kingdom of nations

Chapter 45 Marriage (Part )

Cesar woke up from the severe pain and screamed at the same moment that Longinus suddenly jumped up from his half-kneeling position. He pulled up the bed curtain that was deliberately opened, leaped to the window and quickly closed it - Cesar's room had no glass windows, only wooden shutters. Once closed, the whole room suddenly became dark. Of course, people outside could not see the light coming out of the window.

The window was finally closed, and Cesar only called out once before Longinus turned and rushed back to the bed, pulled back the curtains, and covered half of the child's face. "Hush!" he whispered, "The king has just left!"

Fortunately, in order to prevent Cesar from screaming when he woke up, he and Heraclius discussed and reduced the number of times he fed him water in the past two days. The previous dry cry did not alarm others.

After Cesar closed his eyes slightly, he took out a small glass bottle from his arms and poured the potion inside into Cesar's mouth.

With the help of the faint light, Longinus closely observed Cesar's expression until he was sure that he was still in pain but conscious. Then he leaned over and whispered in his ear: "The saint you are seeing is Saint Jerome. Remember, it is the scholar Jerome. Heraclius said that he once pulled out a thorn from the paw of a wounded lion."

Longinus completed the entire set of movements smoothly. After all, he had simulated them countless times in his mind and practiced them many times when no one was around, but he just didn't dare to make any sound.

After Cesar nodded while trying to suppress the pain, he returned to the door and used his excellent hearing to check the situation outside. Many people were rushing up the stairs, and the last footsteps were particularly brisk. The visitor did not knock on the door, but only stayed for a short while before leaving. Only then did Longinus sweat profusely and sit down against the door with a sense of relief. This was really a deadly job!

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Cesar woke up quickly, and when the room suddenly darkened, he saw Longinus.

The familiar room, the familiar people, they had left the Holy Sepulchre, and he also remembered the light he saw in Baldwin's eyes - he was also chosen - after the joy, pain came, but he could still remember Heraclius's warning.

After being "selected", the strength of the light on the chosen person and the length of time it lasts are closely related to the amount of blessing.

Like Witt, the light he received only lasted for a short moment, barely preventing him from being hanged, but then it disappeared immediately. As expected, although he received the "gift", his ability could only cure minor problems that could heal themselves even without treatment.

This kind of "being chosen" is of little use and will only lead to ridicule, but if it is the kind of light that lasts for a long time and is bright, it is a good thing worthy of people's praise, but you must be careful - just as Count Etienne became weak after praying for the saint's care, after the first manifestation of divine grace, the chosen people will also experience different but generally severe adverse symptoms, such as pain, fatigue, weakness... or more than one.

In the past, there had even been cases where children who were too young, despite receiving the blessing, could not survive the subsequent trials and unfortunately died. Later, people moved the "selection ceremony" to between the ages of nine and fourteen to avoid the same tragedy.

If it were a strict and dull monk, he would have strictly followed the teachings and not prepared any potion to reduce the pain for the child. However, Heraclius dared to cheat them in the "selection ceremony" and now he had no scruples. The potion he prepared was indeed very effective. The pain faded a little, but it was followed by indescribable numbness and pain.

Cesar thought with a wry smile that if he were a patient lying on the operating table, the anesthesiologist would definitely jump off his stool in horror and readjust the anesthesia dosage. Yes, he was talking about one of the most terrifying situations during surgery - "anesthesia awakening", or "intraoperative awareness".

As the name suggests, the patient suddenly regains consciousness during surgery under general anesthesia and can recall most of the details of the surgery after the surgery.

Lucky patients can move and call out to attract the attention of the anesthesiologist, surgeon, or nurse. Apart from short-term pain and shock, they will not have any other symptoms. However, some patients are conscious but their bodies are still unable to move or make any sound, and they can only allow the doctor to cut their bodies open. This experience is often accompanied by a strong sense of suffocation and powerlessness - they will accompany the patients for a long time, and even if their bodies recover, their spirits will collapse.

This is what Cesar is experiencing now.

To divert his attention, he could only turn his thoughts to other things. For example, what did Longinus mean by the words "I have seen Saint Jerome"? And he even mentioned Heraclius specifically. Was it Heraclius who told him to say that?
Cesar did not think that Heraclius and Longinus would intentionally frame him. The former had no need to do so, and the latter still needed him. Moreover, human emotions were difficult to conceal. Although Heraclius's love for him might not exceed Baldwin's, if he had to choose between Cesar and someone else, he would definitely choose Cesar.

Longinus's situation was even simpler. He was once scornfully called a "slave of slaves" - everyone knew that he was Caesar's servant, which earned him respect from some and disgust from others, but if he dared to betray Caesar, both types of people would despise him.

Not to mention the Holy Land, even if he returned to Brittany, his lord would deprive him of his knighthood if he heard about this. He could not even think of returning to his brother's territory to become a steward or supervisor. Being able to be a farmer or a craftsman and not be homeless and lonely was already a blessing.

