"Hit!"
The bolt struck the apple with a dull thud.
The apple fell to the ground and rolled.
I felt all of it.
"You hit it again! That makes six already!"
"Your accuracy is even better than yesterday."
I said with a smile.
My vision was dim, blocked by the blindfold covering my eyes.
After suppressing the Cypriot rebellion, I found a way to train my sixth sense.
It was apple shooting.
I would shoot the apples Aig threw with a crossbow.
The same method I had used to subdue the guards in the fog.
But that was not the end of it.
The key was to cover my eyes and shoot by instinct.
Day by day, the number of hits increased.
"I think this is enough for today."
I untied the blindfold.
No matter how it worked, using instinct continuously was exhausting.
Still, it was impressive.
That I could sense objects in such detail when I focused.
I was practically a walking radar.
If this were the twenty-first century, I would have been treated like a superhero.
Catching drones along the armistice line…
When I raised my head, I saw the people gathered around.
Everyone looked amazed.
Knights, and members of the Guardians of the Holy Sepulchre as well.
Here we go again.
"Does no one have anything to do? Go back to work."
Only then did the crowd scatter in a rush.
It felt like I was doing a magic show for children.
"It seems like more people gather every day."
"It's only natural. Your Highness saw the reefs beyond the fog, and in Constantinople…"
"I know what you mean."
"Last time, you even saved a sailor who fell into the sea by breathing life into him yourself. As far as I know, healing power is something the Lord grants to kings…"
"Healing power. That sounds exaggerated."
"After Your Highness visited the hospitals of both Jerusalem and Constantinople, didn't the number of the sick decrease?"
"That is true."
A snort escaped me.
Basic hygiene, oral rehydration, and CPR being called healing power.
Well, I would have reacted the same.
A royal who worked miracles.
There was no era where relics and miracles and supernatural powers appeared more often than the Middle Ages.
Take the Holy Lance as an example.
An event that also existed in Last Crusaders.
During the First Crusade, the Crusaders discovered an old spear.
"We have found the Holy Lance that pierced Jesus' side!"
With their morale raised by the lance, the Crusaders charged and drove back the enemy.
Up to that point, there was no problem.
The controversy came immediately after.
"If this is the Holy Lance, then the Lance of Longinus in Constantinople is a fake?"
"This is the true Holy Lance! I will prove it myself!"
A priest stepped forward to prove it.
His method was an ordeal by fire.
In other words, walking over fire.
But it was impossible for a human being to walk over fire unharmed.
The priest who volunteered groaned with burns and eventually died.
"But my ability really does exist."
If it could raise the morale of citizens and soldiers, using that misconception was one option.
I handed the crossbow to Aig and headed toward the citadel.
"What happened to Admiral Kontostephanos?"
"He departed for Constantinople today. He should arrive tomorrow or the day after."
"Tomorrow or the day after. Then there's no need to worry about him rotting."
Admiral Kontostephanos had taken his own life in prison.
The day after issuing the surrender order.
"If he intended to kill himself, why did he surrender so readily?"
"The Admiral knew the tide had turned. He issued the surrender order to preserve the fleet."
I said.
What drove him was different from Andronikos.
Pure patriotism.
The moment I faced him, I understood.
"By his own standards, the Admiral was a patriot. Even joining hands with Andronikos was, in the end, to drive the Latins out of the Empire."
I added.
The Empress Dowager herself was a Latin from Antioch.
"And the regency council's pro-Latin policy would have displeased him as well."
So it was likely he had joined Andronikos for that reason.
And occupying Cyprus had been closer to a desperate struggle for survival.
"If the fleet is annihilated, the Roman Empire falls behind Venice. Even an infant would understand that. A fleet his family built over generations…"
I added.
"He refused to destroy it with his own hands."
"If only he had fought for the Emperor with that spirit."
"Indeed."
I murmured.
Now that the man himself was dead, it mattered little.
"How is the mood in the fleet?"
"There was some unrest when news of the Admiral's death spread… but after the Emperor's golden chrysobull was proclaimed, things quieted down."
Aig said.
"No one is acting rashly. They must have realized belatedly that they were rebels."
"The senior commanders will not be able to avoid punishment. But the captains and sailors will be able to remain and serve…"
I murmured.
"At this point, it's a happy ending."
The ships that had gone to raid Tripoli were blocked by the combined Roman–Raymond fleet and turned back.
Total losses on both sides were five ships.
And three of those had been used as fire ships.
Thanks to that, the Roman Imperial fleet preserved its strength.
Which meant the naval power that would support me remained intact as well.
As I entered the citadel, a gleaming silver mask greeted me.
It was Hugh.
"Sir Hugh. You look to be in a foul mood today."
I said with a smile.
Even if I could not see his face, I could feel his emotions.
"Are you finally tired of oat porridge?"
"Eating a little oat porridge is nothing."
He replied, waving a hand.
"What I cannot stand is that foolish Viking swaggering about. That vile Danish bastard—whenever he gets the chance…"
A stream of insults I had never heard before followed.
"One day, you will have your chance to take revenge."
I said.
Ruaak had won the wager, but it had not been an overwhelming victory.
