Chapter 117: Tour

"We will be back before the Feast of St. Jude (October 28)." Raymond said.

Within a year of Amalric I's passing, the most important work of the Crusaders had been determined in several meetings—they were going to pull out the biggest nail on the pilgrimage route for Christians, the Armenian Prince Mleh.

If Amalric I had not passed away yet, then no matter what opinion he held at the meeting, the commander of the Crusaders could only be him. But the current King of Al-Azar was a fourteen-year-old teenager. He was indeed brave in battle and deeply favored, but those older knights couldn't help but feel hesitant when they saw that beautiful face.

You know, on the ever-changing battlefield, if the commander cannot get the trust of his subordinates, even a slight hesitation may lead to the worst result—after repeated deliberation, he decided that in this battle, he would act as the King's agent and take on this important responsibility. Then, the Grand Master of the Hospitallers, Oger de Balben, would act as his deputy, and the Grand Master of the Templars, Philip de Milly, and Bohemond would stay behind to guard the Holy City.

This arrangement made Bohemond roll his eyes, but Raymond argued that compared to Mleh, the conflict between his son Abigail and Princess Sibylla was something he should care more about. It was bad enough that the Princess refused to share a room with Abigail before, and then at the tournament, the Princess publicly asked King Baldwin IV for his knight, which made Abigail furious.

What made people slander the most was that Abigail had dared to challenge the knight who admired the Princess before. This time, he didn't make a sound.

David and others were still complaining fiercely with the help of alcohol when they gathered before leaving—that's right, Raymond kept Baldwin in Al-Azar and also kept Cesar from moving, but he took David and several other young knights away—you know, Abigail had always been with them before, and noblewomen had already half-truthfully asked, was such a coward the only one, or... many?

They had to curse and swear one by one, to take three braids of the Turkic Seljuk people from the battlefield and place them at their feet. Only then were these ladies, whom they loved and hated, willing to raise their hands and temporarily let them go.

"Because he knew that even if Cesar didn't kill him, he would give him a good beating." William said, and then he subconsciously glanced at David. David shook his head indifferently. Although he couldn't lift his head in shame when facing his father, among his peers, he could frankly admit that he was indeed no match for Cesar.

"What's wrong with Abigail?" Another young knight muttered: "He wasn't that annoying before."

"He loves Sibylla too much."

"Who can not love her." Guy said. She was simply the most beautiful dream they had in their youth. Even the matter of Count Etienne refusing the marriage cast a gloomy shadow on this gem, but this was not the real reason why they gradually distanced themselves from Sibylla—they only understood the elders' warnings in a shudder after knowing what Sibylla instigated Abigail to do.

There are people who have no heart.

"She is still very beautiful," William held his wine glass, covering his face, and asked half-truthfully: "Haven't you been shaken at all? Cesar? Although people say that your appearance would make the proudest noblewoman feel ashamed, love cannot be produced between self and self. After you came to the Castle of the Holy Cross, you often met the Princess. Haven't you wanted to kiss her fingers, touch her feet?"

"No." Cesar said. William stared at him for a while, confirming that there was indeed no trace of wavering in those emerald eyes, and couldn't help but click his tongue, "You are simply Sibylla's retribution~!"

This sentence made the young knights laugh. Outsiders might not see it very clearly, but they had all been infatuated and loved Sibylla. You know, when you love someone, your attention will only be focused on her and cannot be transferred. During that time, they almost captured every move and every smile of Sibylla all the time.

What is she doing? What is she thinking? What does she love? And what does she hate?

It was not strange that Sibylla would be attracted to Cesar. Very few people could develop malice toward a child like Cesar. Even they, the nephews of dukes and counts, only accepted him after Cesar proved that he was not just a gorgeous shell—although because Cesar always had to accompany Baldwin, they didn't have much contact, but they also knew he was not a bad seed.

And the reason for Sibylla's malice and rejection of Cesar, boys with delicate minds like Guy and William could also perceive a little—how arrogant is Sibylla?! Even they, the nephews of dukes and counts, were just toys and chess pieces played around by her. To make her admit that she was seduced by an Isaac slave, it would be better to kill her!

However, when Baldwin's condition was unclear and Cesar might follow him to the monastery, Sibylla could push her maid—who she didn't like much—Damara of Gerard to Cesar. Of course, she could also force Damara to abandon the oath Cesar made to her when Cesar became a Bethlehem knight and the new King's close minister, and snatch him over...

The only thing she didn't expect was that Cesar really didn't like her.

As long as Cesar had a little hesitation, so many people wouldn't have come out to help him—Sibylla was the King's daughter, sister, and would be the King's mother in the future.

"Are you going back to Bethlehem later? Or staying in Al-Azar?" David asked.

"Back to Bethlehem, but with Baldwin." Cesar replied full of joy. Although he was left in Al-Azar, Baldwin was not discouraged. Raymond was right. He was a newcomer to Al-Azar and the surrounding castles, territories, and cities. They didn't know him, and he didn't know them—if he made decisions casually in a completely unfamiliar situation, that would simply be self-destruction.

He planned to inspect the many castles surrounding Al-Azar, and Bethlehem was his first stop.

————

Jacques had been very busy these few days.

He had already purchased a spot on a ship for his wife's aunt and asked them to send her back to her hometown, but just before departure, the eccentric lady suddenly fell ill. Although he immediately invited a cleric for her, the cleric left unhappily as soon as he saw her—he refused to treat an Isaac person.

He could only look for the "wise man" of the Isaac people. The "wise man" also refused and almost beat him out. Only then did he remember what his wife had told him: her aunt had long ago betrayed her faith in order to marry a Christian knight, and she was already a dead person among the Isaac ethnic group.

As a result, he could only hire a maid to look after his wife's aunt in the inn.

Fortunately, the other person his father-in-law entrusted to him, his friend, did not cause Jacques too much trouble. He only needed a few camels, a few mules, a little food, and water, so that he could take his wife and children to the next city.

"You said he went to the desert?"

Jacques asked in surprise.

He just asked someone to follow them just in case, but he didn't expect the servant to come back and say that these people actually went to the desert near the Dead Sea.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 118 =====