Chapter 151: Threat

Ma Like's hasty visit was also within Cesar's expectations. After all, Apoler at this time could fall into irreparable chaos at any time.

But what he didn't expect was that Ma Like only hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward, firmly placing his knees on the ground, followed by his forehead and hands. He knelt to Cesar as if kneeling to a Sultan. When Cesar subconsciously took a step back, he reached out and grabbed the corner of the young knight's robe and placed it to his lips.

For a moment, everyone present thought he was crazy—he had mistakenly regarded a Christian knight as a Sultan or his heir.

"You must think I've gone mad." Ma Like could also guess what they were thinking. He raised his head, his face gray and his lips purple, but the words he spoke were still firm and clear: "My lord," he said hoarsely, "I have brought you bad news."

"Your father, Joscelin III, and your mother, that respectable Armenian princess, are both dead."

Although they had guessed that Joscelin III and his wife were in danger, when they heard this news, Cesar and those around him couldn't help but feel their hearts sink.

"How did they die?"

"Poisoned to death," Ma Like said quickly. "They were originally handed over by Sultan Nur ad-Din to his second son and his mother, imprisoned and guarded in a fortress about a day's journey from Apoler. Although they didn't get the treatment of the Sultan's son, they could be considered well-fed and clothed. Joscelin III had no symptoms except for occasional coughing, while his wife was physically weak due to depression and had difficulty moving.

But just before we entered Apoler, someone took them away from that fortress. By the time we found them, they had already been dead for several days."

"Several days," Geoffrey couldn't help but raise his voice: "That is to say, until now you decided to tell us this!"

"Because until today, I was also being closely monitored," Ma Like argued: "And the matter happened before we returned to Apoler—if I could, I certainly would have. Then I would have to sacrifice my honor and life, or rather, anyone who understood the stakes would have tried their best to stop it—although we didn't sign our names on parchment, Saracens also value oral agreements—not to mention this agreement was promised by me on behalf of the Sultan's three sons."

"Then do you know who killed them? Is it your enemy, or our enemy?" Geoffrey stepped forward and asked aggressively.

"I don't know. I only know that the person who did this is both your enemy and our enemy."

"I don't think so," Geoffrey replied coldly. "Perhaps you should know what kind of gift we received today."

"I already know."

As the minister once most valued by Sultan Nur ad-Din, only one step away from the Grand Vizier, Ma Like naturally had countless eyes and ears in the court. He naturally knew what kind of stupid thing the second prince had done.

This gold-and-jade-outside-but-rotten-inside idiot didn't even know that the vast majority of these young knights had taken vows of chastity. They couldn't marry, nor could they approach women, let alone these infidels.

He used the same way he bought those Emirs and Fatimids to buy them, without any distinction, almost putting his contempt and perfunctoriness on the table. The Christian knights regarded this as a provocation or humiliation, which made perfect sense.

"I..." Cesar was silent for a long time before asking: "Then where are my father and his wife now?"

"Now they are with me—I must apologize to you... my lord, my ability is limited..."

"No," Cesar said: "You were just waiting for the Sultan to be buried, waiting for the situation in Apoler to change, but now it seems this change is not what you wanted," he said, hitting the nail on the head, which made shame surge onto Ma Like's face.

That pair of emerald eyes flashed with dazzling light. This could be a heavy rain of grief, or it could be a storm of anger.

Ma Like could understand. Cesar and his sister were only toddlers when they were separated from Joscelin III. In the next ten-plus years, they were betrayed, captured, and drifted for who knows how long.

Cesar was a son of a noble, yet almost became a eunuch in the Sultan's or Caliph's harem. Even if he was lucky enough to be saved and forgiven by Amalric I before being castrated, he still suffered constant attacks and contempt in the following years because his identity was unknown.

Perhaps it was precisely because he suffered so much torture before that the Goddess of Fortune finally was willing to pity him, letting his sister Natia leave Apoler and the Sultan's harem by mistake, and was sent to Amalric I as a gift.

And this girl surprisingly remembered everything her foster parents entrusted to her, using a secret treasure worth 200,000 gold coins and a document written by the Archbishop of Edessa himself, with the signatures of more than ten noble witnesses, proving her and her brother's identity. She was the daughter of Joscelin III, and Cesar was the only heir to the County of Edessa. His bloodline was noble and pious, and he was closely connected to the King of Amalric I. It could be said that he leaped from a small slave to an unmitigated great noble.

On this journey, what kind of mood was he holding? No son would not yearn for his father and long to see him again. Moreover, Joscelin III had done everything he could. He entered Apoler at the age of five. If he were a weak person, he might have been content with this life full of humiliation and anxiety... but he never disgraced his bloodline.

Didn't he know that sending two children out of Apoler would arouse Sultan Nur ad-Din's anger and suspicion? He couldn't guarantee whether Nur ad-Din would continue to let him live as a hostage or decide to send him to see God. Just for this favor, the teenager in front of him would never be indifferent to the death of this father he had never met.

Fortunately, the second prince and his mother did something to remedy the situation—they asked Christian priests to perform last rites for the two and collected their bones—"Regarding cremation, Saracens and Christians had the same attitude—one was "fire hell," the other was "hell with big fire."

