Claude can't help but sigh, hearing Ethlyn's tale of woe. "That's the hardest part about leadership, isn't it?" He says sympathetically. "You could do everything right, but as long as the other people in charge are bound and determined to see nothing but the worst in you and your people, even as a flimsy excuse for further bloodshed... well, there's not a lot you can do about that."

He laces his fingers together atop the table between them, watching as Ethlyn's expression shifts, her stoicism a clear front for how difficult this must be to speak of. "So... this incognito Prince. On what grounds did he think you were hurting the townsfolk?"