Thinking about it this way, changing the order of these rings doesn't it spell Kipa?
That Count of Jibashan is most likely Duke Kush.
In other words, the Duke is very likely preparing to escape; he doesn't want to rebel at all, and the Church is probably aware of this.
Knowing full well that the Duke wouldn't rebel, yet sending the Imperial Knights here, aren't they afraid of forcing him to fight back?
Did these Imperial Knights really manage to break through the castle so quickly because they were so strong?
Then there's only one possibility left.
Horn's mind felt like rusty, jammed gears, the thought was on the tip of his tongue, but he just couldn't think of it.
Or rather, he didn't want to think about it.
Perhaps, the Duke had long conspired with the Church and the Empire, and the tens of thousands of "short-haired" refugees were his gift to the Empire, an entry ticket into the society of Imperial Nobility.
