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Translator/Editor: Ceaseless

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◈ The Medieval Heretic King is Too Good at Developing ◈

Chapter 19: The Coronation

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The square erupted.

"Long live King Ulrich!!"

A deafening roar rose like a massive wave and swallowed the square whole.

All of Prague echoed with a single name.

Slowly lowering my raised sword, I looked down at the thousands reaching toward me, tears streaming down their faces.

János Hunyadi and the soldiers beside me were overwhelmed by the sight, but I remained eerily calm amid all that fervor.

'This is populism.'

Give the despairing masses one clear enemy to explain their suffering, then present yourself as their only savior.

In modern politics, this would be the sort of demagoguery most fiercely condemned. Yet here, in a fifteenth-century Prague square, it was a weapon more powerful than any conventional approach.

I had never intended to seek out the city council's cunning nobles and pedantic theologians and persuade them on their own terms.

Why should I dance on a board they had laid out?

Instead, I came straight to the square and gave those ignorant but pure-hearted people a clear enemy.

The corrupt pope, the greedy emperor, and the fallen priests.

Because of them, you starve. Because of them, your sons died. Because of them, Bohemia's glory has been stained.

How difficult it would truly be to destroy them did not matter at this moment.

'What matters is that the citizens have accepted me as their savior.'

Turning my back on the roaring square, I looked toward the city council building.

Built of red brick, it was imposing, yet somehow looked like a relic of a bygone age.

'Those sly old men have no choice now.'

I had not come to beg for a crown.

I had come to put them in a position where, if they refused to offer it, all of Prague would turn against them, threatening their lives and fortunes.

"Waaaaaah!!"

And just now, I had accomplished that goal perfectly by turning all of Prague's citizens into fanatical supporters.

That was when it happened.

Bang!

The city hall's heavy doors flew open, and men lavishly dressed in expensive furs and silk hurried outside.

Moderate Prague nobles, city councilors, and wealthy guild masters.

The true rulers of this city.

They stood there in a daze, unable to believe the sight before them.

The citizens of Prague, whom they were meant to control and lead, were cheering for an unknown young noble from the provinces and calling him king.

János Hunyadi spoke, his voice full of satisfaction.

"My lord, the old foxes have come out. Look at their faces. They look like they've been chewing shit."

"Naturally. I just took their strongest weapon from them."

The weapon called public support.

The Hussite leaders turned their eyes toward Ulrich.

Open hostility and bewilderment mixed in their gazes, along with confusion they could not hide.

Their minds were probably in turmoil. They should have denounced me as a traitor and arrested me at once, but if they did, that furious crowd would surely tear them apart alive.

"My lord, what will you do now? I doubt those bastards will hand over the crown willingly."

"Don't worry. They have no choice."

That was right. They could no longer oppose me.

Opposing me meant making all of Prague, packed into this square, their enemy. Politically or physically, it would be complete suicide.

I lightly pulled the reins and turned my horse toward the city hall.

The crowd opened a path as though Moses himself had performed a miracle.

People reached out as if they wanted to touch even the hem of my clothes, and some kissed the ground where I had passed.

János Hunyadi and the soldiers gripped their sword hilts, tense and ready for any threat, but all I could feel from the crowd was pure worship and excitement.

The Hussite leaders watched me with stiff faces. One of them was familiar.

One of the commanders who had attacked Sternberg before.

"A pleasure to meet you. I am Ulrich von Sternberg."

"...Hynek Krušina of Lichtenburg."

I nodded, then swept my gaze over the other nobles standing behind him.

"Lord Krušina, and the honorable members of Prague's council. Have you heard the citizens clearly enough?"

After a long silence, Krušina forced the corners of his mouth upward.

It was not quite a smile. His voice trembled faintly as he struggled to contain his anger.

"We welcome the... noble lord of Sternberg. Our council has been deeply moved by this 'enthusiastic' welcome from Prague's citizens."

He put such venomous emphasis on the word "enthusiastic" that it was almost palpable.

"Please come inside, and let us discuss your 'legitimate' claim together. The city council has always been open to discussing Bohemia's future."

"Discuss? Very well."

I answered while still looking down at them from horseback.

"But I think you should learn some manners first. One does not order a man who is to become King of Bohemia to dismount before speaking to him."

Krušina's face turned bright red. The other nobles around him whispered among themselves, their faces full of humiliation.

"What did you just...!"

"Did you not hear the citizens? They are calling me king. Or do you intend to defy the will of Prague's citizens?"

My gaze moved to the crowd still cheering behind Krušina. Following it, he turned his head and bit his lip.

Provoking that frenzied crowd would be like pouring oil on a fire.

"Ghk..."

A long, humiliating silence followed.

Krušina exchanged brief looks with the other nobles, then reluctantly dropped to one knee. The others ground their teeth and followed his lead.

