What if the lord of the Alley of Swords steps down in order to be appointed duke/margrave of Balance Retreat? It's a step up in prestige, and certainly a move that almost any real noble would make. How else do you handle fact that the Alley of Swords needed to be taken in order to TO Balance Retreat?
But if you knew you were planning on taking BR almost immediately,
and you knew you would be appointing Noble X as its Margrave,
why would you appoint him as Lord of the Alley of Swords?
