kingdom of nations

Chapter 329 Dean John and Harry (Two chapters combined)

Count Etienne smiled helplessly and gave up his seat, while Dean John sat down without any hesitation.

After Count Etienne left, Cesar did not immediately ask Dean John's purpose for coming. Instead, he went to a table and poured Dean John a glass of deep red beverage. Dean John took it, smelled it, and took a sip, but was somewhat dissatisfied.

"Grape juice?"

"I drink grape juice now." In fact, excessive alcohol consumption is not good for an elderly person, even if Dean John was chosen and his physical condition is better than that of the average elderly person. But as we can see from Chirac, illness, aging, and death are things that no mortal can avoid.

Chiraclius, on César's advice, had already replaced light wine with coffee and tea as his daily beverages, and César would certainly have taken note of these details when facing Dean John.

It can be said that Dean Ruowang and he always had a subtle connection.

If Hiracolos hadn't mentioned him, and if the king hadn't intended to choose a new, loyal servant for Baldwin, he might very well have become Dean John's student.

If he were to become a priest or a monk like Dean Wang in the future, he might still meet Baldwin at Holy Cross Castle and become friends, but he certainly wouldn't be able to forge such a deep bond as he does now.

“Lorenz can already grab things,” Cesar explained, sitting cross-legged in front of Dean John and moving a plate of olives in front of him. “The adults have to avoid her when they eat or drink anything, otherwise she’ll definitely want to try it if she sees it.” Cesar still felt a little scared thinking about this. Lorenz’s attacks were unpredictable; she wouldn’t point at food and ask the adults to get it for her, nor would she shout or stare to show her desire for food. Sometimes, her eyes wouldn’t even land on the food.

But the next moment, Lorenz's hand would unexpectedly grab a wine glass or a plate.

This is certainly a bad habit, but just like her yelling and biting, it is difficult for adults to change her stubborn nature through discipline or punishment. Moreover, compared to other children, she is better at pretending. Once an adult raises their voice or shows anger, she will shut up and pretend that nothing happened.

“No, this just means Lorenz is very healthy,” said Abbot John. Indeed, he had seen many three- or four-year-old children who were still unable to walk without their wet nurses’ arms, or toddlers who did not know how to dress or eat properly without servants. Even the young people sent to the monastery, even if they were six or seven years old, would take a long time to be able to correctly perceive the malice and kindness of others.

But for Lorenz, these were almost innate skills, things he could master without any learning. He shared the same lament as Count Etienne: it was a pity Lorenz wasn't a boy, otherwise... unless the current King Baldwin of Arrassal regained his health, had a formal marriage with a noble woman, and had an heir—if it were a boy—Lorenz would very well have worn the crown of Arrassal.

Dean John was also an advocate, but compared to Count Etienne's tact and overthinking, the monk was much more direct. He took a large gulp of grape juice and nodded to Cesar. "Is Gerard's daughter, Damara, with you?"

After receiving an affirmative answer, he breathed a sigh of relief. "That guy didn't tell me, but I heard that Damara and Gian's wedding is going to be postponed. Do you know why?"

Cesar didn't answer, he just shook his head, and Dean John immediately knew that this was a reason that couldn't be spoken. "Alright, I'm relieved that she's with you anyway."

"rest assured?"

"Gerrard's patriarch, and I—the situation isn't very stable right now."

The Gerald family now, I mean the older generation in the Holy Land, most of them are going astray and dragging the whole family down—and what we've been busy with these past few months is seeing if we can pull some of the still redeemable ones back onto the right path.

In the beginning, the members of the Gerald family were not as short-sighted and greedy as they are now. On the contrary, they were far more noble than ordinary people in both faith and morality, and were also magnanimous and straightforward. Otherwise, they would not have dared to approach the Caliph as merchants or even Christian knights and ask him to allocate a piece of land for them.

Keep in mind that at that time, Arrassa Road was occupied by pagans, yet they wanted to build a hospital there for all pilgrims.

