Res Publica Christiana - 12. The Black Knight of Navarre Part 3

Over the next years, Queen Regent Jean of Navarre managed to maintain a positive relationship with all the major nations bordering Navarre by courting Spanish nobility and promising concessions to French nobles. The Church received enormous rewards from extraterritorial rights, which was why their priest acted with impunity. However, beneath the surface, she wanted freedom and independence for her people away from the predators surrounding her kingdom. While she did not know at first that I was the Black Knight, who had made a name for killing French and Spanish nobles, her actions to discover the knight’s identity were relaxed to the point of ridicule, using madmen and self-styled mediums to seek information. The Spanish and French ambassadors were unhappy about the situation, but they could not fault a weak Queen regent like Jean since these were lands where they should be able to exert their influence. As Queen Jean had limited resources due to her concessions to maintain her throne, I began selectively filching some gold and jewels that made their way to my host’s bedroom every fortnight. After several such donations to Navarre, Queen Jean told me over tea that she had fallen in love with her roguish Black Knight. Of course, I choked on my tea when I heard that as I had no interest in her companionship, and it was merely a show of support for her reign. Luckily, Queen Jean assumed it was merely a scandalous shock. Queen Jean’s interest in the Black Knight became an open secret among her small court, and even her young son knew. The four-year-old Henry Bourbon shared my disdain for his mother’s infatuation with the Black Knight, but he was happy that such a hero had appeared in their nation to fight against these interlopers and invaders. Being known as a lover of Lord Eli, I was never suspected of being the Black Knight by anyone and Henry Bourbon only learned about my identity, when I shared the secret during his tutelage in Lord Eli’s court.

In 1557, many things began to change in the world. As Lord Eli was building up our forces to end Queen Mary’s reign, there were stirrings across the continent. Alain had alerted me that a major railroad project was underway that would link the northern coastline cities in Flanders to the southern cities of San Sebastian in Spain. Since the Habsburg Empire and New Rome alliance had won the civil war in the German lands years ago, they had built a significant railroad that connected Rome, the seat of the Eternal Pope Peter of Medici, to Aachen, the Imperial Capital of Charles V. In the intervening five years, various towns with access to materials such as iron, copper, coal, grains, and lumber were connected like a spider’s web to the original railroad line. Additionally, Henry II of France, influenced by his wife Catherine de Medici, began to build similar railroad lines that connected principal coastal cities like Bordeaux in Aquitaine and Marseilles in Provence to Ile de Paris, the French capital and seat of power of French royalty. I knew Lord Eli wanted to build similar railroads in England, Wales, and even Scotland, but Mary’s influence meant it could not be done until she was removed from power. However, by that point, our foes would have an entire continent’s resources at their disposal. As such, I began a new initiative to slow down and disrupt their newest building project. I could not disrupt the building projects of all three nations, but the principal party in this railroad was the Habsburg Empire, which controlled both San Sebastian and Flanders. These endpoints would pose major issues for the independence of neighboring regions, including the Kingdom of Navarre and the English province of Calais. As such, I decided to enter Spain using a forged identity with barrels of wine provided by Alain under the guise of being a merchant.

My first goal was to head to the port city of San Sebastian and cause a major disruption that would delay the southern route of the railroad from this city through Navarre. San Sebastian was a major northern Spanish port and the military stronghold for Charles V’s administration of Spanish Navarre. Despite its importance to the Habsburg Emperor, the city was conquered only forty-five years ago in 1512, so there were many Basque sympathizers and anti-Habsburg elements who did not enjoy the tyranny of a foreign monarch without any shared language or history. I had heard Alejandro Alvarez de Toledo, the young son of Fernando Alvarez, the Spanish Duke of Alba and one of the Viceroys of Charles V, was given command of the city and its major building project. Alejandro was rumored to have unique tastes beyond the common rumors of sodomy. Through the Basque merchant stories, he kept several catamite boys in a high-end brothel that only his inner circle was allowed to enjoy. It was at this location that the senior members of the railroad project and provincial administrators would gather. Such places were abhorrent to me, but I needed to enter this inner sanctum.

