Chapter 9: The Chosen One?

The soup in the clay pot had begun to turn white, the cabbage and onions had become translucent, and the reddish-brown meat slices tumbled within, emitting a rich, savory aroma. Cesar took out two large wooden mugs that people used for drinking ale and poured a serving for Baldwin and himself.

Baldwin jumped up and ran to the wicker chest, digging out a bag of white bread—though calling it white bread was a stretch; it was only slightly lighter in color than the black bread commoners could use as weapons, and it still contained plenty of bran.

Cesar drew his dagger, rested it on his knee, and sliced the bread. They ate and drank just like that. While Baldwin used his spoon to hunt for peas, Cesar finished his meal and began peeling an apple.

"You're still like this," Baldwin said. "Some people say you definitely aren't a noble; you might just be a peasant, or even a slave." He pointed at Cesar's apple. "Because you don't like to drink, you prefer water and milk, you boil vegetable soup, and you eat fruit raw."

That was because the vitamins and enzymes in most fruits were easily destroyed by high heat. If one's stomach was fine, it was best to eat them raw. As for the alcohol, he had already explained that before.

As for boiling vegetable soup... it wasn't that one couldn't eat vegetables raw, but in an age without pesticides or concepts of food safety, Cesar could never be certain if he might swallow a frog or a worm along with the leaves.

The disgust was secondary; the parasitic diseases brought by frogs and worms could be fatal.

"But it tastes good, doesn't it?" Cesar couldn't explain to Baldwin the concepts that wouldn't form for several hundred years. "The milk is sweet, the vegetables are tender, and the fruit is crisp."

"It's your skill." Baldwin said this with genuine sincerity. Cesar often prepared food for the two of them over the hearth—a boy in his growth phase was never full. Cesar didn't even need to use a large amount of spices like a chef to make something quite delicious; he only needed a little salt and failed wine, which was grape vinegar.

"Perhaps my father was a highly gifted chef," Cesar said solemnly. "Right now, he might be serving the Sultan or the Caliph."

Baldwin laughed uncontrollably, then composed his expression. "No," he said. "Your father must be a knight, and he is anxiously searching for you." He set down his wooden mug and pressed a hand onto Cesar. "How could a lion be born of jackals? The virtues and talents you possess must have a root."

He said earnestly, "One day, you will reunite under the gaze of God. When that time comes, I will beg my father to let you join the Crusades, to fight against the Saracens and win countless honors and glory."

Cesar imagined his father, a medical expert, clad in armor, couching a lance, holding the reins with one hand, and charging toward countless black-clad Saracens on a dust-filled battlefield. He didn't know whether to laugh or feel awkward, but for a male of this time, becoming a knight of the King and fighting against the heathens was a great grace. He could only thank Baldwin for his generosity.

However, he was more curious about who the person was when Baldwin said "some people say..." He knew that for the past few days, he had been inseparable from Baldwin, except for a few rare occasions when Princess Sibylla, Baldwin's sister, came to visit and he retreated to another room.

Was it Sibylla?

Cesar had only seen Princess Sibylla from a distance on occasion. She was always surrounded by a large group of ladies-in-waiting and attendants. In the mouths of the servants, she was a noblewoman of outstanding beauty and great majesty.

He quickly put the matter aside. After all, Cesar was not the type to fret over birth and bloodlines. Compared to whether his father was a chef or a knight, he was more concerned about the afternoon's lessons.

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Since Amalric I had said he would treat Cesar as he would the son of a Grand Duke, as long as Cesar maintained respect and loyalty toward Baldwin, Cesar could enjoy the same treatment as Abigail, David, and others had in the past. One of these items was the ability to receive the same education alongside Baldwin.

Baldwin's education was different from the knightly education of the time. The latter did not value cultural education much; lords who could not read or write were everywhere, let alone knights.

But starting from Baldwin I, perhaps influenced by the Saracens (even the Church had to admit that the Saracens far surpassed the Germans, Celts, and Romans in the accumulation of knowledge and the popularization of education), he did not want his heir to be a fool who couldn't even read a document or contract, or who needed a cleric to sign his name for him. The education of his descendants had been comprehensive from the very beginning.

