kingdom of nations

Chapter 5 Baldwin and the Holy Cross Castle
"He is Cesar," said Amalric I. "He will be your squire."

Cesar, without a surname, Baldwin guessed that the child might be of humble origin, or even a slave - he guessed correctly, because only unidentified slaves did not even have a prefix representing their place of birth - even civilians without surnames would be called Joseph of Amman or Buck of Galilee.

"But father," he said, still looking at the boy of his own age, with fair skin and thick eyebrows, without a single rash or spot—he was not a leper, "I already have many attendants and servants."

"You didn't," Amalric I said gently. "Do you think I don't know?"

Baldwin turned his gaze towards his father. He could now clearly see every detail of the king's face. A warmth seemed to burst out from his eyes. "Do you know?"

"I know," Amalric I said. "I have always known it, and I have been waiting for it. Son, why don't you punish them severely?"

"I thought I would soon become a monk, and monks don't need servants," Baldwin said. "But for these people, being driven out and becoming a humble farmer or a menial worker again is enough to make them miserable."

"You understand mercy far better than any of us," said Amalric I.

"So please take this child away," Baldwin said. "God did not give him such a face to serve a leper."

"He served my son, Prince Baldwin, the future master of the Holy City, first, and then a leper," Amalric I said. "This was his own choice."

"How dare a commoner rebel against the king?" Baldwin said sadly. "You have armies, priests, and gold. But these three things cannot eliminate the fear of disability and even death."

"And one more thing," Cesar said, without permission, "a great favor is worth more than armies, priests, and gold. Your father saved me not only my life but also my honor, and I am willing to do my best to repay him."

When Baldwin was looking at him, Cesar was also looking at Baldwin. Although he was alone in the room, Baldwin still wore the veil and gloves like a mask seriously. But through the veil, it could be seen that Baldwin should be a boy with handsome appearance.

"Have you ever seen a leper," Baldwin said to the boy, "you don't know how terrible it is, you don't know the price you have to pay."

The favor of the god of fortune to Cesar may have been far beyond his imagination. Not only did he meet a superior like Amalric I - who was even willing to give a former slave the opportunity to choose, but his son Baldwin did not seem to be the kind of person who would blame his misfortune and vent his anger on others. He was a pitiful and hateful guy - Cesar had seen many such people, and you couldn't even blame them too much because they did suffer almost unbearable hardships.

This was much better than he had originally imagined.

"I see it as a test," Cesar said. "If I don't get sick, it means God has sent me to look after you..."

"What if you get sick?"

"That means God thinks you deserve a companion in your trials."

"Companion..." Baldwin said, "or perhaps a friend." His resolve was clearly wavering. He had lost all his friends in the past few months, and now he longed for the return of a pure and deep friendship like a desert longing for rain. "Well, if you insist, if God is willing to have mercy on us..." He looked at Amalric I: "Will you give him a holy order?"

"No priesthood," Amalric I said cheerfully. "Baldwin, he will be your squire, and perhaps even your knight and minister in the future." He continued, seeing his son's expression shift from confusion to horror, and finally to excitement and joy. "I have not abandoned you. Even if you contract leprosy, you are still my heir, the future king of the holy city of Alasar." He paused. "Come to me."

Baldwin hesitated for a moment, walked over, and stopped one step away from Amalric I.

Amalric I reached out his hands and pressed the child's thin shoulders. "You must remember one thing, my son. In Alazarus, and even in the entire Arabian Peninsula, besides God, you only need to listen to one person, and that is me. No matter what others say, as long as I have not deposed you, abandoned you, or ignored you, you don't have to worry about anything, and your future will not change."

"Can I trust you?"

“Just as we believe in our Father in heaven.”

"Then I believe you," said Baldwin, raising his hand and grasping his father's arm, and resting his head on his chest.

Amalric I quietly cuddled with Baldwin for a moment. He wasn't afraid, nor did he believe that fate would be so cruel, but he also knew that opportunities like this would become increasingly rare. When he could no longer delay, he gently stroked Baldwin's forehead. "Alright," he whispered, "now go back to your little friend."

