kingdom of nations

Chapter 163 A brief meeting

Longinus was even taken aback when he stepped into the room.

For a moment, he even had the illusion that he was still in Sainte-Croix or Bethlehem, instead of having arrived in Damascus, and that everything that had happened before was just a dream he had because he was too worried about César.

As César's servant, he must have entered César's room countless times.

César's room was completely different from what people now admire; some even thought it was the place where an old and devout ascetic would stay after seeing it.

Whether in Sainte-Croix or Bethlehem, César's room was very spacious. Apart from the necessary bed, desk, trunk, and corner cabinet, there was only a brass water clock, which could be considered a valuable piece of furniture.

The ceiling and walls were simply painted white, with adjustable lamp stands hanging from them. The floor was bare, with exposed stone slabs or wooden planks, no carpets, and no thick carpets of lavender, rushes, or dried rose petals.

The bed had only wool or cotton mattresses and linen and cotton sheets, no mink or silk; the cup he used to drink water was just a wooden cup, not a silver or gold cup; there were no heavy tapestries on the walls or in front of the windows, only window guards.

Except for the coldest days, these window guards are always open, allowing sunlight, wind, and even rain to stream into the room, keeping the air inside fresh and humid.

Sometimes, when the weather was too dry, César would even instruct his servants to sprinkle water on the ground.

But only Longinus and a few servants knew that Cesare's room was in no way inferior in luxury to that of the prince and the current king, Baldwin IV.

He had very high standards for cleanliness, not allowing dust to accumulate, grease to remain, or rats and snakes to appear in the rooms. Even fleas and bedbugs, which even previous kings and queens might not have been able to avoid, had to be eradicated in his house.

Killing these insects is no easy task—even nobles have long been accustomed to their bites. Moreover, they are migratory; a clean, fluffy mattress, fragrant with cotton or wool, can easily breed swarms of insects within a few months.

The only way to get rid of them is to keep drying and washing them.

Once conditions allowed, Baldwin and Cesar's bedding and clothes even required a team of twelve laundresses to handle them. Every few days, one could see these women carrying bundles of fabric out of their rooms and then carrying them back into the clean ones.

Leaving aside how much water and soap would be wasted, the wear and tear on these fabrics alone, even for ordinary cotton and linen, would cost a fortune. Of course, a knight could afford that, but why care about those little bugs? They can't cause any harm. Wouldn't it be better to use that money to have a good drink?

But the result of doing so is obvious. How should I put it?

His room was always bright, spacious, and clean, without a trace of unpleasant smell.

Everyone who steps into the room for the first time will instinctively take a deep breath—they don't know what the smell is—it's comforting, but it doesn't feel like a church. It's not myrrh or frankincense, just air as clear as glass, the crisp scent of distant vegetation, and the slight bitterness emanating from nearby ink and parchment—the owner of this room was a great lover of reading and writing.

Even though the room Saladin prepared for Cesare was completely different from the Christian room in terms of furnishings, decorations, and furniture, Longinus always felt that they were very similar.

The room was also empty, with a blackened bronze lamp holder hanging from the center of the circular dome. The ceiling and walls were a soft milky yellow, with only the window and door frames decorated with gorgeous and delicate floral patterns.

The ground was covered with gray stone bricks, and there were no carpets or furs, only a few exquisite little kneeling cushions neatly arranged to one side, presumably for the servants here who had to serve Cesar and could not leave, but who certainly had to perform the seven daily prayers.

Then Longinus looked ahead and saw a wide, low couch behind a narrow archway. On the couch, there was nothing that could be called luxurious fabric; there was no velvet or silk, only white and pale yellow wool and cotton.

A dozen or so pillows were neatly stacked, forming a small nest shape, with plain-colored gauze curtains hanging around them. Longinus walked over quickly and saw the face that had caused him so much anxiety over the past ten days. He breathed rapidly and reached out to touch Cesar's neck, feeling a strong pulse.

He is still alive, God for God, he is indeed still alive and was not killed by those Saracens.

Longinus had no idea what he would do if Cesar really died here...

As early as when Amalric I was on his expedition to Egypt, he had already killed three Saracens on the battlefield, fulfilling his vow to God and thus being able to reclaim his surname. However, when the king summoned him before him and asked about his origins and name, he hesitated.

