201 Ant

Elisabeth is intelligent enough that I hope she understood what I said... if not, she will have a quick and painful clash with reality. When her sisters return with me to Warsaw, they will have to relinquish to Elisabeth the right to the throne of Bohemia and the Palatinate of the Rhenish... After talking to my wife, I called a small squad of soldiers and ordered them to prepare their horses and weapons for the journey. I gave similar orders to Wroński who knew where the Italian camp was located.

(Captain Ridolfo Barbiano / Lieutenant Bartolomeo Montone POV)

"It's a pity, but we were going to kill her anyway, so she did us a favor by dying... I've never had a royal ass or that of a princesses before." (Captain Barbiano)

"From the waist down... they're all the same whore..." (Lieutenant Montone)

"Whores? You don't know women. Take my example... when I finished with her, I hugged her, said she was beautiful and gave her a handkerchief to wipe her tears. She lost her sons, I only comforted her in a difficult moment." (Captain Barbiano)

"A real knight on a white horse, and then you did the same to her daughters?" (Lieutenant Montone)

"Not all of them, but a few... every woman deserves love, and we were supposed not to kill them, so they live, but the orders did not say that they must remain virgins... hahaha Protestant whores will give birth to Catholic bastards." (Captain Barbiano)

(END POV)

"Lord, I was about to ask a long time ago... I don't understand, what are these plans for? You gain nothing from them." (Wroński)

Wroński had served me faithfully for many years, but he lacked a certain quality that Kowalski had... not to be interested in what does not concern you... but he was loyal.

"You are wrong, I got everything I wanted... The emperor lost his reputation, the occupation of Bohemia by Charles weakened the empire... and the death of my mother-in-law and her sons will make Elisabeth the eldest daughter of the Palatinate-Simmern family... and she be entitled to the throne of Bohemia and the Rhenish Palatinate... Of course, I'll convince her sisters first." (MC)

"Lord... you want to be King?!" (Wroński)

Idiot... who normal would do all this to be king. Kings come and go... there are more important things than a golden cap and a golden armchair, these items are useful symbols, but when the king is a fool, even a crown won't help.

"No, I don't want to be king, but I'm making a path for my son to be..." (MC)

My plans were much bigger, Władysław will become the King of Bohemia, and Anna will get the title of a princess and the Palatinate of the Rhenish, then I will marry her to the ruler of Bavaria or Saxony and create a new alliance.

"When we come back to Warsaw, you will go to Vienna with the letters. It's about time that the families of Jankiel and Aram worked for the bread they eat. How long will it take us to get to the mercenary camp?" (MC)

"Tomorrow morning we will be in Świdnica, and from there about two hours to the south." (Wroński)

Very well... tomorrow it will be over, the letters will be found, the mercenaries will die, there will be no witnesses, I will save my sisters-in-law and become a hero... Of course, there were other matters that require closing Ilya and Ivan must return from the east, the Crimean Khan should have massacred the Moscow boyars as well, enough time has passed. Probably the boyars will write a request for help to the Seym or the king, or send a messenger... but it won't do them any good... After returning from Prague, I have to order an orphanage for children to be built, Elisabeth has always dreamed about it.

"What are you thinking about, Lord?" (Wroński)

"Wroński, do you think I'm a bad husband?" (MC)

"No, Your Lordship..." (Wroński)

It was an objective truth, compared to many kings, popes or princes... I was an angel.

"I think so too, but I wanted to make sure by asking someone looking at it from a distance." (MC)

The next morning we arrived in Świdnica, the city where Manfred von Richthofen lived... the Red Baron, interesting if my presence and the things I have changed... will he and many others be born and how I have influenced their future lives... it's stupid, the elephant doesn't think how many ants he will crush as he walks... I also have to stop thinking about them. We did not stop in the city, but moved on, following Wroński.

"Lord, now five kilometers west of this forest." (Wroński)

At last.

"Wronski will talk to the mercenaries and give them gold. Nobody is doing anything, wait for my sign." (MC)

"What will this sign be?" (Soldier)

"You will not confuse it with any other sign... Wrónski, if the Italian asks who we are, you will say that we are escorting the prisoners and that we are to take them to Vienna." (MC)

"Lord, we are thirty of us, there will be a hundred..." (Wroński)

"You will introduce me as Baron Manfred von Richthofen." (MC)

"Who is he?" (Wroński)

"An ant, an ordinary ant... and do not worry about their numbers, I was not afraid of thousands of Tatars and Turks... a hundred Italians do not scare me." (MC)

Everything was ready, muskets and pistols loaded, sabers waiting at the belt. It was not easy to cover five kilometers through a dense forest, especially on horseback, but after an hour, when the trees were much smaller, we saw a clearing covered with heather.

"It's here" (Wroński)