One of the rumored elites with a connection to Alejandro was a wealthy Catalan merchant, who resided in a large villa outside of San Sebastian. As such, I kept watch over his villa until he left it for business with a small troop of five armed guards with rapiers. After a mile or so on the road, I dispatched the entire group with a combination of grenades, pistol shots, and swordsmanship. I burned all the bodies and confiscated their gold coins, so it would be hard to identify them and make the deaths look like the act of a common highwayman. According to Lord Eli, the knowledge within the study of forensics can be used to create false narratives for those investigating crimes, which was a lesson my lord wanted me to learn for this kind of situation. Then, I used my ability to gain all his knowledge, connections, and experiences to access all the high-end brothel in the shortest amount of time. Merchants existed as a network of associations, so an introduction from someone notable like this Catalan through a personal seal or item like a signet ring, both of which I now held would be enough to establish myself. Additionally, I had his memories and experiences of working with those existing connections within his network, so I can craft my new persona through common names. Wealth became secondary since I could leverage knowledge for gold within this network. I grew out my hair and beard to complete my new identity. It took me less than a month to become a notable Spanish merchant in San Sebastian, so I could enter the brothels with impunity.

The brothels were filled with barely clad boys of shapes and skin tones. It was a testament to the depravity of the Habsburg Empire that spanned several continents to host so many exotic males in captivity. I knew there were also equivalent female brothels with similar collections of exotic enslaved peoples as well, including some in England under Queen Mary’s favorites. The horrible practice sickens me to my core. Upon seeing the spectacles of Alejandro’s brothel that parodied the fair folk’s intrinsic practices and love, I was tempted to set all the captives free immediately. Luckily my reason won out because such destruction would accomplish nothing for the victims. There was no way for me to return these people to their homes or support them in enemy territory, I reminded myself this was Spain, not England or even Navarre. If I wanted to change this injustice, I needed to perform my duty and eliminate the source.

I learned that Alejandro would host parties at his brothel with his inner circle and some elite guests with limited invitations. The cream of San Sebastian would fight against one another for a mere invitation to this debauched orgy with unwilling lovers. Not all of them enjoyed the passion within the brothel, so Alejandro’s invitations usually only lasted for a singular visit merely as a rite of passage. Those who visited his brothel more than once are often publicly respected, but privately reviled. As a rising merchant within San Sebastian, I was able to obtain an invitation.

As the brothel did not allow weapons, I had to be inventive with procuring weapons within the brothel for an eventual assault on Alejandro and his allies. I identified all the key personnel protecting the brothel and eliminated them, one by one. By removing the experienced guards outside the venue, I whittled down the quality of the external protective shield of the brothel. Their deaths were chalked up to housefires or drowning, but as none of them were important nobles or high-ranking members of society, it was not a major piece of information to Alejandro or even patrons. Of course, the brothel would replace these guards, but their lack of experience and sudden deployment left a lot of openings for me to exploit and smuggle in weapons for a planned assault. Loose wooden floorboards and tiled ceilings were used to hide daggers, shuriken stars, and a pistol as a result. Of course, there was still the personal guard of Alejandro within the brothel, composed of ten men armed with pistols and scimitars, a 28 in. curved blade that was like my Wakizashi, from Duke of Alba’s advanced North African military unit. As they had equivalent weapons to my own, it would be a difficult fight. My key objective was originally to eliminate the members of the railroad project leadership, including Alejandro Alvarez, but I had no recourse against his elite guards.

