As tensions rise over the increasingly important “Zent candidates,” Rozemyne finds herself entangled in the web of royal politics. Thankfully, this also secures her the chance to bargain with one of the princes...
Also obligatory rip Wilfred. I wonder if Charlotte or Melchier will take over as aub considering Willi do will loose Leisagang support once Roz leaves.
I’m not so sure about that. At first glance I also expected any chance Wilfried has to become archduke to die with his engagement… but when I thought more about it, I was less and less sure.
It really comes down to Brunhilde and whether she will be successful in forcing the generational shift… and whether the younger generation Leisegangs truly will be more concerned with the good of their duchy as a whole, than internal faction politics.
If so, it does look very grim for Wilfried, since with his crimes staining his record, as well as his frequent temper tantrums, I see no chance of him winning against his younger siblings when it comes to being seen as archduke material.
However if the old guard stays in power, or the new generation falls prey to the lure of internal power struggles, things are quite different…
The Leisegangs are going so hard after Wilfried, because they want to have Rozemyne as the Aub. But the event that will cancel Rozemyne’s engagement with Wilfried, will also remove her from Ehrenfest entirely and thus any chance to make her Aub, meaning they have to decide between Wilfried, Charlotte and Melchior, all of whom are of Veronica’s hated blood.
As far as I remember, an Archduchess is expected to marry three archduke candidates, which means the Leisegangs have 0 chance of getting one of their own to marry Charlotte, since their only archduke candidate right now is Bonifatius and that marriage is not going to happen. With a male archduke candidate, they have a good chance to get one of their own faction to become the next Aub’s first or at least second wife and to be able to then have her child as the next Aub after Wilfried or Melchior.
Ironically enough, Wilfried’s crimes might well be what could make the Leisegangs more inclined to want Wilfried as the archduke over Melchior, if their goal is to have a semi-puppet in the position, whom they can manipulate to their leasure.
Right now the Leisegangs are the undisputedly strongest faction in Ehrenfest and the Veronica faction is virtually gone, meaning they don’t have to worry too much about anyone else manipulating their puppet.
The crimes that Wilfried committed and their “forgivenes” would give them great levers to keep Wilfried under their thumb, which would not be the case for Melchior.
Assuming oldguard stays and Leisegangs have control over Wilfred, I kinda what moves his veronica faction retainers will make (if they can make any moves at all).
Coinsidering how they raised Wilfried to be a puppet and kept that style of education and manipulation going, even after Veronica was out of the picture… I think his retainers would be delighted just to have Wilfried take on the title - and all the nice priviledges that extends to them - and everything else won’t matter to them. So they’ll pat each other on the backs for what a good job they’ve done… except Lamprecht and Alexis anyway, who will realize the truth and be a whole lot less enthusiastic about the future.
Then again, if the Leisegangs can do a good job of controlling WIlfried, this might not actually be too bad of an arrangement. Certainly a whole lot better than to have Detlinde in charge of anything bigger than a broom closet. ^^
Also obligatory rip Wilfred. I wonder if Charlotte or Melchier will take over as aub considering Willi do will loose Leisagang support once Roz leaves.
I’m not so sure about that. At first glance I also expected any chance Wilfried has to become archduke to die with his engagement… but when I thought more about it, I was less and less sure.
It really comes down to Brunhilde and whether she will be successful in forcing the generational shift… and whether the younger generation Leisegangs truly will be more concerned with the good of their duchy as a whole, than internal faction politics.
If so, it does look very grim for Wilfried, since with his crimes staining his record, as well as his frequent temper tantrums, I see no chance of him winning against his younger siblings when it comes to being seen as archduke material.
However if the old guard stays in power, or the new generation falls prey to the lure of internal power struggles, things are quite different…
The Leisegangs are going so hard after Wilfried, because they want to have Rozemyne as the Aub. But the event that will cancel Rozemyne’s engagement with Wilfried, will also remove her from Ehrenfest entirely and thus any chance to make her Aub, meaning they have to decide between Wilfried, Charlotte and Melchior, all of whom are of Veronica’s hated blood.
As far as I remember, an Archduchess is expected to marry three archduke candidates, which means the Leisegangs have 0 chance of getting one of their own to marry Charlotte, since their only archduke candidate right now is Bonifatius and that marriage is not going to happen. With a male archduke candidate, they have a good chance to get one of their own faction to become the next Aub’s first or at least second wife and to be able to then have her child as the next Aub after Wilfried or Melchior.
Ironically enough, Wilfried’s crimes might well be what could make the Leisegangs more inclined to want Wilfried as the archduke over Melchior, if their goal is to have a semi-puppet in the position, whom they can manipulate to their leasure. Right now the Leisegangs are the undisputedly strongest faction in Ehrenfest and the Veronica faction is virtually gone, meaning they don’t have to worry too much about anyone else manipulating their puppet. The crimes that Wilfried committed and their “forgivenes” would give them great levers to keep Wilfried under their thumb, which would not be the case for Melchior.
Dang didn’t think of that way. Nice write up.
Assuming oldguard stays and Leisegangs have control over Wilfred, I kinda what moves his veronica faction retainers will make (if they can make any moves at all).
Coinsidering how they raised Wilfried to be a puppet and kept that style of education and manipulation going, even after Veronica was out of the picture… I think his retainers would be delighted just to have Wilfried take on the title - and all the nice priviledges that extends to them - and everything else won’t matter to them. So they’ll pat each other on the backs for what a good job they’ve done… except Lamprecht and Alexis anyway, who will realize the truth and be a whole lot less enthusiastic about the future. Then again, if the Leisegangs can do a good job of controlling WIlfried, this might not actually be too bad of an arrangement. Certainly a whole lot better than to have Detlinde in charge of anything bigger than a broom closet. ^^