Left and Right Arms

As the rising sun climbed into the sky, the various Crusader forces stationed within and outside the city awoke from their slumber.

The clergy accompanying the army gathered together, holding golden, silver, bronze, or wooden Latin crosses, Orthodox crosses, Coptic crosses, and even the rare Armenian crosses.

Ascetics in sackcloth and bare feet, along with Bishops wearing golden mitres and holding crosiers, all entered the camps to lead the soldiers in morning prayers, praising the resurrection of Christ Jesus and confessing their sins.

Cardinal Sebastian removed the black robes he usually wore, changed into red Vestments, and draped himself in a red cloak to display his illustrious status as a "red-clad cardinal."

But unfortunately, he did not seem particularly beloved. The only people gathered around him were the Guardian Knights from his church estates and the elites among those Apennine mercenaries.

"These men would rather believe heretical servants of God and clergy privately appointed by princes and nobles than listen to the teachings of the Orthodox faith. I have begun to wonder whether the Crusaders who came to the Holy Land remain devout, or whether they have long since been beguiled by demons."

At the mention of "demons," Sebastian cast a somewhat jealous glance into the distance, toward the ascetics from the Saint Lazarus Order and the Crusader soldiers surrounding them, praying for God's grace.

It was not actually that he was unpopular.

How could common soldiers know about the filth among the church's upper ranks, or the conflict between him and Duke Lothar? They merely found him extravagantly dressed and highly placed, so they respected him from afar.

The well-informed nobles likewise had no desire to associate with a cardinal who possessed nothing but an empty title and had fallen out of favor with the Grand Marshal.

Even the