After that, just as they had promised the Caliph, the hospital did not refuse anyone other than Christians, whether Saracens, Isaacs, Turks, etc. In this monastery, they could get a place to shelter from the wind and rain, simple treatment, clean drinking water, and some food.

This is how the Gerald family's reputation was established. Even now, the Knights of the Benevolent, based on the hospital founded by the Gerald family, has become a crusade against the Saracen forces—but the name Gerald still commands respect among their enemies.

When did that fruit begin to rot? Neither Gerald's patriarch nor Dean John noticed this until they blatantly exposed their ambition and ignorance, at which point they realized that some of the family's deep-seated problems had become incurable.

At that time, they were still hesitant, because once they made a move, the Gerard family's power would be greatly weakened, at least on the Arrassa Road side. This delay lasted until Bethlehem was hit by the plague and those fools couldn't wait to loot the port that Cesar had entrusted to them.

Dean John knew what they were thinking; they simply wanted to imitate the Knights Templar. The success of the Knights Templar had attracted the envy of many—people said that the Grand Master of the Knights Templar was richer than any emperor or pope. This was not a good reputation, but it did not stop more people from following in the footsteps of the Knights Templar.

However, the Good Samaritans were already a step too late; the Knights Templar had already established their reputation. Pilgrims were increasingly choosing the Templars' guards and ships, and their money flowed to those knights in white robes adorned with red crosses. The Good Samaritans' reach could never extend beyond the four Christian kingdoms of the Holy Land, which greatly frustrated them.

César's generosity led them to believe they had found a good opportunity. Initially, they wanted to use marriage to intervene in Cyprus's internal affairs and bring Cyprus under the control of the Order of the Good. After this failed, some members of the Roman Catholic Church may have given them another chance to collude with them. Thus, they naively thought that as long as they raised the banner of rebellion, they could easily quell the resistance throughout Cyprus, just as César had done. However, they seriously underestimated the Cypriots and overestimated themselves.

Dean John savored the grape juice, but couldn't help tasting a hint of bitterness amidst the rich sweetness. The Grand Master of the Charity Knights had changed. As a Grand Master of the Crusaders who had sworn to serve God for life, there was no possibility of him being deposed or voluntarily relinquished—he was dead.

Gerald's patriarch was, after all, an old knight who had fought alongside Baldwin II. He initially refrained from taking action because he still harbored a sliver of hope for his people. He believed that as long as he exercised restraint, persuaded them, and set an example, the Gerald family could be restored to its former glory of decades past. But he discovered that he had ultimately failed.

Even though the Gerald family knew that he, his daughter, and his son-in-law were in Bethlehem, and that the church was about to cause a great plague there, not a single one of them spoke up to warn them or tried to delay their journey to Bethlehem.

Perhaps they had long hoped that this troublesome old man would die.

Gerald's patriarch may not be afraid of death, but how could he bear to watch his daughter die at such a young age? This time, he showed no mercy.

The knights of the Charity Knights were the same; they had seriously underestimated the power of the Gerard family. The Gerard family's withdrawal from the operation of the Knights was not due to cowardice or defeat, but simply because the founder was a knight of high moral character. He did not regard the Knights as his private property and hoped to hand them over to a trustworthy person rather than his relatives.

To this day, there are still many knights in the Order who are willing to speak out for Gerald and even serve him—and many of the monks and priests come from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which is a follower of the priests of Thomas.

If César is the devil, then what is he?
Dean John remained silent; he did not wish to tell Cesar how bloody and cruel this purge had been. Those knights who wept as they removed their belts and cloaks, departing in pain and humiliation, were fortunate. Many more were buried in the vast sands, and apart from a simple, crooked cross, no one knew that many once highly respected people were buried there.

Even the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is rarely peaceful.

The priest Thomas Aquinas had seized most of the power in the cathedral through Cesare's asceticism, but his enemies still had their eyes on him. They seized this opportunity to challenge Thomas Aquinas again, even attempting to storm the sanctuary and claiming they would throw the sinner's mop and bucket out of it to prevent other sacred objects from being desecrated.

