As if responding to Murad II's call and prayers, after the Sultan finally issued a widespread decree throughout the Sultanate for the safety of his sons, promising gold, silver, brocade, and a very high position to any physician or scholar who could cure them, physicians came one after another to examine the ailing Princes Ahmed and Sultan Aladdin Ali.
But what made the Sultan gloomy and angry was that, within a week of the decree, none of the physicians, regardless of their skill, could cure his sons.
After the furious Sultan once again threw an impudent quack physician out of Edirne Palace, Murad, now past his prime, sat back on his throne with an exceptionally pale face, limping and leaning on an eunuch, under the setting sun.
At this moment, this Sultan, who had shaken the Eastern Mediterranean and held immense power, appeared much older than his true age; his originally sharp, piercing gaze had become rather dejected, and his thick beard, which should still have been black, even showed several streaks of white.
If things continued like this, the Sultan would undoubtedly be severely struck by the death of these two princes, and he would have no choice but to place his fourth son, Muhammad, whom he had never truly regarded, on the throne.
Fortunately for almost everyone, just as the Ottoman High Porte officials were at a loss regarding the safety of these two princes, a Muslim scholar unexpectedly brought a turning point.
Aksham-Sadin, an old scholar respectfully known as Gourani Molla among jurists, requested an audience with the Sultan in Edirne Palace in the early afternoon of September, a few days after the news of the princes' severe illness spread, to offer treatment for the two princes.
Although the high-ranking officials, including the Sultan, had doubts about the jurist's medical skills, out of anxiety and a 'desperate times call for desperate measures' situation, Murad II ultimately granted Aksham-Sadin permission to treat his two sons.
Thanks to the medical skills Aksham-Sadin was forced to learn during his stay in Pontus, he quickly diagnosed the princes' condition and its cause.
But after the diagnosis, the old scholar's mouth twitched: the typhoid fever the two princes had contracted was not something his half-baked medical skills could cure.
To cure them, he would have to rely on the connections he had built during his time in Pontus—
"This disease of typhoid fever is not something that an unskillful person like myself can cure."
After diagnosing them, facing the inquiries of the Sultan and the High Porte, Aksham-Sadin shook his head and replied, indicating to the Sultan that he himself was powerless.
But just as the Sultan was about to erupt, the jurist immediately added, "However, Sultan, by the grace of Allah, I know several highly skilled physicians.
It is just that not all of them are Muslim, and I hope you will decide."
Murad was now beyond caring about religious affiliation; to cure his two favored sons, he immediately declared that rewards would also apply to infidels, urging Aksham-Sadin to quickly find them for treatment.
And upon receiving the Sultan's command, the old scholar seized the opportunity to leverage the connections he had made when he was detained by the Bosphorus Caesar, writing letters to the physicians he knew, requesting them to come to Edirne to lend him a hand.
However, thinking that many of these physicians were under the rule of the Bosphorus Caesar, the jurist couldn't help but feel a little uncertain.
Thankfully, he must have been overthinking it.
After receiving his handwritten letters, the physicians the old scholar knew quickly arrived at Edirne Palace within a week to help him provide treatment to the two critically ill Ottoman princes.
After several days of medical treatment, the physicians, backed by the resources of the Sultanate, quickly demonstrated their exquisite medical skills, curing Prince Ahmed and Prince Sultan Aladdin Ali.
By the end of the month, both young Ottoman princes had risen from their sickbeds and sincerely expressed their gratitude to the physicians and the jurist who had cured them.
Murad II, moreover, completely reversed his previous decline, and with full vigor, he clasped Aksham-Sadin's right hand at dusk, thanking him with a beaming smile:
"Allah bless you, a miraculous recovery, Gourani Molla!"
Receiving such thanks from the Sultan, the old jurist was momentarily in a trance.
He hadn't expected that the time he was held by Bosporus would now come in handy, unexpectedly earning him the Sultan's favor.
And when asked what reward he desired, Aksham-Sadin hesitated for a moment, giving up material pleasures, "Sultan, may I be permitted to instruct the princes in the great principles of Islamic law?"
"Naturally."
Aksham-Sadin was already renowned, and coupled with his success in curing the princes, Murad II truly found no reason to refuse.
Thus, the matter seemed to conclude with a happy ending.
However, what the Ottoman did not know was that, at the same time, in the small council chamber of Trabzon Palace in the Bosphorus Despotate, several high-ranking officials of the Bosporus were also secretly discussing the matter—
"Caesar, according to reports from our informants embedded with the Ottoman, Sultan Murad II's eldest and second sons have both emerged from critical condition and are expected to recover soon."
Badars, the Caesar's Commander of the Guard and head of the secret service, bowed and reported the matter to Caesar before him.
"Very good, investigate further and report back."
After confirming that Ahmed and Sultan Aladdin Ali were alive, a clear smile appeared on Manuel's face.
But this smile, with his back to the setting sun, appeared somewhat chilling and unsettling.
Yes, the recovery of Murad's two sons, and the swift arrival of the physicians responsible for treating them.
To put it exaggeratedly, the recovery of these two Ottoman princes was a result orchestrated by Manuel behind the scenes.
"Caesar, why are we so concerned about the future heirs of our enemy?"
Even at this point, Serenus was still completely puzzled by Caesar's actions.
He could not understand the reason behind his monarch's actions.
"Don't rush, Serenus, some matters do not show results and outcomes immediately."
Regarding his prime minister's question, Caesar merely narrowed his eyes, clasped his hands together, and rested his chin, adopting a posture of having everything under control.
Otherwise, he couldn't very well say that, according to historical records, Muhammad, who would ascend to the throne after the death of these two princes, would be a more formidable enemy, could he?
Seeing that he truly couldn't extract a direct reason from Caesar, Serenus had no choice but to give up his questioning, and the secret meeting between the Bosphorus monarch and his ministers thus concluded.
After his subordinates respectfully departed, Manuel opened the window of the small chamber and greedily inhaled the twilight air.
Behind him, the black double-headed eagle emblem, symbolizing the Gavras Family, hung high on the wall, and under the illumination of the evening glow, the black phoenix's two pairs of dark eyes seemed to reflect a flickering light, just like its master.