Grand Duke Karl Caniola walked hunched over, and looked down with a letter in his hand.

Beside him, a retinue watched him cautiously, and the Grand Duke's temper had become more and more irritable and unpredictable, especially as the news of the imminent arrival of the Ottoman army in Bosnia had made him more enraged.

"Well, then, our friend is not idle in Bosnia," Karl whispered to himself after reading the letter, and then looked up at his retinue next to him, "Are our men ready?" ”

The retinue immediately nodded: "Yes, Your Highness, our people can set off at any time." ”

"Oh, that's good," said Archduke Karl, whose face improved slightly, and he looked down at the letter in his hand again, "Our friend from Rome seems to have done something in Bosnia lately, but it is obviously not enough, so I have to rush him." ”

The retinue listened silently, he knew that this was not the time for him to speak, he just had to listen quietly.

Sure enough, the Grand Duke did not pause, and continued to speak to himself: "But there is still one thing to do before that. ”

Karl said and looked at the house on the other side of the palace, where the two princesses lived, where his aunt and fiancée lived, and what annoyed him was that it seemed to be an independent kingdom of the Marchidovite.

The Marchidovites, including his aunt, Princess Caniola, occupied the house, and although they did not say so, they refused to allow the Carniola to enter, not only protecting their princess and prince well, but also vaguely confronting him, the Grand Duke.

"You have to let them know that you are the masters of this palace," muttered Archduke Karl in a low voice, and he hurried towards it with a quicker pace, and the retinue behind him could only keep up as quickly as possible.

Princess Alexandra Co Caniola sat in the middle of the room, and although the chair was crudely made and not very comfortable, she didn't care about it, she was now concerned about their situation.

Although the previous count from Rome helped them get out of their predicament temporarily, their situation in Caniola did not change much.

With the Count's departure, they took up residence in the house as the Grand Duke had ordered, and were in peace for a while, but the thought of having to face her nephew at the end made the princess feel that her situation was still worrisome.

Prince Gallie could not count on it, he was a young man who had not experienced anything, and now he had almost forgotten what had just happened except for hunting with great interest, at least in his opinion, since he had embarrassed Karl so much, then the matter was over.

And her cousin, Princess Marchdovi, who has the same name as her, is not a person who can discuss such a thing, although she can see the situation clearly.

They were all too young, and the princess felt that she was a lonely person now, but there was nothing she could do.

Princess Caniola didn't believe that Grand Duke Karl would let go of the incident that made him embarrassed so easily, although it was not clear what agreement he reached with the Count later, but although the Count left, the Grand Duke did not move them immediately, which is at least a good thing, but I don't know how long this situation can last.

The news of the Grand Duke's visit made the princess's heart tremble, and she ordered her cousin to be informed, and at the same time sent her men to find Prince Gilly.

Then she walked out of the gate alone and looked at the Grand Duke, who was already standing on the second step.

Most of Caniola's houses were built of stone and wood, even in the Grand Duke's palace.

So the house here is very different from the Italian palace with wide and gentle steps, the steps here are narrow and steep, purely for the convenience of going up and down without much artistry, so it is not suitable for the host to stand on it to greet the guests.

If it's a guest, it's even more inappropriate, as it will give the impression of being uninvited.

Seeing the appearance of Archduke Karl, Princess Caniola couldn't help but feel a slight tightening, she tried her best to look calm, she stopped at the end of the first step a few steps away from her nephew, and then looked down at Karl, who was looking up at her.

Because of his stiff back, Carl was already much shorter than ordinary people, and when he stood on the steps below, he could only raise his head as much as possible to make eye contact with his aunt.

But the Grand Duke didn't seem to care about this, and he had a smile on his face, which didn't show at all how desperately they had been before.

"My dear aunt, I have come to tell you what the Count of Montina has been doing lately," Karl handed the letter to the princess absently, "my friend in Bosnia has news about him, and it seems that he is very active. ”

The princess took the letter with some puzzlement, and her expression couldn't help but change slightly when she saw the content on it.

"My dear aunt," the smile on the Grand Duke's face grew slightly more malevolent, "I know that you and your cousin, my esteemed future father-in-law, have been secretly colluding with the Bosnians, that Marchidovi wants to gain independence through their help, and that you want your husband to be in power in Caniola, but I also have friends over there, so you can't hide those little tricks from me." ”

The princess tried to make herself look as calm as she could, but her hand on the letter betrayed her emotions, and the contents of the letter made her feel troubled, and the princess could not help but feel a pang of annoyance at the thought that her family's long-held plans might be frustrated.

