Eulàlia actually usually fights her own duels but in this case it would be very stupid to do that. ....they could get him executed that way, by having her Alter Self as a terrifying martial, fight him, and die, but this is probably not the place to play a card like that unless she doesn't have better cards.

She goes to find Ardiaca. "I have a letter from one Conde de Acevedo, making arrangements."

"Sending you it directly?" He says. "In Molthune the seconds handle that."

"Well, Taldor's hardly a civilized nation. Though I didn't realize how uncivilized until this week. I think this is an unusual situation as we will have to insult each other outside the convention to duel over those insults without breaking the convention's rules, and it is meeting for that purpose he proposes."

He laughs. "Well, fair enough. I can come with to take official notice of the insults, then."

You know this is stupid and Feliu agrees with me, right?

You return favors to people who do you favors, not say 'no, that's not morally pure enough.' Don't worry, I'll try for all the lesseners.

"If you'd prefer a martial man I expect Jair can handle him, he's a good deal tougher than most fighters." And Joan-Pau is quite good with swords by the standards of a normal person and a complete mediocrity compared to an experienced duelist.

"If you recommend him I'd be honored." She is not going to insist that hot boy duel for her personally if he doesn't think he's the best person for it. 

Conde Francisco Ledo Curto de Acevedo arrives at the meeting a few minutes before the scheduled time; late enough that he isn't waiting on them as a social inferior, and early enough that he's not additionally rude from it. He's dressed as he usually is.

That's good because she worked his outfit into her planned insults. "Conde de Acevedo. I'll duel you, if you like, but I feel some duty to first observe that the Archmage Naima can help you, and that if you seek her out at the next opportunity I'll forgive the insult as a product of your dreadful present circumstances."

Seriously?

This is the insulting-each-other meeting to insult each other! She feels like it was really generous of her to open with an insult that is technically an offer for him to back down!

"Lord Ardiaca, Lady Seguer."

Is she calling him a cripple? It's an insult, certainly, but the lack of clarity is enough that it mostly fails to land - no, she specified the archealer and not a cleric, she's suggesting he'd be better off a goblin. Under normal circumstances, that would be enough to anger him, but he's specifically here to insult her badly enough for her champion to duel him over so it's hardly as though the insult to him will be going unanswered. He just has to confirm first that she doesn't want to back down before he repeats it, and she's just made the answer to that very clear.

"On the floor, you suggested that I only spoke about you in such a manner due to the archmage's protection, but I would not hide my words behind such a shield. You are both a liar and a venal fool, who merely pretends at principle to disguise her own inadequacies, unworthy of the respect of even the barons you slandered. If you accept such a designation then the matter is of course settled, but I will not apologize for words I stand by."

"Your Excellency," he says, "these words should not be addressed to either a lady or a count. They are beneath you, and you sully your honor by speaking them. If you do not withdraw them I will be honored to serve as champion to the Countess de Seguer."

"As will I," says the big bodyguard next to him, who doesn't look noble but does have magic gear.

"It is the custom of Cheliax that when a man gravely insults a woman, she defends herself. Honorable men, of course, do not so insult women in the first place; but no one has alleged you are an honorable man. I take it in Taldor that is not the custom."

"What strange customs you bring to our shores! Perhaps one day it will be the custom of Cheliax to treat one another as the noble Taldans do. Gladly I will accept Count Ardiaca's retainer as my champion."

Minor head indication. If Acevedo isn't going to make himself look like an idiot by refusing to duel Jair, best to let Joan-Pau take it himself.

Oh all right then. "Or if Count Ardiaca will serve as my champion I will gladly accept his aid."

"I would be honored. Sir Feliu Tauler will serve as my second." Because the job of the second is to try to negotiate appropriate harm-minimization and a paladin is precisely suitable for this.

Sorry, Conde, if you wanted to enslave someone you should've picked someone who didn't succeed at acquiring ALLIES already!!!!

Why on Golarion would his goal be to enslave her! Countesses without champions shouldn't be doing politics but that doesn't mean you enslave them about it!

Ardiaca being the champion is... genuinely surprising, he knows enough about Molthuni duelling to know they absolutely do not permit magic during a blades duel so that can't be the misunderstanding. He'll have to speak to the other Molthunis to see if they know what Ardiaca is playing at here. "Very well. Sir Carlos Taldaris y Llano shall be my second." And will go and meet with Sir Tauler to learn the time and place Ardiaca wants, since the challenger gets to decide that.

So, where's Carlos? He doesn't think he knows him by appearance.

He, on the other hand, does know of Feliu; the paladin's rather a lot more famous than he is. 

"Sir Tauler? I'm Carlos Llano, the Conde Acevedo's second."

"Pleased to meet you, Sir Llano. I assume your principal isn't willing to be talked out of this? It's a tremendously silly thing to do, for two men to try to die for their right to insult each other." Feliu is a third circle paladin and the concept that he is trying to seek peace out of cowardice is a shoe that simply would not fit him.

"Not lightly. If lady Seguer spoke not of her own choice, but because she was enchanted or threatened or ordered; if it was critical to the nation or church that he do so, on evidence for the first or your word for the latter? Yes, I suspect, though I would not speak for him without asking. But the conde is an honorable man, and does not let insults to his allies pass unchallenged nor hide from the consequences of his actions."

"I cannot say it is critical to the nation and church that he do so. I can say that I think it is of significant, though not critical, importance that neither of the duelists is arrested for murder. It is brave of him to be willing to protect the honor of his political allies with his life, but if two nobles kill each other it will be a blow to the authority of the Queen and to her work to restore the state, since her designated appointee has forbidden them from doing so."

"My lord has no desire to see Count Ardiaca dead," though humiliated and injured is another question entirely, "and will of course accept surrender as soon as it is requested. As I recall, he was somewhat impressed his excellency took up the challenge himself, and understands that wizardry can make it difficult for observers to grasp the extent of an injury. But beyond having a healer on standby, I am not sure there is much else to be done; my lord has not had occasion to speak to a weaponsmith about merciful blades of late. Did you have something else in mind?"

One of the most important skills for a paladin is to learn how to let dueling insults to your closest friends just sliiiide off your back. "Count Ardiaca has no merciful blades," he says. "I would request first blood, but as I doubt His Excellency wishes to agree to that," because it is a frankly ludicrous handicap to give a wizard, "I suspect the best solution would be for the two duelists to pay for a cleric with a scroll of Breath of Life to stand by so that no death suffered in the dueling is final."

There's a reason you keep both aggrieved parties as far from the arrangements as possible.

"I expect that first blood will not be possible, but purchasing a scroll or having a cleric with it prepared on standby are prudent measures that should not prove an issue; I expect my lord will be willing to cover half the cost." Hopefully it won't be necessary, because he can already see in his minds eye the harried face of his lord's steward if they can't recoup some of the losses by reselling it, but if something went wrong it would be far better than Acevedo actually killing the man. "Have you selected a time and place?"

He has some suggestions! Once the important part is settled the last few details will be pretty easy.