The Prince's curriculum was not only well-arranged, but the order was also very appropriate. Except for Sundays, from Monday to Saturday, the morning was for literary courses and the afternoon for martial arts. Literary courses included grammar, rhetoric, dialectics, arithmetic, music, and astronomy; martial arts courses included lance, horsemanship, falconry, archery, and swordsmanship, as well as knightly studies—which were the proper actions, terminology, and etiquette for important occasions. It was said that when Baldwin turned fourteen, more courses would be added, though Cesar did not know about that.

After Baldwin contracted leprosy, these courses were suspended for a period, and classes only resumed after some of the teachers were replaced.

Among the many courses, some were familiar to Cesar, such as mathematics, and some were unfamiliar, such as falconry. For knights, falconry was not a game; it was truly about providing for the stomachs of themselves and their attendants. Making mistakes or being dazed during a hunt would result in being whipped with a scabbard or a stick, and even the Prince was not exempt.

Whether familiar or unfamiliar, Cesar was full of enthusiasm. Besides being a studious person by nature, he also knew clearly that this would be his stepping stone, especially in an age where education was monopolized by the upper classes. The opportunity he had received was precious, unique, and fleeting.

But today, after they had both grasped their wax tablets, the rhetoric teacher Heraclius arrived late. Not only was he late, but he also wasn't holding the textbook usually used for teaching; instead, he held a Latin prayer book, which made Cesar slightly disappointed.

If one were to grade teachers in this era, Heraclius would certainly be the best of the best, as most teachers were those who could simply read and copy a book to teach students.

Heraclius, however, was a bachelor of theology and history who had studied for many years at a university. His teaching materials, besides the usual hymnals, prayer books, and hagiographies, included many precious documents from the ancient Greek and Roman periods, such as Caesar's *Commentaries on the Civil War* and *Commentaries on the Gallic War*, Cato the Elder's *De Agri Cultura*, and Byzantine Emperor Leo VI's *Taktika*, among others.

Previously, they had talked about Cato the Elder's *Origines*. It was not content from the Bible, but a historical work recounting Rome from its founding to the end of the Second Punic War, also including the history of other city-states. This book had been lost for hundreds of years, yet Heraclius had a complete set.

"Put away your wax tablets," Heraclius said. "Children, today we are going to have the most important lesson."

Cesar subconsciously looked at Baldwin. The Prince seemed to have a premonition when Heraclius walked in, and now he was sitting bolt upright, his eyes shining.

Heraclius waited until both boys had put down their wax tablets and sat properly. He placed his hand on the prayer book, closed his eyes, and silently recited a passage of scripture before looking at them again, his voice clear as he said:

"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Everything God did was complete. All His creations had not a single flaw of sin, no lines of aging, nor any regrettable defects. They were, like God, perfect and flawless. This was the original form of all things between heaven and earth. God saw it, was pleased, and said, 'Good.'

But the devil beneath the earth saw it and gave birth to jealousy and malice. They wanted to destroy all beautiful things, so they crawled from the abyss to the surface. They dared not face God!

But they could bring darkness, darkness sufficient to cover spirituality, morality, thought, and piety! This kind of darkness could make the stars fall to the earth, and could make humanity unable to see God's light, able only to submit under the scepter of Satan!

In such a situation, humanity originally had no possibility of salvation. Because they violated the covenant with God, even if He had executed His judgment and let the world perish forever, it would have been just!

But God has grace, vast, boundless, and immense grace beyond what we mortals can imagine. He called His Son to be born into this world, to let Him redeem us. That light is the true light, illuminating everyone born into this world—this is God having mercy on us, like the morning sunlight.

The angel told Mary that the Holy Spirit would descend upon her, and the power of the Most High would shelter her, because the one she would bear was the Savior of humanity.

What is man? Man is dust! Man is imperfect, weak, and easily deceived, even prone to sin. So how could God give His only begotten Son to us? And let Him walk on the earth in a body of flesh and blood? This is because we have already sinned and must pay for these sins. God let His Son come to save us, and He had to bring a body that could 'die' to redeem our sins.