"And none of the knights died, so in that sense you fought better. The Guardians lost three due to a reckless charge."
"Truly, you are the Prince."
Hugh said, his emotions brightening.
"I knew you would say that. Ah—I was so worked up I forgot to tell you something important."
"Did a reply come from Jerusalem?"
I asked.
After taking Cyprus, I had sent a letter to Baldwin IV.
The contents were simple.
A brief report of what had happened so far.
And an explanation of the problems that would arise, along with countermeasures.
Hugh shook his head.
"A courier arrived from Constantinople. Sent by the Emperor himself."
"Then he must have chosen the new governor of Cyprus."
"Yes—and no."
Hugh smiled.
"For the time being, His Majesty has entrusted the governance of Cyprus to you, Prince."
"...What?"
My breath caught.
No—why does everyone keep pushing work onto me?!
***
Constantinople
Hippodrome
Theodora watched the horses charge forward.
The sound of hooves was barely audible.
The cries of the knights.
The roar of the crowd.
Even the voices of attendants moving through the stands, explaining things.
All kinds of sounds mingled and echoed through the arena.
Anyone could see that jousting had become a regular event in Constantinople.
Theodora and the Empress Dowager Maria sat beside the Emperor and watched.
Theodora spoke.
"His Majesty truly loves the joust."
"Lately His Majesty has taken too strong an interest in riding…"
The Empress Dowager Maria smiled faintly.
"In truth, I find myself trying to restrain him. Even the cataphracts are delighted to have a chance to fight…"
"If not for Prince Baldwin, none of this would have happened."
Theodora murmured.
She looked out at the arena.
"I never imagined one person could change Constantinople like this. The hostility toward the Latins as well."
"And this time, we even regained Cyprus."
The Empress Dowager Maria nodded.
"And with almost no bloodshed."
"So is that why you handed Cyprus to the Prince? To secure my betrothal to him?"
Silence passed between the two women.
"I know well that you are not like Manni (Maria Komnene). In this rebellion as well, you played a greater role than anyone."
"But as long as I remain within the Empire, there will always be those who would put me forward for rebellion."
"…."
"I understand. You have always lived for the Roman Empire."
"I have lived for the Empire. Everyone says that."
The Empress Dowager Maria smiled.
"Everyone claims what they did was for the Empire. Even Andronikos said so as he besieged the city."
She added,
"But there are few who mean it as you do. If you—not Manni—had plotted rebellion, I would not be sitting here now."
"…."
As a knight fell from a lance strike, the crowd erupted.
The Empress Dowager Maria slowly spoke.
"Jerusalem will not be easy either. Outremer is a place where venomous snakes swarm everywhere—not only Saracens."
She continued.
"But at least there, you will be able to decide your own fate."
"To decide my own fate…"
Theodora smiled and added,
"That does not sound so bad."
***
Jerusalem
"Drive it out!"
"That way!"
The barking of hunting dogs rang out.
Hunters with bows moved through the brush.
Soon, their quarry appeared.
A massive boar.
It sniffed as if exhausted, breathing heavily.
Arrows embedded across its body bobbed up and down with each breath.
The dogs surrounded it, hemming it in so it could not move.
"It's tired! Finish it!"
A hunter approached carefully with a spear.
Then a single thrust.
The boar, speared in the neck, thrashed and collapsed with a heavy thud.
All the hunters shouted in triumph.
Two men on horseback approached.
"Good work, all of you. There was little to do in today's hunt as well."
"We could not have taken it without Your Majesty. If you had not struck its leg with the crossbow…"
"Your flattery improves by the day, Balian."
Baldwin IV said.
As he dismounted, he staggered and fell.
"Your Majesty!"
"I am fine. I am only a bit dizzy."
"The sun is still high. Let us end today's hunt here."
"Do as you say."
Baldwin IV coughed and nodded.
"It is tiring to go hunting every time like this. And to think we must even bring boars all the way from distant Europe just to hunt once…"
he muttered.
"With the cost of maintaining hunting dogs, we could hire one or two more knights."
"But you cannot neglect the hunt. Not only for training your strength, but also…"
"To show that I still stand firm. That is why I do this foolishness every month, is it not?"
Baldwin IV waved his hand.
"My apologies. I took it out on you, who have done nothing wrong."
"No, Your Majesty."
"It is because of this damned leprosy. How is your elder brother?"
"He says the air of Cyprus helps more than expected. And for some reason, he has been eating only oat porridge these days."
"Oat porridge. Does that help leprosy?"
At the question, Balian tilted his head.
"But to have taken Cyprus. I cannot guess what that Baldwin boy will accomplish next."
Baldwin let out a laugh.
"He may even conquer Alexandria and present it to us…"
"No one has ever drawn such profit from Rome. And he even secured a promise of an expedition to Egypt later…"
"He gathered everything he could. And he did it all himself."
Baldwin IV toyed with his silver mask.
"This time as well, he sent a rather interesting proposal in his letter."
"A proposal…?"
"He says we should help the Saracens."
"To help the Saracens—what…?"
At Balian's reaction, Baldwin IV burst into laughter.
The hunters looked toward the two men.