1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 149 Royal Wedding
"Mom, I heard from Sister Charlotte that King Enrique can't have children. Is that true?"

In a luxuriously decorated carriage, Justinian was looking at the sky. Suddenly, he seemed to have thought of something, raised his head, and looked at his mother curiously.

"Ouch—"

A slap hit Justinian on the head. The little prince rubbed his head, tears in his eyes, and pouted his lips in grievance.

"Don't talk nonsense from now on, or you will never be allowed to eat honey cake again."

Leonor looked at her eldest son sternly and scolded.

"But everyone—"

"No buts! You are not allowed to say it!"

Leonor was so angry that she raised her hand and was about to swing it down again.

Justinian curled his lips and turned his head to the side.

Leonor looked at him with an expression that said "I'll do it again next time" and secretly blamed her husband in her heart.

After the Battle of Constantinople, somehow, the Palaiologos royal family welcomed a surge of newborns. In addition to the two new princes, Alexios the Younger and Manuel the Younger, the wife of Grand Duke Thomas of Achaea also gave birth to two sons in succession, named Andreas and Theodosius.

To this end, Isaac personally developed a royal training system. When the royal children were over three years old, they would be taken to Bilinchi for systematic training and the best education.

In terms of languages, Greek and Latin are compulsory languages, and you can choose one of French, Turkic and Arabic. The more you learn, the greater the reward you will get.

In terms of writing and religion, Isaac hired senior priests from the Orthodox Church to teach Greek and Orthodox knowledge, but did not make any other requirements for the time being.

In terms of martial arts, Isaac did not make many changes. He just combined the original Eastern Roman Empire education system with the Western European aristocratic education system, requiring royal children to at least be proficient in horse riding, camel riding and basic sword fighting.

The biggest feature of this new education system is that the princes and grandchildren will study and grow up together with the children of other noble officials, tribal sheikhs and even big businessmen, cultivate affection and loyalty from an early age, and strengthen subordinate relations and class consciousness.

In this era of autocratic monarchy, there was no concept of country and nation. The relationship between two political entities depended largely on the relationship between two leaders, and personal hatred between monarchs was often the cause of war.

The most typical examples are the Ottoman vassals in the Balkans. Grand Prince Durand of Serbia was loyal to Murad II, but disdained Mehmed II. Grand Prince Vladislav of Wallachia had a decent relationship with Mehmed II, but after Vlad III came to power, he directly nailed the Sultan's envoy to a stake.

Loyalty and kindness should be instilled in children from an early age.

In addition, Isaac also strongly encouraged all royal relatives and nobles to travel around Europe when they grew up, to travel to various countries, to observe the local customs, and to get acquainted with various monarchs and nobles.

Under this training system, Justinian quickly became close friends with the princes and nobles in the territory. Everyone knew that he would be their future monarch, so they naturally treated him with courtesy and respect, which made Justinian very proud.

However, Isaac also often warned his son that he must get along well with other children and never bully them or act arrogantly.

Once, Justinian was playing Senet with his cousin Andreas. Justinian was furious after losing the game and tried to deny it. He picked up the chessboard and was about to hit Isaac who was passing by, but he was severely beaten by him. From then on, he never dared to tamper with the monarch's authority at will.

Now, Justinian is almost six years old, at the age of being lively and active. Leonor took him with her to the Iberian Peninsula to attend the wedding of Portuguese Princess Joanna and King Henry IV of Castile.

"Have you learned all the blessings I taught you?"

Leonor wiped the tears from her son's eyes and asked softly, trying to use a gentle tone.

"Mom, even my sailing teacher praised my Portuguese, so you don't have to worry."

Justinian said in Portuguese.

"When you see Aunt Joana later, you must be respectful and not bring the bad habits you developed in Bilinchi to Toledo. Do you understand?"

Justinian nodded and continued to look at the white clouds in the sky.

"I don't know where your father is now."

Leonor seemed to remember something and talked to herself.

"Don't worry. My father has fought many battles and has won great achievements. He is famous and powerful. Even the arrogant Turks were defeated by him, let alone a small Hafsid dynasty."

Justinian straightened his back and pretended to be serious.

Leonor was amused by her son's appearance, and her previous worries disappeared without a trace.

"Who taught you to say these things?"

"Aunt Zoe taught me."

"Oh, Mom, I heard that Aunt Zoe and Sister Charlotte are going on a trip together. They will go north from Constantinople, enter Poland from Moldavia, go to Lithuania and Moscow, and then make a big circle, go to the Low Countries and France via the Baltic Sea, and finally return to Bilinchi from Italy..."

Justinian muttered to himself, his face full of longing.

"When I grow up, I want to be like them and leave my footprints all over the land of three continents..."

"No."

Leonor directly shattered her son's dream.

"why?"

"No reason."

"Your grandfather is in poor health. When he is called by the Lord to ascend to heaven, your father will go to Constantinople. You must stay in Bilinchi."

"Can……"

The mother and son chatted incoherently as the carriage continued on the country road of Iberia, with the Royal City of Toledo in sight ahead.