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After Amalric I left, the room fell into a subtle silence. Neither Cesar nor Baldwin was the kind of person who liked to play with words, and they didn't know how to start a conversation.

It was not until much later, when they were able to open up to each other, that Cesar realized that even then Baldwin would still be afraid of seeing eyes filled with fear and disgust.

Even though Cesar had clearly stated that he was serving him out of gratitude, Baldwin had seen too many clumsy performances of hypocrisy before; and Cesar didn't know how to face this unfortunate child. Leprosy was still a painful chronic disease even after hundreds of years, let alone Baldwin...

He was the king's son and the only heir of Alasar. Contracting leprosy meant that the world would turn upside down overnight, and he would fall from the sky into the mud.

After a while, Baldwin stood up and walked to the corner of the room. "Can you understand a water clock?" He pointed to a complex mechanical device and showed it to Cesare. In the monastery, Cesare had seen many timekeeping instruments: sundials, hourglasses, candle clocks, and water clocks. Water clocks were a Saracen invention, but because of their precision and accuracy, they were also used by Christians.

As the only son of King Alasarus, Baldwin was certainly not treated badly. The water clock in the corner of the room was a "water-receiving type", so there was a large round-bellied glass bottle on the top, and below it was a small brass clerk sitting on a scale. He held a feather pen in his hand, and the tip of the pen pointed to the scale representing the time. "It's time to get serious." Cesar said, which was about two to three o'clock in the morning in modern times.

It's fine if we don't mention it, but the very mention of this moment made Cesar's eyes dry and his body weaken. "You sleep on a gurney," Baldwin said. As the name suggests, a gurney is a low bed with rollers installed at the four corners, which can be pushed under the main bed. Considering that the prince's attendant is also a noble, the gurney's size and material are no less than the main bed. Its bed is stretched with cowhide, piled with clean rushes, and sprinkled with spices.

Because it was still September, there was no fur on the bed, only linen sheets, but two feather pillows were piled on it. Cesar wrapped himself in the woolen cloak that Dean John had given him, hurriedly said, "I hope you sleep well," and fell into a deep dream uncontrollably.

Baldwin thought he would have trouble falling asleep tonight, but when he heard the sound of even breathing, he fell asleep immediately.

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When they woke up, sunlight pierced into the room like golden arrows through the gaps between the tapestry and the window. Baldwin was surprised that he had slept so soundly, and Cesar was surprised that the door of a prince would be knocked so heavily and roughly.

He carefully lifted himself up from the gurney, dagger in hand.

Baldwin shook his head. "It's the servants," he said. "They come to bring the morning water." Just as Cesar was about to go over, he was stopped and a silver coin was put in his hand.

Cesar was confused, but he still took it. He opened the door and saw a small man standing on the spiral staircase, about four or five steps away from him. At his feet were two huge copper kettles, one of which was emitting a thin layer of steam from its small mouth.

He kept looking around, and even when he saw Cesar, he didn't approach. He just stood there with his palm open. Cesar threw the silver coin to him. As soon as he caught it, he jumped and ran away, more agile than a weasel.

He lent César some tooth powder. The monks used simple pumice or shell powder, but Baldwin used rock salt, dried iris flowers, mint and pepper.

When the last bit of water was poured into the silver basin, gray debris was visible. Cesar frowned, but Baldwin looked as if he was used to it. "The water is clean," he said, "just a little salt was added."

After they cleaned their faces and teeth, Baldwin took dates from the golden box and shared them with Cesar. Dates were a specialty of the Arabian Peninsula, much sweeter than sugar and honey, but they were just right for them. At that time, people only ate at noon and in the evening, and as a growing boy, he couldn't tolerate this.

Baldwin usually spent the time after morning prayer reading, but today he used it to instruct the new servant on his attire. Cesare was still wearing the clothes he had worn from the convent: a long linen undershirt, stockings, and a woolen robe with a string girdle.

"As a monastery page, your clothes are not inappropriate, but as a prince's page, your dress will cause a lot of dissatisfaction and ridicule - you are about the same size as me," Baldwin said, "just a little thinner, just tie the belt tighter."