Being burned by fire would be seen as a punishment or curse, but they couldn't just leave this unfortunate couple alone... so they adopted the practice mentioned before—when the journey was long and the remains couldn't be sent back for burial, they would find a way to leave only the bones of the dead.

However, the idea of this mother and son was more likely to use it as one of the important bargaining chips after the negotiations broke down. But they couldn't look after the living Joscelin III, and now they couldn't look after the dead ones either. Ma Like used several eunuchs and palace maids he had bought to swap the remains of the two.

He admitted that this was very despicable, but it was also a last resort—he directly asked the servant following behind to place a cedar box inlaid with brass corners in front of Cesar.

Used to contain the remains were two large reliquaries. They might have been made larger to store relics like arms, so they were quite large. The surface was gilded, and the top was carved with cherubs guarding the Ark of the Covenant. Surrounded by exquisite pure silver decorations, using them to carry the remains of two noble people was not too picky.

Cesar lowered his head and looked at these two reliquaries. His fingers brushed over the smooth surface, and he seemed to feel a trace of heat. This should be an illusion.

Ma Like was very urgent when he stepped into this room, but when Cesar fell into contemplation and mourning, he didn't make a sound. He could certainly keep this powerful trump card by his side to threaten these Christians to do things for him, but wouldn't doing so prove that Saracens were more despicable than Christians?

Even the young and vigorous King of Amalric I didn't ask them for a ransom for Sultan Nur ad-Din's remains. Was he going to rely on a child's love for his parents to achieve his wish?

He couldn't do it.

"What do you want?" Cesar asked.

"The eldest prince has made a move," Ma Like said. It was just a pity that the second prince was not a dog without fangs. He immediately tore and bit with his brother, and their supporters launched crazy searches and killings. Perhaps before the dawn came again, a winner could be decided in Apoler Castle.

Not to mention, they still had a younger brother. Although he was still a child, his birth mother was the woman with the most prestige and power in the harem—the First Lady.

"I hope you can save some people."

If it were just Ma Like alone, the possibility of his escape was still very high. But the problem was, there was a group of ministers here. These ministers might not all be scholars, but they were certainly all people with admirable character and knowledge. In the past, these people were the pillars and horses valued by Sultan Nur ad-Din.

When Nur ad-Din was still alive, they were respected, and even the princes had to step back in front of them. But in such chaos, they were likely to become the first batch of victims—they had all refused the princes' recruitment like Ma Like, which made them unable to get anyone's protection in the riot—any soldier could cut off their heads.

"You want us to take them with us?"

"This is not entirely disadvantageous for you," Ma Like explained quickly, "Among them are scholars, and people who, although not scholars, have still gained people's respect and love. On this journey, if you encounter soldiers of other Emirs or Fatimids, they might let you leave for this reason.

I will tell them that I hired you."

"It could also attract more pursuers," Geoffrey interrupted him mercilessly. "The eldest prince's people are ill-intentioned toward you. The second prince's people don't seem to want to keep you either. The moment you refused their invitation, you became their enemy. No, worse than an enemy, you are traitors.

No matter what kind of talent and knowledge the people you mentioned have, if they cannot be used by them, they can only be bad things that will bring trouble in the future.

Now, whether it's one of them who wins, or even if they haven't won yet, there will be people chasing behind you until they kill you."

Geoffrey's gaze fell on the reliquary, "You brought a bad news, and it was caused by you Saracens. You won't be hated by us, but you can't get our gratitude. It was you who first betrayed the previous agreement, and I don't see any benefit to us in the suggestion you put forward now?

What you said might just be a possibility. If we leave immediately, no one might notice the whereabouts of a group of Christian knights.

But if there is another group of people who have been written on the death list..."

Geoffrey looked out, and he could already hear the faint fighting sounds and see the flickering firelight. A thought suddenly rose in his heart. He turned to Ma Like abruptly: "You have already done so! Haven't you!"

Ma Like had brought those ministers who were unwilling to submit to the Sultan's son here, and he might have arranged for people to lead those rebellious Saracens here if the Christians refused his request. The Christians here might be killed or become prisoners.

If the new Sultan was established in a peaceful environment, he might fulfill the oath Ma Like made on his behalf, treating them as benefactors and guests, and letting them return to Amalric I safely.

But now the eldest prince and the second prince had clearly torn their faces apart. Everyone knew that the new Sultan must have harmed his own blood relatives, possibly more than one. Since that was the case, how could they expect him to show the due mercy and tolerance to a group of infidels and enemies?

The room was silent, only the heavy and long breathing of people could be heard. Cesar picked up the reliquary and looked at the indignant knights: "Act."

This made Geoffrey surprised, and what made some knights think they had misheard was that Cesar actually ordered them to go to the residence of the slave girls first—to do some necessary preparatory work.

Although these slave girls sent by the second prince were arranged elsewhere by the eunuchs, they were not far from where the knights were staying, separated from the courtyard by a wall that was not high. Before, there were slave girls dancing and singing.

When the knights swarmed in, they were quite happy—compared to serving a weak old Sultan or a moody new Sultan, Christian knights were not a bad choice. But they didn't show any interest in them, roaring in and roaring out.

Only took away the gold and jewelry on them.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 152 =====