So what does it mean that Heraclius made himself say that the one he was seeing was Saint Jerome?
Saint Jerome wasn't among the initial candidates. And wait, who was that he was seeing? He only remembered chasing a towering figure with many figures made of white light. He still remembered his eagerness at the time, and the constant urging of others. He was almost on the verge of catching up...

He asked for His holy name but did not receive it.

This is clearly the last step of the selection ceremony. Heraclius once said that when he was undergoing the "selection ceremony", he didn't know where he was or where he should go. At this time, a monk saw him and called him over, asking him to be his student.

They lived in the mountains and forests, associating with wild beasts, making candles with beeswax and spinning wool. Although life was very difficult, his teacher was knowledgeable, erudite and very devout, so Heraclius only felt happy and not hard.

When did he realize he was in trial? Perhaps it was when he was captured by the governor's soldiers and suffered scourging, hooking, and starvation with his teacher. He was about to be beheaded. He coughed and gasped, and the teacher placed his hand on his throat, chanted scriptures, and he recovered.

He immediately fell to his knees, crying and almost unable to speak, and finally asked the most important question in a halting manner.

As if he had been waiting for this moment, the saint said, “I am Saint Barath of Armenia.”

……

If what those followers said was not a lie or an exaggeration, then the saint they were chasing, that is, the saint that Cesar had seen, was far superior to Barras, who could only tame wild beasts and cure throat diseases. Although it was a bit unpious to say this, Cesar had already understood Heraclius' love for him.

Heraclius didn't know who Cesar had feelings for, but it was obvious that his patron was better than Prince Baldwin, which was not a good thing.

In the chaos, he heard someone knocking on the door. Longinus went to answer it. It was the king's servant who came to observe and inquire about Cesar's condition. Although he asked in name for Prince Baldwin, who could not know the true meaning?

Longinus' answer satisfied him or the people behind him. After he left, Longinus continued to feed Caesar the potion once every four hours. When he fed him the fifth time, Heraclius finally came. He saw that Caesar was able to lean on the pillow and look at the morning light outside the window, with a look of relief on his face.

"How's Baldwin?" Cesar asked.

"Almost waking up at the same time as you, the king saw the light bursting from the window and immediately turned back." He glanced at Longinus, who nodded. The footsteps he heard at that moment were those of the king and his entourage. "Prince Baldwin received a blessing that was profound and lasting, but too sharp," he sighed. "He suffered more than you."

"His illness..."

"The king has asked the priests to come and see... They can only delay the progression of the disease, but cannot cure it." These priests were taken away by the king's knights and executed. It's funny to say that the patriarch used them to threaten the king, but he didn't expect that they were just a bunch of good-for-nothings - of course, as the new patriarch, Heraclius signed several indulgences for this purpose, and the king used the former patriarch's property to pay for it.

The king even complained that if Cesar was not "blessed" but "given", it would be better. Since the saint asked him to be Baldwin's shield, why did he ask him to be a knight? If it were in the past, Heraclius would also agree.

But today, Heraclius felt that Cesar's misfortune should not be the reason for his sacrifice. If he had been partial to Prince Baldwin before the "Choice Ceremony", then Cesar's behavior during the ceremony had added several heavy weights to the other side of the scale.

He was courageous, good at planning, able to endure, decisive enough, knew how to protect himself, but would not hesitate at all when it came to sacrifice - such qualities, and... his origin. Heraclius had seen Cesar when he was still a slave. Such a strong and perfect boy could not be the son of a farmer or a craftsman.

He even sent people to find the Isaac slave trader, hoping to investigate Cesar's origins through him. Unfortunately, the Isaac merchant suddenly disappeared like a drop of water falling into the ocean, and could not be found no matter how hard he tried.

But even if Cesar had forgotten everything about the past, he still had a status now. Just as Amalric I said, for a monk, a student was equivalent to his own son, and this child also had something to inherit. If Heraclius was the kind of ascetic monk who was content with poverty and hated power, he would not have appeared beside Amalric I. He has indeed climbed to the highest position a clergyman can reach.

"Everyone is partial to his own children," the monk murmured.

He asked Cesar about his saint, and Cesar told him the truth. Heraclius did not doubt it, but thought about it for a while, then quickly let it go. "Anything can happen in this world. It doesn't matter. This is actually a good thing. Just say that your saint is Saint Jerome."

He reached out and touched Cesar's head: "I have something to ask you. Brother John wants to come and see you. Do you want to see him?"

Cesar showed a look of surprise, "Why not?" He smiled readily: "I miss him too." But since he came to the Holy Cross Castle, there have been constant waves of ups and downs. When he was able to go out alone, he began to prepare for the upcoming "selection ceremony".

If it were someone else, they might feel a little resentful. After all, John also said that if he wanted Cesar to be his student, he would not agree to let anyone do so unless the king asked for it.

Later, Cesar wanted to enter the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to practice asceticism and wanted the map of the Temple Church. The Gerard family agreed to everything (only Heraclius found out about it later). Damara of the Gerard family was the noble lady that Cesar had promised that he would swear allegiance to her when he became a knight.