……

The wedding was a grand occasion. The marriage between the two important kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula attracted countless eyes from all over Europe. Nobles from various countries came in droves, filling the royal palace of Toledo. Many lower-ranking nobles could not get a residence in the palace, and could only set up tents on the open space outside the palace, filling the grass.

Due to the influence of the Crusades, the wedding originally scheduled for 1455 was postponed to mid-1456. The victories in the Battle of Tripoli and the Battle of Tangier made the nobles feel relieved and rushed to attend this grand ceremony.

Perhaps in order to alleviate the impact of the divorce scandal in previous years, Henry IV, who was crowned King of the United Kingdom of Castile two years ago, spent a lot of money on this wedding, trying to use this opportunity to strengthen the royal authority of the Kingdom of Castile, which had fallen to the bottom due to successive civil unrest.

Of course, many nobles looked at this coldly, and some even attended this seemingly splendid wedding with the mentality of watching a joke.

It is interesting to think that a young girl, a princess from the wealthy and enlightened country of Portugal, is going to marry a king who is famous for his stupidity and impotence.

Just wait and see, in a few years, Princess Joana from Portugal will surely not be able to bear the loneliness of living alone in the secluded chamber and will run away to keep a lover.

The Kingdom of Castile will probably have some good things to watch in the future.

In the Royal Palace of Toledo, Leonor sat in front of Joana, and her heart ached when she saw her sister, who was wearing a wedding dress but was uneasy.

After her father's death, her mother, who had served as regent, was quickly defeated in the political struggle with Prince Pedro, leaving Leonor and the newborn Joana behind and fleeing to Castile alone, where she died of illness and never heard from again.

As the posthumous daughter of the previous king, Joanna had never seen her father and mother since childhood. Her brother Alfonso V was devoted to political struggles. Her eldest sister Leonor became her only support. The two grew up together until her sister came of age and married Isaac, the co-ruling emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire, who was in power.

"Sister, what should I do?"

There was a hint of panic in Joana's voice, as if he was desperate about his future fate.

Her sister lived a happy life after marriage. Not only did her status and position rise, she also gave birth to two healthy sons. But she was not so lucky.

"Enrique..."

Joana blushed and found it difficult to speak.

Leonor stared at her skinny sister, not knowing how to comfort her.

“Just follow your heart.”

She let out a long sigh.

On April 1456, 4, under the watchful eyes of the public, King Henry IV of Castile and Princess Joanna of Portugal got married, and the situation on the Iberian Peninsula opened a new chapter.

After the wedding, of course, there were celebrations that lasted for several days. The ladies talked about family matters and precious treasures, the men went hunting and chatted, and expressed their opinions on the war in North Africa and the situation in the Balkans. There were feasts all day long and the place was extremely luxurious.

In the Royal Palace of Toledo, Justinian obtained his mother's permission and went to the large garden for fun under the guidance of guards and nannies.

Justinian was overjoyed to see so many of his peers at once. He looked around, listened to the birds singing and smelled the flowers.

"Hey, what are you looking at?"

Justinian walked up to a noble boy and asked curiously.

The boy was about three or four years old, with a runny nose. He lowered his head and looked intently at the ants on the road.

“Look at the ants.”

“What’s so good about ants?”

“Although ants are small, they work together and line up in a formation. Even large beetles wrapped in heavy armor are no match for them!”

The boy was obviously very proud of his discovery. He raised his head, sniffed, and looked at Justinian with a silly smile.

Justinian also squatted down and watched the rows of ants working together to trap and kill beetles that were a hundred times more numerous than them and carry them back to the ant nest.

“Are you Portuguese?”

The boy recognized Justinian's accent.

"no!"

Justinian denied it.

"I am a Roman, grandson of Emperor Constantine and son of Emperor Isaac. Have you ever heard of my fame?"

The boy thought about it and shook his head.

"People outside should call me the Purple Noble."

"Are you the Purple Noble?"

The boy had obviously heard of this term.

"But you're not wearing purple either?"

"Don't worry!"

Justinian waved his hand in a condescending manner, and like a magic trick, he took out a piece of honey cake from behind him, which immediately attracted the boy's attention.

"My father said that if you pay close attention, you can always learn something inadvertently."

"You're good, this piece of cake is a reward for you!"

The boy cheered, picked up the cake and started to eat it, while asking the other person's name in a vague manner.

"My name is Justinian, remember that."

The boy nodded, swallowed his cake, and licked the crumbs off his hands.

"My brother won't let me eat this kind of food." "It is said that if you eat too much, you will get fat and won't be able to hold a lance."

The boy looked at Justinian, who was dressed elegantly and spent lavishly, and his impression of him increased immediately.

"By the way, what's your name?"

Justinian asked.

"It's not nice to hear. I don't want to talk about it."

Justinian took out a larger piece of honey cake.

The boy's eyes lit up, he grabbed the cake and stuffed a few bites into his stomach.

He raised his head and looked at Justinian who was smiling.

"Gonzalo."

"My name is Gonzalo de Cordova."