Then the priest Thomas and his followers engaged in a real battle with the priests.

"Weren't those things immediately thrown out of the relic room?"

Cesar had assumed that the priest Thomas would immediately discard or cut up everything related to him.

"Things in this world are never black and white, and an adult rarely makes arbitrary judgments about the right or wrong of something—or rather, they value the impact of something on themselves more."

Over the years, countless people have come to admire your mop and bucket, and many relics have been sold in this form. More importantly, sacred sites are becoming increasingly rare, and sometimes, there isn't even enough witnesses to bear the weight of a pair of hands—but you, your asceticism and mercy are witnessed by the entire road of Arazar…

Not to mention, even if you are a powerful demon, so what? A demon who can fight against so many saints, is he just an ordinary little devil? Don't be fooled by the fact that they have just prostrated themselves before the tomb of Jesus Christ and washed that sacred rock with their tears.

But they would also turn around and kiss the toes of pagan idols, hang witch's herbs on their waists for pleasure, especially those in high positions—they knew very well what they wanted and what they didn't need.

Especially since you have already proven that you are a winner, not a loser.

Of course, you might find it difficult to gain their support openly, but if there are enough benefits, they won't mind associating with you secretly. For example, visiting the sacred objects you left behind would be a trivial matter.

As he recounted these past events, Cesar's expression softened. He even secretly relaxed his bottom line in negotiations, agreeing to pardon everyone except the Gerard family members who had killed innocent people.

Unexpectedly, Dean John said without any politeness, "Let these guys go to hell. Do with them however you want. Exile them if they deserve it, torture them if they deserve it, hang them if they deserve it. Don't worry about the other Geralds."

Just like those Cypriot traitors of the past, their friends and family may still harbor some resentment, but they should know that these people committed crimes and ultimately died in a fair and just trial, rather than losing their lives to someone's momentary anger and hatred—they would understand.

As for the Gerald family and the Knights of Charity... once the Great Punishment is revoked, if you wish, we will rebuild the bridge of friendship.

People will know that our relationship is not completely severed, just like grafting a tree, discarding the diseased branch and transferring the new shoot to a strong branch, which will not affect the fruit that new shoot will bear in the future, will it?

Before Cesar could ask any questions, he began to talk about the arrangements that followed, mainly the compensation the Gerard family would give him.

The Knights of Charity may have to wait until the Grand Judgment is overturned before they can formally offer compensation in an effort to mend this fractured relationship.

“I’ve heard that you are very interested in medicine and herbalism. Of course—that’s the crime they’ve leveled against you, but you’re a Byzantine now, so you don’t have to care about these things. That’s why I’ve brought you two gifts, one of which is three monks.”

Two of them were craftsmen who had been selected through a ritual, but they had not yet made a vow—and probably never would.

"Were they also people who received God's blessings?"

"Yes, God's blessing ultimately fell on their craft; they did not gain much power to heal and help others."

However, if they vow to become lifelong monks or intend to embark on the path of clergy, they will immediately come to the attention of the Roman Catholic Church.

"Aren't they willing?"

"They are unwilling. They have seen it all before. The Roman Catholic Church loves to recruit talented people, especially those who have been blessed by God. But in their hearts, these people are not equals with them. They are just slaves given to them by God. The lucky ones may be able to enjoy some privileges by taking advantage of the situation, but no one can predict their fate when they are with a beast that may open its bloody mouth at any time."

Near Rome, there were many artisans, painters, and sculptors who had once been favored by a bishop or even the pope and received large sums of money. But once they lost the favor of their superiors, hungry hunting dogs and vultures would rush up and plunder their wealth. They would also be abandoned after losing their superb skills and would eventually become starving corpses lying in the wild.

That's still lucky.

