kingdom of nations

Chapter 326 Richard I's Letter
"Where is that lady now?" Count Etienne suddenly asked a strange question.

"You mean Anna's foster mother, Lady Theodora? She has left Constantinople and is currently staying at the Convent of Saint Anne."

Although the Monastery of Saint Anne is nominally built to commemorate the mother of the Virgin Mary, it is actually known that it was built by César for his first wife, Anne. Originally a Catholic church, it has now been converted into an orthodox church, but that doesn't matter, as the furnishings and layout can be modified.

Churches are usually attached to a monastery. This monastery is mostly for men, but Theodora provided a sum of money and asked Cesare to build a monastery for women, as she preferred to stay with her daughter rather than the real Sanctuary of Lassa.

"So, Princess Anna's coffin will also be moved here after the completion of St. Anne's Cathedral."

“Although I don’t want to disturb her peaceful sleep…” Cesar didn’t finish his sentence, but Count Étienne, who also deeply loved his deceased wife, nodded slightly. He agreed with Cesar’s actions, but couldn’t help looking at Portia beside Cesar.

Portia showed no sign of surprise; in fact, she was content that Cesar had explained and pleaded with her before doing so.

Moreover, Theodora had already demonstrated her sincerity. Even though Princess Anna was dead, she continued to work so diligently for César, both to extract a price from Manuel I and others, and to ensure that Princess Anna's final wishes were fulfilled.

The power that Komnen could exert has been fully revealed in this war without gunfire, and no one dares to underestimate this woman anymore—those who underestimated her are already meeting their maker.

Portia was also a businesswoman, and she even dared to take her daughter Lorenz to see Mrs. Theodora. Everyone around couldn't help but worry about her audacity. Wasn't she afraid that Mrs. Theodora would see them and become jealous, which would be detrimental to them?

But that's exactly what César's wife and Lorenz's mother had to do. Otherwise, if you only saw her as a useless old woman, she would only be a useless old woman, not a dangerous Komnen.

She supported Cesare because he genuinely considered her daughter Anna his wife and was willing to avenge her—but don't expect a woman who could find an opportunity in the ever-changing battlefield and political arena to kill the Byzantine emperor in one fell swoop would unconditionally love his daughter as well as he would be willing to help Cesare's child...

Portia didn’t expect Mrs. Theodora to fall in love with Lorenz after only a few meetings, but she should at least invest first, when she needed something.

Just as Portia's grandfather taught her, every transaction requires capital investment, and there is absolutely no such thing as getting something for nothing.

Count Étienne was indeed somewhat surprised.

At that time, they were quite disappointed when they heard that César had ultimately decided to marry a Venetian.

Although the nieces of the Byzantine emperor and the Pope were both illegitimate and harbored ulterior motives, they were superior to the niece of the Doge of Venice in terms of both status and power. The Doge of Venice did not seem to care much for his niece, while his grandfather was quite famous in Venice. However, Venice did not have a king, and his grandfather was neither the Doge nor the Speaker of the Council.

Count Étienne had even considered that if Cesar were willing to choose a wife from among the noble ladies of the Franks, he could try to match them up and find a noble lady with a dowry for Cesar. But now it seemed that this merchant's daughter was better than most of the noble ladies he had met—not every noble lady was educated, nor could every noble lady see where the real interests lay. They often acted on impulse or temptation, making the whole thing a mess that was hard to salvage.

By this time, Lorenz was getting bored with the adults' conversation.

This child sometimes reminds Cesar of Princess Isabella when she was a child, but as she grows up, she becomes less like Isabella, who was actually very good at reading people, discerning their character, and treating them differently.

Lorenz, on the other hand, had a reckless and headstrong spirit. She would either shout loudly—which meant she was happy—or remain silent. When she was silent, you should be careful; keeping quiet was often a way for her to simmer with anger.

If her anger continues to build during this time...

"Ouch!" Count Etienne exclaimed. When he looked down, Portia had already frantically dragged Lorenz back.

