Temple Sword

Chapter 173

1322, St. Michael's Month (September)
somewhere on chippel island

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The golden sunlight falls on the ancient forest path through the dense leaves, dotted with the mottled light and shadow on the dirt road, and the autumn wind blows among the trees.On the hillside in the distance, wild deer are leisurely looking for food, raising their heads from time to time and looking around vigilantly.

Elisabeth Piest traveled the narrow dirt road that wound through the forest in a comfortable hansom.In the cool early autumn, when the dense green of the meadows had begun to fade away, the Queen's procession left the forest and reached a spacious clearing.

Ever since Charles Anjou reformed the army, and passed strict legislation stipulating the number of soldiers in each type of standard, everyone knew that even in time of peace the queen had at least a thousand cavalry at her disposal, which had not Count their servants and attendants.

However, Elisabeth Piast thought it was too expensive, and she did not need to be escorted by so many people to visit church properties near Visegrad and Buda.

She has only a 200-man cavalry unit and a [-]-man infantry team around her, which is equivalent to the army of an earldom.

They had been on the road for weeks and Elizabeth's donation tour was coming to an end, but the young queen insisted on visiting Cheppel Island.

"There's nothing interesting there, my queen, there's nothing in it." Dezs Hédervár, Elizabeth's stable master, tried to dissuade her, but Elizabeth's mind was already made up.

"I want to see those so-called boring things..." Her tone was as gentle as ever, "I heard some stories from my maids, and I want to see with my own eyes whether these rumors are true..."

Beads of sweat appeared on Hedvar's forehead. If he was a little careless, the king would definitely punish him severely...

The master of the stables was afraid of offending King Charles, but he did not dare to stop the queen.Maybe she didn't have any doubts, he continued to comfort his thoughts, if I persisted, I would show up instead.

Cheppel Island is huge, we could hang out in it for days, maybe we can avoid that special place...  

So he kept silent and tried to face the queen with a calm expression.

But the direction of travel was determined by Elizabeth herself, and she seemed to know where she wanted to go. Under Hedvar's increasingly painful and awkward expression, they came directly to a stone house, surrounded by other outbuildings and Well-tended gardens.

"Oops," said the Queen in feigned surprise before the Stable Master when the procession stopped, "is this what you call nothing, Lord Hedvar?"

He only gave Elizabeth an embarrassed smile, what else could the poor man say?The queen clearly knew what she was up to, and Hedvar opened his arms, and a barely audible whimper escaped his throat.

Six servants milled about the wealthy-looking manor, men pruning fruit trees and women tending the small garden surrounded by hedges.

When they saw the carriage with the coat of arms of Anjou and the accompanying hundreds of soldiers, they ran together in horror, stood in a row, and stood obediently at the door of the house with their heads bowed.

"Queen of Hungary, Her Royal Highness Elisabeth Piast! Poland..." shouted the captain of the cavalry, and Elizabeth raised her right hand and said that was enough.She walked up to the sweaty servants, who were rubbing their hoods, and looked at them curiously.

"Where is your mistress?" she asked with a slight Polish accent. "Tell her that the wife of His Majesty Charles Anjou wants to speak to her!"

A tall servant stepped out of the crowd and ran quickly into the house without looking up.

Soon, he emerged from the stone house, behind him was a young woman in expensive clothes, smiling, but when she saw Elizabeth standing in front of her, the smile disappeared in an instant.

Her face was pale, and her beautiful lavender mouth was trembling slightly. The woman finally came back to her senses, and quickly knelt down in front of the queen.

"Oh, no, don't be like this, please," Elizabeth walked to her side and gently helped the woman who was no more than five years older than her, "I came a long way to see you, get up and buy me a drink bar."

The queen, leaving most of her servants and court outside, sat down with her mistress at a cozy little table in the house.

The mistress stole a glance at the queen, felt her stomach as if in a cold iron clamp, and dreaded what would happen next.

Elizabeth didn't feel uncomfortable. She looked at the woman sitting opposite her with obvious curiosity, and looked at her body. The other party felt that the Queen was trying to penetrate her skin and explore all her secrets, all her hidden thoughts. .

There were only two servants in the house, one of whom lit a fire in the grate, and hurried into the kitchen to assist the stocky maid who was making a fragrant drink from the herb garden.

Soon, two steaming cups were served on the table, and under the order of the hostess, the servant who had been helping inside also left the room in a hurry.

"Are you afraid of me?" Queen Elizabeth broke the long and tense silence, "Don't be afraid, I will not hurt you."

The hostess just spit out a soft "thank you", which Elizabeth couldn't hear clearly.

"Which queen are you my husband's maid?" she asked curiously. "Maria's? Or little Beatrice's?"

"I belonged to the court of Queen Maria," the other admitted timidly. "I was not allowed to serve Beatrice of Luxembourg, and I had left by then."

"What is your name, my beautiful sister?"

"Blanca," said the woman, under the queen's gentle voice and affectionate address, "my name is Blanca, my queen."

"Are you a woman, Blanca?"

"I am not, Your Highness, I have never..."

"So you just let the king lie on your lap?" Elizabeth asked, but she didn't expect an answer. "You should be no older than 25..."

"I've had 23 or 24 winters, my queen, I'm not sure." The blond Blanca shrugged.

"I have no noble ancestry, I am the daughter of a common citizen of Timisoara," she explained readily, hoping to divert the Queen's attention from her relationship with Charles. "In a martial arts tournament, I was selected as the flower girl in the competition, and then I was honored to be one of the young queen's maids."

