Harald had also learned of Karl and the princess's divorce. Even after the news had been confirmed through multiple channels, it still left him somewhat puzzled.
In his understanding and values, marriage alliances with powerful forces were an important source of political capital and a buffer against danger.
Tearing apart such an alliance—especially a marriage to a royal princess—was undoubtedly like tearing down one's own Great Wall. It meant voluntarily cutting off a possible path of retreat and placing oneself at an absolute political disadvantage: "breaking faith" and "defying the royal family."
This was not something the Karl he knew—cunning, cautious, and skilled at surviving and growing in the cracks—would do.
"For a woman? Or something else?" Harald muttered, shaking his head.
He did not know about the entanglements between Karl and Charlotte, but whatever the reason, this was a terrible move in his eyes.
It gave everyone opposed to Karl—whether the Broomflower Royal Family or those kingdom nobles jealous of him—an excellent pretext. Karl's righteousness and legitimacy had suffered a severe blow.
Yet the political disadvantage brought by this "terrible move" might, in Harald's eyes, be transformed into a military opportunity.
Karl's actions were bound to enrage the Empress Dowager, divide the Broomflower Royal Family's attention, and might even trigger internal strife. Meanwhile, the increasingly vicious raids by Carnford cavalry along the border had already left many of the small tribes and border lords dependent on him groaning with resentment. The majesty of the Sauron Royal Court had been challenged.
Old grudges and new hatred, coupled with the "political flaw" Karl had now exposed, made a decisive battle seem unavoidable.
More importantly, the growth of this "nail" called Carnford had far exceeded Harald's initial expectations.
In less than three short years, it had swelled from a mountain city barely