It seemed absurd for a former French king to leap out and proclaim the sovereignty of the German Confederation, yet this scene was underpinned by an undeniable logic.
Louis Philippe knew that his status as a German duke was his only shield, so he had to reinforce that impression, even if it meant shamelessly making a scene.
The situation in the Duchy of Schleswig-Holstein was much like that of the Duchy of Alsace-Lorraine. If he remained silent now, wouldn't people think he shared the Danes' intentions?
After all, the House of Orléans was still vying for the French throne. If the House of Orléans truly wanted to restore itself to power, it needed the German Confederation's support; otherwise, it was nothing but a fool's dream.
And judging by past experience, it wasn't impossible to persuade the Federal Assembly to ask Austria to send troops and help restore the monarchy.
The House of Orléans was willing to pay any price to regain the throne. No price was too high compared with the French crown.
Even if there was only the faintest hope, Louis Philippe was willing to try. In his eyes, Austria surely hoped to keep expanding the borders of the "Holy Roman Empire."
Lamont was feeling rather frustrated. The essence of his argument had been to use the enemy's own weapon against him, putting Franz in an awkward position and making it difficult for him to press the issue further.
After all, Franz's excuse for going to war with the British had been to oppose other countries meddling in Austria's domestic affairs. So weren't the Austrians now meddling in Denmark's domestic affairs?
But then an unexpected interloper had appeared. What bothered Lamont most was that Louis Philippe ought to have been the person most sympathetic to the Kingdom of Denmark.