On a summer morning, Prince Muhammad, the eighteen-year-old fourth son of the former Ottoman Sultan Murad II, was not at his base of Tekke. Instead, he took his confidants, led by Zaganos Pasha, and his ally, Bey Halil of Aydin, onto a fast ship bound for Constantinople. He paced the deck, deep in thought. This eighteen-year-old prince was going with a Bey of similar age to meet a figure who could turn the tide of the war in Anatolia—the Roman Emperor, Manuel III Gavras.
It was June 1450. The weather was bright and pleasant, which stood in stark contrast to Muhammad's state of mind. While Manuel III led the Roman Empire to sweep across Europe and fill the political vacuum left by the Ottomans, the situation in Anatolia was far from optimistic. After the holy fire disease plague passed, the first to recover his strength was actually Sultan Aladdin Ali, whom the former Ottoman Sultan Murad II had regarded as his heir. This promising young Sultan had introduced methods of controlling the holy fire disease from the Eastern Roman Empire, successfully suppressing the plague within his borders.
After barely achieving a smooth transition of power, and with the support of the vast majority of former Ottoman officials, Sultan Aladdin Ali launched a counterattack against his neighboring kinsmen. In mid-1448, the allied forces of Aydin, Tekke, and Karaman were soundly defeated in the Hamid region, stalling their offensive against the Ottomans. Early the following year, in early 1449, the shrewd Karaman Bey, Suleiman, secretly signed a peace treaty with the Ottomans, achieving a temporary peace after ceding part of his western territory to the Ottomans.
After compromising with his biggest threat, Karaman, Sultan Aladdin Ali was able to devote all his energy to conquering the former lands of the Sultanate. In early 1450, having long plotted this, he led his army in two prongs, launching a surprise attack on his brother Muhammad, who held Tekke, and his mortal enemy, Halil of Aydin. Because the Ottomans were well-prepared and their combined enemies were no match for him in terms of raw strength, Tekke and Aydin suffered defeat after defeat under his onslaught. By early summer, Halil was left with only the old Aydin lands west of the Bozdağ Mountains. As for Muhammad, his situation was even more tragic: he was left with only a narrow coastal strip between the cities of Milas and Mugla.
If this were the 1420s, history might have repeated the Interregnum period of the Ottomans. But this time, to their west, there was a powerful Roman Empire.
This was why, in June of this year, after assessing the situation, Muhammad took his confidants and boarded a ship to Constantinople with his ally, Halil.
However, Muhammad felt more anxiety about this trip. Aydin was a power supported by Manuel III, and its monarch, Halil, was even his adopted son. Yet, in the face of Sultan Aladdin Ali's fierce onslaught, the Roman Emperor himself had not spoken out to stop him, but had instead unexpectedly remained silent. Even though he had personally seen a few small detachments sent privately to assist them and material support from the Roman Empire, it was hard to explain why the Emperor himself and even all of Constantinople remained silent on the matter.
Muhammad believed that, in all reason, Halil should be able to weather this storm, but he himself might not. Thinking about it carefully, he had no personal relationship with the Roman Emperor, and he came from the Ottoman royal family, with whom the Emperor had had many conflicts. His father and eldest brother had died directly or indirectly at his hands; it was hard to imagine the man would give him a warm welcome.
The young prince frowned and returned to his sleeping quarters on the ship in utter helplessness. If there was really no other way, he would have to find a way to stay in Constantinople to save his own life. If he returned without obtaining any support, he would likely be killed by his own brother, just like his predecessors in the Ottoman family. Rather than that, it would be better to hide in the prosperous city of Constantinople and rot away, just like his cousin Orhan. Although this would be a great disservice to Zaganos Pasha and the others who had followed him for years, there was no other choice.
Thus, about two days later, Muhammad and Halil arrived at Constantinople, the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, at noon. Less than an hour after arriving in this revitalized, prosperous city, he was able to meet the miraculous Roman Emperor, Manuel III, in the Grand Palace.
Just as he had thought, although a first meeting might play a part, the Emperor clearly favored Halil, who stood beside him. After briefly describing his current situation to the Basileus with a humble posture and tone, and receiving his comfort, Muhammad tactfully requested to leave. Manuel, who had originally intended to have a long talk with Muhammad, saw this and, after a moment of thought, accepted it, continuing to chat with his adopted son, Halil, while discussing how to handle the current situation in Anatolia.
"Whew, he really is a shrewd and capable Emperor; I couldn't handle him at all." Thinking of the energetic and charismatic middle-aged Emperor he had just met, Muhammad felt a bit uneasy. Recalling how Halil had called the Roman Emperor "Father" over and over, he stroked his chin in thought, then frowned and shook his head.
