The Swabian spring was turning warm. Isolde, Duchess of Württemberg, sat in a high-backed chair, her eyes glaring at the flames in the small hearth.

Her attempt to seize Lord Konrad’s lands had failed, thwarted by the unexpected meddling of Lady Katarina of Bavaria and her own disastrous misstep with the poisoned wine.

A timid knock broke her dark thoughts. "Enter," she snapped.

The door creaked open, revealing Uncle Lothar.

His velvet was still stained with mud from the yard, and the bloody welt across his cheek from her crop had bruised into a sickly purple. He cowered before her, wringing his hands.

"My Lady..." Lothar stammered, avoiding her sharp gaze. "I... I beg pardon for the trouble. The guards have locked me in the lower halls, but I managed to slip away."

"You are a useless, blundering fool, Lothar." Isolde hissed, not bothering to lower her voice. "You swore to my uncle that your sickly nephew was a weakling waiting to be cast down. Instead, I find him ruling a mighty forge, backed by Bavarian swords."

"I knew nothing of Bavaria!" Lothar pleaded, stepping closer. "Konrad kept it entirely hidden from me! The boy is unnatural, Lady Isolde. But... but we still have a chance."

Isolde raised an elegant eyebrow, "Oh? Has the great steward hatched a master plot while cowering in the mud?"

"We must strike before his power grows!" Lothar insisted, "I have watched the watchmen. He pours all his wealth into the forge and his new fields. The keep itself is lightly held at night."

"If you... if your knights could slay him quietly, the Bavarian pact falls apart. Without Konrad, they have no deal. I can then take my rightful place as steward and hand the lands over to you!"

Isolde stared at the miserable older man. His plan was crude, desperate, and deeply flawed.

To murder a lord within his own keep, while Bavarian forces were near, was a massive risk.

"You expect me to risk my knights on a thief’s murder because you are too cowardly to handle your own kin?" Isolde sneered.

"I can show the way..." Lothar promised, stepping closer. "I know the hidden doors in the eastern wall. I can bypass the main watch. You need only provide the blade."

Isolde looked back at the fire.

The shame she had suffered at Konrad’s hands the night before burned hotter than the flames.

He had read her, bested her, and cast her aside. It was a slight she could not forgive.

"Very well, Lothar." Isolde finally agreed, a cruel smile curling her lips. "Show my captain the hidden doors tonight. But if you fail me again, I will have you flayed."

Lothar bowed, a greedy smile on his face, before scurrying out to find her captain.

Meanwhile, deep in the village workshops, Konrad ’s mind was entirely focused on lighting his fires.

He stood inside a large, newly built wooden shed next to the main smithy.

Master Dieter stood beside him, holding a long iron tube.

"The boring is done, Lord Konrad." Dieter announced, "The bore is true, and the iron is free of cracks." 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

Konrad took the heavy tube, feeling the smooth inside. It was not a wheel-lock barrel. It was far larger, heavier, and completely smooth.

"Excellent, Dieter..." Konrad nodded, satisfied. "How fare the wooden carts?"

Dieter pointed toward the back of the shed, where several carpenters were fitting sturdy, two-wheeled wooden frames. "They are nearly done. The heavy iron axles will be set by tomorrow."

Konrad walked to a bench and unrolled a large parchment drawing.

"We must turn our hands, Dieter." Konrad stated, tapping the drawing. "The Bavarian wheel-locks must flow, but we must begin the forging of these."

Dieter looked at the drawing, his brow furrowing. "A hand-cannon, my Lord? The mercenaries in Italy use them, but they shoot wild and often burst."

"It is not a hand-cannon, Dieter. It is a light field piece. A falconet!" Konrad corrected. "It will throw a two-pound iron ball. It cannot shoot far, but the heavy cart lets us move it swiftly, and the thick iron will keep it from bursting."

Dieter scratched his beard, "You are preparing for a siege, Lord Konrad?"

"I am preparing for the sure reckoning of our current foes..." Konrad replied calmly. "Lady Isolde of Württemberg will not accept her shame. The Swabian League will not suffer an independent lord of iron within their borders. They will return, and they will not bring twelve knights next time."

He turned back to the smith, "I require four finished falconets by the end of the month. Draw more men from the quarry if you must."

"It will be done, my Lord!" Dieter promised.

Leaving the forges, Konrad returned to the keep. He bypassed the hall and went straight to his study.

He had a reckoning from Elise to read, detailing the stubbornness of the serfs regarding the four-field planting. He needed to draft a new payment of silver to force them to the new ways.

As midnight neared, the castle grew silent. Konrad was deep in thought, his quill scratching steadily across the parchment.

He did not hear the soft click of the hidden door behind a tapestry in the hall outside. He did not hear the muffled steps of the three heavy Württemberg knights moving stealthily toward his study.

He only felt the slight shift in the air as his door was slowly pushed open.

"You have bypassed the outer watch." Konrad stated calmly, finally looking up from his ledgers. "I judge a near certainty that Uncle Lothar showed you the eastern doors."

The three Württemberg knights froze in the doorway, stunned by his calm.

The lead knight recovered first. He sneered, stepping into the room. "You judge well, little lord. Now, make your peace with God. Lady Isolde sends her regards."

The three knights lunged forward, their blades drawn, fully meaning to butcher him at his desk.

Konrad reached under his desk and pulled a heavy iron lever.

The sound was sharp and entirely out of place in a lord’s study.

Instantly, the floor beneath the three charging knights vanished.

The trapdoor, a simple but highly effective snare Konrad had designed and built weeks ago, swung open violently.

The three heavily armored men let out shouts of shock as they fell into the darkness below.

The fall was only fifteen feet, not enough to kill a man in full armor, but enough to break bones and scramble wits.

Konrad stood, walked over to the edge of the pit, and looked down at the groaning assassins.

"The trapdoor held true..." Konrad noted to himself, satisfied with the engine’s test.

He walked to the hall and called for the guards. Within moments, his men arrived, wide-eyed at the sight of the open pit and the broken Württemberg knights.

"Strip them of their armor and swords. They will be sold back to the Duchy of Württemberg for a heavy ransom of silver." Konrad ordered.

"Also..." Konrad added, looking back at the guards. "Find Uncle Lothar. His worth to this house is entirely spent. He is to be cast out of the valley before dawn."