The news that Constantine XI had finally given up his insistence on the throne after a struggle quickly reached Manuel.
Upon hearing that his Brother-in-law had chosen to make concessions for the future of the Empire, he was truly relieved and ordered the two legions that had already moved south to Thessaly and were preparing to advance into Attica to withdraw and garrison Veria.
After Constantine XI chose to step aside, Manuel exchanged letters with him over the next ten days or so, discussing how to deal with various situations and the handover between them.
During this period, Manuel invited Constantine XI to the upcoming coronation ceremony, but the latter declined, citing other trivial matters.
The reason was that he was not entirely willing to see his throne taken by his Brother-in-law.
Moreover, considering Manuel's style, he did not believe that the latter would do nothing to prevent surprises if he came to Constantinople.
After reading his Brother-in-law's superficial excuses, Manuel merely chuckled and brushed it aside.
As a mark of respect for this emperor, who was noble both in official history and on this worldline, he would not do something as cheap as tricking him into coming to Constantinople and then placing him under house arrest.
However, whether Constantine came to his coronation ceremony or not did not affect Manuel.
Even if there was a slight regret, it was within expectations.
Just like that, days flowed by.
While Manuel dispatched troops to closely monitor the movements of surrounding powers, the time also came to March 1st—the day of his coronation as Basileus.
"Thirty-three years, this day has finally come true." On the morning of March 1st, from the upper floor of the Constantinople Grand Palace, looking at the Constantinople citizens outside the window, who were full of joy and congratulations, Manuel, already dressed in his coronation robes, couldn't help but feel a little dazed.
"I never thought I would return to my hometown again after marrying, and then in this capacity…" His wife, Barbara, also in her ceremonial dress, looked at her husband and sighed.
"Isn't this quite good?" Hearing his wife's sigh, Manuel took her hand, interrupted her reverie, and smiled gently.
"That's true," the future Basilissa gently squeezed his hand, then pointed outside, "Let's go, your subjects are waiting for you."
When the church bells in Constantinople all pointed to eight o'clock and rang eight times in unison, Manuel, along with his wife and children, slowly emerged from the Grand Palace under the escort of guards, facing the admiring and supportive gazes of the city's populace.
At this moment, he was draped in a square purple paldamentum cloak, wearing a dark purple loros costume with intricate patterns, and wrapped in a golden loros embroidered cloth that only Roman Emperors could wear during their coronation ceremony.
His lower body was tightly covered by silk gray-white silk trousers, and he wore purple military boots inlaid with rubies and sapphires on his feet.
Barbara, on the other hand, was draped in a slightly smaller purple paldamentum cloak, wearing an elegantly patterned crimson pallium dress, with a pristine white long skirt that almost dragged on the ground, and purple sandals inlaid with gems on her feet.
Their children were also dressed in purple pallium children's clothing symbolizing their status, with purple shoes on their feet.
The elder among them, Justiana and Theodore, were looking around with curious and puzzled eyes, full of wonder and amazement.
Among the crowd, an envoy from the Roman Curia was intently watching this scene.
Cardinal Isidore looked at Manuel, who was about to be crowned Emperor, and couldn't help but feel a little dazed: more than a thousand years ago, the Goths defeated the Roman Empire at Adrianople, plunging the Empire into a deeper crisis and pushing it to the brink.
But a thousand years later, the common descendants of the Goths and Romans, in turn, saved this About to be destroyed Empire at Adrianople…
"Is this fate?"
"Your Eminence, what are you saying?" Hearing the Cardinal's mumbling, the young Ubertino Posculo looked at the Cardinal beside him with a puzzled expression.
His parents also had ties to the Curia, so after experiencing the defense of Constantinople with Giustiniani, the general entrusted him to Isidore's temporary care.
"You'll understand soon," the Cardinal smiled, dismissing the young man with enigmatic words, "Let's see what achievements these Romans will make under the leadership of this Emperor in the future."
As the Cardinal spoke, Manuel had separated from his family and was carried on a large round shield by guards dressed in classical attire.
After he smoothly adjusted his sitting posture, the round shield was lifted by the guards, and his generals, key officials, city nobles, and city representatives gathered around him, heading towards the Hagia Sophia.
At this moment, the vast crowd parted to form a path for their Emperor, watching and following their monarch as he proceeded.
This scene moved many Romans, especially the elderly among them.
They could no longer remember when they had witnessed such a grand and glorious coronation ceremony at a time so full of hope for the future.
Among them, Serenus, who had been silently watching this scene from within the ranks of officials, remained silent, his gaze never wavering, unsure if there was a willingness to reconcile in his heart at this moment.
The Prime Minister's gaze was lost in the crowd, indistinguishable to his monarch.
