The Price Of The Crown Chapter 5 Volume 1 – Chapter 4 – Shocking News And Dangerous Work…

| Morning of August 13, 1244 - Jüterbog - Attila |

I had killed five other people, yet I wasn't scared or nervous at all, same as last time. It was as if I had become used to kill people.

This sort of "gang" was found in front of my house every morning as if they had nothing to do but follow me. As soon as I left the door they bowed and said:

<>.

It was clear that they couldn't trust me after what happened. It seems that the relationship between me and them was one of fear. You could see it on their face that the sweat wasn't just from the heat. I thought that now that I had "bodyguards" I could enter the city undisturbed.

So it was. We entered with all eyes turned towards us, but no one dared to say anything to us.

I asked all my subordinates:<>.

The boy on my right replied:<>.

<>.

The last block was passed before arriving at the tavern when another guy behind me asked:<>.

I stopped abruptly, they too did the same. Without turning around I said:<>.

They looked amazed, you could see they weren't all-around thugs. I had to teach them that I have never been, even remotely, in such gangs. In reality, I didn't want to go to the tavern to eat but to "eavesdrop" on the speeches of ordinary people.

Until now I only knew where and in what year and day I was, but it wasn't near enough information to understand the situation of the Holy Roman Empire.

Information like: Who ruled? How did he reign? What were the relations between the various countries? In short, information that gave me clues on where to start. I couldn't stay in this city forever.

Before entering the tavern I stopped everyone and told them:<>

Everyone nodded, even though it was written in their heads that they were wondering why they had to do all this.

When we entered, we saw that the place was full of people of all kinds. From peasants to visually cleaner and richer people. I sat down at a table next to the entrance with what appeared to be two craftsmen.

One of them looked like a shoemaker, given the clothes he wore, and the other a carpenter, as he still had wood chips on his shoulders.

The first had a tired, almost listless face and was overweight.

He seemed like the classic guy who loses faith in the world and gets into it with alcohol.

The second was a strong man, with exposed muscles, with a brown moustache. He looked at the person in front with a worried look.

When I approached them, the two were silent. Then when I sat down next to them, it was clear that they didn't look favourably on my presence.

Even though they had disgusted expressions I decided to talk to them:<>.

They both stared at me strangely, then looked at each other.

After this strange scene that I had witnessed, the carpenter said to me:<>

<>.

The strong man replied:<>.

The shoemaker, until now silent as a fish, gave us an answer: <>.

I gave the usual answer, which was that the guards killed my "family".

The man drank the beer he had in his wooden mug and threw it on the ground shouting:<>.

After the shoemaker let off some steam, and people stopped staring at him like a madman, I asked him:<>.

The carpenter, in a superb tone, replied:<>.

<>.

I was stunned by the answer, I couldn't believe it.

"Hi, I'm the writer. For the first time, I decided to interact with your readers. I'd like to have a chat with you, but I'll do it in the Epilogue. So why this break of the fourth wall? Well, I am doing this to explain to you why our dear Attila seems so shocked. I will try to summarize in a few lines the basic notions to have about Emperor Frederick II. If you don't care about the explanation then you can skip this paragraph, but to fully enjoy the story I suggest you read it.

Frederick II is, perhaps, one of the most important emperors of the Holy Roman Empire. He was an orphan both of his parents were dead. Thus he inherits the kingdom of Sicily and has the Pope himself as a guardian. The head of the church thought that in the future when he grew up, he could manipulate him as he pleased. But it was not so, as an adult he rebelled against the church and took back the title of Emperor as of his right. The Pope, angry at the course of events, called him "The Antichrist" and was also excommunicated. Frederick II had an open mind, he went beyond appearances. We can say that he was among the most open-minded emperors in history. He was very religious, and when it came to people, he didn't distinguish them by skin colour, nationality or faith. He distinguished only between the competent and the incompetent, in fact, he also had Arabs as advisors to the court (even if it was taboo for all of Europe). He also knew Arabic and was interested in the philosophical questions of life and wrote to Arab intellectuals to ask them questions and even provoke colloquial debates. It was also the Emperor who made a long negotiation with Sultan Al Kamil to avoid making victims for another crusade by becoming the ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Western world was divided between those who thought he was a fantastic Emperor and those who, like the church, hated him to death. In short, he was a great man, but let's see what Attila thinks..."

Now I understand why the difficulty is impossible. I am already at a disadvantage from the beginning, as I am known as the son of peasants. But even if I did get into court I would have to deal with one of my idols and the greatest Holy Roman Emperor. However, I must not be discouraged, it is still too early to think about him.

<>.

The shoemaker:<>.

<>. In the end, I got the information I needed so quickly that none of us was able to order food, it was as if we only left after a few minutes.

<>. No one answered, it was evident that they did not have time to hear anything useful.

Unexpectedly one of them came forward:<>.

I replied:<>.

<>.

<<, for unknown reasons, they don't want to pay a decent escort. So they are looking for volunteers before leaving>>.

<>.

They answered as a group:<>.

Perfect, now the real challenge would have been to talk to the nobles and convince them to choose us as an escort. Although it's not that easy, since we're kids.

Lunch of 13 August 1244 - Jüterbog - Nobleman of Jüterbog - Harm Graf |

My family and I were having lunch, there was a dead silence. My wife and daughter looked at me from time to time but without saying a word.

Breaking the silence my wife said to me:<>.

I replied:<<, My love, I have already told you. We are not going very far nor are we bringing with us who knows what riches. Furthermore, we have already spent a lot on the gifts we will bring to the governor of Berlin, which is very expensive. To tell the truth, I'm almost ashamed to say it, but currently, for this month we cannot afford an expensive escort>>.

<>.

<> my daughter continued:<>.

<>. <>.

The atmosphere became tense...

<>.

My wife sighed and said:<>

I also knew it, I was frustrated in the same way. Of course, simple kids couldn't be a good escort, I couldn't take them.

A dirty farmer used the word "tear" against me, as the fuck he allowed himself.

Okay, first the checkered rag and then I'll have him punished:<>

<< Of course, your lordship>>.

I was already waiting for this brat in the reception room, with a chessboard on the table. I wanted to make him understand how much he was nothing in front of me.

A boy entered in a white shirt and brown cloaks, with silver hair and red eyes. He was of medium height and he was thin, although he wasn't quite a toothpick. I thought a dirty farmer was showing up in front of me, but instead, I met a strangely too clean boy. However his physical appearance or clothing didn't matter, he still offended me. After a few steps, he knelt in gratitude that I had let him in. He was mute, he said nothing. He was just kneeling there.

My daughter and my wife also entered and stood next to me as I sat on the sofa as if they were spectators.

In the end, I decided to take the initiative:<>.

The boy got up and sat down in front of me and, finally opening his mouth, said:<>.

Ah, I understand. You want to piss me off, huh? This one here vary believes himself superior to me?! Well, I can't wait to shut him up! <> I said.

<>.

But does this cheeky kid want to die? It takes me two seconds to call the guards and have him killed on the spot! <>

Ah, so you already know that you will not come out unscathed from here:<>.

So the game began.

A white pawn in E4.

A black pawn in E5.

White bishop in C4.

Black horse in C6.