The comte de Laval and vicomte du Bois de la Roche arrived in the city of Nantes on the morning of January 11, the benefit of the royal court being located so close to Brittany. The winter was still rough and they were greeted in Nantes by a typical Breton thunderstorm filled with a chilly rain.

“Philippe, are you nervous at all? With our new responsibilities?” asked the comte de Laval, his voice full of concern.

“When you get to be an old man like me, you no longer get nervous. You just drink a bit too much as a salve against the nerves," he replied, looking around at the dark and ominous skies over Nantes as the two men stepped down from their horses at the stable of the Chasteau des ducs de Bretagne.

The rain came down steadily, and a cold wind blew out of the north, chilling them to their bones as they entered the castle. The castle's stewards and servants had done well to warm it, allowing the two regents to take off their now drenched coats and hats and walk the halls of the château in the warmth of a fire roaring through each room. They were greeted by a hearty lunch of beef stew and hot mulled wine. The men soon found themselves feeling their spirits return as they warmed themselves by the fire, discussing matters of importance to Brittany.

A Year Later

Philippe de Montauban had passed away in July of 1514, only 7 months into his time as regent, leaving the comte de Laval alone in Nantes. The latter half of 1514 had seen the comte de Laval arguing with the Parlement in Vannes on the issue of appointing a new regent and appointing a new Chancellor of Brittany. The Parlement, empowered by the late Duchess Anne, argued that only they had the power to appoint a new regent and chancellor. Roy Loys XII died on January 1st, with the seigneur de Boisy sending to Guy de Laval a letter stating that he wishes to seek out a position for himself in the royal household of Philippe VII. De Boisy would then likely resign as regent and send Pierre III off to Nantes to be with de Laval. Guy de Laval, now exhausted by his solo work in governing Nantes, had resolved to end his arguing with the Parlement. Now after after many months, the comte de Laval backed down and agreed to go to Vannes to request a new regent and a new chancellor of Brittany to ease his labour.

It was late in the afternoon of January 15, 1515, when the comte de Laval arrived at the gates of the Parlement de Bretagne in Vannes. He was greeted well by it's members and they allowed him to enter. Knowing that he would not be able to get the Parlement to budge, he requested President Amaury de Quenec’hquivilly to determine and vote with the Parlement to decide on who should be appointed.

It was no secret that Jean II de Rohan, comte de Porhoët, vicomte de Rohan et seigneur de Léon had wished to be made regent. De Rohan was a committed royalist and highly opposed to Brittany's autonomy, a position that the comte de Laval did not approve of. Laval attempted to compromise with the royalist-dominated Parlement by requesting that the Parlement name two more regents. One given by de Laval and the other given by the Parlement. With de Boisy leaning royalist, this would mean the regency would be headed by two autonomists and two royalists, a compromise both sides could agree on.

The comte de Laval had initially requested that his cousin, Jean de Laval, be appointed regent. Jean de Laval would reject this offer and as such de Laval put himself in favor of Jean IV de Rieux. Jean IV de Rieux, comte d'Aumale et d'Harcourt, seigneur de Rieux, Mareschal de Bretagne, had previously served as Anne's regent for many years and was a natural choice for the position of regent. The Parlement then chose Jean II de Rohan. De Rohan and de Rieux are natural rivals, having fought each other directly in the Mad War. Nevertheless, in the interest of Brittany's unity and peace, they must learn to get along. After deliberation regarding Chancellor, the Parlement appointed Pierre Choque, Anne's herald and roi d'armes, to the office of Chancellor of Brittany. With this decision made by the Parlement, the comte de Laval took his leave and departed from Vannes, returning to Nantes to await for de Rieux's and de Rohan's arrival.

Meanwhile in Blois, the passing of King Loys XII meant that the Duc de Bretagne was now without a father. His brother, now King, was certainly in no position to raise him. Arthur Gouffier de Boisy, after unsuccessfully requesting various positions within the royal household, set off to Nantes with the young Duc in tow. The seigneur de Boisy had even attempted to use his friendship with Françoys, Duc de Valois et Savoy to his advantage, to no avail. He soon became aware of this great change in his fortunes and resolved to do whatever was necessary to ensure the safety and health of the young Duc de Bretagne. The Duc de Bretagne was welcomed into Nantes with great cheer and revelry, with the seigneur de Boisy carrying the young boy on his shoulders to see the crowd, babbling the whole way.

The four regents met together at the Chasteau des ducs on January 16th, 1515. It was a stormy night and the cold wind whipped snow around the windows of the château's great hall, causing the candles within to flicker brightly as they fought against the breeze.

The comte de Laval entered the room first, followed by the seigneur de Boisy and the newly appointed regentsthe seigneur de Rieux and vicomte de Rohan. All three were dressed in thick fur cloaks for the occasion. The comte de Laval sat at a table in the center of the hall, with the seigneur de Rieux on his side and the seigneur de Boisy and vicomte de Rohan on the other. The meeting began with the seigneur de Laval thanking the three other regents for their time and allowing him to speak.

"Fellow lords," said the comte de Laval, "the King is dead and now the new King sits with his own regency until he has sixteen years in age. The old king, may God have mercy on his soul, had good relations with all of us here in attendance today. We shall do what we must to raise his child to the best of our ability. I thank you again for your indulgence and consideration." The four men bowed to each other.

As the meeting wore on, the weather worsened and the candles waxed and waned, flickering wildly. With the child Duke now in the care of the regents, it was up to these men to raise him as a proper lord. Similar to what the French regency council decided, the Breton regency council declared that Pierre III shall be overseen by regents until his sixteenth birthday in 1528. As the youngest regent, Guy de Laval was selected to be stand-in father for Pierre. However, de Laval's wife Princess Charlotte had died 9 years ago. In order for Pierre to have a "new mother", Guy de Laval was now determined to seek out a new match for himself, not only for Pierre but also for his two own children, Anne and Jean. De Rohan initially rejected this idea for de Laval to raise the child, but was talked down from this by the much more moderate de Boisy. There is no doubt that the regency will have many more arguments in its future...