Since things had come to this, he might as well find a place to relax. After asking the officials and servants in the palace, he took a few confidants to the Imperial Garden near the Grand Palace. It was not only a leisure spot for the dignitaries and wealthy families of Constantinople but also an excellent place highly praised by foreign guests. After wandering around there for a while, Muhammad let his subordinates do as they pleased and walked into the depths of the garden. It was said that rare flowers introduced by the Emperor from the East were planted here, which were hard to see on ordinary days and only bloomed in midsummer.
Although this was just a rumor, Muhammad felt he couldn't miss it; he was idle anyway. So, on this summer afternoon, as dusk was approaching, he ventured into the depths of the Imperial Garden, wanting to find those mysterious flowers.
Unfortunately, a rumor remained just a rumor. By the time dusk approached, Muhammad had not found those flowers. Just as he walked to the center and intended to look one last time before leaving, an accidental encounter occurred between him and a young girl.
As Muhammad walked quietly toward the center of the Imperial Garden, he was surprised to find a girl, slightly younger than him, sitting on a bench here, wearing simple white silk casual clothes and reading a heavy book. She wore no head ornaments, her long, jet-black hair cascading down like a waterfall, making her snowy skin, which revealed a faint rosy hue, appear even fairer. Her curved willow eyebrows and long eyelashes trembled slightly, and her hazel eyes were focused intently on the pages before her, as if she were engrossed in the content. Her nose was high and straight, her cherry lips slightly pursed, and her features were gentle and graceful, easily drawing the gaze of others. Beneath the loose, simple dress, her figure was unmistakable, one that would make girls of the same age envious.
Seeing such a girl, he, also young, felt an uncontrollable palpitation in his heart. However, after an internal struggle, the outwardly calm Muhammad finally decided to bury this encounter in his heart. After all, he had come to Constantinople to seek help; if he were to develop something with a Greek girl who was clearly unmarried and likely from a high-ranking family, it would, in his eyes, increase many uncertain risks.
Although he thought so, before leaving, he still spoke up, as a memento of this chance encounter.
"My heart is bound to you, and I have fallen into the abyss of lovesickness." Looking at the girl's soft and beautiful face, Muhammad couldn't help but recite this poem softly.
What he didn't expect was that, because there was no one else there and it was extremely quiet, his whisper immediately reached the girl's ears. But to his surprise, after hearing it, apart from a flash of astonishment when she looked up, she did not show fear or anger. Instead, after a moment of stunned silence, she chuckled and replied with the second half of the poem:
"Standing in prayer, you appear in the niche ①."
Crisp.
Then, the young boy and girl began a long gaze at each other. Although they remained silent, they were both sizing each other up. It wasn't until the sun was about to set that Muhammad, who was calm and easygoing on the surface but already nervous inside, bowed politely, indicating that he was about to leave. Upon this, the girl paused for a moment, then playfully clapped her hands and smiled, hinting,
"I should be here in the Imperial Garden at this time tomorrow."
"In that case," Muhammad looked up, staring directly into her deep hazel eyes with his own dark brown ones, "I will have expectations I shouldn't have."
...
When Muhammad returned to the outskirts of the Imperial Garden, his old subordinate, Zaganos Pasha, had been waiting there for a long time. The reason why this old official of the Devshirme system under Murad II chose to join Muhammad, who was suspected of betraying his father, was mostly due to chance.
Five years ago, when he was the Derya Bey of the Ottoman Sultanate, the Ottoman navy he led was nearly annihilated under the fierce attack of the Bosporus navy. This experienced naval commander decisively led the remaining Ottoman ships to flee to the Aegean Sea west of the Sea of Marmara. During the flight, Zaganos Pasha ran into Prince Muhammad, who was leading a few thousand troops but worried about his own future. In order to protect himself and unwilling to bow out just like that, after talking with Muhammad, the two hit it off. After the Pasha was appointed as the other's Grand Vizier, he used his remaining warships to carry Muhammad's troops to their current base, the Tekke region, helping the prince establish a separatist force there. During this period, this Pasha of Greek descent increasingly admired the prince, who was of Greek mixed heritage, and their relationship gradually turned from mutual utilization to sincere friendship.
Seeing his lord's distracted appearance, the elderly Zaganos Pasha couldn't help but ask, "Your Highness, what is wrong? Were you threatened by the Romans?"
Hearing this, Muhammad immediately came back to his senses, his face twisted, "No, Zaganos Pasha, can't you think of something good?"
"Then, was there an unexpected breakthrough? No, wait!" Thinking of his lord's expression, which was very similar to his own son's before marriage, the Grand Vizier suddenly realized, "I understand, Your Highness, you've met the right person, haven't you! Come to think of it, you are already eighteen and haven't married yet."
Being hit on the mark, Muhammad bit the bullet and nodded slightly, indicating that it was the case.
"Is it a man or a woman?"
