Temple Sword

Chapter 68 The Master of the Holy Crown

1307, Hallows' Month (October)
The Land of Laxos, Hungary

—

It was a joy to bow the head, bend the waist, lower the eyes, and humble the mouth kissing the ring in Charles Robert's hand.

It was one of the most important days in the life of Charles of Anjou, as the lords gathered in Rákos-mez unanimously recognized him as their rightful ruler, King of Hungary, Arles The legal heir of the Pard family.

Few could see Archbishop Thomas fighting back tears behind his usual rigid mask.

All the hard work and sacrifices are worth it, the Archbishop of Esztergom thought to himself, he fixed his gaze on the King of Knights in golden robes, the old man was already imagining the future coronation ceremony, repeating to himself Ancient words of ritual.He touched the holy crown of Ishtwan between his hands, and put it on Charlie's head carefully and slowly. He could feel the crown, hear the chanting, and the bell that would last for days...

On the plain of Lacus, only one man stood beside the king of Anjou, and yet he could not sincerely rejoice at the result.Antar, in his immaculate robes, washed and shaved for the occasion but with an odd expression on his face, sat on the back of Sarecher, all in glossy black fur.He didn't happily count the number of lords who came to swear allegiance like everyone else, but he was thinking about those lords who didn't come to participate in person or send representatives.

Matt Chuck.

Laszlo Can.

Ivan Kossergi.

The richest and most powerful lords of the provinces did not come.They don't need a new king, they haven't even been at the beck and call of the Alpad family's king for the past 100 years.They were either plotting, or they were making fun of, humiliating the Hungarian kings, and defying their orders.If they set their sights on a castle, a rich land, they don't take it with money, marriage, or talk, they take their army, an army stronger than the king's, and plunder them.

Poor Andre III, the last descendant of the Arpads, king from Venice, couldn't even look them in the face.Threatened and deceived by the nobles, and under the shadow of his mother, he signed charter after charter in which he handed over conquered territories and besieged castles to nobles with powerful armies.

Just five years ago, Wenzel Przemysl, or Wenceslas III, legalized the capture of Trencinburg, gifted it to Matej Chuck, and, to avoid further trouble, The little king gave him the whole of Nitra and Trencin as a gift.

"For him, nothing is sacred at all." The more he thought about it, the lily knight complained, and he didn't even notice that he was speaking loudly.

How could they come?Why should they bow the knee to Charles of Anjou, a firm, brave and somewhat reckless king, a fine king whom Hungary had not seen for a long time?After all they can now hand out titles to each other, throwing them around like snowballs with impunity.There can only be one Paladin in the kingdom, but now five or six people have given themselves this official position, including Mate Chuck himself, who lives like a king, and he has his own justice and minister of the interior.To the east, Laszlo Khan declared himself governor of Transylvania, and Ivan Kosergi minted private coins himself.

Antal, the son of William Barto, chief knight and brother of the king, looked at the nobles kneeling before Charles, looked at Archbishop Thomas fighting back tears, looked at the proud Charles Robert Anjou, and finally looked at Looking at his subordinates, he sighed lightly.Many more bloods will be shed on this land before order is restored in the Kingdom of Hungary.

—

Autumn 1307
Transylvania, Hungary
—

The Duke of Lower Bavaria, Otto Wittelsbach, who had been invited by the young Czech king and provincial lords to take the Hungarian throne, now accompanied him to the Transylvanian Governor with only fifty weary cavalry.

Laszlo Khan greeted him in one of his finest robes, a scimitar with a gilded hilt at his waist, and greeted the grave-faced man with a smile.Otto didn't notice the mockery behind the Governor's smile, which he thought looked joyful, because Laszlo Kane must have thought about the engagement request he had made months earlier, and he must have been delighted that he had his daughter Marry a king, the founder of a new dynasty.

"My lord, is the journey going well?" Otto got off his horse, and the governor asked with a smile on his face, "I hope you didn't run into any trouble."

"Mein Gott," snorted a stubbled and pale Otto, speaking in broken Hungarian, "that's all for shit! When I set off in early summer, I thought I'd be there in just a few weeks. Can get here! Nothing shit goes well, nothing at all!"

"Okay," the governor put away his hands, he was enjoying this man's performance, and almost couldn't help laughing, "Your Majesty, you are finally here..."