He had no affection for his family, whether it was his father, mother, or brothers and sisters. He knew that his nephew, who was a year older than him, looked down on him. The nephew even said at a banquet that he would at most reserve a police officer position for his uncle.

He came to Yalasaran with a do-or-die attitude, hoping to win a title with his martial arts skills and talent and then return home in glory. But when he could actually achieve this goal, he hesitated. He even wanted to laugh. What would he do with all that he got?

Go and challenge that child? He might become a guest of honor of some lord or king, and perhaps even have a small fiefdom. He could see the end of the road ahead, sleeping, training, gambling, feasting, having children with his wife, teaching them, attending Mass, then pounding the soles of the tenant farmers' feet, forcing them to hand over most of their grain, competing with other knights for a seat at a banquet, participating in tournaments, killing others, or being killed by others.

Just like his father, brother, and nephew.

When he said, "You can still call me Longinus," Amalric I laughed. It seemed he had seen many people like him. In the end, he stayed in Arrassal and stayed with his young master.

He stood at the head of the bed, looking down at Cesar's face. All the color had faded from that beautiful face; his hair had grown a little longer and was scattered on the fluffy cotton pillow; his lips were grayish-white, and his eyes were tightly closed.

For the first time, he discovered that his little master's eyelashes were so thick and long; he had only ever seen such eyelashes on babies before.

Fortunately, he did not see the flushed face that indicated high fever, a terrifying condition for both Christians and Saracens. Even the chosen ones could die from high fever, and they suffered even more than ordinary people.

He then checked Cesar's hands and feet, which were washed very clean, without any stickiness from sweat, and his nails were trimmed very neatly and rounded.

He pulled the blanket over Cesar and was about to get up and leave when he heard a long sigh.

Longinus immediately turned around and rushed to the couch. He saw that the eyes had opened. At first, the pupils could not focus, but slowly the emerald green eyes regained their vitality.

He slowly turned toward Longinus, then smiled: "It's you, Longinus."

Longinus simply sat down cross-legged and took Cesare's hand. The servants and doctors in the room immediately busied themselves when they saw that Cesare had woken up.

They must not disturb Cesar while he is still asleep.

According to their experience, those who were chosen and received the prophet's revelation, while in a deep sleep, might be listening to God's will and receiving His comfort and teachings at the prophet's feet. If they were arbitrarily awakened, they would feel unbearable pain, which might even affect their subsequent path to heaven.

But as soon as he woke up, they would seize every spare moment to give him the medicine, along with honey cakes containing cinnamon, cardamom, musk, cassia bark, saffron, costus root, and cloves—a precious medicinal dish usually reserved for only the Sultan and Caliph.

Cesar only had time to ask, "How is Arazarus?" while they were busy helping him lean back against the pillows.

Longinus knew, of course, that the person he most wanted to ask was Baldwin IV, and he immediately told him that although the king was in a state of anxiety, he was unable to leave the Castle of the Holy Cross for the time being with Queen Mother Maria and Patriarch Heraclius.

He probably knew that if he rashly went to Damascus, it wouldn't help Cesare's current situation much; on the contrary, it would only make things worse. If he really went to Damascus and Saladin decided to keep him there, Cesare might actually lose his life there, and perhaps his reputation as well.

After all, when people talk about the foolish thing that King Baldwin IV of Arrassal did, they will surely say that it was all Cesar's fault.

As for the others, there's no need to elaborate. When the Grand Masters of the Good Hall Knights and the Knights Templar heard that Cesar had brought back ninety knights intact, they were both astonished and delighted.

Although they had previously thought that there wouldn't be any major problems with this mission—and had even ridiculed Baldwin IV's unfounded worries.

But as the saying goes, the scheming of a bad person is no match for the quick thinking of a fool. Who could have predicted that Nurdin's three sons would start fighting each other so soon after his burial? What's even more ridiculous is that the final victor was a nine-year-old boy.

This nine-year-old boy was clearly not as bright as Baldwin or Cesar at the age of nine, so much so that he still needed a guardian.

The guardians were none other than Sultan Nur ad-Din's former head eunuch and his first wife—a woman and a eunuch, one could almost imagine. At this point, Apol was in utter chaos.

In such a chaotic situation, all promises may be invalid, and the situation can change drastically at any time. Fortunately, Cesar is a decisive person and not greedy.

