Road to the Crown

9th march 1574

"I never expected for this spice to have such great effects."

Lying down on the mattress organised by a single layer of cloth placed above a small pile of hay, Elia snuggled to my arm. With how close we managed to get to the governor, organising three sets of tens wouldn't pose any problem, but she still opted for sleeping in the same one as me, so who I was to refuse her request?

"I told you, rather than spice, it's a powder that increases the taste. Just like you add salt to bring out the aroma in the dish, this one works in a similar way, just better."

To be honest, I wasn't quite sure how to explain it. Even using 'umami' word at the feast that happened only a few hours ago was a grave mistake, since this term was forged… only a few hundred years in the future!

In the end, I could only attempt to explain how it worked by using the same words that my mother used when she was teaching me how to cook some basic stuff so that I wouldn't make for a good joke as a grown-up man.

"So… it's basically how every other spice works, doesn't it?"

With how unpopular spices were in the era, with some of the costing ways more than their weight in the gold, it was no wonder that Elia could be slightly confused about the difference. In a world where both coffee and tobacco were scarce enough to be considered a luxury item, talking about spices would bring one to an even higher level!

"Not exactly. Most of the spices are used in order to add their own taste to the meal, while this one just helps to bring out the innate value of the herbs, vegetables or the meat. Oh, speaking of valuable commodities, I will have to ask the governor whether he could procure some tobacco leaves. Truth be told, I crave a smoke!'

While I couldn't really say whether smoking was already popular or not, I was sure that I saw some actors smoking a pipe in a polish period movie taking place only about a century in the future, so I gauged the chances of tobacco already known even if not popular to be high enough to mention it.

"Anyway, I can't understand why did you refuse… or rather, stopped the Governor from showing his initiative in regard to Peter. Wouldn't it be better to just let him take care of it instead of wasting our time on him?"

Placing her head on top of my arm, Elia turned sideways, gazing at me with her big, starry eyes. Under the scrutiny of such sigh, I couldn't help but reply with all honesty that I could muster.

"I'm a greedy man. As long as he exists, then just as I said before, he will continue to create troubles for us. After all, even if we turn Tarnow and Pilzno into the wealthy oasis of the country, we can't forget that his city lays on the trade route to the east!"

Just like all of the products that I already presented were unseen in this world, most of the stuff that I wanted to get in order to continue the development of my lands could only be obtained from either further east in Commonwealth, or even directly from the Crimean trade hub and even all the way from the Ottoman merchants in the Istanbul.

In short, words, if I wanted to become a true powerhouse of the commonwealth, investing in the eastern steppe was a must! Not only would it allow me to make profits from trading with the Ottomans and their subsidiaries, as long as I could make the trade profitable enough, not only I could solve the problem of the constant raids from Crimean Tatars by simply paying them more than they could rob, but that would also give me a card of both Tatar and cossacks forces to use instead of experiencing them constantly harass the borderlands of the country!

"How do you want to get rid of him completely then? It's not like you can force him into infamy!"

That was a big word, that some people mistook with the one that encapsulated my plan for Peter. In short words, infamy meant forcing someone out of the country while confiscating all of their goods and wealth, with the monetary price for anyone who would kill the infamed person in case he or she would ever dare to come back to the country.

"Infamy might be a bit too much… but banishment won't be that hard to achieve as you might think!"

Contrary to infamy, banishment still meant the sacking of the entire wealth and forcing someone out of the country, but not only it didn't deprive one of his noble statuses in the eyes of other countries but also meant that such a person still had a chance to be spared at later date. But what was most important in this situation, was a special form of banishment, exile.

While a banite couldn't step into the country until his sentence would be over or lifted, an exile was forced to live in a specified area, allowing for even greater control over his whereabouts! And so it happened, governors of the province still had the power to exile someone who sinned greatly enough!

"I really can't even begin to guess what is going on through that head of yours. Force someone into exile? How the heck do you aim to achieve that?"

Instead of answering her, I simply moved my hand up, allowing the blood to resume its flow down my arm, while patting Elia's head for a moment.

"You don't need to worry about it. As long as he will act at least similar to what I expect him to do, then all we have to do for now is wait. After all, the seeds are already sown!"