WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Ceaseless
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Medieval Heretic King is Too Good at Developing ◈
Chapter 104: The Duty of the Living (3)
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Beyond the hills across the Vltava River, the spires of Prague Castle and the silhouette of the cathedral pierced the sky.
When Prague’s city walls came into view, Joseph Fritz thought he was hallucinating.
They were magnificent. Yet it was not the enormous stone structures that caught Joseph’s attention.
‘There’s no smell?’
In every German city, the moment one passed through the gates, one was greeted by a wall of stench that seemed to bore into the nose.
Filth was scattered across the streets. Livestock droppings, the bloody reek of slaughterhouses, and the harsh smell of tanneries all mixed together to form the city’s distinctive foul air.
But the moment Joseph passed through Prague’s gates, the scent that filled his nostrils was not a stench.
The scent of apples, like an orchard in May.
The smell of damp wind blowing in from the river.
And the rich fragrance of freshly baked rye bread from a bakery.
‘Impossible. So many people live here, and it doesn’t smell like shit?’
He looked down.
The road was not muddy. Stone slabs covered the deeply dug water channels on either side, and he could hear clear water flowing beneath them.
Mud did not splash even when carriages passed. Street cleaners moved busily along the roadside, sweeping away filth with their brooms.
Screeech.
Roháč’s adjutant stopped the wagon.
“Get out here.”
When the wheels stopped, Joseph stumbled out of the cargo bed. The hard stone pavement pressed against the soles of his boots.
“Where are we?”
Before him stood a three-story stone building.
It had no notable features. It looked like an ordinary merchant’s residence one might find anywhere in Prague’s old town, or perhaps a slightly larger guild office. There was no signboard, nor was there a guard at the door.
“Go inside. Someone will be waiting for you.”
The adjutant said only that before turning the wagon around, as though he did not wish to remain here long.
Joseph hesitated before the building.
This ordinary-looking place carried an oppressive air.
The windows were shut, and he could sense cold eyes watching him through the gaps in the curtains.
He swallowed dryly and reached for the wooden door.
Screeech.
The door opened from within before he could touch it.
“Come in.”
The man standing inside spoke briefly. He wore black clothes and had a dagger at his waist. His face was ordinary, but his eyes were especially sharp.
As Joseph entered, the man silently shut the door and slid the bolt into place.
Clack.
The corridor was dark.
The guide’s footsteps echoed at a steady pace. Other than that, Joseph heard nothing. The building was far too quiet for its size.
They went up to the second floor and stopped before a room at the end of the hallway.
The man knocked lightly.
“Come in.”
Joseph carefully stepped into the room.
It was plain. There was only a fireplace, a bookshelf, and an oak desk in the middle of the room.
And seated behind that desk was a boy.
He had black hair and sharp eyes. His frame was still lean, as though he had not finished growing, but his broad shoulders and long neck suggested an uncommon natural build.
About fifteen? Sixteen?
Joseph could not be sure, but even at the highest estimate, he did not look twenty.
“Joseph Fritz, correct?”
It was German. There was a slight Hungarian accent, but he spoke fluently.
“Yes... that’s correct.”
“I am János Hunyadi.”
János. Even his name carried the scent of the Magyars.
Could a Hungarian be in charge of the Kingdom of Bohemia’s intelligence organization?
This child?
Yet the air the boy gave off surpassed his age. His gaze, looking up at Joseph with his hands clasped on the desk, was far colder and drier than that of an old veteran who had seen every hardship.
“Sit.”
The boy gestured to the wooden chair in front of the desk.
When Joseph sat down, the boy picked up a document and scanned it.
“Welcome to Bohemia, Joseph Fritz.”
János placed the paper down with a tap.
“First, I’ll tell you what you most want to hear.”
Joseph’s heart dropped.
What he most wanted to hear.
“I heard you’ve been looking for your family.”
“...!”
Joseph reflexively leaned forward. The chair scraped against the floor.
“M-My family... are they alive?”
“Of course.”
A faint smile spread across János’s lips. For a brief moment, his cold expression softened like spring snow melting.
“Elsa, Emma, Sophie. Is that right? They’re not far from here. A new settlement for German refugees has been established west of Prague’s city walls. Your family is living in District Three with the other Germans.”
“Ah...”
A sigh escaped Joseph.
They were alive.
To hear those words, he had crossed the hellish Swabian Plain and crawled through fields of corpses.
Relief washed over him. The tension left his body, and his eyes burned. His fingertips trembled.
