Chapter 928 - 151: Farce
"Stop putting on that act, pretending to be some humble Knight. I know perfectly well you’re just an arrogant bastard!"
Sibilla said icily and mockingly, "Since you want to fight for it, then go ahead, but let me remind you, the other people standing in your way are nowhere near as easy to deal with as I am."
She had long since given up the idea of inheriting the throne of Jerusalem; after all, back then Baldwin IV’s body had already recovered, and given his age, it was only natural that he would produce another heir.
Losa smiled and inclined his head. "It is my honor to have persuaded Your Highness to yield."
Suddenly a clatter of footsteps sounded outside the door. Belian cleared his throat lightly and stepped in. "Your Majesty, Your Highness, I am very sorry to interrupt your sacred meeting."
Sibilla frowned. "What’s happened, Sir Belian? Do our distinguished guests from Egypt find fault with the hospitality we’ve shown them?"
Belian looked over at Losa. "No, Your Highness. It’s that one of the Knights under His Majesty Losa’s command, and his lady companion, have badly injured a number of people in a tavern brawl."
"A Knight under my command?"
Losa frowned. "What exactly happened?"
"They say someone was impersonating a member of your family, but the coat of arms he produced was one no one had ever seen before, so a young knight insisted he was a fraud and wanted to drag them before the town hall..."
With things stated this clearly, how could he still not know who the main character of this little incident was.
Losa shook his head. "My apologies, Sir Belian, but one of those two Knights is indeed a member of my family."
Belian said in some surprise, "But I thought you had only one elder brother?"
Losa gave a wry smile. "This isn’t something I can explain in a few words, but Sir Rudolf was not lying. Please send someone quickly to clear up the misunderstanding and bring him to me."
Belian, still somewhat puzzled, nevertheless nodded in assent and left at a brisk pace.
Sibilla settled in to watch the show, speaking with open amusement. "What, did your father leave a bastard out there too?"
"You jest, Your Highness."
Losa glossed it over vaguely, but did not explain.
In this era, bastards were very common, but it was rare for one to be as lucky as Belian and be legitimized by his father. The well-treated ones might even wangle themselves the title of Knight; most simply vanished into the crowd.
...
A quarter of an hour earlier, on the streets of Jaffa City.
Crown Prince Rudolf, with a splendid Treasure Sword at his waist, and his lady companion, Baroness Marie Vicherova from Slovakia, each led a pure snow‑white Warhorse as they strolled through the ancient city of Jaffa.
There was hardly a Christian who hadn’t heard of Jaffa City, for it was recorded in the Bible.
"This city already existed as early as two thousand years before Christ. I didn’t expect it to look like this in this era."
"You’re very disappointed?"
"Not exactly, but compared with Alexandria, Venice, or even ’Trieste’, this place is far too dilapidated. I suspect their drainage system is still the one the Ancient Egyptians left behind."
Rudolf had never been to the Holy Land, despite his father still carrying the empty title of King of Jerusalem.
After all, although Debang had already eased relations with the Ottoman Empire because of their common enemy, Tsarist Russia, the Ottoman state still had a very intense religious atmosphere. No Imperial Family in Europe was willing to risk being stabbed to death by some religious fanatic just for a pilgrimage.
The streets of Jaffa City ran with filth; the roads were paved with gravel, interspersed with flagstones of unknown vintage, many of which were already cracked. A single misstep could easily splash one’s clothes with foul water.
The Baroness Marie reminded him, "Your Highness, you really haven’t visited many small places. This city is actually not that small—about the size of my hometown town in Slovakia. And you have to remember, this is seven hundred years removed from our own time."
He breathed in the air thick with the smell of horse dung, looked at this strange land, and suddenly let out a long sigh.
"My dear, I feel so light."
"What?"
"I know you’re worried I won’t be able to give up the luxurious life of a Crown Prince and adapt to the life of an ordinary Knight in the Middle Ages, but trust me—no matter how bad things get, they won’t be worse than that choice we made back then."
Rudolf patted the mount at his side. "My dear, I think you’d better stay in the saddle. The sewage here will ruin your skirts."
"Forget it, I’m not some court lady."
"My ancestor...the Captain, arranged a position for me in geological surveying. To be honest, I know a little about the distribution of mineral resources along the Eastern Mediterranean coast. If I hadn’t been born into a Royal Family, I’d probably have become a geologist."
Rudolf had undergone a harsh Spartan education from childhood. Though his Spirituality and Swordsmanship Talent did not quite match up to Royal standouts like Ruprecht and Viviana, he was still fairly gifted.
That was why he had received a Five-Star rating.
Marie’s temperament was much like Rudolf’s. Her father had originally been just a Slovak country squire without even a proper noble title, only later being made a Baron and entering the court in Vienna.
Because of her outstanding looks and excellent Equestrian skills, she had once been wildly pursued by the playboys of Vienna, who called her the "Angel of the Lawns."
But for Marie herself, she had long since grown weary of monotonous court life. Compared with Vienna, she missed far more that homeland where she could ride free, wearing men’s clothes and tearing around like a madcap.
That was perhaps one of the reasons the two of them had come together.
"Your Highness, after we leave, His Majesty Franz will surely be very sad—and so will Her Majesty the Empress..."
Rudolf shook his head with a bitter smile. "Father is always saying I’m an unqualified Crown Prince, and that my ideals could never make Habsburg great again. I think that once I’m gone, he might actually stop tormenting himself over the question of succession. He’ll personally groom a new heir who can carry out his will and is better suited to court and politics."
Rudolf’s expression was a little desolate.
Because of her outstanding looks and excellent Equestrian skills, she had once been wildly pursued by the playboys of Vienna, who called her the "Angel of the Lawns."
But for Marie herself, she had long since grown weary of monotonous court life. Compared with Vienna, she missed far more that homeland where she could ride free, wearing men’s clothes and tearing around like a madcap.
That was perhaps one of the reasons the two of them had come together.
"Your Highness, after we leave, His Majesty Franz will surely be very sad—and so will Her Majesty the Empress..."
Rudolf shook his head with a bitter smile. "Father is always saying I’m an unqualified Crown Prince, and that my ideals could never make Habsburg great again. I think that once I’m gone, he might actually stop tormenting himself over the question of succession. He’ll personally groom a new heir who can carry out his will and is better suited to court and politics."
Rudolf’s expression was a little desolate.