After returning to Jazłowiec, I immediately wrote a letter to the prince and ruler of Transylvania, Jerzy I Rakoczy, described the whole situation in it and mentioned my intentions for my foster daughter to marry his son. Although I did not have a positive opinion about the Rakoczy family, it cannot be denied that they had great influence and ambition. If they limited themselves to the South of Europe and the Balkans, I would not mind it, but they also tried to reach out for the Polish throne, they had an alliance with the Swedes and rebellious Cossacks... it was too much. If they are the disease, I will be the cure.
In my assumption, Katarzyna will marry his son, get pregnant and give birth to a boy... and then she will become a widow, unfortunately, I only have an influence on the part if she becomes a widow... I could also try to replace the baby if a girl was born, but it was risky, the rest in the hands of Rakoczy.
(Saddat / Prince Charles POV)
"My brother-in-law sends you here to serve me and you will obey me." (Prince Charles)
"No, Prince. He sent me here to command the Tatars and help you regain your throne ... nothing more, nothing less." (Saddat)
"Do you think you can do better than my officers? I have the best French officers, I also have Scots..." (Prince Charles)
"No, I know that. Your officers may have read or heard about Tatars, I am a Tatar. From childhood, I learned to ride a horse, shoot a bow and how to conduct attacks. Tatars don't trust strangers, they don't even trust me completely." (Saddat)
"So what do you advise me as the Great Tatar Commander whom you consider yourself to be?" (Prince Charles)
"I advise you to send people for reconnaissance and take the prisoners. We will then find out if the enemy is in the area and whether the road to Prague is safe. I also advise you to destroy the nearby settlements, fields, wells. If the enemy does come, he will not be able to obtain resources or help... the scorched earth tactic." (Saddat)
"It's hard for me to believe that a savage understands war... such methods are used by my brother-in-law? Did you learn from him?" (Prince Charles)
"Prince, Hetman Jazłowiecki has a heart of stone, he would force civilians to cooperate or use them as shields." (Saddat)
"I don't know if my brother-in-law will be glad you say that about him." (Prince Charles)
"Hetman says a lot, if you want to raise people, don't spare them a whip." (Saddat)
"Enough of this, send your people on a scout, I hope for quick results, and that your people are worth the food they eat." (Prince Charles)
(End POV)
Time passed quickly, according to my calculations, Elisabeth was already six or seven months pregnant, it was over two months since I sent Saddat, along with the Tatars and supplies, to help my brother-in-law regain the throne of Bohemia, the same time had passed since Iwan and Ilya left for east... I have not yet received an answer from the prince of Transylvania... assuming his caution, he probably wondered how much and what he could gain or lose, and the main cause of his fear may have been the Ottoman Empire... and it was hard for me to stay in Jazłowiec.
(Secretary Wroński / Deacon Piotr Brzozowski POV)
"The Pope and Cardinal Barberini are not satisfied with the father's actions recently. This edict inviting Protestants to Podolia was not a good move. Did it happen at the urging of his wife?" (Deacon Piotr Brzozowski)
"No, Lady Elisabeth had nothing to do with it, anyway you know your father, if he doesn't want to, you won't persuade him to do anything. Only and rarely, your mother managed to do it. On Christmas, Hetman was close to banishing his wife's family from Jazłowiec. Although he tried not to show it, everyone who knew him longer understood that he was like a gunpowder barrel... one spark and it would explode." (Secretary Wroński)
"What shall I do with the Cardinal?" (Deacon Piotr Brzozowski)
"Pretend that when you return to Poland you will talk to your father, and until then just agree with them and do not get into any arguments. In the country, your father can take care of your safety, but as he says... 'Rome is a nest of vipers, it is not known in which cup the poison will be'... so you have to be careful." (Secretary Wroński)
"You think they're gonna try to kill me? I'm no one important, no one knows who my father is." (Deacon Piotr Brzozowski)
"Maybe, maybe not, but being careful won't hurt." (Secretary Wroński)
"Why did you come to Rome? Did something happen?" (Deacon Piotr Brzozowski)
"Not yet, but it will happen. Your father is planning something again. This time, I am to hire Italian mercenaries as an Imperial messenger." (Secretary Wroński)
"It's dangerous... don't do it in Rome, everyone knows everything about everyone here, you'd better go south." (Deacon Piotr Brzozowski)
"Thank you, but you better tell me how are you? How long will you be a deacon?" (Secretary Wroński)
"Less than a year, from what Cardinal Barberini said, I will soon be ordained a priest... and then a lot of gold and I can be a bishop." (Deacon Piotr Brzozowski)
(End POV)
This waiting was exhausting, to the point that one day I woke up and decided to go to Warsaw. I hated the feeling of waiting and helplessness... the servants immediately packed our things and together with Katarzyna, Galina and Ksenia we went to the capital... Two weeks later we were already there, I was curious how much Elisabeth has changed... I hope her tits grew, not something else.
Well, they grew... unfortunately the belly was also huge... gods, let it be fat, not twins.