Unfortunate individuals might be forced to vow to become lifelong monks, essentially unpaid artisans toiling day and night without any income. They were barely fed each day, provided with one or two sets of clothing and some tools. If they failed to fulfill the bishop's orders or expressed their own ideas, they would be whipped by the abbot and considered lazy or tempted by the devil. The punishments in the monastery were far more severe and dangerous than those in the workshop.

Dean John shook his head, unwilling to recall the things he had witnessed while studying in Rome. He then continued, "As for the real monk, he too was condemned to the Great Annihilation."

"What did he do?"

"The problem is that he did nothing; he just completed the task assigned to him by the abbot."

He lived near Perugia and was the son of a wine merchant. When his father sent him to a monastery to pray for God's blessings, he was unexpectedly blessed.

But he wasn't very good at healing or prayer; what he was good at was purification. Yes, the same things you've done before, except he didn't need those Saracen bottles and jars. He could simply place his hands beside the vessel and pray wholeheartedly, and the water would become purer, the wine stronger, and the milk more fragrant.

There was only one small monastery in the area where he lived. The abbot used this as an excuse to attract many devout believers and curious onlookers. The things he purified were sold as sacred objects, and the monastery made a lot of money.

The problem was that a count also heard about this, so he went to the monastery himself and asked the monk to purify the wine for him in front of him. When he found that the monk was not lying, he drank glass after glass with great interest and kept asking for it to be purer. Then, without warning, he collapsed and died.

His relatives and heirs came to his door in a menacing manner, demanding that the murderer be taken away. They claimed that the monk had turned the wine into poison, which had killed their master and father.

The abbot, of course, dared not take on such a heavy responsibility, and immediately shifted all the blame onto the monk. Abbot John glanced at the grape juice in his hand.

"Can he further purify something that has already been purified?"

"Yes, he can. Although he himself can't explain how he did it."

But I heard he once extracted a nearly solidified liquid from ale, a liquid that smelled incredibly hot and was very intoxicating. Like your alcohol—is that the name?

"That's the name."

“You once gave me some alcohol, and after I acquired this monk, I also had him purify some ale and wine. In the end, the purity he could achieve was roughly the same as your alcohol.”

"So, it's quite possible that the count's death wasn't caused by someone."

Some people don't really like strong liquor, while others do. This count, unaware of the dangers of spirits, simply indulged his desires—after all, people like him rarely faced any restrictions.

But if that monk could really purify ordinary wine to a high alcohol content, the count might actually die from alcohol poisoning. However, explaining this to his angry relatives would be difficult, especially since the culprit had already been brought out, and no one wanted to cause any more trouble.

Dean John gestured with his eyes, and Cesar quickly poured him another large glass of grape juice: "So? Do you want this person?"

“Give it to me.” In fact, Cesar had been searching among priests and monks for someone with such abilities, but even though his teacher was Patriarch Heraclius of Arrassal, it was still very difficult to find such a person under such demanding conditions.

But the Gerard family was different. They had been operating in the Apennines for a long time, and Rome had always been a gathering place for monks and priests from all over the world. What kind of people couldn't they find?
As for the three craftsmen—Dean John proudly took out a small box from his sleeve and opened it for Cesar to see.

Cesar opened it and saw three “gold threads” fixed to the black velvet. He carefully picked them up and looked at them against the light source, and sure enough, they were hollow.

Dean John looked around, reached out, and plucked a hair from Cesar's head. He then inserted the hair into a syringe and pulled it out from the other end. The whole process was very smooth and without any obstruction.

"People say you're keeping an Isaac craftsman named Haredi or something, I don't quite remember. But after what happened in Bethlehem, you should be more wary of them."

Is that craftsman dead there now? Or have you banished him? I advise you to kill him or imprison him as soon as possible to avoid further trouble.”

“You’re talking about Haredi.” Cesar was silent for a moment. Of the more than three hundred witnesses who accused him, half were Isaacs. They even implicated Haredi and informed the priests that Haredi had worked for him and made some tools whose purpose was unknown. He was the one most likely to nail Cesar firmly to the pillar of shame of the devil.

