He had voiced his concerns to Joachim, who shared them, but there was nothing to be done as there was absolutely no proof of foul play and they were already so close to the goal of ridding the throne of Geoffrey. They had the rest of the day to prepare, the duel was the following morning. That’s when they found trouble finding a champion. The royal knights all refused to take prince Johan’s side. Well, refused is a strong word, apparently all fifty of the castle’s garrisoned royal knights bar one or two had been deployed to ‘patrol’ the royal demesne that day. It seems Geoffrey couldn’t be too sure one of the knights would take the risk to themselves and their family and fight Johan’s cause. Which presented a problem, duels of all kinds, especially title claims, had to be fought by those of noble blood and martial training leaving Joachim with the possibility of facing the knight alone once again. 