Decision and Oath of Fealty (Combined)

Swish, swish, swish.

Roughly a quarter of the nobles in the hall raised their hands.

Count Reynald spat a thick gob of phlegm onto the sumptuous carpet and said disdainfully, "So our once-brave and fearless Crusaders have already been scared out of their wits by Saladin and his lackeys before the battle has even begun!"

Someone immediately echoed, "That's right! We cannot hide inside the city like turtles drawing their heads into their shells. We must fight the infidels to the bitter end!"

Grand Master Roger of the Knights Hospitaller said angrily, "Fight? With what? The enemy has a hundred thousand, two hundred thousand, perhaps even three hundred thousand men. How many do we have? Twenty thousand, thirty thousand, or forty thousand?"

Regent Raymond shouted, "Silence! Silence!"

He repeated "Silence" again and again until he suddenly slammed his palm down on the table and snarled, "If you want to argue, then get out and argue!"

"The next proposal."

The nobles in the hall finally reined themselves in somewhat, though arguments still inevitably continued.

Every proposal had quite a few supporters, yet none could win the approval of more than half the assembly.

Thus, the nobles split into small factions once more, attacking and arguing with one another without end.

Regent Raymond was utterly fed up. Then he noticed the silent Baron Godfrey, and his eyes lit up. "Baron Godfrey, do you have any thoughts?"

The fervent atmosphere in the hall abruptly stalled.

The arguing quieted considerably.

Count Joscelyn, Count Reynald, Grand Master Gerard, and Grand Master Roger—these four foremost dignitaries—all turned to look.

True, Baron Godfrey had always kept a relatively low profile, but anyone who truly overlooked this influential noble of the Holy Land would be a complete fool.

He was also the sole remaining core figure of the Royalist Faction, and his relations with every side were fairly amicable.

Godfrey pondered briefly, then motioned for Lothar to speak on his behalf.

"Me?"

Lothar was somewhat puzzled.

Baron Godfrey lowered his voice and whispered into Lothar's ear, "You. I need these old dogs to know that the Habsburgs have returned to Jerusalem's political stage."

After a moment's thought, Lothar understood. Baron Godfrey was deliberately giving him a stage on which to make a name for himself.

Come on, we'd only just met. Was it really necessary to trust me this much?

What if I was just a useless good-for-nothing?

Lothar hesitated no longer. Rising to his feet, he said, "Lord Tiberias, allow me to speak for Baron Godfrey."

"Who is that?"

"Werner's coat of arms?"

"That cold-blooded butcher and executioner has returned to the Holy Land?"

"He doesn't look much like Werner, but that surcoat is clearly the former uniform of the Royal Knightly Order."

Whispers rose from all around him.

The looks they gave him were not friendly, but contrary to what he had expected, hardly anyone dwelled on whether a mere landless knight like him was qualified to attend and speak here.

Raymond nodded slightly. "You may, but first, state your identity."

"I am Lothar von Habsburg, second son of Count of Argau, Werner von Habsburg. My father once fought to defend the Holy Land, and now, following his command, I have come to the Holy Land as well."

Raymond nodded slightly. "So you are Lord Werner's son. I once fought alongside your father as well. You are qualified to speak here. Go ahead."

Lothar nodded slightly. Ignoring the murmurs about his identity, he said, "There is no need to discuss the proposal to hire mercenary companies for now. I believe you all understand that while those mercenaries come equipped with their own weapons and gear and possess decent fighting strength, they have none of a warrior's honor or faith. They may be useful in an easy victory, but once they find themselves in adversity, I fear they will not continue honoring their contracts."

"Against Saladin, this will plainly be a hard battle. Even in distant Germania, I had heard of his formidable reputation."

"Rather than hiring mercenary companies, it would be better, as Count Reynald suggested, to use that money to arm the pilgrims. Their morale will be higher, and they will cost less."

Upon hearing this, Reynald nodded slightly and smiled with satisfaction. "Exactly. Werner's son does have some discernment after all."

Lothar smiled at him and continued, "As for the proposal to retain this money in order to urge Albion's King, Richard the Lionheart, to raise his army sooner—"

"From what I understand, Richard the Lionheart is a wise and capable monarch. This sum of money will not make him hasten or slow his preparations for war. It is certain that he will join the Crusade, but only after settling his affairs with the monarch of Gaul, as well as matters within his own kingdom. That cannot possibly be accomplished in a month or two, or even half a year."

