Although Duke Carinthium was originally receptive to the offer, negotiations fell through after it was discovered that "Kevin" may have been a front-man for an organization of malevolent robots dedicated to transforming Italy's land and populace into paper-clips. An international committee is investigating the incident with a view to ensuring it does not happen again.

I'm glad I hadn't upvoted this post yet. I just had to reward you for this brilliant paragraph somehow.