"A girl, she must be from some noble family." Muhammad said irritably, quite dissatisfied with the Pasha's suspicion regarding his sexual orientation.
"Thank Allah!" Upon receiving the Prince's confirmation, Zaganos Pasha immediately prayed, "So Your Highness is capable of understanding romantic feelings between men and women; I had thought Your Highness only liked young boys."
"What kind of image do I have in your eyes? I am normal..." Muhammad was so angry he laughed on the spot, but upon recalling that he had indeed felt genuine affection for Dula of Wallachia when he was young, the Prince immediately changed the subject, "However, do the Romans allow their female family members to wander around?"
"No, Your Highness, this is the Imperial Garden. It would be strange if noblewomen did not have the right to appear here!?" Zaganos Pasha sighed while clutching his forehead, feeling utterly helpless at the question posed by his lord.
"But having said that, whose pearl is that young girl? All-knowing and all-powerful Allah, tell me." Thinking of the girl who had truly moved his heart just moments ago, Muhammad prayed silently in his heart.
As if reading his lord's thoughts, Zaganos Pasha said half-jokingly, "Oh my, Your Highness, speaking of which, doesn't the Roman Emperor's eldest daughter seem to be about your age? Perhaps it is her."
"Hmm, I don't think so." Muhammad hesitated, "How could the world be that small?"
...
"Sister, why are you acting so much like a girl today? Did something good happen in the Imperial Garden just now? Or have you found someone you like?" Inside the Grand Palace, a handsome youth covered in dust and wearing military attire teased his sister as he saw her holding a thick history book with a slightly flushed face.
In front of her own family, Justiana immediately cast aside the elegance she had displayed in the Imperial Garden, "Theodore, how many times have Father, Mother, and I told you not to pry into other people's private affairs?"
"Sister," the youth called Theodore spread his hands helplessly, "The lifelong affairs of the eldest Princess of the Roman Empire can hardly be considered private, can they?"
Yes, the person who had encountered Muhammad of the Ottoman in the Imperial Garden earlier was none other than the eldest daughter of Emperor Manuel III, the Imperial eldest Princess Justiana Gavras, and the youth before her, whom she called "Theodore," was the Roman Empire's designated heir, the eldest imperial son Theodore Gavras.
"This is not a topic you should be concerned with," Justiana said, unexpectedly stern when facing her unstudious younger brother, "Did you skip Lord Serenus's class again to go play with Constantine and Justin?"
The Constantine and Justin she spoke of referred to the former, Constantine Gavras, the only son of her father's captain of the guard, Badars, and the latter, Justin, the son of the Empire's recently reinstated Prime Minister, Justinian Serenus. The three of them were childhood friends who had frequently hung out together since they were young, and they had often been severely reprimanded by their fathers after doing something particularly outrageous.
Being called out by his sister like this, Theodore's young and handsome face immediately flushed red—a red of indignation, "Sister, how can you slander my innocence out of thin air!"
"Slander my innocence? Isn't it time for you to be in his class right now? Don't tell me that rigorous gentleman gave you a day off; I suspect you just feigned illness again!"
"Ahahaha..." Exposed by his sister, the young eldest imperial son immediately put on a fawning expression, "Holy Father above, my dear sister, I beg you, do not tell that old man that we feigned illness to skip class."
"Alright, alright, this is the last time." The eldest Princess sighed while clutching her forehead, feeling quite a headache, and reluctantly agreed, while also advising him: "Can't you read more books? One day you're hanging around the barracks, the next you're pretending to be an official. If you go on like this, let alone inheriting Father's cause, I fear your life will be ruined. Also, Lord Serenus is about the same age as Father; do not address him so impolitely. You and Justin are such good friends, is it really right to talk about the Prime Minister like that behind his back?"
"What does it matter? Justin does it too." Theodore waved his hand dismissively and sneered, "He just returned to the capital and got reinstated, and already he's forcing studies on me. If that old man keeps forcing me to read those things written by scholastic geezers, the first thing I'll do when I take power is remove him from office. Besides, even if I can't inherit Father's cause, there's still Marcus and Alexander; it's all a small matter."
"That's enough. Speaking of which, where are Marcus and Alexander?" Justiana asked curiously; she hadn't seen her two little brothers all afternoon.
"Probably off teasing Charlotte again." Theodore said casually, half-angry and half-amused. The Charlotte he referred to was Charlotte de Lusignan, the legitimate daughter of King John II of Cyprus.
Last March, because John II, who had been residing in Constantinople, died unexpectedly along with several of his illegitimate children while preparing to leave Constantinople, his wife Helena Palaiologos and daughter Charlotte remained there, receiving care from her great-uncle, Manuel III. Consequently, Charlotte was able to continue staying with the Gavras royal family, whom she had known since childhood, and receive education and treatment at the level of high nobility. Among them, besides several girls of the same age, those who had the best relationship with this girl were naturally Marcus and Alexander, who were of a similar age.