Unbeknownst to me, someone else would begin to act within San Sebastian, Antonio of the Portuguese royal house of Aviz. A band of knights, claiming to be from the famous order of the Knights Hospitaller, demanded an audience with Alejandro Alvarez to discuss payment owed to the order for mercenary work. However, Alejandro ignored their payment requests. As a result, indiscriminate killings began in the city against notable merchants and low-ranking nobles, led by Antonio. The Knights Hospitaller were a well-armed semi-independent mercenary force, granted autonomy, weapons, and training by New Rome in exchange for half their income as hired troops. The fights between these knights and San Sebastian residents occurred within the legal framework of duels, which Spanish honor would not allow members of their society to neglect. As the Knights Hospitaller were nominally a Catholic military order with Papal authority, it was a dangerous precedent for Alejandro to enter conflict with them as his nation’s Habsburg ruler, Uber-Kaiser Charles and New Rome were allies, but Alejandro owed an enormous sum of gold for mercenary support to acquire the menagerie at his brothel from across the globe. Under cover of this disturbance, I planned to carry out my mission and extract someone Lord Eli had asked me to offer a deal.

In a far more conventional brothel outside the city limits, filled with women and girls, I found the famous Order of the Knights Hospitaller and their captain, Antonio. Despite their vows of celibacy as warrior priests of Christ, they were like any other soldiers, including the royal army of England, when it came to the prostitutes of their preference. According to Lord Eli, Antonio had fathered several illegitimate children throughout his journeys as a holy Christian knight in an alternate history. I couldn't believe this man held royal blood as I saw him lewdly caressing two women while being squeezed between two other women. He was the furthest thing I would imagine of a warrior priest, let alone the heir to the throne of Portugal.

However, I needed to speak with this lascivious man due to my lord’s request. I would go to hell for Lord Eli, so making terms with Antonio was a minor trifle.

I asked in Spanish, “Captain Antonio, I must speak with you on a matter of grave importance.”

Leaning back with a smirk, Antonio’s eyes lingered on the women around him, “Oh good merchant, can this not wait? We are amid more enjoyable pursuits.”

My tone was serious, betraying none of the revelry around us, “This cannot wait, Captain Antonio. I am here to discuss the fate of nations, not merely indulge in pleasures of the flesh.”

Straightening up slightly, Antonio’s demeanor shifted to a more focused one, “Very well, what is it that troubles you?”

I whispered in his ear, “It is Alejandro Alvarez, son of the Duke of Alba. Do you not want to avenge your dishonor as the rightful prince of Portugal rather than beg for mere coppers? Was it not the Duke of Alba under the orders of Charles V that deprived you of your rightful succession? I can assist you with revenge against his son and…perhaps even help you regain your birthright.”

Nodding thoughtfully, Antonio glinted with lust and ambition, “Revenge, you say? I must admit, the thought does have its appeal. However, I am a captain of the Knights Hospitaller, under the command of His Holiness Pope Peter, who is allied with Charles V. No king or kingdom can face such powerful opponents as those.”

He was careful, but I was ready for that answer with a simple revelation, “Then, let me assist you in taking your revenge for now as I am the Black Knight of Navarre. I serve a master, who is greater than the nation of Navarre, Spain, or the Empire of Uber-Kaiser Charles. When my master makes the next move, it will topple your expectations and you will believe there is someone with the strength to challenge both Kaiser and Pope.”

After some additional assurances, along with a hefty fee of gold for wine and women, Antonio accepted my plan to annihilate Alejandro. We agreed to a joint attack against Alejandro’s brothel, where the knights would assist me by starting a commotion and fistfight outside the establishment with the unprepared guards, which would result in the dispatch of some of Alejandro’s guards inside to face the well-trained Knights Hospitaller. With their internal defenses weakened, I would massacre the remaining guards and patrons inside the brothel with the stashes of weapons I hid over my various visits. As the guards outside and Knights Hospitaller faced off, a heated impasse would occur with loud noises and shouts to maintain the distraction. We chose a day when Alejandro would gather all the necessary members of the railroad construction group.

