2 Catch:
As far as I know, this irrational behavior of the computer can be explained by the numerical superiority of the Castle's army forces, or is this not observed in this save game?
Quote from the manual (section 14 "Bugs"):
(except for cases where two Castles are located nearby, one of which is slightly further away but within a single turn's reach, and its defense army is significantly inferior to the enemy army).
See post 56: /topic/at/155946/ ;)
I think a different situation is described here.
Sincerely, VDV_forever