"What exactly do they want to do?"
Before the firelight, then by candlelight, Rostislav looked at the lines of text on the birch bark in front of him, all of which were about everything he had found out in the city.
This table was where Rostislav handled affairs and wrote novels, but now both were set aside; he had to focus on the day's events, thoughts of which constantly occupied his mind.
Outside Rostislav's tent, the clang of soldiers' armor echoed continuously, along with the sounds of moving fortifications and supplies. Such a scene was not only unfolding at the Moscow Camp but also among various military units around the city.
Now that the existence of the pagan rebels was known, vigilance followed, and the mobilized armies became its manifestation. However, watching them, Rostislav, who had initially been very pleased, felt his mood grow increasingly flat because he now had a vexing problem.
"Numerous pagans, grease, a treacherous bastard… Damn it, this really doesn't look like a good combination, yet those guys still don't take it seriously. Do they have to wait for those pagans to cause a major incident before they pay attention? A bunch of short-sighted fools."
As Rostislav said, these combinations truly looked ominous, like the prelude to some large-scale political upheaval.
The most frustrating part was that he was caught in such a vortex, potentially being swept in at any moment, while his companions didn't take it seriously, as if it wasn't a big deal at all.
However, Rostislav knew it was normal for them not to take it seriously. The most critical issue now was that he was in the open while the enemy was hidden. Although he had unexpectedly uncovered the traitor Zhe'erji, this only potentially confirmed the existence of a conspiracy. It was too difficult to confirm what this group truly intended.
Rostislav simply couldn't produce any evidence of a large-scale pagan rebellion, which led to the current predicament.
The Moscow Prince rubbed his eyes, a wave of fatigue washing over him. He played with the pagan emblem the old tribal man had given him for a while before putting it down; he always felt it represented a grand conspiracy.
Then Rostislav lay his entire body back in the chair and called for a hot towel to place on his face to relieve his fatigue. Whatever those conspiracies were, he needed to rest for a while now.
As the towel was placed, the day's experiences immediately appeared before his eyes. They emerged even when he wasn't thinking about them, then passed before him scene by scene, like a movie from his previous life.
After Rostislav and Edward had spent half a day disarming and screening for traitors in the camp, the day's meaningless quarrel in the palace also ended.
It was because of this that Rostislav was able to meet his elders. He then told them everything he knew, including the gathering of pagans, the collection of grease, and Zhe'erji's betrayal.
Regarding this news, generally speaking, everyone did take it seriously. They all strengthened their armies' combat readiness and also conveyed the message to King Bela.
King Bela had recently been unhappy with the Slavics due to disputes in meetings, but facing the possibility of pagan arson and with evidence provided, he still ordered additional guards.
However, he completely dismissed Zhe'erji's betrayal. He was just a bastard, wasn't he? Relying on that bit of Arpad blood, he could still enjoy royal education and gain elite qualifications, but that was all.
No one would support a bastard, nor would any noble support this lowly fellow.
The only possibility for a bastard to gain support was the extinction of the direct Arpad bloodline, but now the Arpad family tree was flourishing.
Moreover, this strict and arrogant King had always disowned this nephew. He regarded Zhe'erji as "the evil spawn of his brother's lust" and "full of bastardly evil," treating him like trash, let alone giving him any importance.
Rostislav had initially thought that emphasizing Zhe'erji's identity and his possible connection to the conspiracy would persuade the King, but the outcome was completely contrary to his hopes.
Furthermore, the King was utterly contemptuous of pagans. He had participated in the suppression of pagans decades ago, during which pagans were slaughtered en masse. This made him firmly believe that pagans would not cause large-scale disturbances because they lacked the courage.
Since the master held such views, others generally followed suit.
His aunt, however, took it quite seriously. She believed this lowly bastard would threaten the inheritance rights of her two children and was certain he wanted to kill her children.
The most critical part was that he also knew where her other child was—to prevent being caught in one fell swoop, Anastasia had left her younger child in the empire.
Due to Anastasia's concerns, Edward had no choice but to send a group of knights back to the Empire to protect King Andrew's son.
Edward was very reluctant to do so. Their strength was already weak; the Slavic Moscow Camp had left, and now they had to send out elite knights.
Unfortunately, that was the logic, but he couldn't persuade a mother worried about her children. Edward finally had no choice but to send the knights away.
Everyone agreed to heighten vigilance, but that was as far as it went. They acknowledged the possibility of pagan arson but dismissed Rostislav's claims of a potential large-scale pagan rebellion.
Decades ago, pagans had just been suppressed. They had caused trouble for decades, resulting in their heads rolling, and their leaders directly surrendered. How could they cause trouble now? At most, some lone wolves would commit arson.
Most importantly, Rostislav could not provide any evidence to prove this point. His belief in a large-scale rebellion was merely his subconscious speculation, utterly lacking any evidence.
Even his relatives were like this, let alone others. In the end, everyone did strengthen their defenses, but Rostislav's demand for a large-scale clear-out was impossible. They believed pagans would at most commit arson, and even arson wouldn't burn down many places.
Therefore, Rostislav, struck down by all sides, was in a very bad mood. However, he also knew this was his own problem, as he couldn't produce any evidence, so how could he convince anyone?
This made the situation Rostislav currently faced troublesome. Besides a city-wide search, Rostislav truly couldn't think of any other moves. He had finally found a clue about the traitor Zhe'erji, only for it to lead to a dead end.
Thus, Rostislav had been cooped up in his tent, pondering. His intuition told him there must be a grand conspiracy behind it all.
After those elements combined, Rostislav's mind was filled with major events, major events, and major events, but alas, others didn't believe him.
Helpless, after pondering fruitlessly for a while, Rostislav removed the hot towel and threw it onto the table.
Since he couldn't figure it out, he might as well not think about it. He would go to bed early, rest early, and tomorrow he would go into the city to see if he could find any information.
— — — — — — — —
"The enemy has heightened their vigilance, Zhe'erji, this is all your responsibility."
"Yes, this is my mistake. I shouldn't have been so hasty in trying to deal with Rostislav, and I didn't do a good job of reconnaissance. I am willing to accept any punishment."
"Never mind, the calculation is about to begin. You are very lucky; now we need everyone in position. But have you completed your finishing work? You haven't left any loose ends, have you?"
"Everything that needed to be taken has been taken. Only some clueless pawns were captured; the enemy cannot learn anything."
Inside a house in Fehérvár, several ordinary-looking civilians were gathered, and one of them was Zhe'erji, Andrew's bastard. He was currently undergoing an interrogation.
"What happened, happened. Fortunately, their heightened vigilance doesn't matter; it won't significantly affect our plan."
The voice interrogating Zhe'erji spoke again, a little hoarse.
"In short, everything will proceed according to the original plan, but now everyone must be extra careful. Such incidents must not happen again. Also, purchasing supplies must be discreet, and gatherings must be reduced. Just lie low for the next few days; our plan is about to begin. Then everything will be cleansed, everyone will get what they want, and those idiots who worship the cross will be punished."
"Yes!"
They replied in unison, their voices filled with fanaticism.
— — — — — — — —