"Waaaaaah!!"

Another thunderous cheer burst from the crowd at the sight of nobles kneeling before their king.

Only then did I dismount. Handing the reins to János Hunyadi, I looked arrogantly down at the crowns of the kneeling nobles' heads.

"Good. Now I will gladly hear what you have to say about your future."

* * *

When the heavy oak doors closed, the crowd's cheers that had shaken Prague Square faded away as though they had never existed.

Inside and outside were entirely different worlds. Outside burned with boiling anger, while inside, the air had frozen with suspicion and intrigue.

Tapestries stretching along the corridor displayed the glory of the House of Luxembourg and the achievements of Charles IV in gold thread. Yet the only thing filling this space was a silence as heavy and cold as stone.

The meeting hall was spacious and lavish. Candlelight from an enormous chandelier illuminated the people seated around a huge round table at its center.

I studied their faces one by one.

Every person here was a Hussite leader who steered Prague and Bohemia.

Their expressions were stiff, as though they wore masks, but they could not hide the hostility beneath them.

A noble approached me and began the introductions.

"My lord, this is Master Jan Rokycana, a professor at Prague University and preacher at Týn Church. He is the spiritual pillar of our Hussites."

Rokycana had the neat face of a scholar and sharp eyes that seemed able to see through a person's heart.

My attention soon shifted elsewhere.

In a corner of the hall, an old warrior sat slightly reclined against the back of his chair, concealing his presence like a shadow.

Worn leather armor, a face covered in scars, and one eye concealed beneath a black eyepatch.

His remaining eye was cold and mad, as though it could pierce straight through me.

'So that is Jan Žižka.'

A living legend who had made Sigismund's crusaders tremble.

An undefeated war hero. The Czech version of Yi Sun-sin.

'...Look at those eyes. He looks like he could eat someone alive.'

I could almost smell dried blood and iron from all the way over here. His presence was that overwhelming.

I could swear that if I met those eyes on a battlefield instead of in this meeting hall, I would drop to the ground on the spot.

"Sit, my lord."

Rokycana had made the offer at just the right moment.

I was about to sit down eagerly, but then I noticed the seating arrangement and frowned.

'Well, look at that.'

Only two seats were empty. One was the seat of honor, and the other was the lowest-ranking seat. It was an obvious trap meant to test me and probe my intentions.

I looked at the vacant seats for a moment, then gave a mocking smile. Pulling the chair nearest the door, the lowest-ranking seat, toward me with a scrape, I dropped into it.

Yet with the seat of honor left empty across from me, the place where I sat strangely looked like the seat presiding over the meeting.

Rokycana's brow furrowed slightly at my unexpected action, while bewilderment spread across the other nobles' faces.

"Why are you staring? Let us begin. We cannot keep the citizens outside waiting too long, can we?"

At my words, Rokycana cleared his throat and regained control of the room.

His voice was calm, like a professor teaching students in a lecture hall, but sharp thorns lay beneath it.

"My lord. That speech in the square... was very impressive. You have an extraordinary talent for winning the hearts of the masses. But this is not a marketplace. When discussing Bohemia's fate, we require cold reason and theological legitimacy, not such emotional agitation."

Rokycana pushed the letter I had sent and the bundle of parchments proving my lineage across the table.

"Your claim that you are descended from the great Emperor Charles IV proved true. But lineage alone does not make one king. The cause for which we raise the chalice weighs more heavily than any secular crown."

I folded my arms and listened in silence.

"We offered you the position of Regent of Bohemia to test your commitment to our cause. Yet you ignored the council's offer and ran straight to the square to deceive the people. This is an insult and a challenge to us all!"

Rokycana's voice gradually sharpened.

"Answer me, my lord. What exactly do you intend to do? What is your faith, and what is the basis of the justice you speak of? If this is nothing more than childish commotion caused by your desire for a crown, Prague will never accept you."

Every eye in the meeting hall turned toward me at the lowest-ranking seat.

They waited to see how I would defend myself, how I would explain my legitimacy through theology.

But I decided to shatter their expectations once again.

"Master Rokycana, you have completely misunderstood the situation."

"What?"

"I have never insulted you. If anything, I have shown you what you have failed to see."

Rising from my chair, I began walking slowly around the round table.

"Theological legitimacy? Cold reason? Master, Sigismund is gathering the Empire's armies beyond the border right now. Are we supposed to sit in this room and hold lofty theological debates?"

An enraged Krušina shot to his feet.

"Insolent! You green Sternberg pup! Do you even know where you are? We have risked our lives to defend this cause for years! And who the hell are you, appearing out of nowhere and...!"

I answered his protest firmly.

"And what have you defended?"

"What?"

