"Your Majesty, is there no other way?"
George Turso, who had just been Prime Minister for less than a year, asked Matthias, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.
"If possible, I don't want to operate on Ferenc's widow, but who calls her Bathory? I have no other way. Count Nadasdi has been dead for six years, and the surrounding forces should also If we reduce everything, there will be no objection from other nobles."
"That's also——————"
Turso still hasn't forgotten what Nadasdi told him a few years ago.
"If you really want to say it, the legacy left by Lord Ferenc was wiped out long ago when his good cousin helped his son regent and rebelled. I did not take the opportunity to deprive the Nadasdi family of all their fiefdoms. It’s already considered an act of mercy outside the law.”
The emperor's expression was unkind.
One year after Nadasdi's death, his cousin Tamas II, who helped Paul become the regent, helped a man named Pochkoy work with the Turks to seize Hungarian territory.
Funny to say, the trigger was actually the Bathory family's usurpation of Pochikoy's territory.
In the end, Bochikoi only served as prince for two years before he was murdered.
"In this way, the large loan owed by the national treasury to Elizabeth Bathory can be written off in one go. There are also many nobles around who owe her money. I don't think anyone will be dissatisfied. This matter is settled like this."
This time it was Elizabeth Bathory's nephew who rebelled again.
And it’s related to the Ottoman Turks.
Seeing that Turso still wanted to redeem himself, Emperor Matthias waved his hand and said there was no need to say more.
Turso had no choice but to bow and retreat when he saw this.
"Oh, right."
The emperor called to Turso.
"I am very clear about your marriage to the Nadasdy family. I will not take action against Ferenc's son. This is the final concession, and it is also for his sake."
"..."
George Turso bent down and bowed deeply.
"Your glory."
Then he silently exited the room.
How ugly.
*********
Elizabeth came eagerly to Turso.
"Turso, you shouldn't believe those rumors, right? Others don't know, what's going on with you?"
Facing Elizabeth's question, George Turso said expressionlessly:
"Rumors have spread to the emperor's court. I am here to investigate on the orders of His Majesty the Emperor. Whether it is true or not depends on the evidence found."
"...It's actually about Gabriel, right?"
Even in the city of Chaktis, Elizabeth learned that her nephew was plotting against the Habsburgs.
"That's why you are so careless, madam. In the final analysis, it is all the fault of others. What Mr. Ferenc did during his lifetime is enough to prove your innocence. His Majesty the Emperor has never forgotten his achievements."
Turso is unwilling to inform Elizabeth of the conspiracy behind this.
If she really said that, wouldn't it mean that she had personally told her that everything Nadasdi had done during his lifetime was useless and not even as good as thousands of gold coins in the eyes of the emperor.
How could George Turso not know?
The implication of rebellion is a small matter, but the debt to the treasury is a big matter.
After all, the territory was only nominally under the emperor's jurisdiction, but the gold coins in the treasury were truly the emperor's.
How ugly.
*********
A large group of heavily armed soldiers entered the city of Chakdis, and the knights who were canonized by Nadasidi during his lifetime were controlled one after another.
"Your Majesty Prime Minister, the interrogation of the servants is over. They all said that the Countess was kind to others and had never done anything as rumored."
Turso, who learned the situation from the soldiers, gently rubbed his temples and looked at the officials sent by the emperor.
"Then use money to buy them off."
the official said in an understatement.
He is obviously good at framing people and is very good at forging such evidence.
"But before you bribe them, torture them first. See if they can be hired. If they still don't, then use money to bribe them."
Under such a strong gap, low-level servants who have never read books will basically fall into the trap.
“What if there are traces of torture left as evidence?”
Turso tried to dissuade the official.
"Wouldn't it be better to just say that Elizabeth Bathory tortured her? That's the rumor anyway."
"What if they bring gold and silver as evidence of bribery and retract their confession?"
"Don't worry, Your Excellency Prime Minister, they won't live until that time. No matter whether it's gold or silver, they can't afford it. In the final analysis, they are just a group of scum who committed perjury."
Another soldier entered the room and reported to Turso.
"Report, we found a seriously injured girl in the basement of the castle."
"Um?"
Turso was a little surprised. Could it be that the rumors were true?
But based on his understanding of the Nadasdi family, Turso never believed that Elizabeth would be the person who could do such a thing.
The officials became interested.
"Oh? What's the reason?"
"According to the servants, the purchasing carriage came across a girl who was attacked by a wild beast in the forest. With the consent of the countess, she was admitted to the castle to recover from her injuries."
The official shook his head.
"No, this is not a girl who was attacked by a wild beast."
"Well?"
The soldier was a little confused.
"This is the dying girl who was tortured by Elizabeth Bathory. Do you remember?"
Now there is physical evidence.
"The wounds left by torture should be different from the wounds left by wild animals."
Turso couldn't help but said.
The official glanced at Turso calmly and said:
"Will anyone find any wounds on the body that was buried in the ground after being purified by the holy fire? As long as we know."
How ugly.
**********
"Then let the witnesses come forward."
Turso, as judge, announced the order.
Ragged and emaciated servants appeared in the court one after another.
"We can all testify that Elizabeth Bathory is a she-devil who does all kinds of evil."
"Eh?"
Elizabeth in the dock looked at the 'servants' who used to get along with her in surprise.
"She often abused us, and we often heard the screams of girls in the basement."
"I, I saw with my own eyes a woman's body parts being transported and buried outside the castle."
Turso watched everything with cold eyes.
Although these servants were tortured, they readily accepted the request for perjury when they learned that they would get benefits.
Ignore everything you hear with your ears, ignore everything you see with your eyes.
This kind of person doesn't need eyes and ears at all, he just needs a mouth.
"you------!"
Elizabeth originally thought that it was just a formal verdict, and as long as her servants testified, she would be able to get rid of these rumors.
"You are all lying! I have never done anything!"
"Pop-pa--"
The official clapped his hands twice, and the soldiers stripped off the servants' ragged clothes.
Almost no inch of skin below the neck was intact, all the nails on the limbs were peeled off, and the body was covered with burn marks.
The marks left by the soldering iron are one after another.
"At the same time, we also found a girl in your castle who was tortured to serious injuries."
The official spoke up.
"No! The child was just injured by a wild beast!"
"Do you still want to quibble? Do you want to quibble in front of the dead? What an inhuman guy."
"Is she dead?......No! The child's injuries are obviously not that serious."
"It's a pity that the girl has died from her injuries. It's all your devil's fault."
There was a sad look on the official's face.
"No...I didn't do anything like that...I didn't do anything to that child!...It was you! It was you who killed her!"
"There is no proof for what you say. The evidence is irrefutable. Your Majesty, please pronounce the verdict quickly."
How ugly.
**********
Failing the preparations of the officials, Turso did not pronounce a sentence in the end, but simply placed Elisabeth Bathory under house arrest in her own castle.
However, the servants were quickly sentenced, and Elizabeth's accomplices were sentenced to death by hanging.
The emperor was slightly dissatisfied with this, but after seeing the debt written off, he was satisfied and acquiesced to Turso's move.
But he still ordered Elizabeth Bathory to be imprisoned in a room, and the door and windows were sealed with bricks, leaving only a small opening for food to enter and exit. And no one was allowed to visit her.
However, even food was often withheld by the soldiers guarding the countess, and even the personal order of George Turso, the Prime Minister, could not change it.
The rumor that there is a female devil living in Chakdis seems to have become a fact.
Elizabeth Bathory eventually died of obesity in the castle.
Afterwards, Turso was obsessed with building monasteries, even if he borrowed money and sold his family property, he would continue to do so. No one except himself knew why he did this.