"But you betrayed your mistress." Elizabeth suddenly changed her tone, causing Blanca's blood to freeze instantly.

"No, it's not like that!" she denied.

"Don't you admit it," asked the queen sternly, "that you are not the concubine of Charles Anjou?"

"I do not deny, Her Majesty," said Blanca with tears welling up in emerald eyes, "but I have not betrayed my dear mistress.

Poor Queen Maria left us in the summer, and His Majesty the King came to my bed for the first time in St. Andrew's month.He said he couldn't stand being without a woman and he needed company. "

"And you, an innocent little flower, gladly accepted him..."

"What else can I do?" exclaimed the former palace maid, trembling all over. "He is the king of this kingdom!"

For a while Elizabeth silently watched Blanca cry and tremble with fright.After waiting for the woman to calm down, she still looked at him with sharp eyes.

She must have been around my age, she calculated in her head. , a blooming flower, a rose exuding an alluring fragrance, is still beautiful even now.

"My poor girl! She hid you in this old house far away from the palace, with only a few low-level servants to accompany you..." Elizabeth said again in a sympathetic and kind voice, and then took a few sips carefully. A lukewarm drink with a pleasant taste.

"But at least your life is not miserable. If I'm not wrong, the taxes from some highland mines must have flowed into your treasury..."

"I have never enjoyed too much luxury," Branca said after hearing the words, "I never ask for too much. His Majesty does give me some money from time to time, but only because..."

She put her hand to her mouth and bit out the second half of the sentence, but Elizabeth knew very well what the woman was trying to hide from her.

"Just because he doesn't want his bastard to grow up penniless." The queen calmly helped the woman finish her sentence, and Blanca's eyes widened in horror. "Do you think I don't know what's here? I didn't come to you by chance. I came here with a purpose."

"Don't take my son!" begged the hostess, "everyone and everything is at your disposal but him!"

"He cannot stay here forever," said the Queen. "What do you want him to be? An ordinary farmer? Here, he has no chance of doing more..."

Blanca was crying again, shaking more violently than ever, sobbing in pain.

"My queen, I beg you, don't take my son away!" She slid off her chair, climbed to the floor, knelt at Elizabeth's feet, and kissed the queen and the dark blue of her floor-length dress tearfully. velvet hem.

"I haven't seen His Majesty Charlie for many years, I swear, he only sent me a letter, and the letter only asked about the situation of little Kaman!

I swear to you, my noble queen, that he last came to see me after the death of Queen Beatrice, and I have not seen him since his marriage to you! "

"I know you're lying," Elizabeth stood up, and impatiently shook off the hand holding her skirt, causing the woman to fall to the ground. "I know maybe you're trying to make me feel better, but you know, I Not driven by some petty desire for revenge and jealousy.

Kamen will turn five at Christmas and it is time for him to be given a court education.He should learn everything he needs to know from the best scholars, bastard or not, he is the king's eldest son.

He can no longer live on the forest island and grow up as an ignorant wild man.Tell me where he is now, and I will stop torturing you. "

Blanca pursed her lips, determined not to say a word, but she gave herself away with a glance toward the stairs leading upstairs.

"Very good," the queen nodded, and walked quickly to the door. "Captain!" she called to the waiting knights, "Bring your two strongest men!"

The men arrived in no time, and Elisabeth Piast gave stern orders: two men held down the terrified woman who was sobbing, and the captain went upstairs to find the king's illegitimate son.

The soldiers followed orders, but Blanca didn't want to be obedient.She kicked and screamed and cried and moaned like someone possessed by a demon.The queen had no choice but to go up to her and slapped her hard twice.

"Why are you making this more difficult?" she asked sternly. "Do you want your son to remember you that way? You're not hurting me, you're causing Kamen pain.

So cheer me up, and when my captain comes down with your son, bid him farewell in a calm voice! "

"He won't understand why we are parting," cried the king's mistress, her face now covered with tears and snot. "He's still very young..."

"Tell him that you are going to send him to study at the king's father's court," Elizabeth said, staring into the woman's eyes. "Maybe you can meet again when he grows up."

The woman continued to sob silently, but the soldiers still refused to let her go.Not long after, the captain went downstairs with the sleeping boy in his arms.

"That will save you a lot of trouble," said the Queen in a relaxed voice, "and let us go."

They hurried out of the house with the unsuspecting sleeping boy, and Blanca didn't have time to comprehend what was going on around her.The soldier let her go, and the woman collapsed to the ground like a lifeless rag doll, continuing to cry.

In the grief that burned her soul, she almost passed out.Through a mist of unreality she saw the queen walking into the house again, followed by the captain, who now carried a heavy case in his hand instead of young Carmen.

"The gold in it is enough for you to last for 100 years," Elizabeth said.The captain slammed the box to the ground, right in front of Blanca. "His Majesty Charlie will not give you any more money, so you must handle this wealth wisely."

The queen continued sternly: "He himself will not come to you again, and there will be nothing between you. Hide your shame, find yourself a husband, and start a family of your own. Don't come near the king. , or you will regret it."

After finishing speaking, she turned around and walked towards the door with measured steps in the graceful posture of a queen.Before she could cross the high threshold, Elizabeth stopped, then turned back and cleared her throat.

"Thank you for your faithful service, Blanca," she said to her husband's mistress. "The court no longer needs you."

(End of this chapter)