"Father and Mother are all over each other in front of us children all day long, you are a bookworm without desires, I am a wastrel, and Marcus and Alexander are obsessed with women at such a young age; our family is done for in this lifetime." In order to see his sister's helpless and even angry expression again, Theodore, feeling a bit bored, deliberately said some things that made people unable to keep a straight face.
"Stop talking nonsense, will you? Up until today, I just hadn't met someone worthy of entrusting my life to. And how could you, who can get familiar with those old soldiers at such a young age, be a wastrel in the true sense?" Justiana sighed, clearly quite helpless at her brother's words, "Also, little Marcus, Alexander, and Charlotte, the three of them combined aren't even twenty yet; how could they understand such things? I think it is necessary to prevent you, as their older brother, from leading them astray."
"Alright, alright," noticing the tenderness his sister revealed when mentioning her private affairs, Theodore felt he had found the trick to suppressing Justiana, who usually had a very strong aura, "Sister, if it weren't for Father doting on you, you would have long since been dragged off to marry some Latin barbarian. Plus, Father also said that if you haven't found someone suitable in your eyes by the time you are twenty, either he will choose for you, or you will enter the convent voluntarily."
"Stop, just stop."
"By the way, Sister, what does that person look like? How did someone with your picky taste manage to fancy someone?"
"He is very handsome and dashing, probably a bit older than me, doesn't have a thick beard, wears a white square turban, his clothes are magnificent but not overly luxurious, he should be well-read but possesses a calm temperament older than his years. He must be from some noble family outside where he has been managing affairs early."
"A white turban," Theodore's attention was entirely on this term, "He wouldn't be a pagan, would he?"
"..."
"Wait, Justiana, you haven't fallen for this pagan, have you!?" Thinking of this terrifying possibility, Theodore's face first paled in shock, but soon a sly smile appeared.
"This..."
"Oho, it seems I guessed right." Seeing his sister reveal a hesitant expression, Theodore immediately covered his mouth and snickered, "You're done for, I'm going to tell Father Emperor..."
"Don't you dare! Theodore, if you dare to tell Father Emperor and Mother Empress about this, I will immediately put aconite wine in your dinner."
"I'm so scared, but my dear sister, do you actually know how to make aconite wine?"
"..."
Realizing he had taken the joke too far, Theodore finally reined in his expression, "Sister, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have made a big deal out of this."
"But have you really thought it through?"
"I don't know." The Imperial eldest Princess shook her head with a frown, "Perhaps it might not be. After all, a first meeting doesn't decide anything; to understand a person, I'm afraid it will require multiple verifications under the care and gaze of the Holy Mother Mary."
"Wait, Sister," having keenly heard something from her words, he curled his lip, "You haven't made an appointment for a next meeting with that young pagan, have you?"
"..."
"No way, I guessed right again."
"Alright, alright," Justiana had had enough of her rascal brother's wild speculations about her private affairs, "Even so, Theodore, this is a topic that cannot even be touched upon."
"Alright, alright," seeing Justiana's anger subside, Theodore changed his tone and continued teasing, "But don't do that kind of thing when you are having a secret rendezvous. Romans cannot be like those Frankish barbarians and mess around before marriage, can they?"
"We wouldn't do such a thing! Stop hanging around the barracks and stop listening to the rumors of Lord Dungar!"
"Also, Sister, I've heard that Turks generally like men, so you had better verify it a bit more."
"Get out!"
...
Late that night, stroking his sleeping wife's pregnant belly, the Empire's Basileus Manuel couldn't help but recall the storms and stresses he had weathered with his family over the past dozen years before going to sleep, and couldn't help but reveal a comfortable smile. Seeing Muhammad today, who had embarked on a path almost completely opposite to the official history due to his butterfly effect, made him feel a sense of pure black humor, while also feeling fortunate that he placed such importance on family relationships.
However, thinking that his precious eldest daughter might still be studying right now, he couldn't help but frown. As a parent, he still hoped that his children could live healthier lives.
Sigh, if only his eldest son had half the dedication to studying as his daughter, he thought. Thinking this, Manuel sighed and simply fell into a deep sleep.
...
In mid-June 1450, after more than ten days of negotiations, Prince Muhammad voluntarily submitted to the Roman Empire, becoming its vassal state; while his ally, Bey Halil, after bargaining, used the condition of outsourcing the coastal regions of Aydin to the Empire in exchange for direct intervention by the Romans in the situation in Anatolia.
In early August of the same year, after issuing a warning to Sultan Aladdin Ali, in order to respond to the other party's disregard for him, Manuel III personally led an army of thirty thousand across the border between the Romans and the Ottoman—a new round of war had begun.