Heraclius would not think so. Although he was named after a great Byzantine emperor, his origin was not very high. He was a monk of Amalric I, and Amalric I was originally the second son of Fulk V and Queen Melisande. If Baldwin III had not had no children, he would now be just a minister or a general.

Precisely because of his background, he would feel pity and admiration for Cesar, and would not mind that he had other sponsors. In the unpredictable and ever-changing Holy City, even having one more slender and fragile vine in hand would be a good thing.

Moreover, the Gerard family wasn't just a vine, but a towering tree. In 1099, Gerard, a nobleman of the Duchy of Burgundy, and several companions founded the "Order of the Charity of St. John the Baptist in Alazarus" in a hospital near the Church of St. John the Baptist, sheltering countless pilgrims. For this feat, he ascended to heaven, sitting shoulder to shoulder with the saints. His family thus became known as the "Holy Family." As long as the Holy Land survived, they would have a seat in the arena of power.

Moreover, compared with the Knights Templar, the Knights of the Charity House were more gentle and kind. This can be seen from the fact that pilgrims often jokingly said that "the Knights Templar" "donated money to kill people" and "the Knights of the Charity House" "donated money to save people".

Given Cesar's personality, even if the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre didn't exist (as Prince Baldwin's attendant, he probably had little choice), Heraclius would not have advised him to choose the Knights Templar.

The plump Dean John arrived the next day riding a mule.

Dean John's current weight can be seen from the gift he brought to Cesar.

A large jar of rosemary-braised lamb, a large jar of deep-fried marinated quail sprinkled with olives, and a large jar of donkey meat cooked with onions and carrots. "These are all very beneficial to the body. They are the secret recipe of the Gerard family. Countless knights have eaten them. It works wonders." He winked at Cesar smugly and said contemptuously, "I guess there's nothing good here."

This is true. Even though monks have to fast for about 200 days a year - ordinary people fast for about 160 days, but monks always have some special times, for example, when they have committed a crime or others have committed a crime - but if you say which is better, the chef in the monastery or the chef in the castle, there is no doubt that it is the former!
Moreover, the monk chef at the Monastery of St. John the Baptist was quite willing to discuss cooking with Cesar.

There was also a box of honey-dried mulberries, a box of honey-dried dates, and a box of honey-dried figs. "Hide them," Abbot John said, adding a small, locked box. "Don't be too generous. Give a little to everyone you meet. Hang the key on your belt."

Longinus on the side coughed and said, "I am his servant." Shouldn't servants keep such things?
Dean John glanced at him and said, "You can ask your master for it."

Then, Dean John took out three small boxes, one box of frankincense, one box of pepper, and one box of saffron. This time Longinus didn't dare to joke anymore, because these could be directly exchanged for gold, or other things equivalent to gold.

"Take it with ease," Dean John said when Cesar looked over inquiringly. "The Gerard family gave away a hundred times more than this to celebrate Prince Baldwin's 'choice.'"

"But I'm just a page."

"You know," Dean John replied irrelevantly, "the Gerard family has made many choices. The most famous and well-known one is my great-grandfather's plea to the Fatimid Caliph Ali Zahir to build a hospital on the pilgrimage route to help all pilgrims."

He lowered his eyes. "We have been making choices since then, including giving up the position of Grand Master of the Charity Knights. You are just one of the choices. Cesar, the Gerard family and the Charity Knights may not be as wealthy as the Knights Templar, but believe me, we are much more generous than them, and..."

He cupped his belly and said, "Our ancestor was a businessman, so almost all of his children inherited one virtue: not caring about temporary gains and losses."

After the entrance, the upper body items came: "You and Prince Baldwin have both been chosen, which means you'll soon be promoted to squires. Generally, squires are assigned to other lords' castles, but the prince's status is special; he probably won't leave Alasarlu, and you'll need to stay by his side—you'll need some decent clothes."

His thoughts surprisingly mirrored Count Etienne's: "Once you become a squire, you can't rely on the prince to equip you with everything, although that's not impossible..."

"Wait a minute," Longinus said, his eyes widening. "What is that? A purple ribbon? Or one with a gold border?"

"Take it and tie it around your arm or neck..." Abbot John said to César.

"No, I mean," Longinus said, "even though this is Alaska, I know that the Byzantine emperor has made laws against purple silk and gold-trimmed fabrics, and those who violate them will be executed for treason."

"You can," Abbot John sighed. "Our King, Amalric I, and the Byzantine Emperor Manuel I have already negotiated a marriage. The princess will come to Alazarus next month, and they will be married before June. Many Byzantine merchants have come to Alazarus, bringing with them a lot of silk. It is said that Princess Maria sent three purple robes for her future husband and a purple cloak for her future stepson, Prince Baldwin."

He looked at Cesar and said, "When she arrives at Alasar, the king and the prince will undoubtedly come to greet her wearing purple robes and cloaks. If you accompany them, it would be best if you could bring something of Byzantine heritage with you."

(End of this chapter)