After weighing the pros and cons, Manuel ultimately adopted Halil Aydinoglu as his godson. After confirming the cooperative relationship with the former Aydin people, he ended their talks at midnight and quietly returned to his ship with the Aydin orphan.
At dawn, Manuel ordered his merchant ship to blend in with the departing vessels, leaving Smyrna unnoticed. His secret visit, like a small stone thrown into a turbulent stream, caused no ripples and went unnoticed by the Ottoman side.
While heading to Constantinople to meet his family, he took the opportunity to carefully observe the sleeping Little Bey Halil. This future head of the Aydin family had black hair, like other Turkmen Turks, and was slender but generally healthy. Although his face still retained some Turkmen Oghuz features, he was largely indistinguishable from Manuel and other Eastern Europeans. Although he had been protected by the former Aydin retainers, his limbs were intact and he had no scars, but his messy, bird's nest-like hair indicated that evading the subsequent Ottoman purges was not easy.
"Your Majesty, you really agreed," Badars whispered beside him as Manuel turned his head back.
"The child himself had no objections," the young Caesar waved his hand, indicating that his decision was not made on a whim.
"Alright. Also, though it might be presumptuous, Your Majesty, I still want to know how you plan to educate him?" Badars was more worried about this matter.
"Give him the education a monarch should have. Of course, try to use the Roman style." When saying the latter sentence, Manuel almost whispered into the Commander of the Guard's ear, to prevent anyone else from hearing.
Later, when leaving Ottoman waters, Manuel dismissed these mountain mercenary soldiers. By then, he had a rough understanding of the child's character: Little Bey Halil, as the future head of the Aydin family, preferred classical texts and stories over military treatises. He would be suitable as a preserver, but relatively poor as a restorer or one who expands territory.
It was no wonder that in official history, although the former Aydin people fiercely opposed the Ottoman, they were ultimately unable to inflict a heavy blow on this vast empire before being collectively relocated to Rumelia. Manuel sighed, no longer bothered by this issue.
After another five days of sailing, around afternoon, Manuel successfully arrived in Constantinople, reuniting with his family at his wife's former residence.
Taking advantage of the family reunion, he shared the fruits of his trip to Smyrna with his wife and informed her that he had adopted the Aydin family orphan as his godson.
After listening to her husband's narration, Barbara's expression became quite remarkable. "My Little husband, will this really not cause problems?" Suddenly having a Turkic godson, the 23-year-old was utterly bewildered.
Compared to his wife, Manuel was much more accepting of this matter, as Bey Halil was indeed a generation younger than him. As long as it wasn't a preposterous situation like a certain old man in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period of Central Plains adopting a foreign emperor a generation younger than himself as his godfather, he didn't mind much.
"Rest assured," he answered his wife's concerns with a smile, "I will teach him well."
Barbara expressed doubt, "It had better be."
After barely convincing his wife, Manuel rested well for the next half-day at his residence. Then, the next day, he continued to move around Constantinople, visiting the leading figures in various fields within this long-decayed city in a private capacity.
Facing his Brother-in-law's actions, John VIII was somewhat conflicted, both happy and worried. He was happy because it seemed he had found a sufficiently strong and active ally, and he also knew that Constantine had adopted his son, their nephew, as his godson; he was worried because, due to the history and traditions of the Roman Empire, he somehow always felt an unusual sensation.
But he couldn't say anything, as the other party could basically be considered Constantinople's most solid ally now. Furthermore, Manuel was also his Brother-in-law, so John VIII couldn't act rashly based on his unfounded suspicions and simply let it be.
Thus, with his Brother-in-law's tacit approval, Manuel continued to visit the powerful figures within Constantinople. Of course, he discussed only private matters or academic questions unrelated to current politics, thereby appearing harmless.
During this time, he also met John VIII again on the third day. It was morning, Manuel had just finished visiting Mark Eugenikos again, and on his way, he went to Hagia Sophia for worship, where he ran into his Brother-in-law.
Behind John VIII at that time was a slender young man dressed in a greyish-white dalmatica formal attire. After the two monarchs greeted each other, Manuel casually asked who the person behind John VIII was.
John VIII directly pushed him forward and introduced him to Manuel, "He is Thomas Gidos Palaiologos, he is my… hmm, let's say a family cousin."
Upon learning the background of the shy young man before him, Manuel began to recall a great deal of knowledge about this person in his mind.
Thomas Gidos Palaiologos (Θωμάς Γίδος Παλαιολόγος), an insignificant member of the Palaiologos family in history, a family cousin of Constantine and John VIII. But in contrast to him, his two sons in official history were very famous: Mesih Pasha and Hass Murad Pasha of the Ottoman Empire. The former, a member of the Palaiologos family, not only rose to the rank of Kapudan Pasha in the Ottoman (equivalent to the megas dux of the Roman Empire) but also became Grand Vizier after Bayezid II ascended the throne, wielding immense power, and finally died peacefully in 1501.
Speaking of which, if Manuel II's descendants had all died out, then the imperial throne should have ultimately been inherited by the line of Thomas Gidos, meaning that if 1453 had never happened, Mesih Pasha would have been qualified to become the Basileus of the Roman Empire.
"So, who exactly is he to you, Brother-in-law?" Manuel, curious about the other party's position in the Palaiologos family tree, asked subconsciously after his thoughts.
Hearing this, he saw an embarrassed expression on John VIII's face for the first time. Then he pulled his Brother-in-law to a quiet corner, "To be honest," the Basileus whispered to him with a slight embarrassment, "Although Thomas Gidos is nominally on the family tree and is indeed our family cousin and a member of the Palaiologos family, he is actually… my father Manuel II's illegitimate son."
So that's it, Manuel immediately understood why later generations said that the Mesih Pasha brothers were within the succession line of the Empire's Basileus, but the records of their lineage were vague. Was it a family secret not to be exposed?
Manuel immediately stated that he would not publicize this matter but would implicitly remain silent, and casually took this opportunity to ask, "But I didn't expect Gidos to look so young yet be married."
"No, Saint Mary," John VIII was dumbfounded, "Brother-in-law, what nonsense are you talking about? He is not even 18 this year, how could he have a wife?"
Oh right, Manuel couldn't help but mentally slap his forehead hard: in the current year of 1436, it would be at least four or five more years until Gidos's children were born!