Sudden Change

In northern Bulgaria, the capital of the Tarnovo Principality, Veliko Tarnovo, the returning entourage temporarily stopped here.

Laszlo used his uncle Frederick's ducal palace as his temporary residence, resting there for a day.

He planned to then head north, cross the Danube River, and tour Giurgiu.

Inside the bedroom, he and Leonor were arguing over a minor matter.

"Alright, don't be angry, I'll be back very soon."

The reason for the argument gave Laszlo quite a headache.

He could only embrace his Queen, who was sulking with her back to him, and comfort her with the utmost tenderness.

However, such childish coaxing did not improve Leonor's mood at all.

She pursed her red lips and whispered sadly, "Indeed, I am no longer young and cannot please you, so you are going to leave me here and cross the Danube River to seek pleasure, right?"

Laszlo put a hand to his forehead, feeling quite helpless, and patiently persuaded her, "My trip to Giurgiu is merely to see what that famous Forest of Spikes truly looks like.

This was not originally on the itinerary; I'm just curious and decided to go take a look, not intending to stay long.

The main reason I don't want to take you with me is that I'm afraid you won't be able to handle it.

Think about it, a woman who has never seen a battlefield, if she were to see such a gloomy and terrifying scene, she might have nightmares every night.

Do you still want to go with me even then?"

"This..."

Hearing Laszlo's exaggerated and horrifying description, Leonor began to have second thoughts.

However, she still wanted to be by Laszlo's side and accompany him to more places.

After all, she had been enjoying this rare tour as a honeymoon with her husband.

These days, they had been inseparable, which could be said to be Leonor's happiest time in recent years.

Once they returned to Vienna, Laszlo would probably transform into a ruthless workaholic again, abandoning his wife and children, with the world in his heart but no room for them.

Thinking of this, a wave of grievance surged in Leonor's heart. She steeled herself and replied firmly, "I just want to go with you to see... to see what kind of forest that is. I'm very curious as to why some broken wooden stakes are so attractive to you."

Previously, no matter how Leonor asked, Laszlo only told her it was a very gloomy forest made of sharp wooden stakes.

As for the most important components—the Ottomans, Wallachian, and Hungarian people—he did not mention a single word, fearing that a mere verbal description would shock Leonor, who had not seen much bloodshed.

Unexpectedly, this backfired, and now Leonor insisted on going.

Laszlo nodded helplessly, which was met with a light kiss on his cheek from Leonor, but he couldn't be happy at all.

He was now conflicted about what was more important: visiting the 15th-century limited-edition Romanian influencer hotspot, or ensuring his wife didn't have nightmares at night.

If all else failed, he would just look from afar; surely, it wouldn't leave too deep a shadow in Leonor's heart, right?

Laszlo was certain he wouldn't feel fear.

After all, he was also a great military commander and Roman Emperor who had experienced mountains of corpses and seas of blood; it was just a few thousand people executed by impalement... it shouldn't be a big deal, right?

Just as Laszlo was still pondering what to do, there was a sudden knock on the door.

Laszlo looked towards the door with some displeasure, his brow furrowed.

It was already night; why was someone knocking?

Laszlo got out of bed, put on an outer garment, and went to the door to open it, finding that it was the Queen's Portuguese maid.

"Is something the matter?"

"Your Majesty, Lord Matthias is here; he says he has an urgent matter to report to you."

"Urgent matter?"

Laszlo's heart skipped a beat. Matthias was not someone to act without discretion; anything he came to report late at night must be extremely important.

He immediately followed the maid to the reception room, where Matthias was waiting with a tense expression.

Seeing Matthias, who was usually calm and composed, in such a state, Laszlo's ominous premonition grew stronger.

He dismissed the maid, sat down opposite Matthias, and was about to ask, but Matthias spoke first.

"Your Majesty, Prince Vlad... something has happened.

He encountered a surprise attack from noble rebels while out hunting, suffered serious injuries, and fought hard to return to Târgoviște.

Now, several nobles in the southwestern region of the Wallachia Principality have raised the banner of rebellion, and more and more Wallachians are joining the rebellion; the situation is not optimistic."

"What!?"

Laszlo's eyes widened; he could hardly believe his ears.

He had only seen Vlad, who had come to pay his respects, in Sofia a little over a month ago.

At that time, Vlad's complexion was much better than when they first met at the Budapest Palace.

Moreover, Vlad's spirited and triumphant heroic demeanor was easily palpable.

Laszlo even thought his mental state was quite normal.

However, he knew this was merely how he presented himself in front of him.

At other times, Vlad was absolutely an out-and-out madman, the kind who tried to seize all power and make everyone obey him.

Vlad's insane deeds made him famous, and the notorious name of the 'Impaler' had long spread throughout Eastern Europe.

There was even a legend about him widely circulated in Hungary—that Vlad Dracula was actually a vampire.

This was mostly defamation made by the Hungarian out of fear.

And books documenting his bloodthirsty atrocities had actually begun to circulate within the empire, though Laszlo was almost certain it was the work of an Austrian writer, as only Austrians often heard stories of Vlad and knew he was the Emperor's subject.

This somewhat sensational 'horror dark documentary literature' had actually become a bestseller within the empire.

All of the above almost entirely depicted Vlad's deeply ingrained negative image.

However, Laszlo understood the real Vlad, knowing what kind of person he truly was.

Although he acted eccentrically and was bloodthirsty, he was also a doer.

Under his rule, Wallachia's national strength was growing steadily.

The army was well-trained, and the cavalry personally trained by Vlad made Laszlo envious.

Fortresses were well-maintained, and many strongholds had even undergone multiple expansions, all projects personally designated by Vlad.

In addition, building roads to connect east, west, north, and south, vigorously developing Danube River shipping, promoting the vigorous development of local agriculture and industry, strict laws, and stable social order were all Vlad's political achievements.

Of course, the price was countless lawbreakers tortured to death in public, including many disobedient nobles.

Such a method of rule would undoubtedly create countless enemies, but it was also effective, and Wallachia's situation visibly improved.

Laszlo originally thought that with his backing, Vlad would not encounter noble rebellions every other day as he did in history, eventually being overthrown by the Ottomans allied with his brother, and then brutally killed by the Ottomans after his second restoration, with his head sent to Constantinople as a deterrent.

What Laszlo never expected was that Vlad's high-pressure rule simply left no room for survival.

The Wallachian nobles were now subdued, powerless to fight back against Vlad, and could only bow their heads and obey his disposal.

Even so, Vlad still occasionally found excuses to kill a few nobles, annexing their land to expand his own power.

Under such circumstances, let alone having Emperor Laszlo standing behind him, even if God stood behind him, the Wallachian nobles would inevitably launch a counterattack.

Before this, Vlad had already put down countless noble rebellions.

It's just that this time, he seemed to have stumbled, allowing those resentful nobles to exploit a loophole.

After a brief period of agitation, Laszlo calmed down and began to consider how he should handle this not-so-small troublesome matter.