"Give me some..." Otto pleaded breathlessly, struggling to think of the poor Hungarian vocabulary in his head, "Use! Nein, water, give me some water!"

"Go ahead," Laszlo Kane nodded cheerfully, taking a drum-shaped wooden jar from his rider.

Otto Wittelsbach shuddered at the sight of the wooden jar, and he still clearly remembered the little accidents when he came to Hungary, and the life he had to live in search of the crown that had disappeared from the wooden jar. bad day.He could have asked for a decent cup more befitting of his status, but he felt that if he didn't drink now, he'd faint in front of the Governor of Transylvania in a moment.

Of course he didn't know that Laszlo Kan had deliberately prepared this wooden can for him to drink. Ever since the governor heard about the loss of the crown, he had been trying to make this joke.So when Otto desperately poured life-saving water on himself, the riders all laughed.

"For the past few months I have had to run from my home like a trampled drunk!" the Duke of Bavaria continued after drinking his water. Only a few people stayed with me, but they didn't understand Hungarian either, and for weeks we had to get out of the damn place by ourselves!"

"There are many ancient forests in Transylvania, and it is easy to get lost." The Governor nodded in understanding, "But at the same time, the scenery here is beautiful. There is no more beautiful place than this, I assure you."

"Damn it," Otto swore, "I want to chop off all the prime and use them to build a castle! I hope I don't have to stay long in this landscape..."

"I'm afraid your majesty will be enjoying our hospitality for a long time."

"what?"

Laszlo Kan still had a generous smile on his face. He clapped his gloved hands twice, and his Sekai cavalry immediately surrounded Otto's remaining troops.

"What are you doing, you pheasant?" Otto staggered and shouted hysterically, "This is not the way to treat a king! Take me to your palace, eat and drink well, and then we can talk important things!"

Laszlo Khan clapped again, and the Sekei cavalry drew their sabers and slaughtered Otto Wittelsbach's entourage.Before they had time to react, their heads fell to the ground.

The king left his homeland and his new home, curled up as a child in front of the Governor of Transylvania, tremblingly pulled off his horse by Laszlo Can's men, and held him facing La Slo Kan.

"But Union!" he said desperately, "my offer!"

"I've already wiped my ass with the letter you brought me, you Bavarian horse thief!" the governor suddenly scolded, "You think I'm going to marry my daughter to an old bastard? Although I don't particularly like the Anjou family , but what idiot hides his crown in a wine vessel and then loses it? What kind of trash lets his men die at Esztergom and be massacred at Buda? Such a man is not worthy of the king's crown, let alone my daughter!"

Otto Wittelsbach listened with horror to the governor's angry roar.

"Let me go!" he said, "Let me talk nonsense!"

"Of course……"

"Gold, I have gold!" Otto continued to try, but Laszlo Kanyan suddenly fell silent, not listening to the nonsense that the Bavarians had to say.

"Where is the crown?" he asked sharply. "Where did you hide it?"

Before Otto could answer, a rider found the box, which was fastened securely to Otto's saddle, carefully broke the padlock, and brought it before the governor.

Laszlo Kan opened the box excitedly, his breath sucked by the crown placed inside.

crown...

Crown of Saint Stephen...

holy symbol...

He kept staring at the crown, joy nearly taking his sanity, but a Sekai rider cleared his throat and brought Laszlo Kan back to his senses.

"What?" he asked angrily.

"What should we do with him?"

The governor shook his head, trying to shake his sweet dream away.

"Well," he muttered to Otto who was kneeling on the ground, "I almost forgot about you..."

"Are we going to kill him?"

"Well...no need." The governor closed the lid of the box. "A comfortable cell awaits him where he can stay for many years."

Hearing this, Otto shuddered. "No cell!" he begged more desperately than ever. "Ball! I'll pay you as much gold as you want!"

The Governor of Transylvania looked at his soldiers with another mocking smile on his face.

"That sounds like a dying dog bark," he laughed. "Take him away, I don't want to see him!"

Laszlo Khan hugged the box containing the crown, paying no attention to the helpless king being dragged away by his men.

That night he slept more sweetly than ever, and in his dreams he dreamed that he was wearing a holy crown on his head.

(End of this chapter)