As soon as Cardinal Rufus left the palace, Alphonse and his advisor began to squawk like crows at each other. The threat of excommunication was huge; some of the advisors in Alphonse's inner circle were deeply religious, and offending the Pope was something they dreaded.
While Alphonse and his advisors were debating the issue, Victor and the Luxenberg commanders began to convene on another side of the throne room.
"My Liege, what are we to do? Declaring war against the Church in support of Prince Alphonse is not in our kingdom's best interest," Field Marshal Wellesley stated.
Many of the gathered Luxenberg commanders concurred with the British Field Marshal. They came to Zandar to support an ally take back his throne, not go to war against their religion. All of them knew what consequences awaited them if they took up arms against the Church.
"I understand our position is quite difficult at the moment. On one hand, we are allied to Green Visconte's and as such we should support them, especially when my son is married to Alphonse's only daughter. On the other hand, we are all loyal to our faith, declaring war against the Church would brand us as heretics," Victor said, outlining their current position.
Marshal Lefebvre voiced his opinion on the matter, hoping that it could spark an idea on how to navigate this situation. "My Liege, to put it bluntly, we must soon make our position clear. The capital will soon erupt into chaos as another war brews. Generals Picton and Kamensky are still guarding the remnants of the Red Visconte Army; let us fall back to their position near Lodi. If Prince Alphonse does go to war with the Church, we must remain out of it."
Victor acknowledged Lefebvre's opinion; in fact, it was a sensible idea. Although it may sour relations with Alphonse, it stopped his nation from being dragged into a war against the church.
As everyone was having their own debates and Alphonse looked to Victor with his commanders. With a booming voice that interrupted everyone's little debates, the prince asked, "What do you think we should do, King Luxenberg? As our ally, surely you must have an opinion on this matter."
It was clear that Alphonse was trying to test Victor and see where his support lay. With little time to think, Victor answered, "Going to war with the church is a stupid idea." It was blunt and in a tone that many could perceive as annoyance.
Alphonse, slightly infuriated by Victor's blunt answer, asked for a reason why Victor thought this way; hence, he replied, "From a military standpoint, you outnumber them, but what happens to your army when they hear that they will be attacking the Holy Father and his loyal flock?"
"Will they still side with you? You are not a king yet, nor do you have full control of this continent. The Pope's influence stretches across all corners of this continent and beyond to my continent of Bulgar. Many noblemen of this continent are deeply religious; would they provide your heretical army supplies and soldiers?"
With each point made, Victor's words stung with venom. It was harsh, but some of Alphonse's advisors knew it was the truth. Luca Sozzini may have been keen to go to war against the Church, but hearing how everything they worked for could be dismantled so easily swayed his opinion on the matter.
"If you truly want to go to war with the Pope, I will not stop you. But my men and I will return home. We did not come here to fight against our own religion," Victor sternly said, solidifying his kingdom's position on the matter.
Many of the Zandarian officials present were disheartened to hear that the Luxenberg forces would leave in the event of a war breaking out between the Church and the Green Visconte faction.
"You can not be serious, King Luxenberg. We are allies, our pact sealed in a marriage alliance. If you were to abandon us now, it would spell disaster for us," Prince Alphonse said, trying to play the victim and guilt Victor into staying to support him.
Victor maintained his chilling demeanour and replied, "Our alliance ends when you drag us into a war against our religion. We have fought hard against your half-brother's faction. That was for our alliance, but fighting against the Church is something that my men and I will not do."
Annoyed by the Prince's actions, Victor and his commanders left the throne room. Their departure stirred the room into further bickering. Losing the support of the Luxenberg Army would hurt the war effort against the Church, and anyone who believed that they did not need Victor's army was considered stupid.
Victor's domain spanned across two continents; he could call upon hundreds of thousands of soldiers to fight when needed. With a powerful ally backing them, even the Pope would have to be cautious, but without Victor, the Green Viscontes would not be seen as formidable.
After further consultation with his commanders, Victor issued the order for the army to prepare to leave Roma. The majority of the army would remain stationed outside the city, while the Royal Guard would be the only Luxenberg soldiers remaining in the city.
It was Victor's intent to meet with the Pope to try to broker a compromise to avoid a war. If the Church and the Green Viscontes could reach an amicable agreement, then Victor would not need to deal with the chaos that would ensue from that.
If Victor could resolve the issues between the two factions, then the attention could be focused on the more pressing matter: The remaining Red Visconte forces. Their strength may have been greatly diminished, but they were still a threat. Victor wanted to quickly dispose of them before returning home, but this boiling tension between Alphonse and the Pope were delaying this.
With that in mind, Victor ordered Marshal Bessières to round up 20 French Imperial Guard soldiers to escort him to the Cathedral of Christ.