Serpent of the Habsburgs

Synopsis

**SYNOPSIS**

In the winter of 1273, the electors of the Holy Roman Empire, weary of chaos, crown a minor Swabian count as King of the Romans. Rudolf I of Habsburg is old, shrewd, and hungry—but his rise is not his alone. His nephew, Sir Konrad von Eppenstein, a landless cadet with a poet’s tongue and a killer’s patience, becomes the shadow in Rudolf’s train. While the new king parades through Nuremberg and plots the ruin of Ottokar of Bohemia, Konrad moves through the candlelit galleries of Vienna, Augsburg, and Prague—brokering betrothals, forging charters, and slipping poison into the wine of men who ask too many questions. But as the Habsburg star climbs toward the imperial throne, Konrad discovers that the price of dynasty is blood—not only of enemies, but of those he loves. The Bohemian king’s wrath, the treachery of the Přemyslid court, and a marriage alliance that cuts both ways force Konrad to choose: serve the serpent of the Habsburgs, or become its fang.

**MAIN CHARACTERS**

Sir Konrad von Eppenstein – A landless Habsburg cadet, sharp-tongued and ruthless, who wields quill and dagger alike to secure his family’s future. Rudolf I of Habsburg – The aging, calculating king whose ambition for empire is matched only by his distrust of his own kin. Lady Margarethe von Stade – A widowed Saxon heiress, bound by contract to Konrad, whose loyalties shift like river fog. Ottokar II of Bohemia – The golden lion of Prague, proud and doomed, who sees the Habsburgs as peasants but underestimates their serpentine patience. Brother Anselm – A Franciscan scribe and Konrad’s reluctant confessor, who records the sins he cannot absolve.