Chapter 45

Cesar woke up from the severe pain. At the same moment he screamed, Longinus jumped up from his half-kneeling posture. He pulled up the bed curtain that had been intentionally lifted, flew to the window, and quickly closed the window—Cesar's room had no glass windows, only wooden shutters. Once closed, the whole room became dim. Of course, people outside couldn't see the light shooting from the window.

The window was just covered, and Cesar had only screamed once. Longinus turned and rushed back to the bedside, lifted the bed curtain, and pressed half of the child's face, "Don't make a sound!" he whispered: "The King just left!"

Fortunately, in order not to let Cesar scream when he woke up, he and Heraclius discussed and reduced the number of times he was fed water in the past two days. The previous dry scream did not disturb others.

When Cesar closed his eyes slightly, he took a small glass bottle from his arms and poured the potion inside into Cesar's mouth.

With the help of the faint light, Longinus closely observed Cesar's expression until he could be sure that he was still in pain, but his consciousness was clear, and then he leaned into his ear and whispered: "The saint you saw is Saint Jerome. Remember, it is the scholar Jerome. Heraclius said he once pulled a thorn from the paw of an injured lion."

Longinus completed the whole set of actions smoothly. After all, he had simulated it countless times in his mind and practiced it many times when no one was around, just didn't dare to make a sound.

When Cesar nodded while enduring the pain, he returned to the door and used his excellent hearing to explore the situation outside the door—many people were rushing up the stairs, and the last footstep was particularly light. The visitor did not knock on the door, just stayed for a short while and left—only then did Longinus sit down leaning against the door, sweating profusely and feeling relieved. This was really a deadly job!

——————

Cesar woke up quickly. When the room suddenly darkened, he saw Longinus.

Familiar room, people, they had left the Holy Sepulchre, and he also remembered the light he saw in Baldwin's eyes—he was also chosen—after joy, pain struck, but he could still remember Heraclius's warning.

After "being chosen," the strength of the light on the chosen one and the length of time it was maintained were closely related to the blessing.

Like that Witt, the light he got only lasted for a short moment, barely keeping him from being hanged, but it disappeared immediately afterward. Sure enough, although he received "bestowal," his ability could only treat small problems that could heal themselves even without treatment.

This kind of "being chosen" was almost useless, only attracting ridicule, but what about the kind of light that lasted a long time and was bright? This was a good thing worth people's praise in unison, but one had to be careful—just like Count Etienne would become weak after praying for the saint's care, after the first manifestation of holy grace, the chosen person would also have different but generally severe adverse symptoms, such as pain, fatigue, weakness... or not just one kind.

There had even been cases where children who were too young were blessed but could not survive the subsequent trials and unfortunately died young—only then did people put the "selection ceremony" between nine and fourteen years old to avoid the same tragedy.

If it were a strict and dull monk, he would strictly follow the church law and not prepare any potion to reduce pain for the child. But Heraclius dared to cheat for them in the "selection ceremony," and now he was even more unscrupulous, and the potion he prepared was indeed very effective. The pain faded a little, but what followed was indescribable numbness and soreness.

Cesar thought bitterly, if he were a patient on the operating table now, the anesthesiologist would definitely jump off his small stool in horror, readjust the anesthetic dose. Yes, he was talking about one of the most terrible situations in surgery—"anesthetic awakening," or "intraoperative awareness."

As the name suggests, it is when a patient suddenly regains consciousness during general anesthesia surgery and can recall most of the details of the surgery after the surgery.

Lucky patients can move, call, and attract the attention of the anesthesiologist or the surgeon or nurse. Besides short-term pain and fright, there will be no other symptoms. But there are also some patients whose consciousness is clear but their bodies still cannot move, and they cannot make a sound, only letting the doctor cut their bodies open. This experience is often accompanied by a strong sense of suffocation and powerlessness—they will accompany the patient for a long time, even if their bodies recover, their spirits will collapse because of this.

What Cesar is experiencing now is this.

In order to distract himself, he could only turn his thinking to other aspects, for example, the sentence Longinus whispered in his ear just now, what does "saw Saint Jerome" mean? And specifically mentioned Heraclius, did Heraclius tell him to say so?

Cesar did not think that Heraclius and Longinus would intentionally frame him. The former did not have this necessity, and the latter still needed him. Moreover, human emotions are something very difficult to hide. Heraclius's love for him might not necessarily exceed Baldwin's, but if it were between Cesar and others, he would definitely choose Cesar.

Longinus was even simpler. He had been contemptuously called a "slave's slave"—people knew he was Cesar's servant, which earned him some people's respect and some people's disgust, but if he dared to betray Cesar, then both kinds of people would despise him.

Not to mention the Holy Land, even if he returned to Brittany, if his lord heard of this, he would deprive him of his knight status, and he would not want to return to his brother's territory to become a steward or supervisor. Being able to be a farmer or craftsman, not homeless and lonely, could already be considered a blessing.

Then what does it mean for Heraclius to let himself say that he saw Saint Jerome?

