Wait a sec, who appointed Eins as Lord of Akiba?

Kristianthedane said:
The Saiguus aren't just the rulers of Westelande, they are also decendants of the family that used to rule Yamato. Even now, when Yamato has been split up into different countries, people still remember and respect the old imperial family.

Why can't the Cowen appoint dukes themselves? Because they aren't the emperors, unlike the Saiguus - even if the Saiguus have mostly been degraded to puppets. Dukes don't go around making other dukes, only the emperor (Saiguu) does!

If you know a bit of japanese history, you can draw parallels to the japanese sengoku period, where though the daimyos were de facto independant, they still needed the emperors approval to become Shogun.