kingdom of nations

Chapter 7 Selected
Cesar's guess was correct. Amalric I and even Baldwin all praised his actions. Baldwin gave him a Damascus scimitar as comfort and compensation, and Amalric I gave him two rewards.

One was to allow him to complete the "swearing-in ceremony".

The oath ceremony was originally only between vassals and monarchs, but later it was extended by monarchs to every citizen under their jurisdiction. Each citizen had to swear to the envoy that they would be loyal to the monarch and his successor. Before the ceremony, Heraclius also baptized Caesar, of course, unknown to the public, just to ensure his Christian identity. After the baptism, Caesar kissed the cross, placed his hand on the Bible, and said.

"I hereby swear allegiance to my lord, Amalric I, the most pious king, guardian of the Holy Sepulchre, son of King Fulk V of Alasar and Queen Melisande.

In my relations with him I have been pure in heart, without deceit or malice, and for the honour of the kingdom I have done all that a man should do for a king, according to the law. May God help me, may the Holy Land help me."

Originally, such an oath only needed to be witnessed by the king's envoy, but according to the request of Amalric I, Duke Bohemond of Antioch, Count Raymond of Tripoli, Grand Master of the Knights of the Charity, Og de Barlebon, and Grand Master of the Knights Templar, Philippe de Mily were all among the witnesses. This posture made people mistakenly believe that they were witnessing for the son of a grand duke. Among them, Count Raymond of Tripoli had the ugliest expression.

After the ceremony, he immediately caught up with the king, as if about to say something, but quickly turned back in dismay. Seeing his expression, Bohemond laughed and took his arm. "You know our friend can be very stubborn sometimes," he said. "You should humor him once in a while. After all..." He tilted his head and gestured towards the left tower. "There's no good news from Rome."

"Those boars!" Raymond cursed, then frowned impatiently: "What's all the commotion outside?!"

"The servants who have dared to murder the prince's attendants will be hanged," replied a page, who was standing on tiptoe and looking out of the corridor window with great interest.

Raymond snorted softly: "A bunch of useless people!" He refused Bohemond's request to go with him to watch the hanging of the prisoner and walked away alone.

As soon as he left, Bohemond stopped smiling: "...You are not very useful, Raymond." He said softly, and the follower beside him immediately lowered his head.

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This was the second gift given by Amalric I to Cesar.

To be honest, even if he knew that these people who were about to be hanged had either participated in or were aware of his murder, Cesar would still not be keen on watching others die. But the people around him, from the castle steward to the aide-de-camp, from the aide-de-camp to the knight's squire, from the squire to the lowest-level grooms and washerwomen, all showed great interest and could not wait.

By noon, the gallows in the square was already crowded with people.

Cesar even had the honor of watching the battlements with Prince Baldwin from the top of the defense tower without having to crowd in the hot, noisy, and smelly crowd. Cesar did not feel very relieved about this - this defense tower was the one where Witt and others set a trap. It was not known whether the castle steward deliberately showed this in order to cut off his relationship with Witt, or whether it was a kind of contempt and mockery towards the weak.

The reversal of the relationship between prey and hunter did indeed cause the onlookers to burst into laughter again and again, especially when they were led out like cattle and sheep and then put into ropes and hanged.

"If it had been you who fell there," Baldwin said suddenly, "they would have laughed just as hard."

"If I die, will they still receive the same punishment?"

"Probably not," Baldwin said slowly, looking down at the crowd in the square. "Before you became my attendant, you were just a slave, or at most a commoner. These people were all selected by my father from Alasar and the surrounding territories by the castle steward after I was confirmed to have leprosy.

They are either the lord's unfavored youngest son, or a wandering knight who has lost his territory, or an illegitimate child or an unrecognized legitimate child - I mean Witt.

His father was officially married to an Isaac woman, but the marriage was not recognized either by church law or customary law. Later, Witt's father died in battle, and his mother remarried. He then relied on his blood uncle for support. Even so, people would still believe his words rather than a dead man.

A noose was put around a neck, and the end of the noose was handed to a servant, who tied it to the saddle. Then, with a quick crack of the whip, the horse suddenly jumped out. The servant jumped high from the ground as if bouncing, and then fell heavily. His neck was immediately broken, and his head tilted to one side. People cheered.

"You did well, Cesar," Baldwin said. "Don't be too sad. They all deserved it." When Cesar looked at him in surprise, Baldwin smiled slightly. "What's so surprising? Even though we haven't been together for less than a week, there are some things you can see without being too close to each other."

He comforted her, "Your choice is correct. You are neither indecisive nor impulsive. Your determination and sharpness are enough for my father to vouch for you. Only then can you truly become my attendant."

"Ah..." Baldwin said suddenly, "Look, it's Witt."

Witt was the last one to be dragged to the gallows. Before, Cesar thought he was like a cunning weasel or skunk, and now he still looked like one, but not like a living animal, but like their fur. In just one night, he completely shriveled up and curled up into a ball. But this did not mean that he accepted his fate. He was shouting all the way, and even Cesar and Baldwin on the battlements could hear him.

He complained, begged for mercy, cursed, and pleaded for amnesty, claiming to be the earl's illegitimate son, the duke's illegitimate son, and the archbishop's illegitimate son... His shouting was not only futile but also provoked laughter. The soldiers who were carrying out the execution became even more impatient and noisy. The noose was put around his neck faster than before. The attendant flicked the whip lazily, and the horse galloped away...

Everyone thought that this farce was about to end. The two people on the battlement had already withdrawn their gaze, but they did not hear any cheers. After a brief silence, people actually let out even louder screams.