But how could God's method of salvation end there? Christ walked among us; He is God and also man. The bridge between God and man was broken, and He repaired it.

He attended a wedding feast with the people, reached out to touch the water, and turned all the water in the jars into fine wine; He molded a bird out of mud and said to it, 'Fly,' and it flew away; a man had been ill for thirty-eight years, and He said, 'Rise,' and that man immediately stood up and walked.

People listened to Him preach in the wilderness, and He blessed five loaves and two fish, letting five thousand people be satisfied; He stood before a tomb and said, 'Open,' and people said the person inside had been dead for four days, but He said, 'Open,' and people opened it, and the dead person walked out, just like a living person.

He also said to His disciples, 'Walk on the water,' and they believed in Him, and they could walk on the water.

Thus, more people came to believe in Him. All who believe in Him can be saved, and have the qualification to be chosen—they have the light of the Holy Spirit, are blessed, and are capable."

Speaking to this point, Heraclius lowered his head, looked at the two boys with a grave expression, and reached out his hand to them. Baldwin placed his hand on it without hesitation, but Cesar was a step late; some of his thoughts were taking shape... He looked at the cleric uncertainly, but the cleric only gripped his hand tightly.

"You have reached the age—perhaps still a little short, but the Holy Spirit tells me that you should undergo the selection ceremony."

Baldwin turned his head to look at Cesar, unable to suppress his excitement.

"Children participating in the selection ceremony are generally between ten and fourteen years old," Heraclius continued, which was before they officially reached adulthood. If Baldwin had not contracted leprosy, he should have undergone the selection on the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord the following year, along with attendants like Abigail and David.

"In terms of the 'customary law' not written on paper, children selected at the same place, if they are all fortunate enough to receive the grace of God, are then 'brothers joined under the gaze of God.' This relationship can sometimes become very solid, and it is not uncommon for it to be stronger than true brothers," Heraclius said. "I, along with His Majesty, Raymond, and Bohemond, are such brothers."

"In His Majesty's original vision, I should have continued the deep friendship of our fathers," Baldwin said with a hint of sarcasm. "Now, that is no longer necessary."

"..." Cesar.

"The preciousness of a friend does not lie in quantity." Heraclius said gently. "You will be with Baldwin, won't you?"

Cesar hesitated for a moment. "I will, but I do not know if I possess this... possibility." If it were said that the chosen ones were all of noble character, kind, or used courage, wisdom, or talent as a benchmark, Cesar would still hold a little hope, but since people like Witt could also be chosen, he really didn't have much confidence.

"But He does not distinguish by status, bloodline, or wealth. A foundling (if he is lucky enough to receive permission) can become a pious cleric if he is fortunate enough to be chosen, leaping out of the mire; a King, or the descendant of a Bishop, might also walk out of the church empty-handed." Heraclius said. "However, there are many times when children are favored like their fathers. Cesar, although we have not yet been able to find your father, your father will certainly not be a mediocre person."

"And," Baldwin said calmly, "whether you are chosen or not, as you said, you are the messenger sent by the Holy Spirit to my side. You did not run away from me because of leprosy, and am I to drive you away because you were not chosen?"

Now Cesar had nothing to say, so Baldwin and Heraclius both laughed.

After a while, Baldwin asked again, "What is the selection ceremony like? Do we have to fight the devil? Or do we have to practice asceticism or repentance?"

"The trials received by everyone are different." This question was clearly asked on Cesar's behalf, and Heraclius answered in detail: "But to summarize, it is roughly to follow and serve a saint until he is called by God. I was fortunate enough to behold Saint Blaise of Armenia, to listen to his teachings, and to witness his glory, so I can also follow him and be a firm and benevolent person."

"Your father beheld Saint George, a brave and pious knight," he said to Baldwin. "That is why friends and enemies alike say that Amalric I is an army unto himself. He is indeed capable in battle and moves forward without hesitation."

Baldwin could not control the look of longing that appeared on his face. "Which saint will we behold?" he asked.

"I do not know," Heraclius said. "No one can fathom God's plan." I only hope He is not so cruel as to take you away so soon.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 10 =====