Medieval: Kingdom Come: Deliverance

Chapter 144 Hidden Identity

"It must have been Yobst who drove them out of the castle! Knowing him as I do, he would definitely do that!"

"He's willing to sacrifice everything for his ambitions and conspiracies," Jessica said indignantly.

Sir Pisek did not refute, but sighed, "You know, Jobsster and Sigismund reached a truce in March, which expires at the end of June. He is seeking to extend the truce until the end of the year and looking for potential allies among those hesitant neutrals to join our Royalists."

"He actually wants to make a deal with the enemy and the traitor?" Catherine was shocked.

"Sigh, that's just how the political game works."

Pisek said helplessly, "People always tend to side with what they perceive as the less risky option. Even though I have some reservations about Lord Jobust's strategy, I still don't want another war to break out."

"Sir Pisek, what are your thoughts on the current situation? What about His Majesty Wenceslaus IV, King Sigismund, and Duke Jöbst?" Henry asked curiously.

"What kind of question is that? Are you doubting my loyalty to His Majesty Václav?" Sir Pisek took a step back to create some distance.

"No, no, no, I absolutely didn't mean that," Henry hurriedly explained his slip of the tongue.

Catherine chimed in, "Henry may sometimes speak without thinking, please don't take it to heart." Clearly, their experience traveling together these past few days had given Catherine some goodwill towards Henry.

"It's okay."

Seeing that a lady was speaking, Sir Pisek gracefully moved on from that point and continued, "In fact, we all know that His Majesty Wenceslaus was not a wise ruler like his father, His Majesty Charles. But that's how the world is; history is full of monarchs who were unworthy of their positions. Their lineage was more important than their talent. He wasn't a monarch of great talent and ambition? So what? In my view, the primary purpose of monarchy is to maintain peace in the country, and the monarch's greatest asset is his legitimacy."

"What if this monarch is truly incompetent and immoral? What if he is a madman?" Henry questioned.

Pisek wasn't angry. Perhaps it was precisely because Henry was a young man that he was so passionate and questioned things so much.

When he reaches his age, what he thinks about most is less turmoil and less upheaval.

During the reign of Wenceslaus IV, Bohemia was plagued by natural disasters, man-made calamities, and various conflicts within the church. However, these conflicts remained unresolved even after Sigismund arrived.

The taxes that were paid to the king before are still payable now, and may even be more than before.

So what's the point of all this turmoil and changing kings? Moreover, Sigismund's legitimacy in inheriting the throne is extremely low, which will only encourage more ambitious individuals and further exacerbate the unrest.

"Let me put it this way, young man: no one can live forever. A wise ruler cannot perpetuate his great talents and strategies forever, nor can a foolish ruler let his folly continue indefinitely."

In his sixties, Pisek shared his experience with Henry as someone who had been through it all.

"Especially those incompetent rulers who indulge in reckless behavior and ruin their health tend to die young, right?"

The middle-aged Jessica echoed Pisek's words, saying that he understood the mentality of these old nobles. They didn't care who was king; they just wanted to stay peacefully on their own little plot of land, paying less money, sending fewer troops, and fulfilling fewer feudal obligations.

"What about us? What do we do now?"

"Yobst would certainly like to discuss this with you, but he won't be back from the noble gathering until tomorrow morning at the earliest. I hope you won't refuse the invitation to stay overnight," Sir Pisek said politely.

Thank you for your hospitality.

"My castle welcomes all supporters of the king, even if it's a bit crowded. I've prepared guest rooms and bathhouses for you. A maid will escort you there shortly."

"Thank you again." Everyone stood up and bowed.

That night, Henry had a dream in which his deceased father asked him if his conscience was at peace regarding the killings he had committed. Henry replied with the words Peter had once spoken: "Strength is not justice. Justice is the measure God has given to the human heart, courage is the hymn of humanity itself, and strength is the word that uses power to protect. The sword in my hand will henceforth be wielded for such justice!"