"My lords, ask yourselves honestly: would you place yourselves in danger of an unstable throne, or even leave your rear exposed to attack by your sworn enemies, merely for a sum of money?"

The nobles all shook their heads repeatedly.

In truth, quite a few among them would indeed have been tempted by such wealth, but none of them would say so outright.

Greed was one of the seven deadly sins.

They had no desire to admit that they were greedy men.

"As for the assassins of Huo Sang, the Old Man of the Mountain... please forgive my bluntness, but how much would it take to satisfy the appetite of this assassin king, who possesses hundreds of castles in places such as Iran?"

"Moreover, cooperating with such a despicable infidel who rose to power through assassination would truly disgrace the name of our Crusaders."

"After all, quite a few Crusader Princes died because of him. In this matter, not only should we refuse to spend money on the Old Man of the Mountain's assassins, we should also make our position clear and support the Sassanids and Ayyubids in their campaign against Huo Sang's assassin kingdom."

Huo Sang had already attempted to assassinate Saladin, and not merely once or twice, but every attempt had ended in failure.

The two were already mortal enemies. If Huo Sang had truly been capable of succeeding, he would have acted long ago. There was no need for the Crusaders to waste their money.

Lothar said this only to spare the fool who had proposed the suggestion some face.

In truth, Crusader lords had always maintained private dealings with Huo Sang, the Old Man of the Mountain, from time to time.

Regent Count Raymond gave a slight nod. "Indeed. At present, reinforcing the city walls or using this money to arm the pilgrims are the only reliable options."

Though all three proposals had been rejected in succession, the great nobles showed no dissatisfaction. On the contrary, they largely agreed.

Knowledge in this era was held in the hands of theologians.

Aside from church schools, there were no schools at all in this age.

As a result, the vast majority of nobles were actually illiterate.

Their narrow horizons and stubborn opinions also meant that they were not particularly eloquent.

Someone like Lothar, who could express his views clearly and logically, was already a rare sight.

Lothar continued, "We must admit that the danger facing the Holy Land today is unprecedented. The infidel armies of the Kingdom of Ayyub outnumber us many times over."

"No matter how brave and skilled our knights may be, when enemies come pouring in from every direction, we will still struggle to cope."

The moment he said this, a wave of dissatisfaction rose up.

Someone shouted, "Bullshit! The knights of the Heavenly Father fear nothing! Most of Saladin's men are serfs conscripted from the fields, with mud still clinging to their trouser legs, or cavalry made up of slaves."

"How could such a rabble possibly be our match?"

The speaker was a very handsome knight. Though his manner was somewhat crude, in this era, knights who were not crude were few and far between.

Those knights who were refined, humble, kind, just, and virtuous existed mostly only in novels.

Lothar did not get angry. He merely asked calmly, "And who might you be, sir?"

The knight replied with an arrogant expression, "I am Guy of Lusignan. I brought twenty-five knights from my homeland to join the Crusaders. They are all brave and skilled warriors, capable of facing a hundred foes each without difficulty."

Lothar did not respond to that claim, instead asking, "You are from Gaul, correct?"

Guy nodded. "That is right. My fief is Lusignan in Poitou."

Poitou lay in western Gaul and was currently under Richard the Lionheart's control.

Lothar nodded. "I know the place. I spent some time in southern Gaul. You must not be very comfortable in Jerusalem, since its climate is completely different from Poitou's. It is warm and humid there, while this place is unbearably hot."

Lothar smiled. "In weather like this, I wonder how much of your strength you can still display once you put on your armor. And can your Nisaan warhorse still outrun an Arabian horse born and raised here?"

Knight Guy froze slightly and did not answer.

He was prideful, but he was by no means a fool.

Lothar said earnestly, "I do not deny the bravery of the Heavenly Father's knights, for I am one of them as well. But there is no denying that the enemy is stronger than us. They have greater numbers and are more accustomed to this climate."

"Therefore, both training a new army and reinforcing the city walls have their merits."

Count Reynald scratched at his red beard and said unhappily, "They both have their merits? Isn't that the same as saying a whole lot of nothing?"

"Count Reynald, as you say, it is a whole lot of nothing, because it is extremely difficult to determine which of these two policies is superior."

"But I know one thing clearly: if we continue bickering and scattering the little strength we have, then the Holy Land being taken from us by Saladin will become an inevitable outcome."

"So please make a decision soon, my lords."

"Whether we reinforce the city walls or train a new army, a decision must be made."

"As for what that decision ultimately is, it is not actually important. So long as all of you agree on it, that will be enough."

