's looking for and frankly if people were motivated to stop stealing shit and to learn to read and whatnot by the hope of a promotion that would be great, they can tell their - clients? - that.

If he's going to spell out why he didn't promote specific people, the advisors who were advocating for them are going to have a lot more complaints about how his standards are unreasonable, his standards are generally reasonable but that person is an exception, et cetera! One of them invites him to discuss it privately over dinner!

Partway through the conversation, the new Abadaran jogs up to him, slightly out of breath. (His guards prepare for the possibility that the Abadaran is inexplicably going to attempt an assassination.)

If the Abadaran were Dominated that would be a reasonable thing to worry about, thank you guards, but it's not the likeliest option! "Fiducia, how can I help you?"

"Knight-Commander. While reviewing purchase records for Joduin Wal's division, I was approached by an individual who recommended to me that I report that there were no irregularities in the records, when in fact there were several. At this point, I noticed that I had thrown off a Will-defended spell. I was unable to apprehend the individual but suspect that they attempted to target me with a Suggestion spell. They appeared to meet the following description" (as described, they strongly resemble one of Blai's advisors) "but I don't know whether they were disguised."

Well is that advisor known to be a caster?

He has a splash of sorcery (he's from a minor Mendevian noble family), but he isn't known to have very much, and the spells he's known to have are useless enough that his military experience is all martial.

Might be enough to use a scroll.

He would like to know more about the circumstances of the escape (did the person fight or just slip away?) and he wants to look up if he knows of any relationship between Joduin Wal and the described advisor or not and in the meantime someone should go get all the relevantly suspect parties.

The person who might or might not be one of his advisors slipped away (the new Abadaran was chosen for being a competent but affordable auditor, not specifically for fighting competence). Said advisor's family recommended Wal for his position in the first place, a few years back. Relevant parties can be retrieved; the advisor looks confused and offended, Wal mostly just looks offended.

"Please understand that I'm aware the situation that prompted me to call on you could easily be a frame job on the part of some demon or other malicious actor," Blai assures them, first of all. "I regret the inconvenience should that be the case. Is there anything either of you would like to say before I begin asking questions?"

Neither of them volunteers anything.

Right then. Here is the sequence of events as he understands it. It would, of course, be a natural thing for some varietal of enemy to choose to frame them for, since it is such a despicable thing to do and one he is by now widely known not to tolerate, and if they don't have alternative explanations for the situation, then he will expect them for the next Zones, and in the meanwhile they should stay where someone supernaturally beyond reproach such as a paladin, or alternately numerous someones not under their command, can clearly see them, and should not exacerbate the muddiness of the matter by taking any disputable actions that might support a supposed enemy's version of the story.

When that's handled he wants a bodyguard on his Abadaran. Maybe two of them.

Both of them deny being involved with or knowing about any plots to mind control the Abadaran. Obviously they wouldn't mind control their allies, they're not a bunch of demons!

The guy who may or may not have cast the spell is treating it as perfectly reasonable to want him to testify under a truth spell given the circumstances; Wal is openly acting like this is an offensive thing even to accuse him of. ...Neither of them is explicitly going out of their way to deny involvement with financial malfeasance, either, just with using mind control to facilitate it.

If they know anybody who might have wanted to choose the exact timing of the exposure of any actual errors in their finances that's also valuable information!

Mostly people weren't trying very hard to look for irregularities in their finances until he showed up. If he called off the Abadaran probably no one would have any reason to mind control him they are not going to say that out loud.

If that is all they've got to say they are dismissed-with-supervision till the next Zone.

They are not inclined to do anything stupid like attacking him about it!

The Abadaran thinks that probably the voice of the person who tried to enchant him sounded a bit different? But that's not unfakeable or anything.

Indeed. Has the Abadaran met anyone who he thinks would make a good bodyguard or has he been exclusively up to his neck in people who cannot be trusted.

Mostly the second thing. He could come up with guesses but they'd all be of the approximate level of insight 'probably the actual paladins aren't going to take a bribe to let someone stab him'.