Fortunately, Haredi had already been sent to work by then, and he didn't keep the tools or the semi-finished products with him, but hid them in his original workshop.

So when those people pressed him for answers, he insisted that Cesar had only asked him to make some bloodletting needles. Of course, they were very exquisite and precious, but they were for the king, so it was understandable that they were made with luxurious materials and workmanship.

Of course, those people didn't believe him. They firmly believed that anything Cesar had done by an Isaac was irrefutable evidence of a crime. They first tempted Haredi, saying that if he was willing to betray Cesar, he would not only gain his freedom but also a large sum of money, and they could even send him to the Frankish or the Apennine Peninsula.

But Haredi insisted that he was just an ordinary craftsman who only made bloodletting needles.

So these people tortured Harry. The priests' instruments of torture were always innovative and cruel. When Lyra found him, he was covered in wounds and had a high fever. Not only that, but all ten of his fingers had been smashed by small hammers until they were broken and rotten.

Although he was also a blessed person with a stronger recovery ability than ordinary people, after examining his injuries, the priests unanimously agreed that even if his injuries could heal, it was unlikely that he would be able to continue working as a craftsman, and even if he could, his works would not be very refined.

He has become a complete and utter waste.

“Finding a suitable craftsman isn’t that difficult, nor is it a big deal,” Dean Ruowang said casually. “These three are all craftsmen employed by our family.”

He meant that they may have served the Gerald family for generations, and their family members—grandparents, parents, siblings—may still remain within the Gerald family's control.

“The Gerard family doesn’t have a bad reputation in the Apennines,” Dean John added. “Many people come to them seeking refuge.”

“I believe it,” Cesar said. If it weren’t for their inherently generous and benevolent hearts, the original form of the Order of the Good Samaritans—that hospital—would never have been established.

“The second thing,” Dean John held up a chubby finger, “is that I’ve brought you some people. I heard that you encountered a group of savages when you were crossing the Hulla Valley.”

"Yes," thankfully, Cesar did not take them directly back to Bethlehem, but left them in Damascus, thus saving them from a calamity. He just didn't know how they were doing now.

"Is that savage's surname Bingen?" Dean John asked. "Don't be surprised how I know this. One of his former friends was a member of the Gerard family, but that guy was a bit timid and didn't dare to take on such a heavy responsibility."

He didn't take them in for long, but he did provide them with financial assistance so they could escape to other places. However, the Bingen family wasn't just one branch; some members had also scattered to other locations.

Some went into hiding, while others were imprisoned by bishops and nobles. As you know, the Bingen family is famous because of a great woman in their family—Saint Hildegard.

Although the church's attitude toward her is now ambiguous, or even hostile, there are still people who believe in her and hope to find another saint like her among the women of Bingen.

Those from Bingen who were left in the castle and monastery are beyond my reach, but I've brought all those I could. They'll soon be sent to Cyprus. Many of them are indeed still studying medicine, though I haven't yet found any women like St. Hildegarde, blessed by God and favored by saints. The men, however, are quite outstanding. I think you'll welcome them, won't you?"

Cesar nodded. In fact, after hearing the savage's story from the Hula Valley, he also considered going to find other Bingen—if, as the former said, Bingen was once a family of doctors.

However, as a Crusader knight far away on the road to Arrassa, his connections and wealth were certainly no match for the Gerard family, which was deeply rooted in the Apennines. He sincerely expressed his gratitude to Dean John.

"There's a third thing, or rather, we need your help."

Dean John said, “You know that recently there has been a terrible famine in Veneto, which is very close to Lombardy. After the famine, large numbers of refugees began to flood our cities and villages.” He paused for a moment, “But I think you might need some people. We can help you recruit them and then transport them to Cyprus.”

César didn’t know if the famine that Dean John was talking about was real—in history, only those great famines that caused the deaths of tens of thousands of people are usually recorded.

