The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a nascent power in Eastern Europe, its birth even later than the catastrophe of 1204.
Around 1251, influenced by the eastward advance of the Baltic Crusaders, local nobles converted to Roman Catholic and elected Mindaugas as their king.
After Mindaugas's death, the kingdom was dissolved, and Lithuania fell into civil war.
Later, the Gediminid dynasty re-established the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and actively expanded its territory by forcefully striking at the Rus' people.
By 1427, Lithuania already held vast territories stretching from Black Ruthenia to the Western Dnieper River, and it appeared to be thriving.
The current Duke of Lithuania, Vytautas Gediminid, was one of the individuals Theodoro's delegation was scheduled to visit on their return journey.
Speaking of Vytautas, he could be called an angel investor of this era: the former Golden Horde Khan Tokhtamysh, after betraying his benefactor Timur, was defeated and fled to Lithuania.
It was Vytautas who attempted to restore him to the Khanate, but was soundly defeated by the Golden Horde.
Haji Giray, who is now trying to reclaim his land in the Crimea region, was also taken in by him back then.
The establishment of the Crimean Khanate in official history received much assistance from him, such as directly sending a cavalry unit of over 2,000 men to help the Khanate capture Bakhchysarai…
But why did he invest solely in Tatars?
Considering the Duke's past record of repeatedly wavering between paganism and Catholicism, and excluding Eastern Orthodox nobles when establishing the Horodło Union System ① with Poland, Manuel honestly had no confidence in how much success this diplomatic mission would achieve.
While he was pondering these thoughts, the delegation had already arrived in Kiev.
According to Duke Vytautas of Lithuania's itinerary in recent years and the information known to Theodoro, he should be here now, favoring the local Rus' nobility.
Since the delegation had already informed Lithuania of their visit, they were met by foreign affairs personnel upon arrival in Kiev and escorted to the embassy where they would rest.
However, Manuel still wanted to know Lithuania's attitude towards them as soon as possible, so after a short rest, he personally accompanied several envoys and the Lithuanian official to submit a request for an audience with the Duke to the Lithuanian authorities.
Along the way, the Theodoroans clearly felt the Lithuanian side's perfunctory politeness towards them, and Manuel had a premonition that this trip would likely be fruitless.
The written request for an audience with the Duke of Lithuania was submitted in the afternoon, but it wasn't until the next morning that the Lithuanian side sent someone to meet them to discuss important matters.
Seeing this, Manuel left some people at the embassy and took the rest of the diplomatic staff to the discussion.
Along the way, they received quite lax and ordinary treatment.
This level of reception, to give an example, was probably the most basic treatment a small Holy Roman Empire state or city-state would receive.
The Theodoroans' hearts sank, further confirming the fact that they were about to return empty-handed.
After the delegation arrived at the negotiation venue, the newly arrived Lithuanian officials exchanged greetings with them, and the leader introduced himself: "I am Algirdas Razviy, Marquis of Chakiy Border. I have been entrusted by the Duke to handle all diplomatic matters with your side.
Without further ado, let us begin."
As expected, the Lithuanian side was indeed negative towards all of Theodoro's proposals, which was anticipated.
The other members of the delegation, seeing this, planned to politely say a few final words before continuing on their journey home.
All except for Manuel, who was unwilling to give up.
A strange emotion was brewing in his heart, not disappointment, not anger, nor dejection, but an emotion he shouldn't have at this moment… jealousy.
Yes, jealousy.
He was jealous of those entities that were or would be glorious in history, jealous of the achievements these nations had made or would make, jealous of their national power and wealth.
How he wished all of this belonged to him and the country behind him.
To put it more crudely, he also wanted immense power and the wealth that came with it, and deep down, his heart even developed an unconscious distortion.
This distortion was not without root, but sprouted from his experiences in reality and fantasy in his previous life, and then grew in this era.
So now, in a moment of heightened emotion, he spoke in a calm but unexpected tone:
"Marquis, I personally do not believe your country's actions are correct."
"Oh?" Razviy's eye twitched.
He hadn't expected this youth from a small country to lose his composure.
Was this the Crown Prince of a tiny state?
"May I ask what Gavras is referring to?"
"It's simple, I am referring to your country's attitude towards your co-religionist brothers, the Poles, and the Tatars."
"What does that have to do with you?"
"I am merely curious: why are you so concerned with the Tatar rebels?
Is it because they can help you disrupt the Golden Horde Khanate?
But will the Tatars willingly obey you?
If these Tatars, who have been granted land and power, establish a firm foothold, will they not, in turn, become a scourge to you?
And in the Balkans and along the Black Sea coast of Anatolia, I do not believe you are unaware that the Crescent Sect forces there are growing ever larger.
Do you think they will stop their conquest there?
Absolutely not!
They will set out from Dobruja or the Dnieper River, cross these two mother-like rivers that are currently protecting you, and then drive straight into Bryansk, Kiev, Pinsk, Turov, and even Vilnius.
Poland will not be able to stop them.
It will be just like you then, and the fate of the Visigothic Kingdom will happen again, and this time, it will be you.
"But what if a hard and unremovable nail is driven into the muslims?
"We, Theodoro, are willing to become the Grand Duchy of Lithuania's most secure nail in the Black Sea."
Razviy was stunned, as were the officials around him.
Finally, after careful consideration, he replied: "I am truly sorry, this is not something I can handle, but please allow me to go and summon the Duke."
① Horodło Union: The Horodło Union System established by Vytautas in cooperation with Poland in 1413.
According to the terms of the union, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania retained its autonomous Duke and its own council, while the Polish and Lithuanian councils jointly discussed important issues.
It allowed Lithuanian Christian nobles to have the same rights as the Polish Szlachta (Polish nobility in a broad sense).
This clause did not include Eastern Orthodox nobles.