“Thank you... truly... thank you...”
“Save your thanks for later. We’re not finished yet.”
János’s expression hardened again. He took another stack of papers from his desk drawer.
“Now, to the main matter. We think highly of your experience. Leader of the Bundschuh. A man who led thousands of peasants against a regular army. You have tactical knowledge, and above all, you have an exceptional ability to bring people together.”
János leaned forward and looked Joseph directly in the eyes.
“I’ll be direct. Do you have any intention of taking revenge on the lords who killed your comrades?”
“Revenge...?”
Joseph’s pupils shook slightly.
Revenge.
At that word, the gray rain of the Swabian Plain spread before his eyes once more. Frederick’s back. Mikhail’s scream. The dull eyes of corpses washed clean by the rain.
“Yes. Join the army.”
János’s proposal was blunt.
“We intend to form a special unit made up of German refugees. People like you, driven from their homes by lords. People who lost their families and burn for revenge. This land is overflowing with such people. The problem is that there’s no commander to unite them.”
He slid the document toward Joseph.
“We’ll provide weapons vastly superior to anything you had before. Steel swords, muskets, and cannons on a completely different level from the sickles and axes you once fought with. You’ll receive proper training as well. In other words, we’ll give you the chance to personally bring down the castles of the lords who oppressed you and slaughtered your comrades.”
His voice gradually lowered. It was almost a whisper, yet every word carried force.
Like the temptation of a devil.
If Joseph closed his eyes, he could clearly see Frederick shoving him aside. Mikhail’s dying scream as a spear pierced him still seemed to ring in his ears.
He could take revenge on them.
He could cut off the heads of those arrogant lords and hang them from the castle walls.
“If you accept this offer, you and your family will immediately receive a home and enough settlement money to live on for the rest of your lives. The state will also take responsibility for your two daughters’ education. You’ll be treated as an officer.”
A home. A salary. Education for his children.
One by one, those words lit up like candles in the dark.
Joseph clenched his fists.
His nails dug into his palms.
Revenge.
It was a sweet word.
But what lay at the beginning and end of revenge?
The battlefield again. The smell of blood again. Watching people die again.
And above all...
‘I can’t make my family wait for me again.’
He could not make Elsa spend every night trembling with fear that her husband might be dead. He could not let his children grow up beneath a sky without their father.
Joseph slowly, very slowly, shook his head.
“...I’m sorry, but I must refuse.”
János’s eyebrow twitched.
“Refuse? These are extraordinary terms.”
“Yes. If I could take revenge... I would want to. Honestly, it wouldn’t be enough even if I chewed those bastards’ bones.”
Joseph’s voice trembled, but his eyes were firm.
“But I can’t become a soldier. If my family is alive... I want to spend the rest of my life beside them. I don’t want to leave them again with the fear that I could die at any moment on the battlefield.”
He caught his breath.
“To me... my family is more precious than revenge.”
Silence followed.
János stared at Joseph without a word. His gaze was so sharp that Joseph felt as though he could barely breathe.
Would they kill him without anyone knowing because he had refused the king’s offer? Was this not an intelligence agency?
After a moment, János spoke.
“...Hmm.”
It was not a scoff.
It sounded closer to admiration.
“As expected, His Highness’s judgment is accurate.”
“Pardon?”
Joseph asked at the unexpected remark.
“No. It’s not something that concerns you.”
For someone whose offer had been refused, János looked rather satisfied. Joseph could not understand the meaning of that smile.
János put the stack of papers back into the drawer and took out another sheet instead.
“It’s regrettable, but it can’t be helped. However, my offer isn’t over yet.”
Joseph’s back straightened again.
“What do you mean?”
“If you won’t become a soldier, how about another profession?”
János lightly tapped the paper with his finger.
“A profession where you can return home every evening, eat the meal your wife has prepared, see your children’s faces, and sleep.”
“S-Such a job exists? Do you mean farming?”
“No.”
János shook his head.
“The Royal Police Bureau.”
János spoke the unfamiliar words.
“Po... lice?”
Joseph furrowed his brow.
“What is that?”
“Think of it as an organization that maintains public order.”
“Public order... like night watchmen?”
“Night watchmen do nothing but wander around at night and blow a whistle when they spot a thief. What I’m talking about is far more than that.”
János rose from his chair and walked to the window. He pushed one edge of the curtain aside with his fingertips and looked outside. The heads of passersby moved across the street below.