Lorenz was not yet a year old, but she was as strong as a calf. When Portia first tried to grab her, she couldn't even lift her up. After breaking free from her mother's arms, Lorenz grabbed Count Étienne's knees, stood up unsteadily, and rushed into her father's arms.

Cesar put his arm around Lorenz and used the other hand to block Portia, who wanted to teach her a lesson.

"Sorry." He said this to Count Etienne. Feeling bored, Lorenz leaned forward without hesitation and bit the thigh closest to him.

"God help me!" The attacked Count Etienne lifted his robe to examine his leg. Although it was rather impolite to do this in front of a nobleman, what worried him more was that Lorenz's actions might harm her—he saw two clear marks on his thigh, wider than he had expected. "Look at the child's teeth," he urged.

César turned Lorenz over, cupped her cheeks, and pried open her mouth to look inside.

"This is the first time I've ever seen teeth like these." Dean John couldn't help but exclaim. Indeed, Lorenz was unlike ordinary children. Ordinary children usually grow their first tooth at six months old, and this tooth is usually an incisor. However, Lorenz had two long canine teeth on both sides, which were triangular in shape like blades. No wonder Count Etienne was bitten so hard by her.

However, this is also because he is wearing a silk robe today.

"Does she like biting people?" Count Etienne couldn't help but ask. He certainly had children, but even the most unruly ones didn't realize they could use their teeth as weapons until they were two or three years old.

“She’s a little wild beast,” Cesar said with a laugh. “We must have been talking for too long and neglected her, which made her unhappy. She often attacks silently, like a hunter lurking in the shadows.”

After examining his daughter's teeth, Cesar picked her up and made her face Count Etienne. "You need to apologize, Lorenz. I know you understand."

Has she started learning to speak?

"She can imitate adults by making a few syllables, but she can't say anything meaningful yet. But I can understand her language, right, Lorenz?"

Lorenz: "...Ah..."

Count Etienne smiled, a hint of suppressed regret in his eyes—what a pity, it's a girl, he thought to himself, "There's one more thing, Your Highness..."

He didn't continue. Clearly, he was about to tell Cesar something that couldn't be known by others. Portia reacted quickly; she took Lorenz, who didn't really want to leave her father, from Cesar's arms and held her close.

As soon as she stood up, Dean John also bid farewell to César, saying, "I see the Grape Hall over there is exceptionally beautiful, Your Highness. May I go and take a look?"

César nodded. His sister, Natia, had already taken over as guide. The group temporarily left the exquisite octagonal pavilion. Count Étienne watched them depart, making sure that even the chosen ones with their keen hearing could no longer hear them, before straightening his posture and taking a letter from his pocket. César had already taken the letter, and after reading the wax seal, his expression became serious.

Because this wax seal was not the usual vermilion or dark purple, but gold—in Byzantium there was a rather famous term called the Golden Seal Edict, which originated in the Byzantine Empire and symbolized the nobility and authority of edicts. Over time, other European monarchs also began to imitate the Byzantine emperors in using this Golden Seal Edict.

They are typically used when issuing high-level laws or important government decrees; they are not something that can be easily knocked on any envelope.

Cesar's heart sank. He glanced at Count Étienne, and at Count Étienne's gesture, he unrolled the parchment. The first thing he saw when he looked up was—To my dearest brother.

When Cesar saw this line, he thought he had received a letter from Baldwin, but why would Baldwin give a letter to Count Étienne to deliver? Besides, there was a more convenient and secretive way for them to communicate, which was by carrier pigeon.

He instinctively tugged at the rolled-up parchment to see who had signed it last.

Richard...

His tense shoulders relaxed. "How could Richard use..."

“The news may not have reached you yet—Richard has ascended the throne,” said Earl Étienne.

His father was initially unwilling to hand over the position of heir to Richard—you know, his brother Henry had died tragically—but he demanded that Richard hand over the Aquitaine left to him by his mother before he would appoint Richard as the Dauphin.

For this reason, Richard clashed with his father—he allied with King Philip II of France—the only son of Louis VII—until September 27th of this year, when Henry II died and Richard was officially crowned in London as Richard I.

