The First Night and the Admiral's Demands
"I am a woman now."
Where the man had been, the woman buried her face in the bedding that still held his scent, stroking her belly, which was filled with his essence. She curled her legs together, the space between them still slick from the times he had spent himself within her, and as she replayed the night, the last twenty-five years of her life felt like a profound waste.
"My sister-in-law was right. She said that once a woman knows the pleasure of the flesh, she could never become a nun, and that it would be better to go to the convent without ever knowing it."
After her brother married, she had tried to maintain a relationship with her new sister-in-law as close as the one she had with her brother, rather than acting like a freeloader in the household. Perhaps because of that effort, her sister-in-law shared intimate secrets with her that her older sisters never would, and she had even persuaded her brother to delay her departure to the convent until the very last moment.
The man she had chosen was a good man. He was kinder than any noble of this era. While the word "kind" was often used to imply a lack of masculinity, no woman would dare call him unmanly after last night.
"And he is mine, and mine alone."
She was a predator. A ferocious wolf who would not share her kill with others, a woman who would rather burn what she had than let it be taken away.
"Ah, is this the feeling my sister-in-law spoke of? How sad. My heart aches just imagining that he might turn his eyes toward another woman."
She carefully sat up. Then, she looked at the blood-stained sheet and smiled with satisfaction.
"Thank goodness. My sister-in-law kept threatening me, saying that if I rode horses too often, I wouldn't be able to show the maiden's blood when the time came, so I was worried."
In Spain, there was no custom of keeping a blood-stained sheet forever, as there was in the north beyond the Pyrenees. However, the custom of showing it to family and relatives did exist. Still, she had no one around to witness her virginity at the moment. As she had the farm girl bring a new linen sheet and looked at the straw mattress, a rather amusing thought crossed her mind.
"I had imagined that on my first night, I would wake up in a bed with a walnut frame, topped with a wool mattress and a goose-down duvet, covered in pure white linen and scattered with rose petals."
But did she regret it? No. It was the worst bed, a straw mattress covered in yellowed linen, but the man she had chosen was the best of men.
The farm girl who had brought the new sheet to her room disappeared quietly. When she whispered something to a man working on the farm, he abandoned his work and vanished. Then, one by one, those who heard the news gathered in a secluded clearing.
"It's done. Everyone, applause."
-Clap, clap, clap, clap
The original members of the farm, along with the influential newcomers, sat in a circle.
"You all worked very hard. It is said that the Mistress has finally held the Master in her arms."
As the cunning Quixote stepped into the center to address them, the others chimed in one by one.
"Finally! Every time the Capitan talked about leaving, my heart would sink."
"Indeed, while it is the man who conquers the woman, it is also the woman who conquers the man!"
"Master Quixote, you have truly worked hard!"
"Well, now that it's a done deal, we can stop worrying that the Capitan will abandon this land. All that remains is the church's permission."
At those words, a monk with a shaved head, wearing a black tunic, a scapular, and an 'apron,' stood up to speak.
When the church collapsed in the flood and an epidemic spread in the wake of the disaster, many other priests had left Valladolid. But the monks of the Benedictine Order, who had taken vows of stability, stayed in the houses instead of the ruined church, keeping the vows they had made to God to the very end.
"The church is already prepared. Unless a new life is conceived, we will bless the union of the young couple with a grand event during the harvest of the wheat we planted this time."
"What if she is already with child?"
"What do you mean, what if? We proceed immediately. Wouldn't you agree?"
At the monk's words, everyone gathered there shouted.
-That's right!
-As expected of the Benedictine Order, they know the law!
"Hahahaha, then from our perspective, shouldn't we hope that she is with child?"
At the words of Bartolome, the livestock merchant who had appeared out of nowhere, the monk shook his head.
"Still, it would be a better picture to be blessed on a grand scale along with a bountiful harvest. If all the citizens of Valladolid gather to celebrate the birth of the new couple, no one will be able to raise an objection."
Since it was currently the planting season, the ceremony was planned for next June.
"Hmm. If the Mistress's family finds out in advance, won't they try to interfere or use force?"
Then, the clerk, 'The Troublemaker,' stood up and said.
"I have important news for the comrades gathered here. If we want to carry out this important marriage, we must never, ever tell anyone."
He calmed the crowd and spoke in a solemn voice.
"A messenger has already arrived from the center. Once the planting is finished, we will take the Capitan to the center, and His Majesty the King will personally bestow a title and make him a noble. Furthermore, the Count-Duke of Olivares has already sent people to the young lady's family."
"Indeed! His Majesty the King had it all planned out!"
"That's right, that's right."
"But why does that guy call her a 'young lady' instead of 'Mistress'? Is he crazy?"
"That... that troublemaker bastard... that's what happens to guys who smell like ink."
The clerk, who was already deeply disliked by the Tercios, was being picked apart for every little title he used. Unable to face their angry glares, the clerk sat down quietly and thought to himself.
'Capitan. I was rooting for you to fly freely in the sky...'
But everyone who knew him did not agree with him leaving. From the newest farmers to the ones who had known him the longest. From the lowliest pauper to the greatest king, even the clerk only supported his freedom, but did not desire it.
The battleship named Juan, whose anchor was already caught on a rock, was surrounded on all sides by the cannons of those he had thought were his comrades.
This year had been a disaster for farmers, with the flood in late January, followed by frost in April and May, and the subsequent drying up of the rivers. However, the autumn rains had fallen abundantly, and often, and the belief that God was finally forgiving them began to spread among the survivors. But the farmers, who had already eaten their seeds, were destined to die even after plowing the fields, having nothing to sow.
