There was just a bit of roleplay involved, yes. Selenia was always very careful never to explicitly support outright rebellion. I know this because I went back and checked. Why? Besides the obvious reasons being that she'd be risking her good name, lands, titles, and relationships; that the any battle would rip up her city; that she was visiting on a diplomatic mission to Caligus at the time; That any rebellion would weaken Xavax and therefore weaken her; That Magnus (who had always done right by her personally) had made her duchess even though she'd warned everyone during the elections that he was not the right choice for King; and that Kellan Dodger was swiftly making a nuisance of himself. Furthermore, the conspirators went from merely 'suggesting' rebellion in an armchair general kind of way, to actually declaring it in a matter of hours. All that, and I as a player knew that Aurea's player can be CRAFTY AF and it could all have been an elaborate plot to result in Selenia loosing her duchy on grounds of treason so that Magnus could take it or give it as he chose.
What she DID do was assert that due process should be followed: Referendums, protests, making rebellion a last resort as it should have been. But Kellan pushed Duke Isadril into premature action, without counting on how many enemies he himself had made. The loyalist weren't fighting FOR Magnus as much as they were AGAINST Kellan...and then this little gem happened...
It was literally a coin toss as to who Selenia would back. On the one hand, it was clear Magnus had to go and that perhaps a republican system would be a lot better. On the other, some of her most loyal knights and lords had already declared themselves loyalists. What pushed her over the edge, however, was Mormont sending her a letter comparing Kellan (whom she was already irritated with) to the Trents (Tyrants played by a powergamer that was eventually banned by the Titans, resulting in her wresting control of the Ivory Vale and becoming Empress). I was really hoping someone would, it was a masterful bit of character interplay. If not for that, and her promise to commit to a side in order to STOP the fighting, she might have remained neutral the whole way.
The rebels moved too quickly for their own good, which is why their rebellion would have failed regardless of what Selenia did.
