kingdom of nations

Chapter 239 Gift (Part )

It was an unintentional act, but it yielded a good result. The sweet aroma of the candy seemed to be healing her young and wounded heart. She gradually became happier, gained a little weight, and no longer avoided talking to the knights. After all, the knights' daily perk—a piece of rock candy—came from her.

The knights treated Natia with great care. They knew about her unfortunate past and were kind and patient children. No one impulsively knelt before her and swore to become her knight.

They knew she wasn't ready. If they did, it wouldn't bring her glory, but rather shock and humiliation.

But there were indeed a few among them who genuinely loved Natia, and Cesar had been carefully observing these people. If, in the future, Natia reciprocated the feelings of one of them, then he would truly be able to put his mind at ease.

He had said these things to Portia before. In another world, Cesar, who was busy as a rotating doctor, had also read some novels and watched some movies and TV shows. What he couldn't understand the most was why two people who were already married would hide things from each other and conceal their true feelings.

Only psychologists in the world will patiently try to guess your thoughts from subtle facial expressions and reactions, trace your past, and analyze your ideas—most people have their own lives and work, and do not exist for anyone else, not even themselves.

It's really unnecessary to waste precious time, energy, and emotions on something so mutually torturous. Besides, Cyprus is currently fraught with crisis and turmoil, and soon he will be going on an expedition with Baldwin.

He had already witnessed firsthand the struggle between Queen Mother Maria and Princess Hibil in Holy Cross Castle. Before Baldwin ascended the throne, his mother, Countess Jaffa, chose to retreat to avoid conflict with the new mistress. Their teacher had repeatedly told him and Baldwin that the struggle between women was no less fierce than the war between men, and this was in a Christian castle. If it were in the harem of a Sultan or Caliph, such struggles would only be more bloody and intense.

During his long conversation with Cesar, Dandolo made no attempt to conceal the fact that he had raised Portia as a boy, implying that in addition to the sensitivity unique to women, she might also possess the tyranny and cruelty of men.

César did not want her to have an unnecessary conflict with Natia. From now on, there would only be one mistress of Cyprus, and Natia would not be involved in the political and military turmoil. However, in return, he hoped that Natia could gain freedom like Portia.

Portia, who had rejoiced at César's leniency, should not now be troubled by the potential favor and indulgence another lady might receive, not to mention she should also be grateful to Natia. Without Natia, César would still be Baldwin's squire, even if he had been knighted and had land, he would by no means be a marriage prospect that the Venetians would be so eager to win over.

Portia, on the other hand, could have spent her life unrestrained but lonely in the monastery her grandfather built for her.

Besides, César loved his sister, and she should love her in the same way. Anyone with a heart should not let their lover suffer because they have to choose between love and family.

Portia's hesitation did not escape the woman's notice, which only made her secretly pleased.

She was a woman too, and of course she knew that when a woman is deeply in love, her love can be incredibly intense, and so can her jealousy. And this jealousy is indiscriminate and unrestricted; men, women, the elderly, children, those with blood ties or those without, even living or inanimate objects, can all become targets of her jealousy.

She becomes resentful whenever someone steals her lover's attention, either arguing with her lover or trying to destroy what she's jealous of.

Moreover, although rock sugar is a new commodity, its value is already beginning to emerge.

It is said that Manuel I, the emperor of the Byzantine Empire, took advantage of being Cesare's father-in-law, and every week he would send an envoy to take away a box of rock sugar directly from the workshop.

He once praised this square-shaped honey as manna, a gift from God to mankind.

It is as pure as ice and as sweet as honey. The emperor would take one before and after meals, and another before bed. He believed that this refined sugar would invigorate him and prolong his life.

Meanwhile, Pope Alexander III, far away in Rome, though furious at his niece who had been ruthlessly rejected by Cesar, readily accepted the apologies sent by the Cypriot lords.

Aside from the gold, silk, and pearls he had grown tired of seeing, what pleased the Holy Father most was rock candy. Like Patriarch Heraclius, he recognized the value of this candy at a glance.

Although he disliked the Cypriot lord, it didn't stop him from spreading it as a minor miracle. After all, in this era, science had not yet begun to emerge; there were only divine gifts and devil's tricks. The creation of rock candy could undoubtedly only fall into one of these two categories.

The Father deliberated for a long time, until it was confirmed that the Roman Catholic Church would receive one hundred pounds of rock sugar from Cyprus every quarter, before classifying this novel item as belonging to the former category.

Rock sugar was not only placed on sacred altars alongside precious offerings, but it was also sold as a panacea. It is said that in Rome today, rock sugar is worth as much as gold—of course, this is a blessed price.

Even ordinary rock candy has become a little trinket that European nobles and monarchs used to show off.

They often carried rock candy in the money pouches hanging from their waists, casually taking out a handful to enjoy in their spare time. Those nobles fortunate enough to be rewarded with a piece or two were especially grateful and delighted.

The production of rock sugar is still not satisfactory, and its value is only a drop in the ocean for a territory or an army.