But Prince Alexius and his wife, Manuel's parents, who had been invited, were following seriously yet uncontrollably beside the guards, silently watching their child: they had never imagined that their son would one day leave that Black Sea coastal region and become a heroic supreme restorer of the Empire.
After being carried to the Hagia Sophia by the guards, Manuel calmly rose from the round shield and, surrounded by civil and military officials and city representatives, arrived at the entrance.
Upon reaching the church entrance, most people consciously remained outside, leaving only the Ecumenical Patriarchs, a few high-ranking civil officials, and his family to continue by his side, watching Manuel's coronation as Emperor up close.
After his Megaslogothetēs / Grand Secretary, John Anagnostes, an elder, spoke to the Romans outside the church on behalf of the bureaucracy, Ecumenical Patriarch Gregory III took the Crown of Justinian, symbolizing imperial authority, and prepared to place it on Manuel's head.
However, at this moment, just as the Ecumenical Patriarch was about to place it on his head, Manuel suddenly caught it and put it on himself.
Before the surprise of those around him subsided, the Basileus turned around and, in a resounding voice, addressed the eager subjects of the Empire with his speech:
"Subjects of the Roman Empire, all of you present know that in the past, our ancestors, having angered God, were driven from their homeland like a whirlwind by the Turks, causing our nation to be compressed into such a small space.
I am not referring to ancient times, when the Roman Empire's eastern border was the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, its western border was Sicily and Apulia, its southern border was Ethiopia, and its northern border extended as far as the northern borders of Eastern Germania.
"I will omit these, but all of you present should fully understand my meaning.
Under the eyes of God, as punishment for our sins, except for this city, the heart of our homeland, and two places on the Black Sea coast, the Peloponnese Peninsula submitted, and everything else perished.
The subjects of the Empire detached from the Empire, living under the rule of culturally distinct lords and ruthless warlords.
As for our territories, they were defined as New Rome, Pontus, Chersonese, and Peloponnese, respectively.
Fortunately, by the grace of God, other regions have recently been revived and are gradually recovering.
"I will not elaborate on these either.
However, when our homeland hangs above us like a star, we must remain steadfast and unwavering.
The emperors before us made immense efforts for this goal, and we ourselves have recently suffered no small pain, almost achieving nothing.
"After countless great expeditions to our homeland and so many difficulties, God finally saw our devotion and entrusted it to those who once lived on this land.
Now the merciful days of God have arrived, and it can be said that God is showing us mercy precisely during my reign!
"Therefore, after recovering our homeland, we should express our gratitude and hope that the necks of the infidels, once held high in arrogance, will also be lowered in humility with God's help.
Now is the time to change our dwelling according to God's instructions; we no longer need to shelter from the wind and rain under the protection of city walls as in the past, but rather, by God's grace, go to the lands where we once lived and settle down with our compatriots who have returned to their homeland.
"Since God is favoring us, we should act according to His laws, give generously, and take what we need.
For we can fairly consider that God favors everyone, just as our distress is our common fate, so God's grace is also the common reward for all of us.
Thus, those who prefer to live in cities rather than towns, and in named cities rather than nameless, impoverished backwaters, will once again fill the void.
"However, we must not neglect these regions, because the neglect of outlying areas more than a hundred years ago caused previously stable inland areas to become outlying areas, and then safe areas gradually shrank accordingly.
"As for now, first, with the merciful help of God, let us justly compensate those who have provided immense help and favor to our cause; after God, they are the ones we should most thank:
"Thanks to those who have continuously striven for the existence of the Empire for the past ten or twenty years, thanks to those who have tirelessly worked for the survival of the Empire for decades, thanks to those who have remained undaunted for the resurgence of the Empire for over a hundred years, thanks to those who have worked for the revival of the Empire for several centuries, and thanks to those who have given everything for all things Roman for one or two millennia.
"From this, going back seven hundred and fifty-three years before the Incarnation of Christ, from that time, all who fought for the existence, resurgence, revival, glory, eternity, and greatness of Rome shall be immortalized!
"As proven in the past, whatever happens next, our nation is the last Empire in the world; our nation will continue until that known or unknown future, until the Day of Judgment—
"Forever and ever!"
On March 1, 1445, Manuel, within the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, announced the annexation of the Bosphorus Despotate into the Roman Empire, and he himself was crowned Emperor amidst the support of countless people, becoming Basileus Manuel III Olubey Komnenos Gavras of the Roman Empire, at the age of 33.
From this moment, Manuel also founded the Gavras Dynasty, beginning with himself.
Due to his origin in Theodoro, with its unique Gothic remnants, this dynasty was also known by later generations as:
The Goth Dynasty.