Chapter 233 - The Hussite Representatives Arrive
Chapter 233 – The Hussite Representatives Arrive
After a long journey from Bohemia to Kufstein, a group of men dressed in common clothing approached the city gates of Kufstein. From afar, these men gazed upon the mighty star-shaped walls of Kufstein with awe. Such fortifications proved that their leaders had made the right choice in contacting the man behind the German Reformation.
Within the Kingdom of Bohemia, civil conflict was brewing, inspired by the great reformer Jan Hus. Both the nobility and common people within the region were up in arms against the Catholic Church for many of the same reasons that Southern Germany was.
With the unjust execution of Jan Hus in 1415, a group of his followers referred to by the term Hussites had begun to grow violent in the wake of his death. In Berengar's previous life, a war broke out in the Kingdom of Bohemia between the Hussites and the Catholic Church in the year 1420.
However, Berengar's intervention in this timeline and the rise of his German Reformation had sparked more significant conflict from the Hussites. The latter had grown emboldened by Berengar's success in his battles against the Catholic forces.
By now, Bohemia was on the verge of civil war. Thus these men, acting as representatives of the Hussite movement, had come to Kufstein, the center of the German Reformation seeking aid from the mighty Duke Berengar..
As such, these men waited in the long line that had gathered to enter the city of Kufstein. Berengar had implemented strict security measures to avoid infiltration by potentially hostile groups and individuals.
Because of this, every man, woman, and child that sought to enter the city had to undergo an inspection. All arms were required to be deposited with the garrison and would only be returned once the visitors left the town.
After waiting for some time, the men were hailed by the guards signaling that they may approach. The guard observed the men who were garbed in relatively common attire and immediately assumed they were refugees.
"If you wish to seek refuge within the City of Kufstein, you must fill out an application. I can give you a pass that will allow you to enter the city, where you will be led to the Department of Immigration. They will determine if you meet the criteria to migrate to Austria."
However, the man in charge of the group of diplomats immediately shook his head upon hearing this and declared his actual intent for entering the city.
"We are not here to seek refuge. Instead, we seek an audience with the Duke. We come from the Kingdom of Bohemia and have important matters to discuss with the man known as Duke Berengar the Reformer!"
The city guard immediately sighed heavily before giving the standard response to everyone who sought to meet with the Duke.
"There is currently a three-month wait for an audience with the Duke. Unless you represent a powerful foreign interest, the most I can do is allow you access to the city so that you may wait your turn patiently."
Due to Berengar's position and popularity, many people from all walks of life wanted to meet with him. So much so that a waiting list had been established, at the moment, it was backlogged up to three months in total.
Berengar was an incredibly busy man, and he could not afford to compromise his work to meet with every person who desired an audience with him. Unless it were some powerful foreign entity, then they would be forced to wait until Berengar's schedule was free.
Upon hearing this, the Hussite diplomats frowned; they had not intended to reveal their identity until they met with Berengar. However, it would appear they were forced to do so early in order to meet with the young Duke in a timely manner. Thus the man who led these diplomats removed his hood and revealed his entire appearance before speaking his thoughts.
"I am Luděk Hlaváček; I represent the interests of the Hussite Reformation within the Kingdom of Bohemia; as a fellow reformist, I believe your Duke will want to hear what we have to say. I would greatly appreciate it if you could relay our message to the man."
Hearing that the man was a representative of another Chrisitan Reformist movement, the guard immediately asked for verification of their identities.
"Do you have anything that can prove your claims? If not, you will be forced to wait like the rest of the visitors."
Luděk immediately pulled out a letter that contained the seal of a Lord from Bohemia known as Alexej Kašpar as proof of his identity. Alexej Kašpar was a man known far and wide as a leader of the Hussite Movement, or one of the many groups it comprised of. After observing this the guard recognized its validity and parted ways for the diplomats to enter the city. Before doing so, he said his piece.
"I will inform his Grace, Berengar von Kufstein, of your arrival. You can wait within the city until someone leads you towards the castle."
The Hussite diplomats immediately bowed their heads respectfully and thanked the guard.
"You have our thanks!"
with this, they were moved into the city, where they awaited their meeting with Berengar.
…
Berengar was sitting on his ducal throne, openly playing with Linde in a rather inappropriate manner. He tended to grope the woman of his desires in public every so often to establish his dominance. It was quite honestly one of the more primitive instincts of his mind, but it paid an important part in letting his subjects know not to covet what was his.
By now, Linde was flushed with embarrassment, but this public display of affection while sitting on Berengar's lap had made her dreadfully excited; she was starting to exhibit traits of an exhibitionist due to Berengar's thorough training. Even though nobody was around to see her, the idea that someone could walk in on them during their intimate acts was enough to get her aroused.
Of course, it was at this moment one of Berengar's guards walked in and saw that Berengar had reached through Linde's dress and was firmly grasping ahold of one of her bountiful breasts with his left hand. Seeing that someone had intruded upon his fun, Berengar sighed before expressing his annoyance.
"What is it? Can't you see that I am busy?"
Hearing this, Linde looked around and saw that the guard was trying his best not to stare at the lascivious act, she immediately began to blush heavily, but Berengar did not stop groping her, which caused a slight moan to escape her lips. This only caused her to be further embarrassed.
The guard pretending like he had not seen anything; after all, Linde was still fully clothed; it was just that Berengar's left hand had reached through the upper portion of her dress. After looking away from the two lovers, the guard announced his reason for stopping by.
"Your Grace, there are a group of people who have arrived that claim to represent the Hussite Movement from Bohemia. They are requesting an audience with you; they say it is a matter of dire importance!"
Hearing this, Berengar's left hand immediately retracted Linde's bosom, where he licked the milk off of his fingers. One might call Berengar a pervert for his tastes, but since Linde began to develop breast milk he had greatly enjoyed drinking the substance, typically directly from the source. After all, in his mind, there were few better sources of protein and calcium than his lover's breast milk.
After doing such a lewd act, he responded with an authoritative tone as if he was completely unphased by his own actions.
"Bring them here; I very much desire to meet with these men."
After giving his commands, the guard saluted before leaving the area to fetch the diplomats. Even though Berengar and Linde were alone again, he did not resume his lecherous acts and instead addressed his lover with a gentle tone.
"Looks like we will have to wait a bit longer before we can finish what we started; you can take care of yourself in the meantime, right?"
Linde immediately blushed upon hearing this and nodded while looking away in embarrassment as she departed from the great hall and returned to the bedroom, where she would play with herself for the time being.
As for Berengar, he had guests to entertain, and as such, sat in a manner that hid his excitement. There was nothing worse in his mind than getting cock-blocked right when things were about to get interesting.
Berengar waited for some time for the Hussite diplomats to arrive; he was rather intrigued by this. Though he figured sooner or later they would come to greet him; he assumed it would be after the war had already begun. Yet, they were already present in his court, which meant that clearly, he had an impact on this timeline.
His intelligence that pertained to Bohemia was rather slim. Still, he would make sure to take advantage of the Hussite wars and annex the German-speaking regions into his territory. After all, the Sudetenland was in Berengar's mind rightful German clay, and if he were to unify the German Empire in the future, he would need these lands as his own.
Thus he began to hatch a scheme on how best to take advantage of the war in Bohemia for his personal gains, without directly getting involved in the war itself. After all, now that he had an era of peace to establish his hegemony, he intended to take full advantage of it.