Swiss Arms 59 (Patreon)

Swiss Arms

Chapter 59

-VB-

Isabella

She let out a sigh of relief, the last of many today. Hans had taken her and Henry’s advice after returning from the bandit hunt, and she felt great about that. Yes, they were not married yet and nothing was set in stone (which meant everything might change), but Hans took her words seriously even though she was a woman.

Yes, she already made it clear that she was no ordinary lady, which was already a hard enough job, but she was still surprised by Hans. It was one thing to listen to a woman during times of peace. It was another entirely to listen to a woman when military actions have been taken.

Well, she supposed that some of it had to do with Henry’s insistence that he was family now through Isabella on more than one occasion, though he made sure to imply such rather than name it directly because he was trying to be careful as he too understood that since nothing was set in stone, he needed to walk a fine line lest he ruined it for her.

And if he ruined this for her, then there would be nowhere that he could hide.

As far as she was concerned, Hans’s willingness to integrate her into his council was a good thing as it gave her more assurance that he would be taking her on as his wife.

“Bella.”

Isabella paused in her thoughts and looked over her shoulder.

Henry had just walked onto the balcony, where she was thinking, and gave her a conspiratory look.

She shook her head. There was no one watching them here; she knew that from experience and having a few of her servants, not peasants, ensuring that she had privacy when she needed to think.

“Henry. What brings you here?”

“... It’s about Hans.”

She gestured for him to take a seat on the sturdy wooden chair by the table. Like all things in the fort, even the furniture was sturdy. They weren’t elegant like the “porcelain” vase and dishes, but they were also not as prone to breakage.

“What about Hans?”

“He is as physically powerful as you told me that he was.”

She grinned. “I told you.”

“But there is a difference between being very strong and monstrously strong. Bella, I watched him cleave armored men with that sword of his.”

She frowned. She knew that Hans was … supernaturally strong. He was stronger than any man had the right to be, especially considering that he did not have the physique of a man who spent all of his time eating and training to get big.

It was something she ignored so far because it never came up in an important question. But she was talking to Henry, who was an important man. Any conversation with him was important, no matter how casual it may sound on the surface.

“It is … unnatural, yes,” she agreed. She couldn’t avoid it anymore, it seemed. “There is simply no explanation.”

“And you are fine with continuing with your plans? Marrying a seemingly unnatural man?”

“He is kind to me. He may even come to love me. On top of that, he gives me his time and attention on top of listening to my advice. He does not stop me from doing things I want as long as I do not harm him, his ventures, and his people. What else could a woman want?”

Henry grumbled. “So you’re not scared of him?”

“Are you?”

“... I am.”

She looked at him in surprise.

“Really?”

“Yes. Why wouldn’t I be? I saw Hans split an armored man-at-arms with a shield from across the top of the shoulder to the other side of the body at the hip in one strike that didn’t even look like he put too much effort into. He sliced through armor, shield, flesh, bones, and organs in one clean hit.” He took a deep breath. “And then there were the cloaked soldiers.”

“Cloaked soldiers… Oh, you mean his rangers.”

“You know about them?”

“Of course. He asked me to get some dyes that were used to make their cloaks.”

He shuddered.

“If I ever have the urge to conquer these lands, make sure you remind me about these rangers. They would come and go, disappearing into the forests within a few steps. They could shoot me with their crossbows and I would have no idea where they would be. Nowhere in these valleys would I be safe.”

She smiled. “It’s good to know that you won’t be attacking Hans without serious consideration.”

“I would be foolish to attack him after everything I’ve learned here. I don’t want to wake up one night and find him looking at me with that monstrous sword in hand.”

-VB-

Hans

Henry eventually left, but he gave me his full support… while eyeing Isabella and then at me with enough meaning about how I gained and would retain that support. After he left, I wrote that letter I said I would write.

Sufficed to say, I knew the gist of the political situation as Henry explained - and Isabella confirmed - that taught me a few things.

The original Duchy of Bavaria was currently splintered into at least a dozen duchies, none of which held dominance over the others save for the Duchy of Austria for the sole fact that Albert I, the emperor who named me baron and then went back to trying to consolidate his power and control in the rich Rhineland and Low Countries.

At the same time, I was giving the emperor a reason to get deeply involved in Swabia and Bavaria. The former region was where the Habsburgs were originally from and lost a lot of their lands to small and large competition. Was it a good idea to give the Habsburg emperor that reason, that excuse, to start strutting around?

I might kick off the Swiss-Habsburg wars earlier than the original timeline.