Lothar said in a deep voice.

The implication was clear: keep fighting over it, keep arguing, keep wasting time.

Once Jerusalem fell, what the hell would there be left to argue about?

Factional strife ruining a nation—that was Great Ming.

Those civil officials did not care whether the Great Ming fell or not. Even if it did, their status would not change in the new dynasty.

But the Crusader nobles were different.

The difference in faith meant they all understood what a terrible price they would pay once Jerusalem fell.

Those infidels whom they had slaughtered without mercy would return every atrocity ever inflicted upon them to the descendants of these Crusaders.

Everyone in the great hall looked at one another.

If reality were a game, he would surely have heard the system's notification that his "reputation had increased."

In his previous life, his Eastern soul had always warned him to be cautious and restrained; the gun shot the bird that stuck its head out first.

It was a simple piece of survival wisdom.

But in this era, it did not quite fit.

Regent Count Raymond said in a deep voice, "I agree with Knight Lothar. We must make a decision."

In the end, the resolution to use Henry II's military funds to purchase equipment and train pilgrim soldiers was approved.

The Crusader nobles preferred offense over defense.

This probably stemmed from their innate fondness for plunder. If war broke out on their own doorstep, it would only inflict irreparable damage upon their territories, with no profit to be had.

After leaving the great hall, Godfrey patted Lothar on the shoulder and praised, "Well done, Lothar. You truly are Count Werner's son. To be honest, in the letters your father and I exchanged over the years, he always praised your valor. But I never expected your wisdom and eloquence to be no less impressive than his."

"Knight Lothar, you really are amazing!"

Berian's face was likewise full of admiration.

He could understand this line of reasoning too, but if he had been asked to put it into words and speak before so many nobles, it would have been something he simply could not do.

So... was this look actually the worship of a socially anxious person toward a social butterfly?

"You flatter me."

Godfrey smiled. "Come with me. I'll take you to meet His Majesty the King."

Lothar asked doubtfully, "What about Berian?"

"Though he is my heir, I have not yet dubbed him a knight. He is not qualified to meet His Majesty."

Lothar smiled at Berian and consoled him, "It's only a matter of time. I'll go on ahead, then."

After passing through a dark corridor, Lothar saw the young king in a bright, spacious palace, bent over a desk and writing furiously.

The table was covered with golden vessels filled with seasonal fruit, but the king appeared not to have touched any of it.

"Come forward, knight."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Lothar was startled by the young king's face, wrapped beneath a turban and mask, but did not let any offensive expression show on his own face.

Baldwin IV looked Lothar up and down, his gaze somewhat complicated. Only after a long while did he say, "Wearing that robe, you truly resemble your father. For a moment, I nearly thought I had returned to three years ago."

"Has your father been well lately?"

This was the first time Lothar had heard anyone say that he resembled Count Werner. He thought he was far more handsome than Werner.

"He is in good health. Your Majesty, my father has sent you a letter."

Baldwin placed the letter on the table without opening it. He merely looked deeply at Lothar and said, "Your father was once my most trusted companion, as well as a teacher and dear friend. He taught me how to command armies and lead thousands upon thousands of soldiers."

"He was wise and intelligent, full of stratagems, valiant in battle, and fearless."

"But what I envied most was his robust body, as though no wound or illness could ever affect him."

Baldwin IV pointed to a nearby chair and said with a smile—or at least, it sounded as though he was smiling.

The mask concealed his illness, and his emotions as well.

"Sit, Knight Lothar. There is fruit on the table, but forgive me, I cannot share it with you. I carry a contagious and terrible illness. Once infected, not even sorcerers can save you."

When speaking of his illness, the king's tone remained calm.

"Guy brought back twenty-five crusader knights from Gaul. They swore fealty to me, yet I have not received them."

Lothar already had a guess, but he still asked, "Why?"

"Lothar, everyone in this world has their own thoughts. They are not clay figures or wooden carvings. I will not live much longer—this is no secret. Thus, those loyal to me—or rather, those loyal to me alone—have become fewer and fewer."

Lothar fell silent.

He had a favorable impression of this young and capable ruler. Hearing him say this, he could not help but feel a trace of sorrow.

Baldwin IV seemed to see through Lothar's thoughts and smiled gently.

His laughter was somewhat hoarse. Speaking neither quickly nor slowly, he said, "Lothar, I trust your father, and I trust Godfrey, who recommended you to me. Therefore, I am also willing to trust you and regard you as one of my closest aides."