So by the time Richard heard about the Roman Catholic Church's conspiracy, the matter was already settled.

Even so,” said the Earl of Étienne, “he still summoned the Archbishop of Canterbury and ordered him to write a letter questioning the Pope, asking if he had been bewitched by the devil to wrongly accuse a truly good man.”

"It must have been stopped."

"Yes, God help me, summoning the Archbishop of Canterbury is no easy task, especially since he has only recently ascended the throne, his mother, Queen Eleanor, is by his side, along with William Marshall and other loyal and reliable ministers."

In any case, they managed to stop him, but Richard was still furious—what a young and valiant king! Count Étienne paused, not mentioning Richard's messenger, but verbally instructing him that if César truly had nowhere else to go, Richard I would welcome him to his court.

The King of England would not care about the threats and inducements of the Roman Catholic Church. In fact, the Catholic Church in England does have a distant relationship with Rome—mainly because most of the Archbishops of Canterbury were put to power by the King—although the Roman Catholic Church has never given up the opportunity to control every monarch.

If Henry II was like this, then Richard, who was known for his romanticism and stubbornness, was even more so.

'I'm not fighting wars so that those Roman princes in white and red robes can comfortably lie in the arms of courtesans and raise their cubs.'

Richard made these words clearly in front of his many ministers.

A monarch can offer far more protection than an earl, but just as Richard was about to take action—he even sent a troop of knights to Bethlehem to bring Cesare back, fearing that the church's men would take the opportunity to assassinate him—the news of Cesare's return to Cyprus and his defeat of the Byzantine emperor's army reached London before the knights could even set off.

It is said that Richard laughed heartily for an entire day after learning the news, and even held a banquet to celebrate César's victory all night long, which even aroused the dissatisfaction of his younger brother, whose brother had never made such a celebration for him.

Richard also mentioned this in his letter—did he do anything that I should celebrate?
Richard's disdain for his brother is almost palpable between the lines. The letter, intended for César, is filled with vehement condemnation of the shameless Roman Catholic Church and complaints about his father, his dislike for him, and the ensuing war that has kept him preoccupied. Otherwise, he would have sought justice for his brother at all costs.

Richard shouldn't have said that here—because only in letters between monarchs can one begin with "my dear brother" (or "my dear sister" if it's a queen), and that's how monarchs of this era addressed each other—but if the other person wasn't a monarch, they would only use their title, such as "Your Highness" or "Your Excellency," without calling them by their first name or adding their title.

Richard's writing completely treats him as another monarch. Even though the Roman Catholic Church has not yet recognized the titles of the Byzantine aristocracy, such a title can be considered presumptuous. But would Richard care?

He wouldn't care.

He even wrote that he might soon meet with César again.

soon.

What does this mean? Cesar looked down and saw a piece of devastating news that struck like a bolt from the blue. Of course, not for Richard, but for everyone else, yes, Richard wanted to come to Arazari, but he wasn't there for pilgrimage; he was there to fight.

He was preparing for his third eastern expedition. Heaven knows, he had only been on the throne for less than a year, yet he was already tired of life in the court and longed to return to the battlefield, especially against those infidels.

As for Cesar, Richard naturally hoped to fight alongside Baldwin and Cesar again.

Regarding Cesar's current status as a pardoned official, Richard wrote in his letter: "It's alright, I have already sent a messenger to Rome."

He would agree to whatever price those guys offered; he refused to believe that his gold coins couldn't buy him an imperial decree to lift the Great Punishment.

Recalling Count Étienne's earlier advice, Cesar immediately understood his meaning. "Is someone hoping you will stop him?"

"To be precise, we hope you can stop him—His Majesty the King of England is currently in a rather excited state," the Earl said tactfully. "To bring him back to his senses, it will probably be up to you, the person involved and the victim, to persuade him."

"I'll write it right away."

César understood why Count Étienne wanted to speak with him alone. He immediately got up, went back to his room, took out ink and pen, and wrote a reply to Richard.

(End of this chapter)