Road To The Crown 197 Devious Offer

7th July 1574

"... that's why, despite our beloved King leaving the country, we, the senate of the commonwealth, in our power to temporarily rule those lands in our King's absence, decided to grant you the t.i.tle of the Commonwealth econom, along with designating you a new fief in the wild steppes so that your efforts could help this entire area flourish as well!"

As soon as those words were spoken, a group of servants descended from the stairs while carrying a set of items on a luxuriously decorated pillow. Along with a general-like mace, an attribute of the highest national generals, there were three pieces of paper and a long, intricately ornamented sash.

"Dear Sirs, this honour is too great for me to just accept it like that. May I be given some time to think about this offer? I'm not sure if I will be capable of shouldering such a responsibility!"

While it went without saying that the fact that I was actually rewarded for my reason was enough to take me by surprise, I wasn't naive enough to just accept it without doing proper research. Maybe if it was one of my supporters that provided me with the summons, then I would be more open-minded about this affair, but with how it was the Ostros that organised this event, there was no way for me to be overly cautious!

"And what there is to consider in this grant? It's not like we will expect anything great from you in the short term. We all know how hard and expensive it is to develop those lands!"

Claiming that growing the steppes was hard, was a great understatement. Even when one ignored all the problems connected with how poor this land was both in terms of natural resources and the manpower available for use, there still remained the fact that not only was this place highly endangered by constant Tatar raids, but also by the ambition of both the major n.o.bles that built their fortune around ama.s.sing lands along with cossacks that didn't like the idea of anyone imposing the commonwealthan laws on what they considered to be their own home!

"Sir's, if you really invited me here to reward me for all the efforts I put in increasing the wealth of this country, then I think I can safely a.s.sume that you properly learned what means I used to do so. As such, I will dare to a.s.sume that you also learned that I never take any decision without a proper time to consider all its ups and downs along with confronting my ideas with my dearest wife. While I might look like a fairly successful n.o.ble, I dareth not forget that she is the reason that I started all my projects in the first place!"

No matter what, I couldn't accept this nomination just like that. As it wasn't a traditional position that was present in the nation since ages ago like a military hetman (general), I had no way of knowing what kind of responsibility I would have to accept by taking upon this t.i.tle, not to speak about all the potential conflicts if the lands that they wanted to give me turned out to be where another big family wished to expand!

"Your wife? Are you really out of your mind to ignore such a great honour bestowment because your wife might not like the idea?!"

And here it came. With one of the senators that belonged to the Ostros faction standing up and scolding me for my hesitation, I could already tell that accepting this so-called honour would be a bad idea. Even though I didn't know what the catch was, there was no way I could just go and play into their trap like that!

"Sir, with all due respect, but just like our dearest G.o.d surrounded his mother with the deepest respect, I do the same with the mother of my future children! While I dare not to pry what your relations.h.i.+p with your own wife, if you have one, is, but I dare you to say another word about my beloved one. You can be sure that even the senatorial ornate won't be of any help for you then!"

With how they would pressure me to no end to make a decision on the spot were I to play their game, only by turning this summons over its head and making it so that they would be the ones who would wish for my departure could I save myself from their schemes!

"Let's stop it for now!"

Out of nowhere, the president of this meeting, Senator Zamoysky, the figure that would soon turn out to be the most influential person through the entire Kingdom, second only to the next king himself, stood up and stopped both of us before the matters could turn really ugly.

"We are not going to force anything on you, yet we can't let you lead us by the nose either. While it is a great honour to contribute to our mother, Commonwealth, I can also see that you might have your own reservations. That's why you will be given two days to consider this offer before reporting back with your decision. With that said, I announce this meeting to be concluded! Let's move on to the next issue, sirs."

And just like that, I accepted the papers without putting my signature on them, while disregarding the insignia that would allow me to officially wield this new position. While the fact that I grabbed the papers caused quite an annoyed look both on Zamoysky and Ostros Senators faces, I couldn't care less about the bad impression it would leave.

But rather than keeping everyone waiting for my answer, the moment I entered the room that I was offered to rest during my stay in the capital, I dropped everything and focused on those papers. In just a few moments since I started reading through them, I realised how devious this plan was!

Ostros never intended to have me accept this honour in the first place!

The regulations were simply too strict for any sane person to ever even start considering it seriously, not to speak about the fact that if my memory was serving me right, the land that I would be given would directly border the current expansion zone of the Cheerie family, putting me at odds with them!

But on the other side, refusing such a great honour and responsibility would be the easiest way for the Ostros to ostracise me and make it all the harder to officially join the ranks of the magnates, especially with how they would be sure to keep everyone conscious how I ignored the call of duty!

In the end, I was too naive to expect that the plan of those d.a.m.ned magnates would be as simple as I initially expected. 

But it didn't mean that I was completely powerless myself. If they wanted to corner me with this offer in order to get a hook on me that they would later use to keep chipping away at my reputation and ability to make deals with other n.o.bles, then all I had to do was to repay them in exactly the same manner!