"Auntie, you probably think that I will never be aware of your supporters in Bosnia, and when you heard that Count Montina had entered Bosnia, you thought it was a good opportunity, so you wrote to them to start stirring trouble in Bosnia," Karl said as he unceremoniously snatched the letter from the princess's hand and read it, "Look, less than four days after the Count left, there were several attacks on the Ottomans in the north, the biggest of which was the Rova?" I don't know how you hooked up with him, Marquis, but I do know that man, he's a naïve, funny and stupid Bosnian, and other things, some of the locals have started attacking the Ottomans, and I think these people must have been instigated by some people, and you and my father-in-law of Malchidovi should be credited to that. ”

Karl chattered endlessly, and seeing that the princess's face was getting more and more ugly, he simply stepped up a step and forced the princess to step back.

"You are not as kind as you seem, at least not to the Count of Montina," said the Archduke sarcastically, "and when you hear that the Count is going to Bosnia, you are planning to get your friends to act, and if the Ottomans are angry with this, at least a little attention will find that a foreign army has entered Bosnia, and they will blame the Count for all the crimes, while you and your friends will easily reap the benefits." ”

The Grand Duke's words made the princess's face cloudy, and she tried to keep herself as calm as possible, but the aggressive Grand Duke did not give her any respite.

"Then auntie, why are you doing this, don't tell me you're trying to help your poor cousin," Karl said, glancing at Princess Marchdovi, who had heard the news and was standing at the doorway watching them, "Let me think that you and your husband are planning to become prime ministers of the principality, and you want to hold on to Marchidovi so that you can use Malchidovi as a bargaining chip with the Bosnians when you collude with each other, don't you?" ”

Princess Caniola's face darkened, she turned her head to look at Princess Marchidovi standing in the doorway, stunned, and then turned to stare at Carl in front of her.

"You should be glad that the Earl you sent has done a good deed for all of us," said Princess Caniola, in a gloomy voice, "the Catholics, who could be the target of the Sultan's anger." ”

"Ahh

A scream came from the mouth of Princess Marchdovi, who looked at her cousin in disbelief.

"Shut up," Princess Caniola yelled at her cousin, her eyes showing indescribable disgust, "why do you think I support you traitors, your grandfather was already a traitor when he converted, I live in the same house with you and endure you following those damned Catholic rituals every day, what do you think this is for?" ”

"But you said you were trying to help Marchidovi gain independence, but you actually wanted to trade Marchidovi for someone else." Princess Marchdovi retorted angrily.

"This is nothing compared to your grandfather, and I am merciful enough compared to what he did when he took the throne from our family."

Grand Duke Karl watched the two women arguing with each other with a malicious smile on his face, he took the letter in his hand, and then said coldly: "Okay, now let's all calm down, don't forget that you are in my palace." ”

Karl said as he walked between the two women, slumping through the door.

Behind them, the two women glared at each other, but they followed Carl inside.

Carl sat down comfortably, but soon he frowned and moved to let his bulging back leave the back of the diaphragm behind him.

"Now let's talk about the Count of Montina," the Grand Duke looked at the two women full of hostility, "you probably already know what I asked the Count to do, and I need someone to help me make some trouble for the Ottomans for the time being, so that the Sultan can find out about my importance, so I don't want anyone to ruin my good deeds." ”

"That count can't do anything in Bosnia," said Princess Caniola disdainfully, "those Bosnians are stubborn and stubborn, they won't get along well with a Catholic, and the only thing he ends up doing in Bosnia is dying there." ”

"I don't care about that," Carl shook his head absently, "I care about what he can do for me, at least now I don't want anything to happen to him, so I want you to write to your friends and tell them to be a little more restrained." ”

Princess Caniola looked at her nephew gloomily, wondering what would happen if she didn't agree to this request.

As if sensing the princess's thoughts, Karl said coldly: "If you refuse, I will write to the Ottomans about what you and your husband have done, and I believe that the Ottomans must be very interested in your little tricks." ”

Princess Caniola looked stunned, she didn't expect Karl to be so despicable that he would threaten her with a snitch to the Ottomans.

"Caniola's ancestors will be ashamed of your behavior." The princess said indignantly, but she did not insist on refusing.

Grand Duke Karl pursed his lips and said, "If Caniola perishes at my hands, it will be a disgrace to my ancestors, but it has nothing to do with you anymore Dear aunt, you should now think more about how to dissuade your overly excited Bosnian friends." ”

"And what about you, isn't that Count Montina the Bosnia who you instigated to go, and what do you think the Sultan will think of this news?"