“Why are you worried?”

I looked up and saw Isabella.

Just like myself, she’s done a lot of work behind the scenes. She’s especially taken my education focus as her own endeavor and pushed it as far as she could. She did not, however, agree with my measure of releasing what she considered to be critically important knowledge like the basics of science, politics, and economics.

We actually had our first argument because of that and came to a compromise. My knowledge of the likes of politics and science was left out of my public library, for now, while the more widely distributed economy-related books were left there.

“I am wary about bringing the Habsburgs into Swabian matters,” I replied with a sigh.

She looked at me in surprise. She knew that I knew much more than I appeared to, but I guessed that I surprised her again by knowing about the matters of high politics.

“The current emperor is fixated on the Lowlands… but you are worried about the emperor after him.”

“Yes,” I replied. “Emperor Albert knows that his house does not hold the monopoly on power and wants to use the expansion of borders to the northeast and consolidation of power in the west to cement Habsburg rule in the empire, whether they are the emperor or not. If I give him a reason to send troops to Bavaria and these valleys, then they can use that as a precedent and excuse years down the line.”

“... I think you are thinking too hard about it,” she replied to me as she sat down next to me. “Besides, he is not interested in your lands, is he?”

“I don’t want to give him a reason to look in the first place. I may not be rich as the Lowlands nor as heavily populated, that might not be the case a decade from now. There may be more members that join the Compact, and if we grow big enough, then we become a piece of the game that no one can ignore to our benefit and detriment.”

Isabella sat down and seemed to ponder on my response. Or thinking of ways to make counterarguments.

“Then how do you intend to stop the Bavarians? Just killing them over and over again is not going to work.”

“No, it won’t,” I sighed. “... So what I wanted to do, by contacting the emperor, is to gain permission to go after whatever their ‘base of operation’ may be.”

She paused.

And then her eyes widened.

“You want the emperor to sanction your military action, and because you will most likely be speaking about bandits…”

“He has no reason to refuse unless I specifically tell him every single detail, starting with the house crests. What I am worried about is not being enough and having to call in the emperor after the situation escalates, because if it can escalate once, then it can escalate again.”

“You are making assumptions but I don’t fault you for that,” she mumbled in reply. “I thought you were going to simply explain to the emperor the entire situation.”

I snorted. “I know that’s not going to work. Bavaria is far closer to the Duchy of Austria. If I explain in full, then he will definitely try to beat down the dukes. Hell, I know that the Duchy of Upper Bavaria is not ruled by one but two dukes. This will be a great reason for the emperor to force mandated division between the two dukes and then punish the one responsible, which will do doubt cut down on the threat they may pose if the two become one and then unite the rest of the region.”

Bavaria, as a region, was more prosperous and populous than the current Habsburg holdings in -.

“He may even go so far as to repeat what his father did.”

“... Emperor Rudolf the First?” she asked and then widened her eyes. “Oh. The Swabian Free Imperial Cities.”

Albert’s father, Rudolf I of the Germans, was the man who fought a war with the Bohemians for the acquisition of the duchies of Austria and Styria and was also someone who readily broke the rule of Habsburg’s rivals, the Hohenzollern, by taking their estates in Swabia away and then declaring each and every city they ruled to be a Free Imperial City. These cities included Haguenau, Colmar, and Mulhouse.

He was also the son-in-law of the late Meinherd II … of Gorizia-Tyrol, the late Duke of Carinthia and Henry’s father.

Which made him my potential (probable) wife’s in-law’s in-law.

And if one’s “family” was under attack, then someone like an emperor would definitely react.

The situation had the pot-.

“Dear, you are still thinking too deeply without any evidence.”

I glared at her before grumbling.

“I think… what you intend to do will achieve the results you want. It will keep the emperor busy and uninterested in this area, give you the chance to directly strike at your enemies without much reprisal, and prevent the Habsburgs from finding a reason to move in.”

“... You are awfully clinical about keeping your in-laws out.”

She smiled.

“I said I will marry you, Hans. That means I am of your house now. All I can claim for this is that I am reducing the burden that the emperor might have had to take care of instead of strengthening the empire.”

Speaking of which, wasn’t John, my ward, also a Habsburg by blood, though not in name? He’s … probably not a problem. I’ve noticed that he’s been very cooperative. Even wanted to go out and help me hunt down the bandits. He’ll also turn into an adult soon enough. His mother told me that he had a marriage lined up for him, which would require that he return to his forefather’s ancestral lands.

Gah. So much to do.

… Well, the letter wasn’t going to write itself.