kingdom of nations

Chapter 51 Baldwin is worried
Even if Baldwin didn't tell her what Damara wanted to divine, the Countess could guess about 70% of it.

Melisande is just an exception after all. Most women of this era had no economic and political power. They could not wear armor and ride horses to fight; nor could they enter the court and discuss state affairs; even if they entered the church, they could only be nuns, and the manager of each women's convent was still the local bishop. Women could not obtain holy orders, even the lowest level.

Most noble ladies still hope to get a satisfactory marriage, a young man who is of equal status with her, young and strong, humble and polite, both a heroic knight and a passionate poet, and it is best not to be too rude, especially when drunk.

"Did Damara tell you what she found out? Or did she keep it a secret?"

"The monk said her glory would last until her last moment."

The Countess was a little hesitant. This might be a good divination result. Even if a noble lady wore the crown, there might still be other twists and turns.

Sometimes, for the sake of dowry, territory, or offspring, a man will abandon his wife without hesitation, even if they have lived together for many years, and even if the child will become illegitimate because the engagement is invalid, they will not care.

"And Cesar?"

Baldwin wanted to laugh when he talked about this. "As I said just now, you know, because the monk required the fortune teller to stay alone with him in the tent, for my safety, Cesar suggested tying him up, leaving only his mouth and eyes exposed..."

"Oh, I know," the Countess blinked her eyes: "He is not wrong." Geomanticism is a very ancient divination method - the diviner uses a stick to poke an odd or even number of small dots on the ground. As for how many dots to poke and how to poke them, it all depends on the grace of the saint or the spirit of the earth. Of course, the monk is definitely the former.

After poking, the dots will be interpreted. Each group of dots with different numbers and shapes represents a different word, such as "man", "woman", "small luck", "big luck", "loss"... and so on. Connecting them together is the answer the customer needs.

Heraclius mentioned in his class that Cesar saw the stick again, and the monk was in trouble. The most hateful thing was that after Baldwin walked out of the tent, Damara ran in immediately, and there was no time to ask the knights to untie the rope for him!

"Neither did Cesar?" The Countess was a little surprised. Cesar was not that kind of unruly child.

"Before he even entered the tent," Baldwin said, laughing, "the monk was already shouting that he could tell the future of that green-eyed little bastard without a stick—that he cursed Cesar for the next year... his eggs would rot, his wine would turn sour, his sheets would be crawling with fleas, his hair would be full of lice, he would stumble when he mounted his horse, he would sprain his ankle when he danced, and he would come back empty-handed from hunting..."

"That monk must be very angry." The countess couldn't help laughing. Although people should give monks some respect, this monk is so interesting.

But Baldwin immediately said that they had untied the monk and left him three silver coins for the divination. "But Cesar took one of them," Baldwin said. "He said he could take it to St. John the Baptist Church himself and not bother the monk."

If a monk collected fees for something or accepted gifts, he would certainly say that he would use them to help the poor or put them in the church collection box - maybe, but more likely they would exchange them for beer, bread and biltong...

"Cesar is taking revenge," it's a good thing to have a little childishness, the countess fell into deep thought, but this monk was not an ordinary person. He claimed that he had visions of Saint Enoch. It didn't matter. In such a mixed place, few people would argue with him. But he could see Cesar's weakness at a glance - Cesar was too fond of cleanliness.

It’s not that Baldwin and Damara were dirty. Knights would also dress themselves neatly when meeting a noble lady. But Cesar, how should I put it, his requirements for cleanliness were like hundreds of strict laws engraved in his consciousness and body, and he often did it subconsciously.

Even her husband, Amalric I, would wipe his mouth with his sleeve, wipe his nose with his fingers, and spit everywhere, but as long as he remembered to change his clothes, wash his fingers, and avoid spitting on other people's clothes, and remember to wipe the spit with his feet, people would praise him for his elegant manners...

Most knights are synonymous with sloppiness and greasiness.

People at that time did not attach much importance to hygiene. They drank water from a cup, reached directly into the bowls and plates to grab meat, lifted up their robes to urinate and defecate anywhere, and did not take a bath for a long time - it was not that they were not allowed, but they either did not have the money or the time.

The fleas in the quilt and the lice in the hair are good friends who have accompanied them throughout their growth, and are not curses.

She had just met Cesar for the first time two days ago, and in less than an afternoon with the two children, she had already wiped her hands no less than ten times and her face three times - Cesar had actually prepared many strips of wet linen.

If it were someone else, the Countess would have suspected that he was intentionally mocking Baldwin, but Baldwin and Cesar were so familiar with each other's postures and gestures that they didn't need to be considered at all - Baldwin stretched out his hand, Cesar wiped his hand, even wiping between his fingers, and then Cesar handed him a piece of clean linen, and he wiped his face himself, even wiping behind his ears.