In the dream, old Martin nodded with satisfaction and disappeared, allowing Henry to have a good sleep.

The next morning, Henry was woken up by a maid, washed up, had breakfast, and was then told that Lord Jobust had returned and wanted to see Henry and Jessica.

"Lord Marquis Jöbst!"

Henry and a somewhat resentful Jessica met Yobst in the study, where he was signing various documents during his breakfast break.

"It is the Duke."

Jöbst gestured for the two to wait a moment, as he still had a few documents to sign. He quickly finished processing the remaining documents, and the butler left with them. Only then did he ask, "Henry, I received a report that von Polgao's flag is flying over my cousin Sigismund's camp. Tell me—what happened between Trostsky and von Polgao?"

"Well, this is a complicated story. It all started when we were stopped by the Red Griffin Guard at a crossroads in the Troski territory..."

Afterwards, Henry, utilizing his eloquence, clearly recounted how he and Hans arrived in Trossky only to find the area under the de facto control of Peter the Red Lion. To complete their mission of delivering a message and forging an alliance, they continued towards the castle, only to be doused with excrement by Ulrich. While washing themselves at the village tavern, they witnessed Peter the Red Griffin defeat the castle guards led by von Polgár. He also recounted how, as an envoy, he ransomed von Polgár's son, only to be betrayed by von Polgár to von Olts, leading to their capture and the deaths of Old Olts and his three companions.

"Von Polgár actually used and betrayed a young nobleman? For someone of his status, this is utterly despicable!"

Jöbst shook his head in commentary, seemingly only having eyes for the nobleman Hans, while remaining indifferent to the deaths of old Oz and others.

Henry suppressed his anger and continued, "Later, Hans and I escaped and met Captain Jessica. In the Battle of Nebakov, under the leadership of Lord Peter, we completely defeated the combined forces of von Polgau and von Olitz, forcing them to flee in panic. Unfortunately, Hans was still captured by them."

After listening to their story, Yobst nodded repeatedly. "Red-haired Peter, what kind of person do you think he is?"

"Brave, kind, and generous!" Henry said without hesitation.

"Intelligent, decisive, and charismatic!" Jessica also praised.

"Wow, wow, this is the first time I've ever heard the proud Captain Jessica praise someone like that. It seems this red-haired Peter is indeed a remarkable young man."

After a moment's thought, Yobst asked, "Do you know his true identity?"

"He called himself a wandering knight seeking salvation, and many people said he was a descendant of the Griffin family from the Duchy of Pomerania, although he did not admit it."

Jessica said he was actually somewhat skeptical of this claim, because Peter's mannerisms and speech did not resemble those of people from the Baltic coast.

"Von Polgar once referred to Lord Peter as the illegitimate son of the Seydletz family during a battle, but no one seemed to care."

Henry was a witness to the duel at Troskey and heard von Polgár say this on the spot.

Jessica glanced at Henry curiously; he hadn't heard of this detail before. Perhaps Henry had been focusing his energy on managing Nebakov Castle during that time.

“Von Polgao wasn’t lying. Red-haired Peter was indeed the illegitimate son of Count Seidleitz’s daughter, born out of wedlock.” Jobust shrugged. “This wasn’t a secret in aristocratic circles back then; many people made that connection when they heard he had red hair. But he had another identity.”

"Another identity? You mean?" Henry asked curiously.

"His father! There had been many speculations before. The daughter of a nobleman of the rank of Count Seidleitz would attend banquets for high-ranking nobles. So his father must also be a nobleman who could attend banquets of that caliber. But red-haired youths among nobles are very rare. It wasn't until the last two years, when my cousin Wenceslaus IV's hair started to turn red, that the secret seemed to be revealed."

"Oh my goodness! You mean, Lord Peter is His Majesty the King's illegitimate son! He actually carries royal blood; no wonder he's so incredibly brave!"

Henry was both surprised and delighted. As a fellow illegitimate child, he cheered for Lord Peter.