Road to the Crown

Chapter 252: Opposite ends

21st July 1574

"Are you sure it was a good idea?"

Sitting in front of the fireplace with a small sausage nailed on top of a pointy stick, I watched the drops of fat appear on its surface only to fall down into the flames and turn into smoke with a quick whizzing sound.

"It's not like we had anything better we could do. If I dared to face against the punitive army, that alone would make me a rebel, even if everything prior to that was nothing but a bunch of lies."

Seeing that my sausage was finally in the perfect state, I raised the stake in my hand while grabbing a freshly baked bun to my other hand. Tearing the small piece of bread almost in half, I allowed the stick to slide down to the ground before I could grasp it near the sausage enough to be able to precisely control its position.

Grabbing the meat by clasping the two parts of the bread on it, I finally removed it from the stick before putting it away and adding several layers of different vegetables and seasonings.

"Here, I hope you will like it."

With one of my hand passing the prepared grilled sausage in dressing to my dearest, I was already moving my hands in order to get the next one going.

"But don't you find it strange? Rather than being placed in the middle of the camp, they ordered us to stay at its outskirts, on the directly opposite end to where Ostros moved. Even if the siege is lifted and our people are regaining the control of our lands as we speak, do you really think that after everything they did, they would let us go just like that?"

In reality, this matter was even deeper than Elia mentioned. If it was proven that I wasn't the rebel that Ostros claimed I was, then rather than me being freed from the accusations and the matter being over, the focus of everyone involved would switch to Ostros themselves! Even from the purely economical point of view, I could demand an insane amount of compensation for everything they did, to the point where their budding economic potential would just disappear from the face of the earth. Yet it would be the political backlash that would be a gamechanger in this exact situation.

After all, with the accusations on my name gone, all the reasons for their invasion and overall, stirring up trouble, they would face the responsibility for putting the part of the country in chaotic state just as the eastern invasion began. Even if what could be considered to be their private uprising would be proven to have no ties with the east, just from the losses that Commonwealth was bound to suffer during the course of its war, the resentment towards Ostro household would surely put them out of the political, economical and religious circles for ages to come!

"Woah, it's really yum!"

With my thoughts about the future going into disarray as I saw a small bit of potato juice flowing down Elia's cheek, I threw everything that was roaming through my mind to the back of my head as I leaned forward and licked the thick, salty sauce off her lips.

"I'm glad you like it."

After moving my intrusive body away and letting my dearest eat in peace, I once again focused on the tip of my stake, keenly watching how my sausage was slowly getting ready to be consumed. 

"As for your previous question I don't find it strange at all. Imagine yourself being in Peter's shoes. You make a pretty nice deal with someone while watching over their incredible growth. Then out of nowhere, you learn that said person apparently rebelled for no reason, but when you finally gather an army to put him down, rather than fighting, he approaches you and put himself at his mercy. When you look at it like that, isn't this rebelling part the one element that doesn't fit the consistency of the narrative?"

Slowly turning my stick around in order to make sure my sausage would be evenly roasted, I sent a glance towards Elia's face, almost completely covered in all sorts of sauces. Even with how worried I was about the current situation when seeing this kind of thing, I just couldn't stop myself from grinning like a madman!

"Stop laughing! It's really hard to eat it like this!"

With her face covering in blush, the one thing Elia managed to do, was to get the tomato sauce suddenly disappear from her cheek! Yet as I was laughing silently, my mind was still plagued with what would happen next.

Should I expect a sneak, night attack? Or maybe the water sources that this camp secured would get poisoned? Yet even before I could focus on figuring out what kind of dangers I should be wary off, I had to find out just what the hell the Ostros were after!

If everything they did so far was just a gamble during which they hoped to dispose me completely before any sort of reaction would appear, then rather than resting easy due to how stupid they would be in that case, I would be in a complete loss, as I had no way of predicting the movements of a complete idiot!

Surprisingly, it would be the best for current me if Ostros turned out to be a clan of incredibly efficient schemers, capable of turning any situation around, as that would mean that at last for as long as the war in the east would last, I could just forget about the entire case!

"Anyway, you asked if it isn't strange, and I told you I don't think so. Even if Peter didn't put all of his eggs in one basket by completely siding with me, putting the two of us, or rather, our soldiers that just stopped spilling each other's blood is the most sensible course of action for him! After all, what's the best way to stop the fight if not by pushing both parties interested in bloodshed to the opposite end of the fighting area?"