Before Justinian could respond, Gonzalo stood up and took Justinian's hand.

"I'll take you to meet someone."

"She is very pitiful. No one wants to play with her. If you see her, you must not bully her..."

Gonzalo wiped his nose and introduced his friends to Justinian as he walked.

As they walked, they came to a secluded tower with a railing outside and a desolate area all around.

Under the tower, inside the railing, the setting sun shines through the gaps between the leaves and falls onto the ground, a piece of broken gold.

On the grass under the shade of a tree, a delicate little girl in simple clothes was holding a thick book. The sunlight fell on her face, creating a hazy look.

The little girl was out of place in the desolate surroundings. She looked like a princess from a fairy tale. Even the poor people's clothes could not hide her natural elegance.

"My brother is very kind to me, but her brother hates her very much. He doesn't even allow her to leave the castle in the countryside unless the wedding is held..."

Seeing Justinian frozen in place, Gonzalo whispered.

"Gonzalo, you're here."

The girl's voice sounded like a clear spring or a nightingale singing, telling her story in a leisurely and graceful manner.

"Who is this?"

She looked at Justinian, her amber eyes filled with joy at the arrival of her friend, but she could not hide her deep sorrow.

"I am Justinian Palaiologos, a close friend of Gonzalo."

Before Gonzalo could speak, Justinian spoke up, with a bright smile.

The two men walked forward, separated from the girl by a high railing.

"This is……"

Gonzalo pointed at the raised fence in confusion.

"He found out the last time you came."

The girl smiled bitterly.

"You guys should leave in a while. The guards are changing shifts right now, so you can get so close."

Gonzalo was a little discouraged.

"Well, I meant to--Hey, Justinian, what are you doing?"

blah-

Justinian drew a small gilded sword inlaid with gems from his waist and stabbed it into the wooden fence.

blah-

Justinian raised his sword and stabbed repeatedly, making a gap in the already fragile wooden fence, then stepped forward and kicked it.

"you……"

The girl was a little surprised when she saw the hole in the wooden fence that people could pass through.

"The king will kill you!"

"He didn't dare."

Justinian shook his head in disdain, crawled through the hole, and stood beside the girl.

"Gonzalo, you go guard outside, and remember to shout when the guards come."

"Oh……"

Although Gonzalo was confused, he didn't think too much about it and ran off happily to get some fresh air.

"You are... so brave."

The girl hadn't been so close to a boy of the same age for a long time, and she was a little nervous for a moment.

"Of course, I am Justinian, the grandson of Emperor Constantine, son of Emperor Isaac, and the purple noble from Constantinople!"

"I want to be friends with you, is that okay?"

The girl opened her mouth, turned her head away and ignored the question.

"Justinian? Such an ancient name."

“Ancient is glorious.”

The girl chuckled.

"From which noble family's language did you copy it?"

"forget."

Justinian told the truth.

“Your Portuguese is authentic.”

"My mother is a Portuguese princess and my uncle is the King of Portugal."

"It is indeed a very noble origin."

The girl looked at Justinian's gorgeous clothes and her face suddenly became a little gloomy.

"Did your brother lock you up here?"

The girl nodded.

"Only you?"

"And my brother and mother, and two or three servants."

"You didn't feel, uh..."

"What else can we do?"

The girl smiled and looked into Justinian's face.

"It's not every day that you come across a knight as heroic as you."

Justinian blushed and didn't know what to say.

He could feel that due to the harsh situation, the girl, although almost the same age as him, was much more mature mentally.

"After my father died, our situation became like this, we were transferred from one prison to another, and we didn't know when it would end."

The girl looked up at the darkening sky. In the distance, a feast was being held on the land. Everyone was singing and dancing, with happy smiles on their faces.

None of this has anything to do with her.

"Alfonso, what have you done again! You..."

In the tower, a woman's sharp scream was heard, followed by the crying of children and the sound of cups and bottles breaking.

"My mother, who was used to a luxurious life, suddenly fell into the status of a commoner. She is almost going crazy."

"My younger brother has carried my father's surname since he was a child, but he is weak and can't even speak a few coherent sentences until now."

"My future is bleak, but you grow up in infinite light."

The girl looked Justinian in the eyes.

"That's it, are you still willing to be friends with me?"

Justinian opened his mouth, but could not speak.

A flash of disappointment flashed across the girl's eyes and she stood up.

"It's late, I want to go back."

"I wish you happiness, prince."

Just as she was about to leave, her hand was held tightly.

When I pulled my hand back, there were two more things.

A gilded dagger encrusted with gems and a piece of honey cake.

"I'll give it to you. I should go home now."

Hearing Gonzalo's panicked calls from afar, Justinian quickly crawled out of the fence and prepared to escape.

After running a long way, he seemed to remember something, turned around and shouted loudly to the girl who was still standing under the tower.

"What's your name?"

"My name is Isabella."

Isabella, sister of Henry IV and princess of the United Kingdom of Castile, watched Justinian's figure disappear in the sunset, put the cake into her mouth, held the dagger in her palm, and felt its unique hardness and fragrance.

(End of this chapter)