"Barbara, do you think what I, and what we've been doing, is all a futile effort?" Late at night, in the guesthouse John VIII had arranged for his Brother-in-law, after his children had fallen asleep, Manuel, lying with his wife, finally shared the day's concerns with his pillowmate, and posed this question.
"I don't know." After hearing her husband's description, Barbara sighed empathetically. Born in the purple and having personally experienced the 1422 Siege of Constantinople, she deeply understood the deep-seated fear the Romans within the city had of the Ottoman Turks over the years. She had also heard about the plight of her compatriots who had fallen under infidel rule.
Just as Manuel was about to continue brooding over this all night, her next reply re-energized him, "But I personally feel it's better than continuing to live aimlessly on the Black Sea coast, spending a dull life fighting Tatars, Latins, and Circassians. Hiding across the Black Sea might be safe enough for a while, but what then? Even if we escape the Ottoman, can we escape the powerful Tatars or Ruthenians?
"But even if that's the case, most people would still choose to live a precarious life, because temporary peace is more tempting than an unknown future. So honestly, my Little husband, you are the bravest man I have ever met." With that, an excited Barbara suddenly embraced Manuel, giving her beloved a profound kiss.
After being embraced and kissed by his wife and realizing what was happening, Manuel smiled contentedly, and with a reverse hand, pinned her beneath him.
The next morning…
"At this rate, you'll have a child every year," Barbara complained to her husband as she woke up.
"Ah haha, that's fine too…" Manuel could only laugh casually at this.
For the next three days, Manuel traveled around Constantinople, visiting various powerful nobles in the city. During this time, the remaining great nobles in the city truly made him frown, because these families, with their extremely long lineages and ancient histories, were completely like monks who only strike the bell for a day, appearing like salted fish waiting for the end of the world. And it was bad enough that they heavily invested in Genoese and Venetian industries to seek opportunities for future escape, but the most detestable thing was that they not only had no enthusiasm for the revival of Rome but also constantly resisted the tax and donation requests from the few steadfast factions under John VIII. The tax rate proposed by Palaiologos was already ridiculously low in Manuel's eyes, yet they wouldn't even contribute that much.
The only thing that could somewhat reassure John VIII and his group was that, for the sake of a stable escape to Italy in the future, they unanimously supported Church Union, which was a small bit of trouble saved.
In comparison, the historically riot-loving citizens of Constantinople now seemed so endearing. Although some citizens despondently believed the nonsense that "conquest by the Turks is God's will," and some citizens, like the main branch of his distant relatives Gavras, chose to lie flat and wait for death or emigration, more citizens still showed courage and spirit in resisting foreign aggression when Manuel interacted with them.
But that was it. Due to the city's dilapidation and damaged functionality, the average quality of Constantinople's citizens had declined to an unbearable degree compared to a century ago. Sometimes Manuel even doubted whether these commoners would only have an adverse effect on his Brother-in-law, as most of them were staunch anti-Latins and supporters of the Hesychasts.
And in his interactions with them, Manuel himself intentionally or unintentionally revealed his inclination and sympathy for the Hesychasts. In response, John VIII, after careful consideration, arranged for him to have detailed discussions with unionist leaders such as Ecumenical Patriarch Joseph II, Metropolitan Mitrophanes of Cyzicus, and Metropolitan Melissenos of Crete. Even George Scholarios, a student of Eugenikos, was brought in, attempting to reverse Manuel's inner thoughts.
Facing his Brother-in-law's arrangements, Manuel once again used his abilities to impress all of the above, and fostered good relations outside of religion. Even so, Manuel's stance remained fundamentally unchanged: regarding Church Union, he neither supported nor opposed it, stating that accepting Rome's leadership depended on the actual circumstances. As for his true intentions, they simply weren't important.
Faced with this stubborn Brother-in-law who stated he would not hinder him, John VIII finally gave up on trying to change his mind.
Thus, after five fulfilling days in Constantinople, Manuel finally set out again with his family on the pilgrimage to Alexandria. The reason he waited to continue his journey after staying in Constantinople for a while was that his relatively flamboyant behavior in Constantinople had surely spread to other places, and information had likely been completely leaked. Therefore, he could no longer travel on the three-masted caravel he arrived on, but had to switch to other ships arranged before his departure.
And when the other ships he had arranged, mixed in with the Bosporus merchant fleet, arrived at the Port of Theodosius in Constantinople, it was roughly the morning of his sixth day in Constantinople. To avoid attracting attention, Manuel, with the cooperation of those sent by his Brother-in-law John VIII, quietly boarded the largest four-masted caravel anchored in the port with his family, accompanied by guards. As for the original three-masted caravel he had traveled on, it was sent directly to Alexandria as a smokescreen to confuse any potential petty criminals.
Regarding her husband's behavior, which was so cautiously meticulous in strange areas that it was hard to bear, Barbara, after boarding the ship, asked him again, both annoyed and amused, "Manuel, is this really necessary? We're just going on a pilgrimage…"
"Oh, my love," Manuel, now relaxed, sang like an ancient Greek bard, "You must know, it's not that it doesn't exist: there are always malicious commoners who want to harm the Emperor."
"That's enough…"
And so, Manuel left New Rome, continuing his pilgrimage. However, before heading to Alexandria, he had one more planned stop.
Nearing mid-July, after directly bypassing various places along the Aegean Sea, Manuel arrived at the Venetian-controlled island of Crete.
Crete, existing under Venetian rule as the "Kingdom of Candia," was the esteemed Republic's largest overseas island colony. If Manuel had arrived here about half a century earlier, he might have personally participated in or supported the various uprisings against the Latin colonial authorities that broke out on Crete at that time.
But unfortunately, after the Kallergis brothers' uprising failed in 1367, nearly 70 years ago, the enraged Venetian authorities decided to violently slaughter and uproot the local orthodox or Greek lords, both large and small. In terms of results, they were very successful; thereafter, until 1450, no further uprisings threatening Venice occurred on Crete. Some later scholars even referred to the period from 1400 to 1450 as "half a century of prosperity"—
A prosperity built on the blood and tears of the Greeks.