More thoughts on KKM 79

Josak: Is it okay not to let him know about it?

Gwendal: There is no proof as of yet. If he knows about it, I'm sure he'll do something unnecessary.

Josak: Yeah, this is Yuuri we're talking about. He'd probably run off on his own. Or he might even start thinking his own existence is a burden...

It's got to be politics. Somebody, maybe Sara, maybe whoever we're seeing in the wintry shot that looks like Big Cimaron, maybe even a country that is supposedly part of the alliance, is pressuring Shin Makoku by planting seeds of doubt in the other nations of the alliance.

"They aren't even following their own traditions! The Maou hasn't undergone his coming-of-age ceremony, even though he's already 16! How can we trust the mazoku to be true to their promises if they eschew tradition when it's inconvenient?"

And so, just in case, the Ten Aristocrats went ahead and picked out a replacement Maou.

There has got to be a reason that it's Wolfram, some political reason. Gwendal apologizes for the trial he's put his little brother through. Maybe he was the only quasi-neutral candidate (non-head of house) that Gwendal could think of who was nobility and still close to Yuuri in some way.

There is also something else going on, some sort of plan that the Ten Aristocrats have been asked to agree on beyond simply picking Wolfram to replace Yuuri. There's evidence of this, I think, in the way the castle retainers discuss the vote.

Anissina: I have received a message from my brother on the matter. The von Karbelnikoffs have no objections.

Conrad: Lord von Wincott gave us a favorable answer as well.

Celi: My brother [Lord Stoffel von Spitzweg] stated various things, but Raven will do something about it.

Gwendal: All we're waiting on is a response from Lord von Rochefort and Lord von Gyllenhaal then.

Gunter: As of right now, they have not broken their neutrality. I don't blame them. However, when His Majesty's coming-of-age ceremony ends...

Gwendal: That is why it must succeed, no matter what.

Obviously, what they're doing is not trying to manipulate Yuuri out of the throne, but keep him in it, though the actual strategy remains unclear. It looks like we have 5 votes for the measure: von Voltaire, von Christ, von Karbelnikoff, von Wincott, and von Spitzweg; one abstention: von Grantz [is Adalbert head of house or are the von Grantzes absent for some other reason?]; two votes up for grabs: von Rochefort and von Gyllenhaal; and one household decidedly against the whole thing: von Bielefelt. It's apparent that they hate the plan, want Wolfram to stay in their territory, and possibly don't support Yuuri as Maou--Wolfram's line "There is only one true king in Shin Makoku!" seems to be a direct response to his family's position.

It also appears the von Radfords voted no, since they weren't mentioned in the list of supporters. That makes it 5 to 2 with one abstention so far. Gwendal will need at least one more vote to get the majority. There might be a rule that you have to have 7 votes to pass something, since 7 is a lucky number, but then again this is a demon kingdom, so I don't know if 7 would have the same meaning there.

So, as usual, I'm making wild guesses about everything without enough information ;> Remember when I thought Shinou wanted to destroy all humans? (Though I suppose that I was technically right, given that he was possessed at the time :>) Regardless, I'm really looking forward to seeing what develops.

This season may answer some questions about Gwendal and Wolfram's fathers. We see Lord von Bielefelt at the beginning. Is he Wolfram's dad? If so, why did he and Celi split up when Wolfram was still a toddler, as seen in the original anime? If not, is Wolfram's father dead? Is this perhaps his dad's brother, or some other relative? This list indicates Wolfram's father is dead, according to the light novels, but I'm not quite at a level where I can read those yet. (Translation please?)

Gwendal, of course, is the head of his house, meaning his father is either dead or retired. In the original anime, when we see Castle Voltaire, we don't see any other nobles, so that's still up in the air.

We know all about Conrad's father...let's show the other brothers some love! ;>

I'd also like to know more about the other Ten Aristocrats, and why they don't have representatives at court. Actually, I wonder if Effee is related to any of them. Yes, she's a maid, but she could also be...a spy!

All right, that's enough conjecture for now. I need to pack up and head off to Kentucky :)

Edit: As I was packing, it occurred to me that the problem could easily be the fact that Yuuri chooses to go back and forth between worlds. Someone who wanted to get rid of him could argue that it's hard to have confidence in a Maou who only spends half his time in his country. They could back that up with the fact that Yuuri lets Gwendal do everything--maybe that's why Gwendal sourly told Yuuri that if he was an adult, he needed to start acting like one and performing his duties.