He opened the trunk and had Cesar put on a thick dark green satin coat, a leather belt with a brass buckle, bright red thin woolen leggings, and yellow silk gloves. He took out a pair of deerskin boots from another trunk and took down a dagger from the wall and hung it on the leather belt.

Finally, he took out a heavy silver cross and asked Cesar to hang it around his neck.

Cesar was originally handsome and tall, and after dressing up like this, he was no less handsome than Baldwin. When the castle steward Cram saw him, he thought he was the son of a lord.

Then he felt a little relieved - as the steward of the castle, he was responsible for recruiting and managing all servants. The fact that Amalric I brought Cesar directly to Baldwin made him very uneasy. Given that the servants he had been ordered by the king to find had not been recognized by the prince, he could not help but worry that this would be a bad omen.

But now it seems that if the king's requirements are to be compared with this child, anyone who blames him for not taking the time to select servants for the prince would be being too harsh.

Cram was taking César to familiarize himself with the castle on the king's orders. Amalric I had previously briefly described the general structure of the Fortress of Santa Croce to César, but the details still required César to delve deeper and experience them himself.

Cesar's feeling was that this was more like a miniature city than a huge castle.

People in later generations always imagine how solemn, quiet and dignified castles, especially castles like Holy Cross Castle that have both political and military functions, should be. In fact, there are fishermen fishing in the moat, and the wide area between the outer wall and the inner wall has become the world of vendors. Further in, the dusty square is bustling with people coming and going, noisy, and horses and mules snort leisurely, and sometimes they cross their legs and start to urinate and defecate at will.

Flames were flying in the open-air iron workshop, and black slag stood beside the pillars like a sign. Several weapons and chain mail were placed on the long table. They were finished products and samples for people to see. The blacksmith and his apprentices worked hard while bargaining with knights or squires.

In the tent on the other side, two leather merchants were playing chess absentmindedly, allowing several servants to circle around the ornate saddle - the servants didn't even have their own horses, so they were certainly not the customers they were expecting.

A Templar Knight with a red cross embroidered on his white tunic and a Charity Knight with a white cross embroidered on his black tunic, like two bulls, stood not far from them and argued about the ownership of a beautiful Gallic horse. Finally, they decided to go to a small open space in the shadow of the city wall and decide with swords who was the owner of this fine horse.

The duel between the two knights attracted a large crowd of onlookers. Kram watched with great interest until the end, and then he let go of the guards who had been watching with sticks in their hands. They beat up the servants who appeared here for whatever reason to punish them for their laziness and dereliction of duty. The beaten servants ran back to their workplaces - the water room, kitchen, stable, slaughterhouse and textile workshop - wailing half-heartedly, and continued to work complaining amid the ridicule and spit of their companions.

There are water tanks in the basements of the towers, but these are for emergency use when defending the towers after the enemy breaks into the castle. The water for eating, drinking and washing for hundreds of people and livestock in the castle also needs to be used in the water room. It reminds Cesar of the factories of later generations, which are spacious and tall, and look a bit cold because of the large water tank made of stone bricks.

The water from the Jordan River is diverted into the moat and the underground waterway respectively. The water from the waterway has to be purified more than three times after entering the reservoir. The people here seem to be more orderly than those in other places. After all, this place can be regarded as a military stronghold.

Next to the water room are three large bread ovens with blazing fires. The fires here are rarely extinguished - they have to provide enough bread for hundreds of people. The kitchen next to it is as tall and wide as the water room, with dim light, and the air is filled with a strong smell of sea water - salty and fishy.

In the center of the house was a heavy wooden table large enough for a knight to ride on. Opposite the stove was a canal. Hundreds of brass pots of various sizes were hung on the wall, and baskets were filled with large spoons, shovels, various cutting tools and weighing tools.

Everyone here is busy preparing the prey caught from yesterday's hunt to prevent them from rotting in the hot weather. Whether it is poultry or beasts, the fur and flight feathers must be removed and the prey must be pickled or smoked so that it can be stored for a longer time.

(End of this chapter)