After receiving the Holy Communion, the baptismal ceremony concluded, and once everything was finished, everyone began to leave the church.
Rostislav then spoke with his teacher, but the bishop immediately brought up Adam, who had converted.
Bishop Luka had a very high opinion of the baptized Bulgar heir; for the past five years, Adam had frequently sought him out to discuss various theological matters, proving to be an assiduous student.
Bishop Luka, of course, never hesitated to impart his teachings, never holding back, and it could be said that Adam's path to conversion was largely due to Bishop Luka's efforts.
Rostislav primarily discussed missionary work in the wilderness with the bishop; recent reports about pagan groups in the countryside had made the Prince subtly uneasy, so he inquired about the situation.
The bishop's reply deepened Rostislav's concerns. The bishop had also received news about pagan organizations; they sometimes resisted the missionaries sent out by the bishop, but always maintained a certain bottom line by not harming anyone.
Having received this information, Rostislav's worries intensified. He feared that his own forces alone might not be enough to resolve the issue. Just as he was contemplating whether he should add more personnel, a scene caught his attention.
It was Adam Dulü, the Bulgar heir, now surrounded by his Bulgar followers, who seemed to be questioning him about something.
They were in a corner of the Saint Sophia Cathedral square, and even so, the scene attracted many onlookers.
However, most of the onlookers did not understand their language; these people were arguing in Bulgar.
The Prince understood Bulgar, but he was too far away to hear clearly, but this did not matter.
Rostislav knew what they were discussing; there were quite a few devout Christians among the Bulgar heir's followers, and they naturally had to react to Adam's conversion to Christian faith.
Adam appeared quite discomfited facing so many people, but his attitude was very firm, and most importantly, the followers who supported his conversion far outnumbered these believers, which was the basis of his firm stance.
The Moscow Prince greatly admired Adam, who had resolutely made a decision that would inevitably lead to him losing some followers, and even if he successfully regained his position, the impact of this decision would likely take him a lifetime to resolve.
However, he also knew that Adam had no choice; if he did not convert, he could not gain Moscow's army.
"Rostislav, should we?"
Seeing Adam like that, Zoe immediately felt a pang of sympathy; for the past few years, Zoe had treated Adam like a younger brother, and she was very aware of this exiled child's fragility and sensitivity—at least in her eyes.
When his wife's maternal instincts overflowed, Rostislav would get a headache, because at such times, the rational Zoe would disappear. She always thought of Adam as too fragile, but in reality, this child was much stronger than she imagined.
"Don't worry, look, look."
As Rostislav spoke, Zoe saw Aleff, who had been silent, half-drawing his scimitar, and the other Adam supporters behind him did the same.
That threatening posture immediately deflated the previously boisterous opponents, who, after a moment of standoff, quietly dispersed.
However, Zoe was still a bit uneasy and pulled Rostislav to go over.
Rostislav couldn't win against his wife and had no choice but to follow.
But as they went, he told Gvaran to disperse the onlookers; the Prince did not want to put too much pressure on that child.
Facing the departure of his former followers, there was some sadness in Adam's eyes; he knew these people would leave.
However, he then saw the Prince and his wife approaching and immediately changed his expression; he did not want to bring that negative emotion to these two who had always treated him kindly.
"Well done; you've also learned to use the threat of force, but you should have killed those people."
Rostislav first praised him, but then uttered those decisive words, words tinged with a bloody meaning.
In Rostislav's view, those people could only go to the usurper Akad; rather than letting them leave, it would be better to kill them.
But most importantly, he was just throwing out a casual suggestion, mainly wanting to know what Adam thought...
"Do you need my help? I can do it for you."
The Moscow Prince's string of words left Adam a bit bewildered; he was still just a young man who had just learned to reasonably apply the force at his disposal, and Rostislav had suddenly fast-forwarded to a massacre.
Moreover, because it was in a public place, Rostislav was still wearing his mask known as the Prince, which put no small amount of pressure on Adam.
The oppressive aura brought by the Prince was very strong; the current Moscow Prince stood at one meter seventy-five, which in this era could be considered tall, as Northern Thunder Harald, at one meter eighty, was already regarded as a giant.
And there were also his illustrious military achievements; the aura of a contemporary famous general itself made people want to submit, and coupled with Adam's already unsettled mind due to the departure of those followers, he naturally felt somewhat awkward facing Rostislav.
"Alright, Adam, don't listen to this guy's nonsense."
Zoe, not indulging her husband, directly slapped Rostislav's head in public.
The Prince also feigned fear, realizing his impropriety just now. This kid's state was clearly problematic, so he used this as an excuse to back down. Anyway, the surroundings had already been cleared by his personal guards, so this scene was not seen by the public.
Then Zoe began to show concern for Adam, like an older sister caring for her younger brother.
To some extent, Zoe did indeed treat this child as a brother; similar experiences coupled with a handsome face maximally stimulated Zoe's maternal instincts.
At this time, Rostislav could only stand there watching, like an outsider, but he didn't feel anything was amiss.
His grandfather's wife had been the Norwegian King Olaf's fiancée, and even after marriage, their interactions were quite frequent, but his grandfather never cared about this point. Their relationship had always been very good, and the young Harald had even received much care from Kiev because of this connection.
He was very clear about emotions; Zoe was merely driven by maternal instincts, while deep down, that boy's heart was full of respect.
And most importantly, maintaining such an intimate relationship with the future ruler of Bulgar had infinite benefits.
Rostislav had never thought of turning Adam into his puppet, but rather wanted a true Bulgar Christian monarch; he wanted a neighbor with whom he could mutually assist, not a chess piece that required constant resource investment.
Moreover, if something happened to Rostislav, his descendants would also have a place to go.
Just then, Rostislav saw a troop of cavalry approaching from the opposite direction; they were people dressed in Magyar (Hungary) attire.