Lady Isolde sent a ciphered letter to her uncle, the Duke of Württemberg, by her ring of whisperers.

She told of the ruin of Friedrich’s plot and laid bare the unbroken might of Konrad’s rule.

She did not ask leave to stay; she gave her terms... She spoke of her child.

The Duke was full of wrath, his power utterly broken. Yet, Isolde swayed him with Fugger silver.

She offered a rich trade of the bounty of the new mills, so long as the Duke gave his blessing to her marriage to Konrad and sent no more coin to the Swabian League.

The Duke, lacking coin, bowed to the truth of the purse.

Konrad took no heed of the sorrow left in the wake of his judgment.

The trade roads were opened once more.

His chief work was the arming of his footmen.

The wheellock dags had proven their worth... Konrad now set men to work on new tools, seeking to cut grooves into every barrel before the year’s end.

Lady Katarina of Bavaria remained at the keep, an open hostage to the Fugger silver.

She watched the swift growth of Konrad’s power with mounting dread. She knew she must return to Munich to bear these tidings to her father, the Duke.

She found Konrad in the lord’s study.

The room was stripped of its hangings, filled instead with maps and plans of the forge. Konrad sat at his desk, reading the books of brimstone.

Katarina drew near, carrying a tray of almonds and spiced wine.

"The Bavarian lords call for my return, Lord Konrad," Katarina said, trying to keep her pride. "The taking of the Hildebrand cattle has filled your stores. The Fugger silver is safe. You have no more need of me here."

"..." Konrad did not look up from his books. "You may leave upon the coming of the next silver. The holy army shall breach the valley in five days. I need the Bavarian men to hold the line to the north, lest the priests’ men turn our flank."

Katarina swallowed hard, "And what if they break your lines, Konrad? What if their holy cause rouses the peasants against you? My father will not spill Bavarian blood for a lost cause."

"They will not break the lines," Konrad stated, dipping his quill. "They fight by the old ways of war... Their tightly packed ranks are their doom."

"This...?!" Katarina frowned, her wrath boiling over.

He was entirely blind to the hearts of men...

"You weigh all things in your books, Konrad!" Katarina snapped. "But what of the frailties of the flesh? With Friedrich gone, your foes will look for any crack in the wall. Lady Isolde bears the heir, but her blood is Swabian. What if the child dies in the winter?"

Konrad kept writing, his hand moving without pause. "Another heir shall be gotten if the child perishes..."

"..."

Katarina stared at him, "You are a monster..." Katarina whispered, stepping back.

Konrad ceased his writing. He looked up, his eyes fixing upon the Bavarian Duchess. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

...

Later that same day, down in the grander space of the fortress.

The great hall of the von Frundsberg keep had been turned to new use.

The old tapestries of knights were removed, replaced by books and smith’s plans nailed to boards.

The high windows now filtered the Swabian sunlight through the foul smoke of the estate’s forges.

Konrad sat behind the desk, studying plans for cutting grooves in gun barrels. He did not look up when the doors were thrust open.

Four figures entered the hall.

They were men of the Holy Office, clad in red robes that dragged across the stone floor, their chests bearing silver crosses.

They moved with the high pride of men who believed their power was given by God, entirely bypassing the earthly laws of lords and coin.

They did not bow... They did not wait to be recognized.

The chief inquisitor, a thin man with a scarred cheek and the eyes of a fanatic, stepped forward. His tongue marked him as a Bavarian churchman, likely sent by the Bishop of Augsburg.

"I am Inquisitor-General von Heusen," the man announced, "I act upon the direct writ of the Bishop of Augsburg and the courts of the Holy Roman Empire. We demand to speak with Lord Wilhelm von Frundsberg at once."

Konrad marked his place on the plans with a charcoal stick before slowly raising his head. He looked upon the four men.

"Lord Wilhelm is dead," Konrad stated, "I am the sole Lord of this house. State your business."

"..." Von Heusen frowned, unsettled by the lack of fear or courtly bowing.

"Our business is the purging of heresy! We hold the sworn words of your own blood... namely, Friedrich von Frundsberg telling of devilish works of brimstone, dark arts, and the forging of unholy arms within this valley. We are here to hold a court and tear down your works."

Konrad leaned back in his chair, "Your chief witness is of no worth," Konrad told the Inquisitor-General. "Friedrich von Frundsberg was found guilty of treason of coin and plotting against this house. He has been cast out from these lands and sent to the Teutonic knights. His words are known as the lies of a proven traitor."

The four investigators exchanged worried glances. Had the foundation of their search warrant crumbled before they had even crossed the threshold?

Von Heusen reached into his red robes and drew out a scroll of vellum, sealed with the lead seal of the Pope!

"The words of the traitor are but a part," von Heusen declared, "This writ is signed by the Pope’s envoy himself! It grants us full right to seek out any lands within the Swabian Circle thought to harbor the heresy of the forge. You will yield the keys to your furnaces, or you will be cast out of the Church and face the raising of a holy war upon your borders."

"..."

"The Pope holds rule over the soul. He does not hold rule over the swords and coin of the sovereign lands of the von Frundsberg house... Your parchment is of no worth in this valley." Konrad corrected.

"This?!"

The words were absolute blasphemy... The three lesser inquisitors gasped, stepping back as if expecting the floor to open and swallow the young regent.

"You dare?!" von Heusen roared, stepping toward the desk. "You iron-hearted heretic! You think your water-wheels and your brimstone pits guard you from the wrath of God? We are the law! We will see you burn at the stake, and we will grind you to dust!"

Konrad simply shifted his gaze slightly to the left, focusing on the shadows near the hall’s entrance.

"Marshal Eckhard," Konrad stated. "Secure the hall."

From the shadows, Marshal Eckhard stepped forward. He was not alone...

From the nearby halls, two dozen men-at-arms filed into the room. They were clad in blackened half-plate, their faces grim and lacking the dread that usually froze men before the Holy Office.

They moved, instantly surrounding the four red-robed churchmen.

"Make ready." Eckhard barked.

The guards raised their dags, aiming them directly at the breasts of the churchmen.

Von Heusen froze, the Pope’s writ trembling in his hand, his eyes wide as he stared at the strange workings of the wheellocks.

"This is making war upon the Pope!!" one of the lesser inquisitors cried, "You will damn your entire house!"

Konrad stood up from the desk. He walked around the desk and approached the surrounded men. "By seeking to steal the earthly rule and coin of this house, you have committed an act of treason and war."

He stopped in front of Von Heusen, his eyes stripping away the man’s holy robes, reducing him to a mere creature of flesh and blood.

"Marshal Eckhard," Konrad commanded, "Deal with the three lesser men."

"No!!" Von Heusen screamed, lunging forward.

He was struck hard by the stock of a guard’s piece, falling to his knees.

"Give fire." Eckhard ordered.

The deafening roar of three wheellocks firing within the stone hall. The brimstone smoke instantly blinded the room, and the blast shook the windows.

When the smoke cleared, the three lesser inquisitors lay on the floor. Their red robes turning a darker, heavier shade of blood.

Von Heusen fell to his knees, his hands covering his ears. He stared at the bodies of his brethren, then slowly looked up at the young Lord Regent.

Konrad leaned down, gripping the Inquisitor-General by the collar of his red robes, hauling the churchman to his feet.