"But you are too weak, and you have yet to establish any merit. Even I would find it difficult to secure a lordship for you."

"There are too many knights in Jerusalem. I cannot even grant you the fief of a manor without reason. You must have seen it earlier in the great hall: as king, I do not have the final say in all things."

Lothar nodded. "Your Majesty, I understand your difficulties. Please give me a task through which I can prove myself."

Gaining trust did not mean gaining everything.

Lothar knew that what Baldwin needed was someone both trustworthy and capable, so he would certainly set him a test.

Baldwin IV smiled. "That is precisely my intention."

"Now that you have come to the Holy Land, you should know that although Persia's Sasanian Dynasty has allied with the Kingdom of Ayyub, they are by no means united as one."

Lothar nodded slightly. "I am already aware of this."

He considered his words before saying, "As a millennium-old dynasty no less significant than the Eastern Empire, the Sasanian Dynasty once held influence over many territories now controlled by the Ayyubid Empire."

"Though it has declined, the Sasanian King of Kings will never willingly hand over the position of Grand Patriarch of Zoroastrianism to Saladin."

Baldwin praised, "It seems you prepared in advance. I was right about you. You are not like those foolish knights who have only just arrived in the Holy Land and can think of nothing but slaughtering heretics."

"What I want you to do is lead a force of elite cavalry, disguise yourselves as Kurdish people, enter the border region between the two nations, and burn, kill, and plunder."

"In short, the greater the commotion, the better."

"If you establish merit and delay the heretics' advance for a few more years, then once a new batch of crusaders arrives, Jerusalem will be impregnable."

"In truth, Jerusalem is already in a perilous state. The Eastern Empire's main enemy is the Turkic people entrenched in Asia Minor and controlled by the Sasanians. It is impossible for them to offer us much aid."

"As for Saladin of Ayyub, he has an army of one hundred thousand men in Damascus alone. Once he decides to attack with all his strength, unless Gaul, Greater Germania, and Albion all organize massive crusader forces to support us, we stand no chance on our own."

Baldwin IV's tone was grave. He did not wish for the Kingdom of Heaven, forged by his forebears, to perish in his hands.

"I understand."

Lothar nodded. "I will do my utmost to accomplish this mission and ignite war along the Kingdom of Ayyub's eastern frontier—I believe the King of Kings of the Sassanids will not wish to see Saladin successfully reclaim the Holy Land either."

Baldwin IV nodded. "Indeed. He merely lacks a reason, and we shall give him one."

He paused briefly, then said in a low voice, "The secrecy of this mission cannot be compromised. Once it is complete, I will knight you under the pretext that you defeated a heathen army."

Lothar fell silent for a moment, frowning. "Your Majesty, are there people in Jerusalem colluding with the heathens?"

The words had barely left his mouth before he realized he had asked a foolish question.

Jerusalem was now filled with countless foreigners, like a giant sieve. Anything happening within could never be concealed from those intent on prying.

Baldwin smiled noncommittally. Then, with some difficulty, he braced both hands against the table and rose to his feet. "Knight Lothar, swear your oath to me."

"Yes." Lothar dropped to one knee. "Heavenly Father above, I—Lothar von Habsburg—swear fealty to my lord, His Majesty Baldwin IV. I shall remain steadfastly loyal and never leave his side."

With a metallic ring, Baldwin drew his sword and laid it upon Lothar's shoulder. "In the name of Baldwin IV, King of Jerusalem, Grand Commander of the Royal Knightly Order, Guardian of the Holy Land, and sole commander of all Crusaders, I accept your fealty. May the Heavenly Father's protection be upon you, Knight Lothar."

Having done all this, Baldwin IV let out a long breath and nearly lost his footing. It was enough to show just how dire his condition truly was.

He sat back down and took a long while to recover, then spoke gently, with a trace of apology.

"Lothar, I should kiss you at this moment and grant you a fief, but constrained by this foul illness and the situation within the kingdom, I can do neither."

"It is no matter, Your Majesty."

Lothar hurriedly shook his head.

"You have only just arrived in Jerusalem and need a place to settle. I grant you Constance Manor in the western quarter. It was once your father's estate; before he departed, he returned it to the crown. Now, I bestow it upon you once more."

"And I grant you one thousand Solidus gold coins. You may recruit pilgrims there and train soldiers."

"Furthermore, I know that you have few men at your side. You may take my token and seek aid from Baron Godfrey to complete this mission. Baron Godfrey is one of the few people I can still trust completely."

Lothar smiled. "As you wish, my liege."