Catherine and the Black Emperor

033. Blacksmith

"In Her Majesty the Empress's name, we hereby invite the new ambassador of the Ottoman Empire (Türkiye)!"

Throne Room.

The Turkish ambassador entered the hall, carrying a gift in both hands, and approached Elizabeth.

Sophia and her mother were also prominently featured in the procession of courtiers.

She looked at Peter, who was sitting next to Elizabeth, secretly playing with a toy soldier, and whispered to her mother, "Peter Romanov is like a child; he's pathetic."

Johanna retorted mockingly, "Pitiful? He's a Grand Duke!"

Elizabeth glanced at Peter and warned him coldly, "Sit up straight, don't act like a child!"

Peter immediately put away the toy soldiers and sat up straight.

The Turkish ambassador stepped in front of Elizabeth and bowed respectfully.

"Your Majesty, the wise and great Sultan (title of the Ottoman monarch), Mahmud, the Caliph (title of the Islamic political and religious leader) who grants the righteous Muslims a long and healthy life, I wish to present Your Majesty with a gift."

At Elizabeth's behest, the Turkish ambassador approached her, opened the box containing the "Blood Sun" ruby ​​from the Turkish king's turban.

"Was the gift from the Sultan good or bad?" Sofia asked her mother in a low voice.

Johanna reminded her daughter, "That's not what you need to focus on. It's been so long, and you're still not engaged to the Grand Duke. Has he proposed to you yet? You need to think of something quickly!"

Sophia looked at the toy soldier in Peter's hand: "I think I have a plan."

After attending the ceremony to receive the Turkish ambassador, Sofia found Sergei in the crowd. After learning about Sofia's needs, Sergei led them away from the Winter Palace to the Sitney Market.

Sofia's face darkened as she watched the two people accompanying her—Johanna and Betskoy—flirting.

They ruined my good mood!

Sergei smiled and led the way.

They came to a secluded corner where there was a nearly deserted blacksmith shop. The blacksmith was a sturdy old man with a thick beard, but his hair was sparse, even less than his beard.

"His name is Victor, and he's the best blacksmith in Cittadella," Sergei introduced him.

Sofia took out a toy soldier, which was another thing she had asked Sergei to do; without Sergei, she wouldn't have been able to get Peter's toy soldier.

"Master, could you please make a batch of these bronze toy soldiers? Their weapons and uniforms should be as realistic as possible, with iron spears, iron swords, and gold epaulets. Each bronze figure should have its own unique face."

Betskoy looked at the other man's empty sleeve: "Can you forge iron with one hand?"

"I'm used to it," the old man replied, looking at the toy soldiers Sophia had brought, and said without hesitation, "These are really poorly made. How many of them do you have to make?"

"Grenadiers, flintlock musketeers, iron cavalry, cavalry, musketeers, gunners, hussars, soldiers, and officers, five of each, plus eight standard-bearers and twenty coachmen."

"Okay." The old man nodded.

Seeing how readily the other party agreed, Betskoy looked surprised: "Aren't you going to ask how much it costs?"

The old man countered, "How much are you planning to give?"

"One cent for each soldier," Betskoy replied.

The old man smiled dismissively: "I usually charge 1 ruble for this kind of work."

"One ruble per soldier? You're asking for the moon!" Betskoy said indignantly.

The old man's smile grew even more disdainful. He picked up the toy soldier and walked into the shop: "Normally, I won't charge you this time."

"No charge?"

Sofia glanced at Sergei instinctively, who smiled slightly: "I helped him before."

"With such high fees, do people even hire him?" Betskoy asked.

Sergei shrugged: "As you can see, business is terrible, but his skills are the best, probably because of his dedication to quality."

Betskoy shook his head: "Foolish. They can't even fill their stomachs, why do they care about anything else?"

Sergei smiled but remained silent.

The value of craftsmanship is difficult to measure. Victor wasn't asking for an exorbitant price; he simply felt his skills were worth that much.

While they waited, Johanna and Betskoy chatted sweet nothings. Sergei noticed Sofia's unhappiness and invited her to go for a stroll in the market.

"Your Highness, how did you help that blacksmith?" Sophia asked curiously.

"Victor and his granddaughter depended on each other for survival. His obsession with prices prevented him from getting any business. The winters in St. Petersburg were cruel. His granddaughter fell ill, and he didn't have enough money, so he resorted to stealing, but he was caught..."

"Was his hand cut off like this?" Sophia guessed.

Sergei shook his head: "He used to be a gambler, and that's why his family was ruined."

After wandering around, the two returned to the blacksmith's shop and waited until it got dark before Victor finished his work.

While Betskoy was helping Sergei tidy up, Johanna whispered a request to her daughter.

"Betzkov is very considerate. I hope you won't write to your father about this unexpected love affair of mine."

"I haven't written to my father in a long time, but I'm curious who you've been writing to all this time," Sofia said sharply.

"Shut up! This is none of your business!"

Sophia ignored her mother, looked at the toy soldiers, and returned to the palace with her things, quite satisfied.

Meanwhile, in Elizabeth's office, Shuvalov was reporting on Betskoy's work.

Some time ago, Elizabeth ordered him to take over the surveillance and management of the secret operations in Betskoy.

"His report consisted only of his love affair with the princess, and he kept talking about his grand architectural plans; his mind was not on investigating the secrets at all."

Elizabeth fiddled with the exquisite gilded ornaments on the table.

"Shuvalov, your wife is always throwing tantrums or nitpicking. Why would I want a complaining woman as my maid?"

Shuvalov's heart tightened.

Elizabeth wasn't just talking about his wife; she was talking about him.

If he is an incompetent person, then Elizabeth should consider why he was made chairman of the special court or head of the secret committee.

"I will speak to her, Your Majesty."

"I'll tell her myself, Shuvalov, what you need to do is take good care of your lover, after all, you're a professional. But now, call that salesman over, I'll personally give him some instructions."

Shuvalov left the room and Elizabeth's bedchamber, immediately issuing two orders to his men.

"Go and bring Alina (my lover) back to my private residence. She is not to leave without my permission!"

"Strengthen the training of secret agents and inform all them that from this moment on, anyone who fails to perform their missions admirably will be punished by the committee!"

After Shuvalov left, Betskoy was called over.

Elizabeth questioned her bluntly, "Why did you conceal the meeting between the Princess and Madfield?"

Betskoy replied, "I don't think there's anything wrong with their meeting."

"All diplomatic envoys are spies! Your mistress is meeting with a foreign spy like yourself, shouldn't you be suspicious? You spent the whole night in her room, what did you talk about?"

"I talked about my granite embankment project, and also about how to build the bridge across the Neva River."

Elizabeth was furious: "Have you forgotten that I sent you to seduce that fool Holstein for his status?!"

Betskoy looked terrified: "I will end our relationship immediately, Your Majesty!"

"This isn't the end; it's about finding out what I want: who she wrote to, the contents of those letters, and whether she's committed treason. Go! Go!"

Betskoy fled in disarray.