However, the farmers who entrusted their land to the royal farm were at least able to receive a small amount of seed. The seeds they received, after being educated on how to create furrows and ridges to maximize yields and how to grow them, were larger and heavier than any seeds the farmers had ever handled.
"I... I have never seen such good seeds in my life."
"Indeed... so that's why the royal farm managed to harvest even during the last flood and drought by using such good seeds."
Nobles who had not sold their land, or absentee landlords who lived elsewhere and sent managers, obtained those seeds from the farmers even by paying double. And those who pretended not to care about farming in front of others secretly examined the seeds they received through their managers and marveled.
"I heard the name of this seed is Don Quixote. You know, the one from Cervantes' novel."
"Ah, that ridiculous satire?"
"The farmer who handed this over said it was a difficult wheat to grow. He said it was a seed that required meticulous care in many ways."
"Then what can we do? It's just wheat at the end of the day. Proceed as usual."
"Yes, Master."
Don Quixote spread not only in Valladolid but also to other surrounding farmlands.
After the planting was finished, I followed the messenger from Madrid to the capital. Only the two Tercios who had left Madrid with me and the clerk accompanied me, and because I had dragged out the time until the planting was completely finished, we had to ride our horses without rest to arrive within Christmas week.
And there, I encountered the Count-Duke of Olivares, Felipe, and a young noble overflowing with arrogance.
It was Felipe who spoke first.
"Juan. I will respect your choice. You won the bet against me, so it is your freedom to leave or stay."
The cunning bastard. It was clear he knew that the anchor was stuck in my heart.
"Ah, yes. Then, could you permit me to take one more person with me when I leave?"
"No. All subjects of Castile belong to me. The right to leave is a privilege granted only to you."
"You cunning bastard."
I said that because it was annoying that Felipe was talking with a face that said he knew everything, and Olivares, who heard it, scolded me.
"Juan! Show some respect!"
But there were two 'Juans' who reacted to those words.
I said to the young man overflowing with arrogance who had made eye contact with me.
"By any chance, is your name..."
"I am Juan Alfonso, Duke of Medina de Rioseco and Admiral of Castile. Show respect, you lowly thing."
As soon as I heard that name, I knew he was Teresa's brother. The young man's appearance didn't resemble Teresa's at all, but I knew where her aristocratic arrogance came from. So it was hereditary.
"You two should introduce yourselves. I will step out for a moment."
Sensing the bad atmosphere, Felipe stepped away, and under Olivares' mediation, I offered him a greeting.
"I am Juan Manuel. Your Excellency."
The Admiral, ignoring my words completely, looked at Olivares and said.
"Ha. His Majesty insults our family too much. Olivares. Is this also a scheme of yours?"
"I swear to God, I have not plotted any leading conspiracy in this matter. I only wish to help young people in love."
The 27-year-old young Admiral sneered directly at the 39-year-old Olivares, making the already chilly atmosphere even colder.
"What truth could there be in the words of one who imprisoned the King?"
"Oh."
I couldn't hide my agreement with his words. See, I wasn't the only one who thought Olivares was trying to manipulate the King.
"Hoho? What do you know to say that? You lowly thing. Do you know the politics of the court?"
I brought up what I knew in response to his words.
"To my memory, the Count-Duke of Olivares is a man who has been trying to manipulate Felipe for ten years, Your Excellency. I just said that because I was glad to see I wasn't the only one who thought so."
"To call the King by his name so carelessly, you are an arrogant piece of trash."
Watching him frown, Olivares said.
"As far as I know, he is the only one who has been granted permission to call the King by that name. It is a privilege granted to him precisely because he is a lowly person, as you say."
-Smirk
"How interesting."
The Admiral looked at Olivares and the 'piece of trash' and thought they were the same kind of people. In the end, they were rootless people who maintained their positions solely through the King's favor. From the perspective of a high noble who had protected this kingdom for a long time, the difference between the two was merely whether they had a title or not.
"Fine. I don't want to see your disgusting face, Olivares, so I will state my demands. First, bestow upon that man a title that at least befits the dignity of the Enrique family. Second, you handle my sister's dowry yourself. Third, reduce the taxes levied on us high nobles."
"The country is in such difficulty, yet you ask to reduce taxes!?"
"What do you expect me to do? I am struggling enough to restore the flood damage in my own territory of Medina de Rioseco. Use the King's money to fix the King's territory."
"Grrr!"
'This country is truly ruined. No, it was already ruined ten years ago, but it's even more ruined now.'
A man-made disaster following a natural disaster that humans could not resist. The vellon inflation and the disappearance of the real currency caused by Olivares. A government that increases taxes because it needs money, but has to collect even more taxes due to the collapse of currency value. A central government that loses administrative power every year and local powers that openly rebel.
At this rate, it would be a civil war. It was the Three Kingdoms era of warlords.
Watching their endless argument, I decided on the price of the bet I would demand from Felipe.
Author's Note
Juan Alfonso Enríquez de Cabrera.
He is the 5th Duke of Medina de Rioseco and the 9th Hereditary Admiral of Castile.
He is the older brother of Teresa, the novel's heroine, and a historical figure. The Admiral of Castile was a position that represented honor and authority passed down through generations rather than a position of real power. However, he is a figure who proved his actual military ability by repelling the siege of Fuenterrabía in the war against France in 1638.
It was a fight against the famous French general Condé, and France led 27,000 troops and warships to conduct the siege, but he collapsed the French position through a single lightning night raid that he started after praying to God, granting the Spanish Empire 'one more coin.'
Richelieu's original plan was broken, and Condé's career was tarnished. Even then, Spain was in a system where high nobles had to take care of the ruined logistics with their own money... but considering he defeated Condé, who led the French regular army, with a shitty force of 15,000 infantry, including all the militias, and almost no cavalry, he doesn't seem to be an ordinary person.