Saint Jerome was not in the initial range of pre-selection, and there was also, wait, who did he see? He only remembered that he had chased a great figure with many humanoid figures made of white light. He still remembered his urgent mood at that time, and others were urging him in a stack. He was almost about to catch up with Him...

He asked for His holy name, but did not get it.

This was clearly the last step of the selection ceremony. Heraclius once said that when he performed the "selection ceremony," he didn't know where he went or where he should go. At this time, a monk saw him, called him over, and let him be his student.

They lived in the mountains and forests, accompanied by wild beasts, used beeswax to make candles, used wool to spin thread. Although the days were very difficult, his teacher was knowledgeable, knowledgeable, and very pious. Heraclius only felt happy and didn't feel hard.

When did he find that he was in a trial? Perhaps it was after being caught by the Viceroy's soldiers, he and his teacher were whipped, hooked, and tortured by hunger, and were about to be beheaded. He coughed and wheezed, and the teacher put his hand on his throat and recited scriptures, and he was cured.

He knelt on the ground immediately, weeping bitterly, almost unable to speak, and finally asked the most important question intermittently.

The saint seemed to have been waiting for this moment, he said: "I am Saint Blaise of Armenia."

If those followers who couldn't see their faces were not lying, or exaggerating too much, then the one they chased, that is, the saint Cesar saw, was far beyond Blaise who could only tame wild beasts and treat throat diseases. Although this was a bit unpious, Cesar had already understood Heraclius's love for him at this moment.

Heraclius didn't know who Cesar saw yet, but obviously, his protector was better than Prince Baldwin, which was not a good thing.

He heard someone knocking on the door in the chaos. Longinus went to answer the door. The visitor was the King's attendant. He came to observe and ask about Cesar's condition. Although it was nominally for Prince Baldwin, who didn't know the true meaning?

Longinus's answer made him or the people behind him feel satisfied. After he left, Longinus fed Cesar potion at a frequency of once every four hours. When he fed it for the fifth time, Heraclius finally came. He saw Cesar already able to lean on the pillow, looking at the morning light outside the window, with a relieved look on his face.

"How is Baldwin?" Cesar asked.

"Woke up almost at the same time as you. The King saw the light bursting from the window and immediately turned back," he glanced at Longinus, Longinus nodded, the footsteps he heard at that time were the King and his entourage, "Prince Baldwin received a heavy and lasting blessing, it was just too sharp," he sighed, "he suffered more than you."

"His illness..."

"The King asked the cleric to see it... can only delay the progress of the disease, cannot cure it."

These clerics were all taken down and executed by the King's knights. It's funny to say, the Patriarch also used them to threaten the King, but he didn't expect them to be a group of wine bags and rice bags—of course, Heraclius, as the new Patriarch, signed several indulgences for this, and the King used the former Patriarch's assets to pay.

The King even complained that if Cesar was not "grace" but "bestowal," it would be fine. Since the saint wanted him to be Baldwin's shield, why did he have to be a knight—if it were before, Heraclius would also agree.

But today, Heraclius felt that Cesar's misfortune should not be the reason for his sacrifice. If he was still biased towards Prince Baldwin before the "selection ceremony," then after the "selection ceremony," Cesar's performance in the ceremony added several heavy weights to the other side of the balance.

Having strategy, good at planning, able to endure, and decisive enough, knowing how to protect himself, but not hesitating when sacrifice is needed—such quality, and... origin, Heraclius had seen Cesar when he was still a slave. Such a strong and perfect boy would not be the son of a farmer or craftsman.

He even sent people to find that Isaac slave merchant, wanting to investigate Cesar's origin from him. Unfortunately, that Isaac merchant suddenly became like a drop of water falling into the sea, and could not be found no matter how he looked.

But even if Cesar forgot everything in the past, he now had an identity, just as Amalric I said, for a monk, a student is equivalent to his own son. This child also had things that needed to be inherited—if Heraclius was the kind of ascetic who was content with poverty and hated power, he would not appear beside Amalric I. He had indeed climbed to the highest position a cleric could climb.

"Everyone will be biased towards their own children." The monk muttered.

He asked Cesar about seeing the saint. Cesar said it truthfully. Heraclius didn't doubt it, just thought for a while, and soon let it go, "Anything can happen in this world, it doesn't matter, this is good instead, you just need to say your saint is Saint Jerome."

He reached out and touched Cesar's head: "There is one thing to ask you, Brother John wants to come and see you, do you want to see him?"

Cesar showed a surprised look, "Why not?" He smiled readily: "I miss him very much too." But since coming to the Holy Cross Castle, waves had been constant, and by the time he could go out alone, he began to prepare for the upcoming "selection ceremony."

If it were someone else, there might be a little grudge in his heart. After all, John also said that he wanted Cesar to be his student. If it weren't for the King's request, he wouldn't have agreed to anyone.

Later, Cesar wanted to enter the Holy Sepulchre Cathedral for penance, wanted the map of the Sanctuary Church, and the Gerard family responded to everything (only Heraclius knew later). Damara of the Gerard family was the noble girl Cesar promised to swear loyalty to when he became a knight.

