kingdom of nations

Chapter 176 Request for Help (Part 1) - Bonus Chapter!
"Yes, yes," Queen Mother Maria thought to herself, "If you are destined to be a tender-hearted king, then why not pour that favor and love into my children during these few years when you can still retain your humanity?"

This is also your sister, and her age is perfect for Baldwin. By the time she grows up and can have children, Baldwin's life will be almost over.

It was as if a cycle had come full circle. At Baldwin's baptism, his uncle Baldwin III, who also felt his days were numbered, placed his hand on the swaddling clothes and said, "Alassaru will belong to this child." He too could place his hand on Isabella's child's swaddling clothes and say the same thing at the last moment of his life.

She had been worried that the fact that Hibil had given birth to a stillborn child might once again shake Baldwin's soft heart, or that their mother, Countess Jaffa, might come to persuade him to take Hibil back to Arrasar.

Fortunately, Hibyl's previous actions had disappointed the king time and time again, and when she truly encountered calamity, Baldwin resolutely allowed her to stay in Naresa to recuperate, still far away from him and Holy Cross Castle. This was truly a gratifying thing, at least Queen Mary and her maids thought so.

If Hibern and Abigail hadn't revealed such ugly and hideous faces after their plot succeeded, Queen Mary might not have acted so quickly.

Regardless, she was an outsider in Arrassal. Even though she had borne a child for Amalric I, merging Komnen and Flanders (the surname of the kings of Arrassal), she was still a Byzantine, and people either ignored her or were wary of her.

She does have her own people, as well as brains and experience, but these are like a sharp yet fragile knife, meant to be used only at the most critical moments.

Queen Mother Maria was very patient when she was a girl, so she found it hard to understand why Hibil was in such a hurry.

Regardless of whether Hibernath was able to give birth to a boy, even if she did, the final decision on who would be the heir would still rest with Baldwin, the king of Arathal.

After observing for the past few years, she could confirm that although Baldwin appeared humble and gentle enough, beneath this gentle exterior stood the same aloof, cold, and unapproachable privileged individual.

He was somewhat flustered in handling the matters concerning Hibern and Abigail, but this was not surprising. After all, Amalric I had only been dead for three years, and it was too difficult for him to suddenly transform from a child who still looked up to and relied on his father into a decisive and ruthless monarch. But as he grew older and the years passed, he would eventually realize this.

At that time, he will be like a flying insect emerging from a heavy cocoon, abandoning all worldly love, kinship, friendship, and even desire, carrying only the dust of power and glory as he dances in the high sky. To him, everyone else is just insignificant dust and withered leaves.

What she had to do was to maintain a motherly demeanor in her final years, creating a warm nest for the king that he would think of when he wanted to rest.

If this could offset the influence of their bloodline and make him truly see himself and little Isabella as family... even if he couldn't wait for Isabella's child to be born, as long as he was allowed to choose a husband for Isabella that suited his taste, the people of Arazar would obey his will.

Time flies, but she can wait.

But on the day Baldwin rushed to Bethlehem and then rushed back, the attitude of Hilbil and Abigail gave her a bad feeling. Clearly, she was prepared to take her time, but the foolish princess didn't think that way. She was like a mindless, hungry beast that, upon seeing what it wanted, only wanted to reach out and grab everything.

Hibil's first step, it must be said, was somewhat shrewd. She stepped over her own brother, the King of Arazarus, to prove how legitimate and noble the child in her womb was.

If she succeeds, the mistress of Holy Cross Castle will change, even if this future king is still just a lump of flesh in a woman's womb. Conversely, if Sibil truly becomes the mistress of Holy Cross Castle, she might use it to blackmail her brother and her subjects.

Yes, in Christian society, women are required to be chaste, silent, and meek.

But in reality, even a lord would need a woman who could protect his territory and income while he was away, not a nun or a prostitute.

The king's wife, or any of his female relatives, also had such obligations and rights. Baldwin didn't feel too much restraint now because Queen Mother Maria had made concessions for the sake of her daughter, Isabella.

Even though she sat beside the king in every public meeting and court, she rarely expressed her own opinions, let alone opposed the king.

As for Hibyl—Queen Mary had no doubt that she would utter outrageous remarks at any possible opportunity, even at the cost of hindering her own brother. If it came to that, Baldwin would have to fight his sister first before he could do anything, needlessly wasting his energy and prestige.

Unless he can get married and let his wife take over the power in the Holy Cross Castle, or his mother, Countess Jaffa, replaces Hibil, but not to mention that Countess Jaffa's marriage to Amalric I has been declared invalid, it would be somewhat illegitimate for her to stay here.

Even if we consider that Hibil is also her daughter, she probably doesn't have the same ruthlessness as Irene, and wouldn't be able to harm her own flesh and blood.

Maria had seen countless women like Hibil while she was still in Constantinople. In the Byzantine court, the emperor's mother, sisters, daughters, and even wives had moments when they wielded power; for example, Irene, whom she had previously used as an example, was the emperor's wife.

After the emperor's death, Irene seized power in the court through her son. However, she had no talent for ruling and was quickly overthrown. But she did not fall into despair after being overthrown. On the contrary, she was quite resilient in this regard. She not only took advantage of the foreign invasion to kill those who were monitoring her, but also returned to the court with the help of her supporters and seized power.

On her first day back in power, she stripped her son of his rights and sight, causing him to die a few days later from pain and infection. Not only that, she didn't spare her own grandson—she castrated him, and the young child almost followed his father in death.

