Regarding Young Duchess Maria II, From a Loyal Steward, reporting to a Loyal Counsel:Maria is betrothed to be married, you'll get to meet the young man in a few years.
Seems the last betrothel didn't take...(couldn't restore previous save, had to go back one year to last autosave)
Betrothed Pal to marry his niece, the current queen of Norway. Easiest way for him to regain the title of King.
We declare war for the tip of Sicily
This Countess whom previously rebelled against us successfully converted her county to Catholicism. Since we are fighting a holy war for Sicily, I thought it fitting to reward her by releasing her from prison. No ransom or anything.
Sigh...I guess this playthrough is going to be more FUN than I counted on. Maria is a Lunatic.
In unrelated news, we lost our coastal Hungarian holding due to inheritance, and the Emperor of Byzantium just declared war on the Holy Father for Hum. We sadly can not hold these lands, and I won't be trying. Maybe next Byzantium succession crisis...
Pal would leave shortly before Maria obtained her majority, but the intermim period was uneventful (except for having to replace him, of course).
Maria is an adult! And a talented Steward as well!
Still a Lunatic though...
Since I want Maria to hold as much land as possible, I prioritize building upon her Stewardship via focusing on Rulership. Putting a Lunatic directly in charge of the day-to-day running of the Duchy will have no negative side effects, I'm sure.
(We also prioritized grooming a heir, for obvious reasons if you had been following along up until now)
We are truly a modern duchy, far superior to other lands. We approve of Late Medieval Administration (though promises of future favors to every counsel member that would take them).
Another angry vassal makes an ultimatum. You all know how we respond to such traitorous dogs...
Maria wants to lead the troops! Uh, no.
Years of promoting sheeps to administer our lands, with everyone of any ability raising rebellion against us, has left our Commanders a bit...lacking. Since we would benefit from further troops, I hire mercenary companies lead by great commanders, to fill in this gap.
God Himself seems to spit upon our foes. Disease kills the guards on the walls of the keeps that we want.
Meet the new duke. I of course chose money over prestige, as Maria's childhood already brought great respect for her name. As Maria's father was a bastard to a King (and is now a bastard of a king), she had to marry a bastard of a King as well. I prioritized good attributes over most other things, as Maria's influence on the family line...needs rebalancing.
Not to worry, I forced him to convert to Catholicism. He is also the regent, for whomever succeeds me.
A Crusade for Jerusalem is called! Since we live adjacent to Jerusalem, and control the Holy City itself, we have to make sure the Pope wins this War!
I love our Lunatic Lady. I also got the chance to
k up Paranoid prior. While an annoying trait, it will help to keep Maria alive, which is of prime importance.
The Crusade does not go well. His Holiness may have bitten off more than he can chew. But I repurpose our scurvy mercenaries as Holy Crusaders. We will see if they can stem the tide.
I ally with Maria's father's wife, and the Queen of Norway immediately brings us into her war. Typical.
Hey, we can put Maria's husband to work as an Army Commander! Nah, maybe we'll wait until a Quick or Genius suitor is around to replace my carefully chosen husband to Maria...
Yay, we have a heir, and not only is he strong like his father, but he didn't inherit any of Maria...defects. I will totally go Primogenture for this lad.
Closing thoughts:
It occurs to me that perhaps we have gone as far as we can as the Only True Vassal to His Holiness. In order for the Papal State to grow, I think we should consider giving up some authority so that the Holy Father can have other loyal vassals, or gain strength by grabbing the lands from any new vassals that prove less than loyal.
Gavelkind succession would be a solution that would favor our family, but a messy one.
In the long run (or short run, if this Crusade doesn't fail like recent unshown losses would indicate), I would like to see the Pope acquire enough land under his rule (and probably mostly under our rule due to our efforts, For We Serve Him) to create an Empire title, which I suspect the AI Pope would do. But that land has to go somewhere, and can we keep hiding it under Duchy titles? Our
hat rack crown case is filling up fast!