“Until now, city order has been handled by lords’ private soldiers or local militias. As you know, it’s a mess. They take bribes and release criminals. They beat merchants when they’re in a bad mood. Most of them are part of the crime rather than stopping it.”
Joseph nodded. Germany was not much different.
The armed men employed by lords were effectively private soldiers. They protected the lords’ interests, not the safety of the people.
One reason for the Bundschuh uprising was that plundering and violence by the lords’ private soldiers had ignited the peasants’ rage.
János released the curtain and turned back.
“His Highness intends to change that completely. The army will focus solely on defending the borders, while the police handle the inside of the cities. Two blades, entirely separate and never interfering with one another.”
János continued.
“Catching criminals, sending drunkards home, finding lost belongings, breaking up fights. Not killing enemies like soldiers, but protecting your neighbors. What do you think? Doesn’t that fit perfectly with protecting the peaceful life you want?”
Joseph stared at him blankly.
Not killing enemies, but protecting neighbors.
A job that would let him return to his family every evening.
“Of course, it can still be dangerous. You may encounter an armed robber. But it’s far safer than a battlefield. You’ll receive a regular wage, and above all...”
János added meaningfully.
“The uniform is quite handsome. Your children will like it.”
Joseph’s heart began to race.
A new life, neither farmer nor soldier.
A path where he could protect his family and still live with dignity.
“This is only a trial project, and if you accept it, you can’t expect to be treated as an officer. You would have to begin as an ordinary constable, but... what do you say? Would you like to try it?”
Joseph did not hesitate.
No, there was no reason to hesitate.
He stood and bowed deeply.
“If that is possible... yes, I’ll do it. Please, let me.”
“Good. You’re accepted.”
János took out a small map from his desk drawer and handed it to Joseph.
“We can write the contract later. Go for now.”
“Yes?”
“You need to see your family. District Three, west of Prague’s city walls. You haven’t forgotten, but you’ll need the map.”
János gestured toward the door.
“Go and enjoy the joy of your reunion. Return here tomorrow morning.”
Joseph clutched the map.
His hands shook.
“Thank you... truly... thank you!”
Joseph bowed at a right angle, then ran from the room without looking back.
Tap tap tap.
He raced down the corridor and flew down the stairs. He did not even feel the pain in his legs.
Creak, bang!
The moment he emerged from the building, sunlight poured down brilliantly.
After checking the map once, Joseph began to run as though his heart would burst.
Outside the western gate.
District Three.
Newly built wooden houses stood in rows along the Vltava River. Children played beside the road, and laundry fluttered in the wind.
Peace.
The peace he had dreamed of was there.
“District Three... Three...”
Joseph panted as he checked the house numbers.
At last, he stopped before the small house marked on the map.
Neatly painted white walls.
A small flowerpot by the window.
And a familiar voice coming through the open door.
“Emma, Sophie! It’s time to eat! Wash your hands and come in!”
The moment he heard that voice, Joseph’s legs gave way.
He nearly collapsed on the spot. Forcing himself to stay upright, he called out in a trembling voice.
“...Elsa?”
The noise inside the house stopped at once.
A moment later.
A shadow moved behind the door.
Then the door swung wide open.
A woman wearing an apron.
Her hands were wet, and a cloth was wrapped around her hair.
A face he had never forgotten, even in his dreams.
Elsa froze when she saw Joseph.
Her eyes widened, and the ladle in her hand fell to the floor.
Clatter.
“...Joseph?”
Her voice was full of disbelief.
She looked as though her husband, whom she had thought dead, had returned as a ghost.
“Joseph... you... is it really you?”
“Elsa...”
Joseph staggered one step closer.
“I... came back.”
“Waaah!”
Elsa burst into tears and ran into Joseph’s arms.
The impact made Joseph stagger backward, but he held his wife tightly and would not let go.
“You were alive... sob... You were alive...!”
“I’m sorry... I’m sorry I came back so late...”
“Father!”
“It’s Father!”
The children ran out of the house.
Emma and Sophie clung to Joseph’s legs and began to sob.
Joseph knelt there and held his wife and two daughters all at once.
They were warm.
The warmth of living people.
The scent of his family, mixed with soap and sweat.
The cold rain of the Swabian Plain, the stench of rotting corpses, and the nightmares of the past month.
Before the warmth of this moment, they melted away as if they had been a lie.
“I won’t go anywhere again.”
Joseph wept as he swore it.
“Never again... will I leave you behind.”
A warm spring breeze blew across Prague’s sky.
It was a breeze that announced the end of the long winter and the beginning of a new season.
Footnotes:
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