I'm not quite following what was happening with the young nobles, but it's plain to see that the consequences of Athy not being around are quickly kicking into gear.
It's so easy to see Lilian's line of thought too.
She saw that there was a huge budget, so she decided to get good food for the people without thinking about rationing them for each person or the necessary management. "I want to give them delicious an nutritious food" is the beginning and end of her attention to the matter, and if Athy were there, she would've picked the more preservable stuff and gotten criticized for being stingy with a large budget..