The Countess blushed a little, as she sometimes forgot that place herself.

When she held Baldwin in her arms, although his fingers were still numb to touch, she could not smell the bird feather scent that lepers often have on him, nor did she see any ulcers. Instead, he exuded a faint herbal fragrance.

As a mother, she was of course pleased that her son was being taken care of so well, but she was also puzzled. It was said that Cesar was an Isaac slave. Amalric I said that he had lost his memory, but he should have been of a good family. But what kind of family could allow him to use linen so naturally and luxuriously?

However, the Countess was not Amalric I after all. Perhaps because of the delicate thoughts of women, she could see that Cesar's kindness to Baldwin was not superficial, and he did not even have any ulterior motives. The occasional attitude he showed - like an elder treating a child - was not so glaring.

Amalric I put Baldwin in his own shoes (the future king) and of course felt that Cesar was usurping his power. The Countess still regarded Baldwin as a child. She only guessed that Cesar might have had a younger brother or sister and he was just acting according to past experience.

"By the way, where is Cesar?" asked the Countess. Before this, the two children were always inseparable.

"Cesar's off to work," Baldwin said listlessly.

The Byzantine princess has arrived in Jaffa and will enter the city tomorrow. The king and all the dignitaries will go to greet her. Heraclius, after putting on the patriarch's robe, and the castle steward plunged into a whirlpool of tasks. Even Baldwin's classes were stopped because all the available people had to go into battle.

Now Amalric I was so busy that he even had to borrow cat's paws, and Baldwin was assigned a large stack of account books - this was not within the duties of a servant, because he had mathematics in his curriculum. "I'll help you." said the countess. As the mistress of the castle, managing accounts was also a compulsory course. Baldwin immediately smiled and brought over a large pile of parchment books.

"Cesar used to work with me on the accounts," Baldwin said as he brought over the heavy abacus. "He calculates quickly and well, but the Templars are always short of men," he gritted his teeth. "Anyway, that Geoffrey, ever since Cesare went out with him once, he's been trying to get him out in one way or another. I know what he's up to. He wants Cesare to be his squire."

"Geoffrey Fuller?" the Countess said deliberately, "That's not bad."

"mom!"

"So Cesar is willing?"

"Of course not. He swore an oath to me, and I swore an oath to him. We are brothers, not blood relatives. The Templars are required to maintain chastity. It would be a shame for someone with Cesar's looks and character to not have an heir. I..." He suddenly lowered his voice, "If you hear anything good, remember to tell me."

The countess suppressed a smile. Although, considering Baldwin's age, it was not strange for him to start worrying about the marriage of his servants - many nobles started looking for marriages when they were still in their infancy - Cesar was about the same age as Baldwin, and Baldwin had set his birthday on February 2, the same as himself. After February, they would be ten years old.

Men can get married at the age of fourteen and women at the age of twelve. Not counting the time spent looking for a suitable partner, the repeated negotiations between the two parties will take several years. So even though they are still children, time flies like a white horse, and it passes in the blink of an eye. Men can be a little more relaxed about the age, but Cesar has no foundation or support.

"What kind do you want?" the Countess leaned over and asked in a low voice, placing a red-dyed pebble on the abacus. This abacus could be thought of as a flat Chinese abacus, with the pebbles placed on top rather than strung together, and the horizontal and vertical bars simply drawn on the slate, but the calculation method was largely the same. "Beautiful!" Baldwin said immediately, but then he smacked his lips and said regretfully, "No, no, no, just good looks. I also want their children to be my children's attendants, but preferably a wealthy heiress, with land, even better, and small, too." He trusted Cesar; a foothold would be enough. "She should be gentle. Cesar is actually quite stubborn..."

He sighed: "If they quarrel, I will definitely stand on Cesar's side - so be gentle, be humble, and don't attach too much importance to birth and surname."

Such an heiress would be pursued by many earls and dukes, the countess thought, but she did not break the child's fantasy, especially when Baldwin said that he wanted Cesar's children to be his children's servants, she almost shed tears.

------

Cesar had no idea that Prince Baldwin had already begun looking for a suitable marriage partner for him, even though his mental age was much older than his physical age.

But even in his original world, he was just over the marriageable age, his parents were open-minded and never urged him, and the world was so wonderful, and his life was extremely rich - work, study, exercise, which one did not require a lot of time?
Although he promised to be a knight of Damara, anyone who could have lustful thoughts about a kitten-like child was either a pervert or a beast.

But he could not refuse at that time. The person who made the suggestion was Princess Sibylle, Damara's guardian and owner, who was the sister of Prince Baldwin and the daughter of King Amalric I, and both of them were indebted to Cesar.