Her atrocities enraged the others, who stormed the palace, dragged her out, and imprisoned her once more. This time, however, she had no chance of redemption and ultimately died silently on the island where she was imprisoned. Her life vividly illustrates how foolish or wicked a person can be—it doesn't matter if they are stupid, it doesn't matter if they are wicked, but if they are both stupid and wicked, how devastating the consequences can be.

And her stepdaughter seemed to show Queen Mother Maria such a future.

The only saving grace is that Arrasa does not promote a system of succession and rule like that of Zionism.

The mother of a young king may become regent, but as long as she cannot lead the army to fight the Saracens, her power is minimal—just like Constance of Antioch, who was able to refuse her son's request to rule in his own right because Reynard of Châtillon was indeed a capable warrior… After Reynard became a Saracen prisoner, the knights of Antioch were able to ignore her orders, threats, and pleas to bring Bohemond III back.

But this weakness only exists on the battlefield of men. For Maria of Holy Cross Castle and her daughter Isabella, Hilbil, as the "mistress," is still like a poisonous thorn that flickers in the darkness. They don't know when she will pierce their hearts and take their lives.

In this place, no one will speak up for them or clear their names.

Isabella was just a girl, and she was an outsider.

She had to strike first, even though most people thought that acting hastily would only bring her danger and little benefit. Not to mention, Byzantium and Hibern's husband Abigail's family were currently in a honeymoon period—they were fighting together.

But for Queen Mother Mary, there was no better opportunity. The cunning Duke Bohemond III of Antioch was far away, and Hibernath had been exiled to Nal'azar for offending the king. Her husband Abigail was with her, but he was as dull as a boar and posed no threat. She easily lured him away with just a few pretty prostitutes.

As Hibyl entered the later stages of her pregnancy, her excretions, mobility, and diet were greatly affected, especially when she noticed that she was becoming ugly. Queen Mother Maria, who was already a mother herself, knew that no matter how well a pregnant woman took care of herself, dressed up, or how stunningly beautiful she had been before, she would inevitably become haggard, sallow, and bloated in the later stages of pregnancy.

If Hibil hadn't done something foolish, and if the Countess of Jaffa had been by her side, she might not have ended up in such a vulnerable position.

The Countess of Jaffa did try to visit her, but she refused to even see her, believing her mother had come to mock him. Her most loyal servant, Abigail, was indeed suspicious due to his absences and inattentiveness.

She was prone to outbursts of anger, sometimes weeping, and would arbitrarily beat and scold the maids and servants around her, making everyone feel insecure.

Queen Mother Maria did nothing special; she simply had merchants recommend items to the maids that would protect them from Hibir's beatings and scoldings: some light wine to soothe the pregnant woman's irritability, some cosmetics to restore her radiance, some brightly colored fabrics, and some strong perfumes. All of this was implemented after Hibir was six months pregnant.

She had long been prepared. She not only wanted to prevent Hibil from giving birth to the child, but also to ravage her body. She wanted to leave room for her little Isabella to grow up, and at least until she had the ability and awareness to protect herself, she did not want Hibil to return to Alassa Road.

Another thing that puzzled her was the stillbirth of Hibern—it wasn't the Christians in Arazarus who doubted her, but her great-uncle, or rather… her father.

This was a secret kept hidden in the shadows. She had gone mad because of it, and was so terrified that she wanted to commit suicide. She was a child of depravity—although it was not uncommon for victors to take the wives and daughters of the vanquished during the changing of the monarchy.

Manuel I ascended to the throne by killing his brother Isaac—his two brothers had died in the same year when he was twenty-four. No one can question whether he was involved in the killing, but after becoming the Byzantine emperor, he did castrate the sons and grandsons of three of his brothers, and made his niece a secret concubine, even though her mother was already married and had a husband.

This tradition was also inherited by Manuel I's son, or at least he was eager to try it.

When King Amalric I of Arrassal intended to forge an alliance with Byzantium through marriage, countless young women in the court sought this union. Maria did not know how many of them were struggling to escape in order to avoid the same fate as her mother, but she certainly did take many unspeakable actions.

If she had a hundred enemies in the palace before she sought this marriage, she might have a thousand enemies when she left the palace.

Her enemies had no intention of letting her go either. If it weren't for her stepson Baldwin and Cesar, she might have been torn apart and eaten by the enraged mother bear the moment she entered Alassa Road.

Look, what a fine execution tool they used. Everyone knows that bears are different from other wild animals; they usually eat their prey alive. They not only wanted her to die, but they also wanted her to die a miserable and painful death. But did she regret it?

She had no regrets whatsoever. If she ended up like her mother, she would rather be eaten alive by a bear. Of course, in the end, she won her gamble, though it couldn't be called a complete victory.

The people of Arrasa Road didn't suspect anything because so many things could change there; generally, few people would consider what would happen a decade or more later. But she was different, and little Isabella was different too. If they didn't start thinking now, a decade or so later, they would be lambs to the slaughter.

From the Byzantine perspective, however, Mary's great-uncle, or rather her biological father, immediately saw the reason behind it—Hibile was not a person that most people could like, but no matter how much they disliked Hibile, they would still hope that she could safely give birth to a boy, and they had no reason to do so.

But is this of any benefit to Queen Maria?
No, she's not Baldwin or Hibler's biological mother, and she has another daughter. She would do anything for little Isabella.

(End of this chapter)