Koennas City, the Imperial Palace.
The servants were busy cleaning up the water, flower petals, and shards of porcelain scattered across the floor. Just moments ago, King Auston, who was usually mild-mannered, had smashed a vase on the ground. More than a dozen people in the palace had immediately fallen silent in fear. It was only after Prime Minister Adrien gave the servants a discreet signal that they dared to start cleaning.
"Your Majesty, what the four dukes said in their secret letters... isn't entirely unreasonable," Adrien said softly.
"What's reasonable about it? The enemy hasn't even attacked, and they've already run away. Have they forgotten their duty to their people and their territory? Cowards! A pack of cowards! I'll strip them of their titles and take back their lands!" As King Auston said this, he seemed to have forgotten that the lands he meant to reclaim were already in enemy hands. Whether or not he took them back seemed to make little difference now.
"...Please calm down, Your Majesty. The four of them have fewer than twenty thousand troops between them. Against the enemy's army of a hundred and fifty thousand, even if they wanted to resist, I'm afraid they wouldn't last more than a few days," Adrien continued.
"That's still no excuse to run! Aside from their armies, don't they have their people? What could be more important than defending their own lands?" King Auston continued to roar in anger.
"Your Majesty, you know that once the peasants panic in the face of enemy cavalry, they'll likely become a burden to the defenders. The four dukes have already moved their grain out ahead of time. Now those peasants—hundreds of thousands of hungry mouths—have become a burden for the enemy instead..."
"But that still doesn't justify their running away."