Warhammer Divine Throne-Chapter 665 - 294, The Great Political Tide

On February 11th, Lady Casvan and Duke Hagen of Jisoleox initiated the offensive, formally launching the impeachment process against the King. An official document was delivered to the court in Kulona, demanding Richard to provide an explanation for the defeat.

Just as the Prince-Electors of the Empire have the power to impeach the Emperor, the Dukes of Brittania have the power to impeach the King.

And the Duchess and Duke are "hostile entities," when the Duke cannot exercise his powers, the Duchess can act on his behalf.

Faced with Lady Casvan's inquiry, Richard had no choice but to come forward and respond; the King replied very seriously.

"This is a war between Casvan and the Paragon against the Empire, not Brittania and the Empire. The Royal Court has never, at any time or place, authorized Casvan to initiate this war, nor have I ever expressed any support for Casvan in any venue," Richard replied very earnestly to the inquiry.

However, Lady Casvan was well-prepared.

"Dinua Jean Richard de Le Anglong, as King of Brittania, first did not oppose and exhort against Lord Casvan's military actions; secondly, in the event of war, the King, as the nation's leader, also did not offer assistance or support to Casvan's actions. Finally, when Lord Casvan was defeated and captured, the King did not attempt any rescue efforts or diplomatic attempts."

"Therefore, considering the above, we believe that, as King, Richard bears both direct and indirect responsibility for this war. The Kingdom's treasury should formally engage diplomatically with the Empire to negotiate ransom for Casvan while explaining the lack of sufficient resources provided to the Expeditionary Army."

Clearly, both parties had diametrically opposed views on the matter.

Richard, as king, held the view that he did not authorize Casvan to start this war. Since Casvan declared war on the Empire in the name of the Paragon Duchy and his person, it was his own war, not the Kingdom's, and he would have to bear the full responsibility.

It sounds reasonable, doesn't it?

However, Lady Casvan's view was such that, indeed, it was a war between Casvan and the Paragon Duchy against the Empire, but as King, Richard knew about this from the start. As King, as the leader of the Kingdom, Richard should have supported this war and provided enough resources and knights to give Casvan a better chance of victory.

Or Richard could have opposed this war. As King, he should have understood Casvan's disadvantage. If he intervened and Casvan refused and insisted on war, then Casvan would be fully responsible.

Richard, as King, neither approved nor opposed, neither chose to support Casvan, nor did he negotiate for ransom with the Empire through diplomatic means after Casvan was captured.

What kind of king is this?

This Lady of Casvan, born noble, had relatives among the great nobles of the Kingdom, and what she proposed made a lot of sense. This was indeed Richard's duty, so what was Richard doing?

"Typical Richard way." Mogiana held Laine's hand, and they sat side by side on the chair.

Richard's way of handling matters was like this. Simply put, Richard did not want the relationship between Brittania and the Empire to break down, but he also didn't want to upset Casvan because of this matter.

Therefore, the King's way of dealing with things was to have a foot in each camp, muddying the issues, explaining to the Empire that this was Casvan's individual action while maintaining an ambiguous attitude towards Casvan without explicitly opposing or acknowledging.

This has always been Richard's way of doing things; he doesn't want to offend anyone. That's why Emperor Carl Franz asserted that Richard would not help Casvan.

Mogiana was very dissatisfied with this matter. If it were her, she would have stopped Casvan's actions, and this human civil war would definitely have been prevented from breaking out.

For this reason, Lady Casvan gained surprisingly widespread support among the upper echelons of the Kingdom.

On February 13th, Count Hendrik, Count Allen, Baron Kerry, and thirteen other great nobles voiced their support for Lady Casvan, questioning the King.

On February 14th, Holy Grail Knight Stephan, Lake God Prophet Kouli, Baron Cornell, and thirty-one other great nobles expressed their support for the Duchess of Paragon's impeachment against the King.

On February 17th, Duke Fulcard of Montfort and Duke Theodoric of Borelion announced via message their support for the Duchess of Paragon's impeachment against the King.

Richard suddenly found himself in hot water, as such widespread noble support caught the King off guard. He had no choice but to announce the reconvening of the court meeting to defend himself.

Otherwise, he risked losing his throne.

A day of arguments yielded no results; both sides had their supporters. The King, clearly, could not accept paying ransom for Casvan through the Kingdom's treasury, so the situation reached a stalemate and contention.

Usually, at this point, when both sides are at a deadlock and no one can convince the other, the King should seek out the Lake God Witch to arbitrate on this matter.

However, the problem was Mogiana was seriously injured, and the great nobles of the Kingdom had no idea where to find her. A few informed individuals like Francois remained tight-lipped, saying nothing about it.