But small-scale famines were commonplace for people at that time—whether it rained or not, whether locusts or birds came, all could cause crop failures.

Generally speaking, knights and lords would not reduce taxes for this reason, and even if farmers hid their grain, their keen-smelling dogs would find it and steal it.

If they didn't want to die, their only option was to flee.

However, it is also possible that the Gerald family was willing to give up these people simply to salvage their relationship with him.

"how many people?"

"Of the three thousand people, two-thirds are young and strong men. As long as they can have a few good meals, they can immediately regain their former vitality. There are also some women and teenagers."

César did not ask where the old man and the younger children had gone.

In Europe, famine still attracts cannibalistic monsters—whether those monsters have the faces of their neighbors and companions is another matter entirely.

On the bright side, if this is compensation from the Gerald family, then those families should still be alive and well.

Three thousand people can indeed be considered a burden.

If two-thirds of them were young men, César had no reason to refuse, given the upcoming Third Crusade.

Having finished recounting these three matters, Dean John finally had his fill of grape juice. He patted his stomach, stood up, and refused Cesar's offer of support.

“I’m not that old yet.” Then he looked toward the source of the laughter and asked Cesar, “May I go and keep our little Victorious King company a little longer?”

"Lorenz? You really like this child."

“Who wouldn’t love such a child?” Dean John hesitated, not uttering his thoughts. When he first saw Lorenz, who had the same emerald eyes as her father—even though Lorenz was a girl, still a toddler—he immediately thought that if the County of Edessa hadn’t fallen, and if Cesar had grown up in his grandfather’s and father’s castle, he would probably be just like Lorenz now, instead of the reserved, humble, and composed Lorenz he had met, who seemed more like a suffering adult than a child.

Don't assume that the nobility values ​​humility. Humility is a good quality that everyone possesses. It is precisely because they lack it that they need to value it so highly. Most nobles are inherently quite arrogant and flamboyant. People like David and Baldwin are extremely rare.

Cesar originally intended to accompany Dean John to see Lorenz, but he was stopped midway by a knight who informed him that the Isaac craftsman wanted to see him.

César struggles to describe a man like Haredi, who seems to be constantly on the verge of destroying himself and others. He appears to loathe everything around him, whether it be his people, his talents, his surname, or even his faith. When he had a wife and daughter, he could find a point of peace, but after his teacher, wife, and children died, his life seemed to be filled with nothing but confusion.

But if you say he's given up everything, no, he's still struggling—but if you dare reach out to pull him, he'll only drag you into that bottomless quagmire.

César had already tried once and didn't intend to try again. Considering he hadn't become one of the three hundred witnesses, after Lyra brought him to César, even though he had become a useless cripple, César still found him a small workshop in Cyprus to live in, allowing him to get through the years to come.

The priests' methods were always the most severe.

In just one night, Haredi looked like he had aged ten years. His hair had turned completely white, his beard was a mix of gray and yellow, and he looked extremely haggard.

He walked up to César and, for the first time, knelt down in utmost devotion.

“You don’t have to do this,” Cesar said. “In fact, you should know that I don’t want to see you.”

“I know, Your Highness, but there is something I must give you personally.”

"what?"

Haredi took a tightly rolled parchment from his clothes. When he opened it, he could see that it was a large map, but it was obviously newly copied. Cesar could even smell the ink.

“This is what I keep in my mind. In fact, every Isaac who leaves the Secret Realm can only keep it in his mind, and cannot take the original or a copy of the map out of the Secret Realm.”

"Secret place?"

“Yes, it is our secret land of the Isaacs, and it is located in Edessa, Your Highness. Although Edessa has had so many masters, our most precious and important temple has never been discovered. Whether it was the Persians, the Byzantines, or the Saracens, do you know why?”

"Why? Because it is a true holy place, even more so than the road of Arazar. For us Isaacs, that is our true foundation and refuge, which is underground, Your Highness, hundreds of feet deep, and can even touch hell."

(End of this chapter)