Hearing Princess Caniola's rhetorical question, Karl did not show any panic, and slowly took another letter out of his pocket.

"This is what I wrote to the Governor of Bosnia, but you can see it first, my dear aunt."

Princess Caniola took the letter with some confusion, but after reading the first few words, a look of astonishment appeared on her face.

"You actually revealed the whereabouts of that count to the governor of the Ottomans?"

"Just tell him that a foreigner has entered Bosnia with an army, don't you tell your Bosnian friends the same thing, the difference between us is only that the person who informs us is different, but because of this difference, you must do what I say, dear aunt."

The princess looked at Grand Duke Karl in a daze, and the joy of using Alexander's power to thwart Karl was suddenly gone.

Now Princess Caniola suddenly realized that she had no chance to resist except to do what Karl said.

"As for Marzidovi, I don't think you husband and wife should be delusional, but I can consider compensating you in another way," Karl looked at Princess Marzidovi next to him, "Your husband can get the title of Duke Regent, but you must promise that from now on you will never interfere in any of Marzidovi's affairs." ”

Princess Caniola's eyes flashed as she looked at Carl with some hope, as if to find out whether his words were true or false.

Princess Marchidovi looked at the two bargaining men with a heavy face, and she felt that her country was like a piece of fat ready to be slaughtered, waiting for others to enjoy it at will.

"I can consider your suggestion," said Princess Caniola, nodding to her nephew, "but I can only promise to give up interfering in the affairs of the Marchidovi, and as for the Bosnians, you should also know that our influence on them is not to the point where you can command them at will." ”

Karl cursed secretly, he knew that Princess Caniola was not lying, just like his relationship with that Ivo Drana, and he didn't believe that Princess Caniola and his wife could deal with Ruva? That kind of Bosnian aristocracy had a decisive influence.

But that made things a little worse for Carl.

Archduke Karl had great hopes for Alexander, and in addition to counting on Alexander to hold back the Ottomans in Bosnia, he hoped that it would make the Sultan realize that it was important for the Ottomans to maintain his army.

Princess Caniola's previous revelation of Alexander to the Bosnians would undoubtedly spark the Bosnians' enthusiasm for rebellion against the Ottoman Empire, which seemed to his heart, but Karl knew that the result of doing so might also be to anger the Ottomans completely.

He only hoped that Alexander's Montina army would cause some trouble for the Ottomans, and then he would take the opportunity to help the Ottomans encircle Alexander, so as to show his importance as the ruler of the Duchy of Caniola, but if there was a rebellion in the whole of Northern Bosnia, especially those nobles were involved, the result was likely to be that the Ottomans would completely lose trust in the local nobility.

In that case, when the Ottomans arrived in Caniola, he would probably be deposed.

"Dear aunt, I have to admit that you have caused me a lot of trouble, so hurry up and find a way to resupply before it gets worse, or I will tell the Ottomans what you have done."

Karl gritted his teeth and admonished, and then his gaze couldn't help but turn in the direction of Bosnia.

"Count, you must resist it......" the Grand Duke wished secretly in his heart.

The Naussava River simply divided Bosnia into north and south, not only because of the arrival of the Ottomans, but also because of the fact that Bosnia had two different kingdoms in history.

At its strongest, Northern Bosnia ruled the territory of the north and most of Croatia, and after a while, the Kingdom of Northern Bosnia expanded southward, eventually unifying all of Bosnia and almost all of Croatia.

So when the Ottomans arrived, with the fall of the Bosnian kingdom, Croatia, which had been ruled by the Bosnians, became borderland.

There are many nobles here, like birch forests all over the mountain, and often there are many nobles with different surnames in a small area, although most of these people are not of high origin, but they are still real nobles.

The reason for this situation is related to Croatia's past.

Unlike Bosnia or Caniola, the Croats were Catholic in Rome.

It was the elder Roverre's uncle, Sistine IV, who led the Croats to conversion.

This was probably one of Sistine IV's greatest feats, and when he heard that the Ottomans had destroyed the Kingdom of Bosnia, he made a bold move by sending a bishop to persuade the Croats to convert.

No one thought that his seemingly risky move would actually succeed.

It was only in order to convert the Croats that Sistine IV made great promises to the locals, even declaring that he would recognize the nobles of those people as long as they were willing to convert to the Vatican.

As a result of this promise, Croatia was successfully converted to the Vatican, and there were many new nobles in the area.

And now there was a group of nobles leading donkeys and cattle through a birch forest, and their carts were full of ore.