Heraclius would not think so. Although his name came from a great Byzantine emperor, his origin was not very high. He was Amalric I's monk, and Amalric I was only the second son of Fulk V and Queen Melisende. If it weren't for Baldwin III having no heirs, he would only be a minister or general now.

Precisely because of such an origin, he would feel pity and appreciation for Cesar, and would not mind him having other sponsors. In the Holy City where people's hearts are unpredictable and changing, even holding a thin and fragile vine in his hand is a good thing.

Not to mention that the Gerard family is not a vine but a towering tree—in 1099, the Burgundian noble Gerard and several partners founded the "Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem" in the hospital near the Church of Saint John the Baptist, sheltering countless pilgrims. He ascended to heaven with this merit and sat side by side with the saints. His family also became a "Holy Family." As long as the Holy Land does not fall, they have a place in the power field.

And compared to the Templars, the Hospitallers are gentler and more merciful. It can be seen from the fact that pilgrims often jokingly say, "donating money to kill" is the Templars, and "donating money to save people" is the Hospitallers.

Cesar's personality, even without the Holy Sepulchre Knight Order (as Prince Baldwin's attendant, he probably didn't have much choice), Heraclius would not suggest him to choose the Templars.

The chubby Dean John came on a mule the next day.

Dean John's current weight can be seen from the gifts he brought to Cesar.

A large jar of clear stewed mutton with rosemary, a large jar of fried pickled quail sprinkled with olives, a large jar of donkey meat boiled with onions and carrots, "These are all very beneficial things for the body, it is the secret recipe of the Gerard family, countless knights have eaten it, and it has miraculous effects." He winked at Cesar proudly, and said contemptuously: "I guess there is nothing good here."

This point was right. Don't look at the monks fasting for about 200 days a year—ordinary people fast for about 160 days, but monks always have some special times, for example, when they commit a sin themselves or others commit a sin—but to say whether the chef in the monastery has better craftsmanship or the chef in the castle, undoubtedly, the former!

And the monk chef in the Monastery of Saint John the Baptist was quite willing to discuss cooking with Cesar.

There was also a box of dried honey mulberries, a box of honey dates, a box of dried honey figs. "You hide them," Dean John also attached a small box with a lock: "Don't be too generous, share a bite with everyone you see, hang the key on your belt yourself."

Longinus beside him coughed: "I am his servant." Shouldn't this kind of thing be kept by the servant?

Dean John squinted at him, "You can ask your master for it."

Next, Dean John took out three small boxes, a box of frankincense, a box of peppercorns, a box of saffron. This time Longinus didn't dare to joke. This could be exchanged directly for gold, or other things equivalent to gold.

"Take it with peace of mind," when Cesar looked over inquiringly, Dean John said: "In order to celebrate Prince Baldwin being 'chosen,' the things the Gerard family sent out are a hundred times this."

"But I am just an attendant."

"Do you know," Dean John said irrelevantly: "The Gerard family has made many choices. The most famous and well-known thing is that my great-grandfather begged the Caliph Ali az-Zahir of the Fatimid dynasty to build a hospital on the pilgrimage road to help all pilgrims."

He lowered his eyes: "Afterward, we have been making choices, including giving up the position of Grand Master of the Hospitallers. You are just a choice, Cesar. The Gerard family and the Hospitallers may not be as rich as the Templars, but believe me, we are much more generous than them, and..."

He held his belly: "Our ancestors were merchants, so almost all his children inherited an advantage, that is, not caring about temporary gains and losses."

After the things that go into the mouth are the things that go on the upper body: "You and Prince Baldwin were both chosen, that is to say, you will soon be promoted to squires. Generally speaking, squires should go to other lords' castles to do it, but the prince's status is special, and he probably won't leave Al-Azar, and he has to follow him—you need a few decent good clothes."

His idea was actually the same as Count Etienne's: "Once you become a squire, you can't rely on the prince to equip you for everything, although it's not impossible..."

"Wait a minute," Longinus opened his eyes wide: "What is that, a purple ribbon? Or with a gold edge?"

"Take it and tie it on your arm or neck..." Dean John said to Cesar.

"No, I mean," Longinus said: "Although this is Al-Azar, I know that the Byzantine emperor has enacted laws on purple silk and gold-edged fabrics, and transgressors will be executed for treason."

"You can," Dean John sighed: "Our King, Amalric I, and the Byzantine Emperor Manuel I have already negotiated the marriage contract. The princess will come to Al-Azar next month, and they will marry before June. Many Byzantine merchants have come to Al-Azar, and they have brought a lot of silk—it is said that Princess Maria sent three purple robes to her future husband and a purple cloak to her future stepson, Prince Baldwin."

He looked at Cesar: "When she comes to Al-Azar, the King and the Prince will inevitably wear purple robes and purple cloaks to welcome her. If you accompany them, it is best to have something that belongs to Byzantium on you."

(End of chapter)