"While you fought at the risk of your lives, the kingdom was devastated by civil war. Merchants are going bankrupt because trade routes have been cut off, and farmers are starving because their harvests have been taken. Is this the result of the cause you protected?"

"Y-you...!"

Krušina could not continue, his lips only trembling.

"Agitation? Deception? No. I only gave voice to the citizens. To the pain and anger of the people you have worked so hard to ignore. You raise the chalice and speak of God's will, but you close your eyes while God's children starve."

I swept my gaze over the people in the meeting hall.

"The pope calls the Hussites heretics, and Sigismund will lead another crusade against you whenever he pleases. You are fighting the whole of Europe in isolation. What do you think will happen if this continues?"

I stopped in front of Jan Žižka.

The one-eyed general faced him without moving a muscle.

"What you lack is neither faith nor courage. You lack a unifying figure. You need a legitimate cause to unite Bohemia and a sure strategy to lead this war to victory."

Then I turned back toward Rokycana.

"You asked me to prove my worth. But I already did. When I burned your proud Wagenburg and killed your commander."

Bang!

The radical priest Jan Želivský slammed his fist against the round table. His face was red with rage.

"How dare a corrupt Catholic noble like you! What gives you the right to utter such nonsense...!"

"Even when I was your enemy, I defeated you. Now that I say I will become your king, what greater proof of my worth could there be?"

Želivský was left speechless. His theological logic had been rendered powerless before naked strength.

"I am not a theologian. Nor am I a scholar. I am a man who knows how to win. I know how to crush Sigismund, humble the pope, and make Bohemia the wealthiest and strongest country in Europe."

Silence fell over the meeting hall. Their faces were full of disbelief and suspicion.

"Lineage is only secondary. I seek to become king not because I carry Charles IV's blood, but because I alone can end this war. You are not elevating me as king. You must choose me for your own survival."

At last, Jan Žižka, who had kept his mouth shut until then, spoke. His voice was low and rough, like an old lion's roar.

"You speak well enough, young lord."

Žižka's single eye fixed on me as though it could bore through my body.

"So, what can you do? Can that clever tongue of yours send Sigismund's army back? Do you have something more certain than that little fire trick you used before?"

Every eye in the meeting hall focused on me once more.

Doubt and wariness filled their gazes, along with the faintest hint of expectation.

A method? Of course I had one. But I had no intention of explaining it here.

'Would they believe me if I explained the principles of black powder, the refining process that turns pig iron produced in a Blast furnace into steel, and even the basic principles of a steam engine? No, would they even understand?'

I would be fortunate if they did not simply call me mad. It was like trying to explain calculus to students who had not even learned basic arithmetic.

In the end, only results mattered. Until I showed them with their own eyes, any explanation would be nothing but hollow nonsense.

I did not avoid Žižka's gaze. Instead, I casually shrugged.

"General. Is there any commander on a battlefield who reveals every card in his hand beforehand?"

"Hm?"

"If I blabber all my plans here, what is stopping them from reaching Sigismund through someone's mouth in this room? Or do you believe I can trust everyone here with my life?"

Several nobles in the hall reddened and glanced at one another.

It was an open secret that not everyone gathered here was united in purpose.

"You asked me to tell you the method? Fine, I will. But first, there is something I must ask you."

I slowly looked around at everyone seated at the round table.

Everyone whose eyes met mine failed to hide their discomfort.

"Are you prepared to recognize me as king? Not to heed the advice of some provincial lord, but to obey the commands of the King of Bohemia?"

"You bastard! Are you threatening us?"

Krušina sprang to his feet. His face had gone red with humiliation.

"You will tell us nothing unless we give you the crown? Is that something a claimant to the throne should say? So your personal ambition matters more to you than Bohemia's future!"

"This is not about ambition, Lord Krušina. It is about authority."

I did not yield an inch. This was the moment to make it clear.

"Even if I possess a brilliant strategy, what use is it if you do not follow it? In the inadequate, half-measure role of Regent of Bohemia, my orders would be ignored and twisted dozens of times before they even passed through Prague's gates. I need absolute authority to carry out my plans. That is the power the crown grants."

"You arrogant pup! Who are you to think you can give us orders?"

"Because I can deliver better results than you."

I declared it with the certainty of a prophecy.

"I did not come here to debate with you. I came to demand the crown. Hold a formal coronation at St. Vitus Cathedral before the citizens of Prague. Recognize me as King of Bohemia and entrust all authority to me. Then I will bring you victory."

Žižka still said nothing. He only rubbed his chin as he studied me.

"Hm..."

He was no longer looking at me as though I were just a young pup.

A mad gambler, or a dangerous man with ambition.

Perhaps both.

"Hah..."

Rokycana was the one who broke the heavy silence with a sigh.

Pressing his throbbing temple, he let out a deep breath.

"...Very well. Let us... discuss the coronation."

Footnotes:

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