On the way to Apole, he had already won over the unruly knights, who were willing to obey his orders, allowing the army to withdraw intact from Apole, although they encountered several obstacles along the way. The final battle before Damascus exhausted them and almost crippled Cesar, but the result was still gratifying.

Their fearlessness and bravery persuaded Saladin, leading the Saracen general to release them, thus saving the three knightly orders a huge expense.

Of course, dissenting voices inevitably arose among other lords and ministers. For example, there were those concerning the deaths of Count Josephine III of Edessa and his wife, the Armenian princess, but it would be quite a stretch to place the blame on Cesare and others.

First, they were already dead before the mission even arrived in Apollo, and the perpetrators were Saracens. Although they didn't know why the Saracens wanted to break the agreement, anything could happen in that chaotic situation, especially since their current ruler was a woman.

"It's better to let a lion eat grass than to expect a woman to be rational."

Count Raymond of Tripoli commented without any attempt to conceal his opinion.

“It’s also possible that he’s been implicated in some conspiracy—those Saracens are just as cunning as the Byzantines when they’re plotting against each other,” said Bohemond, the Grand Prince of Antioch. His son, Abigail, surprisingly didn’t say anything, perhaps because his father had already given him enough slaps.

David, however, upon hearing that Cesare was trapped in Damascus, pleaded with the king to allow him to go and meet Cesare in the king's place.

Did Baldwin agree?

Longinus nodded. "He will be a few days later than me," because he was carrying gifts from King Baldwin IV of Arazarus to Saladin and others.

Although Saladin had said he would not ask for a single gold coin in ransom, Cesare was Baldwin IV's close friend and brother, and he certainly couldn't pretend he knew nothing—besides, he was genuinely grateful; whatever Saladin's motives, he had saved Cesare's life.

“There is one more thing I need to tell you,” Longinus said. “When I entered Damascus, I saw Lego.”

“Le Gau? That merchant?” César asked.

They initially sensed that Nur ad-Din might not live much longer and deduced that he might launch an expedition against Arrasal in his final moments because of a minor conflict between Lego and a group of soap merchants from Apol.

Of course, in retrospect, it was very likely just a little trick they played, pretending to inadvertently betray information to him.

However, after their great victory at the Battle of Galilee, Baldwin IV did indeed reward them accordingly, and the matter was over.

How did they get here?

“When I was in Bethlehem, I heard some…” Longinus hesitated for a moment, but continued, “I heard some not-so-good news.”

Lego appears to have gathered all the Isaacs in Bethlehem, along with some merchants associated with them, and raised nearly one hundred thousand gold coins.

"They want to..."

“Yes, they want to ransom you, which is a rather rude and presumptuous act,” Longinus said in a low voice.

If a lord is captured, and his son or wife collects taxes from the people of his territory to pay the lord's ransom, no one will question it.

However, if the merchants in his territory did so, their intentions would be worth considering carefully, and it would also displease those in power.

After all, collecting taxes requires them to fulfill their obligations, while their self-collection carries a hint of benevolence and mockery—as if the lord were merely a pitiful slave.

César leaned back on his pillow and thought for a moment: "Saladin drove them out, didn't he?"

“Yes,” Longinus smiled. “When I saw them, they were wearing only long undergarments, barefoot, with no mules or servants. It seems they’ve made a rare bad deal this time.”

Neither Saracens nor Christians, no lord would want to see these lowly creatures doing as they please.

Cesar nodded slightly, but judging from his expression, Longinus didn't seem to take the matter too seriously. "Will you punish them?"

“They have already been punished,” Cesar said. “One hundred thousand gold coins, even if it’s just small gold coins in Tripoli or Antioch, is a huge loss for these penny-pinching Isaacs. They don’t even know how frustrated and pained they will be.”

But Cesar felt it unnecessary to bring up the matter again and punish the Isaacs after returning to Bethlehem, as Longinus had suggested. They were all intelligent men who should be able to recognize their mistakes with a little guidance.

Ultimately, he didn't feel much belonging to Bethlehem; his anchor was still on Arrassa Road, in the Castle of the Holy Cross.

Longinus wanted to say something more, but Cesar had already closed his eyes again, and the Saracen doctor beside him gestured for him to remain silent.

Longinus sighed, left the room, and let his little master rest.

Anyway, there is a long way to go.

(End of this chapter)