But for a noblewoman, it was quite a considerable sum.

They projected their own assumptions onto Portia, believing that Cesar would tightly control the production process and sales channels of rock candy as his private property. They didn't believe Portia would accept this without complaint, especially since it hadn't been given to his wife, the mistress of Cyprus, but rather to her sister. "This is Cesar's wish; he loves his sister very much," Portia said casually, fiddling with her golden crown.

At the same time, she was also secretly observing the expressions of the noble ladies, trying to see how many of them were colluding with this lady.

Sure enough, she saw several ambiguous glances that she hadn't been able to completely conceal in her haste.

She now finally understood some of the words her grandfather had spoken before the marriage. If she hadn't been Portia, the child who had grown up under Dandolo's tutelage, but an ordinary noblewoman, she would probably have already been successfully driven apart by them.

If she were to clash with Natia, not only would it affect her relationship with Cesar, but even just for the sake of this still young family, it would be entirely detrimental.

Of course, for some, Natia's existence was a power struggle with her, but they should also realize that when Cesar left Cyprus to fight for his king, Natia was the only person she could rely on in Cyprus.

In Cyprus, only these three people had their fates intertwined, whether they were crusaders, Venetians, or Cypriots.

For them, it doesn't matter much who owns Cyprus.

They might not betray César, but if César were gone, their feelings for him wouldn't have extended to the two women.

Portia did not give a direct answer to the lady's request, whether she refused or agreed, but she left the golden wreath behind.

The lady left the governor's palace and hurried home, where a group of people were anxiously waiting for her.

Portia noticed the strange looks the ladies were giving this woman, and there was a reason for it—her family had some unclear relationship with the Isaacs.

Although this relationship dates back a very long time. It is said that the lady's husband's grandmother was an Isaac, but Isaacs do not intermarry with outsiders, and Christians do not marry Isaac women.

For the sake of love, the young couple resolutely broke through the barriers set by their parents and secretly got married in one place. After being discovered, the woman resolutely declared that she had abandoned the doctrines of Isaac, converted to Christianity, and became a believer in the Roman Catholic Church.

She was thus expelled from her family. She was left all alone, relying on her husband and his family for survival. Gradually, the Cypriots also realized that something was amiss.

The relationship between this family and the Isaacs did not seem as clear-cut as it appeared on the surface. Although they deliberately made a big show of their deep hatred, they frequently cooperated with the Isaacs in subsequent transactions. As a result, the family, which was once on the verge of bankruptcy, was given a chance to breathe and even prospered again. This was indeed reprehensible, but they did benefit from it.

However, the benefits that the Isaacs received were not so easy to obtain.

Just like Jacques of Bethlehem, the Isaacs counted their lineage not only from the father but also from the mother, and the children born to the Isaac woman would also be Isaacs. They always insisted on this—of course, referring only to those children who could actually bring them benefits.

Now is the time for this secretly planted piece to come into play.

They craned their necks to look, and when they saw the lady return empty-handed, they immediately smiled.

Who was most terrified after learning that Cesar had rejected the tax farmer system? The Isaacs, of course. While they engaged in some handicrafts and financial activities such as currency exchange and lending, the only profession they couldn't bear to give up was, of course, tax farming.

They had played this most heinous role for the ancient Romans, the ancient Egyptians, and every king and lord after them, and they showed no sign of backing down even though their people had been repeatedly driven out and slaughtered for numerous atrocities.

The tax farming system not only allowed them to quickly acquire large sums of money, but also enabled them to trample on the Christians who despised and hated them. When they used taxes and debts to drive artisans, merchants, and farmers who considered themselves superior to them to desperation, their pride was beyond words.

Similarly, they also saw this as an opportunity to climb the social ladder, even though they knew that every ruler only saw them as a convenient tool. But who says that a tool can't turn against its master? For example, Pepin the Short was originally a chief minister in the Clovis court.
They believed that with perseverance, even with just one chance, one person could change the tragic fate of the Isaacs that had lasted for a thousand years. The new lord's desire to establish his own tax office and recruit tax officials truly troubled them. Their first thought was to sow discord between the new lord and his wife; wasn't his willingness to relinquish power precisely because his beloved wife was Venetian?
The Isaacs believed that they could provide what the Venetians could, and even more so what the Venetians could not, as long as they could change the young lord's mind—they did not expect to make Cesar abandon his original ideas immediately, but only to make him less trusting of the Venetians and allow the Isaacs to have a hand in the new tax authorities and hold certain positions.

This lady has now perfectly fulfilled their entrustment.

"Whoever ultimately obtains the franchise, it will be handed over to you to manage," said the Great Sage of Isaac. For the Isaacs, this was an incredibly generous promise.

The family members immediately showed genuine joy—they celebrated, raised their glasses, and toasted each other, rejoicing that their wish had come true.

Little did they know that Portia had already taken the box containing the golden wreath to meet Cesar.

(End of this chapter)