When everything occurred as we planned, Alejandro sent out five of his guards to quell Antonio and his knights’ anger with an offer for an installment payment of the gold that he was owed. In an act of distraction and intimidation, I asked Antonio to have his men fire their rifles in the air every thirty seconds. As the Duke of Alba’s troops were well-trained veterans, they would not respond in kind. They ignored the provocations of Antonio, who they knew was simply trying to squeeze money from Alejandro. However, I had counted on this apathy to provocation, because while Antonio’s loud guns were fired in the air, I began executing all the guards within the brothel with the shield of gunfire and shouts outside obscuring the sounds of combat within. Three of the guards were killed in the first thirty-second round with my hidden pistol. The fourth guard was disabled by a shuriken star that was embedded behind his head and neck, then killed by a dagger against his throat. Finally, the last guard protecting Alejandro Alvarez directly was killed through brutal hand-to-hand combat between me and him. In the end, while he was able to tackle me to the ground and began strangling me, I was able to grab a small rectangular box held on my thigh by a loop. Then, I hit the mechanism to release the hidden serrated curve blade and I gutted the guard from his navel to his chest cavity. He pulled back from me in shock as his intestines began to pour out and he cursed me in Spanish before he succumbed to death.

After dispatching the final guard, I began eliminating all the patrons within the private rooms of the brothel, saving Alejandro for last. Most of them were amid various carnal pleasures when I dispatched them. The innocent boys being violated by the patrons were shocked at my appearance and were unable to acknowledge what I did. Finally, I entered the room where Alejandro was enjoying himself with a young oriental boy, who was no more than fourteen with long black hair and soft delicate features.

He cried out words I had heard countless times in my training, “Yamete! Yamete!” They were the words of the poor peasant farmer pleading for mercy from a man with a sword, a young girl being defiled by an obese man, and a young boy being hit endlessly by a wooden sword until he learned to fight back. I had lived all those lives and heard those same words repeatedly; I knew what it meant without having to understand their language.

This boy was someone from the lands that Lord Eli had instructed me to experience. A land where strength was the measure of status and mercy had to be earned. I sliced the back of Alejandro’s heel to limit his mobility, then handed the boy one of my daggers. If he is from the land that I had experienced, I could not offer him peace by eliminating his torturer, he would need to do it himself. He eyed me and the dagger in his hand, then made a bow before stabbing Alejandro several times in the stomach with the dagger. Though Alejandro cried out for mercy, the boy did not relent until death took Alejandro. During the murder, the boy’s figure was exposed, and I was shocked by the mutilation of his genitalia. I had known Alejandro had perverse tastes, but doing something like that to a boy is unforgivable in this life or the next. I wanted to hold the boy tight and tell him, that it doesn’t matter what happened, you can be made whole. However, I couldn’t offer him assurances or hope, despite the memories and experiences I held of his culture.

As the sounds of gunfire and shouts from outside began to lighten, I knew it was time for me to escape. The boy had sat naked in a pool of Alejandro’s blood, and I knew that upon discovery, he would likely be executed. I had given him absolution and revenge over his tormentor, but I knew I could not give him hope as I had my duty.

As I was about to leave the room, I heard the boy whisper, “Domo arigato gozaimasu.”

I reflexively responded without understanding what I was saying, “Do itashimashite”

His eyes lit up as he heard me speak his language, then stood and bowed to me in tears as he spoke words I could not understand. Instead of hearing his tearful words, I was focused on his actions as he swung the dagger I gave him against his naked torso. I was surprised that he had turned the weapon upon himself. I knew from my experiences that his people performed a type of suicide ritual with a sword like my Wakizashi by disemboweling themselves. Before he could finish the attempt, I grabbed my dagger from his hand, then dressed the adult-sized undergarments, cloak, and boots of Alejandro on the boy. As planned, I threw a smoke grenade outside the doorway to obscure my departure, but in addition to myself as planned, I also brought along this oriental boy.

I did not know why I saved him, nor how important he would one day be to me, Robert, and Lord Eli. That was how I met my friend and my first student of the sword, Matsudaira Takechiyo.