204 Letters

While waiting for Elisabeth to deal with the family drama, I set to work, and more specifically to the correspondence, which had gathered a lot... the first of the letters I opened was from Ivan and concerned the expedition against the Tatars, it was no surprise that they quickly and relatively easily managed conquer the settlement, women, children and old men usually do not put up much resistance.

Material profits were not high, a few hundred horses, some farm animals, but more important were prisoners... 700 children went to Jazłowiec, and the rest, almost seven thousand people, were sent to Moscow, to Prince Wiśniowiecki.

"Success... Elisabeth will have something to do." (MC)

Another letter was from Graf Ferber, it was a kind of warning... the situation in the Kingdom of England did not look good, although the civil war had not yet broken out, even Graf Ferber, who received information from the captains of my ships, sensed that the amosphere was changing and warned me that my London trade may come to an end... I was aware of this, therefore the negotiated trade treaty signed by King Charles I and Jerzy Ossoliński was to last only ten years... and only additional problem that could arise was that when my trade with the Kingdom of England collapsed, Cromwell and his ilk may attempt to restore trade ties with the Ottoman Empire.

"Headache with these Englishmen... now I'm beginning to understand the French. Next... Hospodar Moldova sends his thanks for the Tatars... irrelevant. Saddat has returned to Jazłowiec... irrelevant. A letter from Rakoczy, it might be interesting." (MC)

...And the letter from Rakoczy turned out to be the most important I received recently. Thanks to getting rid of my wife's family, I have the opportunity to obtain Bohemia, thanks to this letter I will gain the possibility of acquiring Transylvania, Wallachia and Hungary... Rakoczy agreed to the marriage of his son and my adopted daughter... After a few hours of reading and writing back correspondence, I had had enough, but I hadn't looked through all of them yet... fuck.

Not all of the letters contained important information... this was the case with the letter from my cousin Gryzelda, now wife of the Prince Wiśniowiecki. Gryzelda, who for some unknown reason thought I was interested in her son who was born last year... I was not, and the fact that in the original timeline Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki became the King of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth did not change anything, the more so as I was sure that he would not be able to do it now.

Unfortunately, the mental state of my sisters-in-law was not the best and for the next days I hardly saw my wife, I also organized an official funeral for her mother and brothers... or rather only for their heads, and as for the captain and lieutenant, both ended up in the Vistula River.

"We have to talk. How are your sisters doing?" (MC)

Not that I care, but politeness made me ask.

"Better, which does not mean well... they wake up at night with nightmares, eat little, cry all the time. What a monster could have perpetrated such a disgraceful... barbaric act... but thanks to the protection of god and you my sisters are safe now." (Elisabeth)

"Monster or beast... you're right and that's what I wanted to talk to you about. The Emperor is responsible for this, as is for the death of Charles. We found letters in the Italian mercenary camp, they look real... There was a spy, a French officer, at Charles' court. It was he who gave the information about your family's arrival in Prague, and when they were kidnapped, the Emperor used them as bait to lure Charles into a trap. Then they were no longer needed, so he ordered them to be killed, I do not know why he spared your sisters, maybe he decided that they did not threaten him... or even this monster has a heart." (MC)

Of course I showed Elisabeth the correspondence that was 'miraculously' found, some of letters had blood stains on them for a dramatic effect... The story itself is not enough, evidence is still needed, and it must be credible. Elisabeth immediately started reading them... there was a long silence.

"We cannot... we cannot forgive him, he must be punished for his actions. Justice demands it!!!" (Elisabeth)

"Punish the Emperor? Imagine that someone will go to Vienna and arrest him? It is impossible, you are guided by your feelings, and you do not think rationally." (MC)

"Should I forget what he did to them?" (Elisabeth)

"I didn't say that... think rationally. There's a war going on in the Empire." (MC)

"I know, but what does it change? The war has been going on for many years. Once the emperor has the advantage, and sometimes the Protestant union." (Elisabeth)

"Just write a few letters to your father's friends. Write to the King of Denmark and to the King of England... write to everyone about the injustice that has befallen you... You must be sympathetic so that everyone is on your side... and then perhaps you will get justice." (MC)

In the present situation, a few letters are enough to disturb the princes and electors, their alliance with the Swedes is very fragile, many of them do not like the influence that Sweden is gaining and even a few of them tried to come to an understanding with the Emperor and make peace. If Elisabeth announces what happened to her family, many rebels will reconsider whether it is worth negotiating with the emperor... and in a few months I will start a propaganda campaign that has been prepared for some time.