"What's that?" Cesar asked. He unconsciously moved closer to the parapet and saw a faint white light suddenly burst out from Witt's body. The little man kicked the ground hard with his feet, and stuck his hands between his neck and the rope loop. In this difficult position, he resisted the horse's pulling force. The rope tightened and broke. Witt flew forward and fell, and the light on his body disappeared.

Baldwin beside him rarely showed a look of surprise: "Why would such a person be chosen?" he shouted involuntarily.

——————"Why would such a person be chosen?" said Amalric I.

"Who can make the judgment on behalf of the Holy Spirit?" Heraclius shook his head. "Not all those chosen in the past were saints. Your Majesty, this is merely a matter of holy office. It is of no consequence."

"I'm worried that someone will take advantage of this to cause trouble," Amalric I said. "It was Cesar he wanted to kill before."

"Then we will send him to a monastery as soon as possible. Anyone chosen by Lafayette will be a monk. I will let John watch over him."

"That is not enough," Amalric I said. "I want to have Baldwin's election ceremony held in advance."

"But Baldwin has no one around him now..." Heraclius was really surprised: "You want that child to become Baldwin's brother?"

"I said I would treat him as the son of the Grand Duke," Amalric I explained. "He has no memory of the past, and certainly no memory of his age or date of birth. But I had a monk examine his teeth and bones, and he is either nine or ten years old, the same age as Baldwin when he entered the Church of the Holy Sepulchre."

He took a deep breath. Originally, Baldwin was supposed to enter the Church of the Holy Sepulchre surrounded by the sons of dignitaries. Under the watchful eye of God, the chosen ones would become brothers of different bloodlines, loving and respecting each other just like the monks in the same monastery. But now it was impossible.

No lord or minister's son would be willing to become brothers with a leper.

"It's September now," Heraclius waited for a moment. He should have refused, but they received the answer from the Patriarch of the Holy Land today - like in Rome, the religious leader of Alaska also refused to hold an "absolution ceremony" for Prince Baldwin unless Amalric I agreed to give in and allow the Patriarch's power to further infiltrate Alaska.

"Baldwin's name day is on the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord (February 2nd). Generally speaking, children are chosen between the ages of ten and fourteen...but if it's a month or two earlier, it shouldn't be a problem. How would you like to arrange it?"

"Of course, the location remains the Church of the Holy Sepulchre," Amalric I accepted the offer from his friends and subordinates. "Although some have suggested changing it to the Temple, as you know, it was originally a Saracen temple, so I think it's still not suitable." He rubbed the ring on his finger. "Heraclius, whose hand do you think will choose him?"

"It must be Michael, sire," Heraclius said. "He will become a strong and wise knight, a perfect ruler, just like you."

"I wish it were Lafayette," said Amalric I slowly, as if he had seen the moment. "If he had become a priest, he would have been able to cure himself."

Heraclius was silent for a while and did not remind Amalric I that even if he was chosen to become a priest who could feel the Holy Spirit, he would need far more favor than others to cure leprosy. Such priests were as rare as gold in the sand, and almost all of them were recruited by the church. Otherwise, how could the Patriarch of the Holy Land and the Pope of Rome be so arrogant?
"If only we were chosen," he said, "we could slow down the progression of the disease, giving us more time to find a cure for little Baldwin. Your Majesty, you are the master of Alasar and the guardian of the Holy Sepulchre. God will not be so cruel to you."

"God once gave Abraham a test like this," Amalric I murmured. "Unfortunately, I'm not a saint. I'm destined to fail this test." He couldn't do it. He couldn't easily abandon his only son. The king allowed himself a rare moment of dejection before forcing himself to cheer up again. "When you've set a time, come and tell me."

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"He's been chosen." When they returned to their room, Baldwin said, "Why, no one told you at the monastery?"

"Maybe they think I should know." Cesar said, "But I really don't know." He remembered that when he was unable to move, several monks with fixed faces would often come to see him, hold his hands, stroke his forehead, and he would occasionally see light, but how could he have imagined that this would be an extraordinary ability beyond worldly common sense?
“Put it this way,” Baldwin said, “some people are chosen, Cesar.”

There are two types of so-called chosen people. One is considered chosen by Michael, the Archangel, the Guardian of the Garden of Eden, the Vice-Prince of Heaven, and the Monarch of Light. Like him, they are the most outstanding and powerful challengers, God's chosen guardians, and the leaders of the Holy Light Spirits. They usually possess unparalleled wisdom and power, are pious and pure, fervent and trustworthy, have noble character, and are brave and fearless...

"Of course, that's just talk," Baldwin said, making Cesar laugh. "Those chosen usually become knights, and they are almost always descendants of knights. There may be some descendants of hunters or craftsmen, but not many." Baldwin continued, "Another type is those who are believed to be chosen by Lafayette. Do you know Lafayette?"

"I know him as the most merciful of the seven archangels, who performs all miracles of healing."

"He is the ruling angel of the second day, the monarch of the angels of power, and the guardian of the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden," Baldwin said. "Anyone chosen by him will become a monk. They can heal all diseases and injuries, unless it is forbidden by God."

Cesar immediately caught a subtle difference: "Will they all become monks?"

"Well," said Baldwin, "if that man denies being chosen by Lafayette, he must be the devil's servant."

"But you just said that not everyone chosen by Michael will become a knight."

"The church has absorbed a group of people like this," Baldwin said, "For example, some of the priests in the Knights Templar and the Knights of the Charity were chosen by Michael. They were not responsible for treating the wounded, but only for fighting." At this point, Baldwin's eyes were a little gloomy, but he did not continue to explain.

"So Witt is the one chosen by Lafayette?" Cesar didn't realize that there was a hint of sarcasm and suspicion in his tone.

Baldwin put his finger to his lips and ended the conversation.

(End of this chapter)