Damara would also be ridiculed - even a servant who was born a slave looked down on her. It would be difficult for her to find a decent suitor in the future, and her marriage would be affected.

Even if Dean John wasn't there, he couldn't have the heart to treat a soft little girl like this.

"Come here, César!" cried Geoffrey.

It wasn't without reason that Geoffrey had dragged him out of the castle; his job was to inspect the daises, the tall wooden platforms that lined the streets, where actors would perform marriage-related performances when the Byzantine princesses entered the city.

Like Adam and Eve, Solomon and Sheba, Aquila and Priscilla (a devout couple in the Bible), Isaac and Rebekah, etc.

There were no flowers at this time, and the platform could only be decorated with paint and ribbons. In front of it was a linen or cotton banner with the biblical admonition that husband and wife should live in harmony, "Husband and wife are one flesh."

“He who obtains a virtuous wife has gained real benefits and is also a gift from Heaven.”

"As wives, you should obey your husbands. As husbands, you should love your wives as you love your own bodies. To love your wife is to love yourself."

……

Some banners are well-intentioned, while some are a bit malicious, and at least the bride will definitely feel uncomfortable when seeing them.

For example, "Women should keep silence in the church."

This sentence comes from the admonition of a saint - the following paragraph is: Because they are not allowed to speak, they must be in submission, as the law says, If they want to learn anything, they should ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for women to speak in the church.

The original meaning of this passage was that there were always many noisy women in the Corinthian Church at that time, and the saint had no ill intentions, but just hoped that they could be quiet.

But even Cesar, who didn't understand the beliefs of this era, found it jarring.

This was a clear reminder to the Byzantine princess not to expect to influence the political situation in Alaska by whispering in her ear.

César thought Geoffrey would ask the owner of the platform to take down the banner, but the Templar simply chuckled, stroked his stubble, which had grown rapidly overnight, and turned to César nonchalantly, "Go up and jump."

These platforms are all made of wood. It would be fine if they could land on the ground, but in some places where the streets are too narrow, the platforms extend directly from the walls and windows. If they are not supported enough, they will fall down and cause a lot of laughter, not to mention that they may hit people.

Geoffrey raised his hand and sent César forward.

César could only climb up and jump on the platform, causing dust to fly and stones to fall. Geoffrey was no longer covered in dust and choked like he had been the first time. He stood far away and shouted loudly: "Jump again! Harder!"

Cesar jumped again with a wooden face.

He felt that Geoffrey was making fun of him, but this was like an adult teasing a child, and with good reason, so he had no way to refute it.

Finally, the Templar Knight was satisfied, and the onlookers laughed so hard that their stomachs hurt. They obviously thought this "little saint" was even more adorable, and some people even shouted, "One more!"

But Geoffrey would not do what they wanted. He came to the bottom of the platform and stretched out his arms to César. For a moment, César couldn't help but have the idea of ​​playing a prank, such as jumping again, but in the end, his mental age prevailed. He jumped over the fence, and Geoffrey grabbed his feet and put him on the ground casually.

"That's the last one," Geoffrey said. "That's the Jaffa Gate."

Cesar also saw the Tower of David.

"The daughter of the Eastern Emperor will enter Alazarus through this gate." The Templar said disdainfully. Cesar remembered that Baldwin had told him that although Amalric I was extremely eager to marry Manuel I, due to the issues of faith and claim rights, as well as the lessons learned from Antioch, the Knights Templar did not think that this method of taking advantage of the situation was suitable for Alazarus now.

Although they cannot object, they will definitely not have a good attitude.

"Let me tell you something funny. It's a secret," Geoffrey said, but his expression didn't seem to be telling him. Cesar thought many people already knew this "secret". "The Byzantines originally wanted to come in through the 'Golden Gate,'" he raised his chin. If they came in through the Golden Gate on the east, they would have to pass through the Temple Mount. "Their excuse was that the ancient name of the 'Golden Gate' was 'Beautiful Gate,' which was just right for their princess - bah!"

He spat on the ground, then reached out his boot to wipe it away under Cesar's disapproving gaze.

"Of course, the king didn't agree." He looked over there and said, "We all know that the wise men of the Isaacs have prophesied that at the end of the world, a savior will come in from the Golden Gate and save Alasar. Now there are many people who believe this - if their princess came in from there and gave birth to a son, they could claim that this child is the savior."

He looked down at Cesar. "You wouldn't want your prince to encounter something like this, would you?"

Cesar nodded slowly. If Baldwin had no children, he could make his younger brother the crown prince, and he would do his best to assist him. But if Baldwin was still alive and still the King of Alaska, the Byzantines would want to lay claim to the throne...

"By the way," Geoffrey suddenly asked, "when Amalric I brought you back, didn't he go through the Golden Gate?
(End of this chapter)