Chapter 229: Dandolo
The Crusaders did not know about Caesar’s agreement with Boccia. To outsiders, Caesar had done something very strange—these three suitors would have been enough to make anyone ecstatic no matter which one was chosen elsewhere, but he not only refused them, but also because they openly violated his decree, he drew swords in the square in front of the Governor’s Palace, saw blood, detained them all, and then expelled them all without exception.
Thus, some strange rumors circulated in Nicosia.
That is to say—their new lord was unexpectedly a sentimental man? Some thought he was still mourning his first wife, Princess Anna, immersed in past memories and unable to extricate himself, which was why he did something so regardless of consequences. But soon others said that even for mourning a wife, one year was enough. Caesar’s intended was in fact a woman of obscure reputation, possibly even of humble birth. He had probably already secretly married her, so he disdained those suitors of noble status.
Perhaps soon they would see her appear at their new lord’s side. Some even seriously speculated—the girl should be a commoner. Others guessed she might be a prostitute. Curiously, the latter view actually accounted for a large proportion.
Because people unanimously believed that the woman who could make their lord submit must be a beauty like Helen or Alcimede, but if so, even if born in the lowest, dirtiest shack, she would soon be discovered by others and could not remain nameless until now.
Regarding these people’s guesses, neither Walter nor Geoffrey found them very credible. They had watched Caesar grow from a child to what he was now.
Compared to his peers, Caesar seemed to lack that phase—from childish to sophisticated, from pure to debauched. In fact, Geoffrey had even really planned to hire a reliable person to take Caesar to visit those highly skilled prostitutes. He did not intend to lead Caesar astray, but he knew very well that a young man’s desires and emotions surged like boiling oil. Once ignited, let alone extinguishing it, in an instant he could burn himself to ashes, possibly even taking those around him with him.
That knight who had once won the favor of many noble ladies and prostitutes soon returned. He smiled and reassured Geoffrey that there was no need to worry about this.
The boy was completely normal, just—too busy.
His mind was always occupied by more important matters—perhaps when he had free time, he would also be happy to enjoy it. Geoffrey thought about it later and realized it was indeed so. Looking back, since entering Ayyarasa Road, there had hardly been a year he could spend peacefully. Even at the age when Caesar was most energetic, he would be too exhausted to have romantic thoughts.
Even more convincing was the existence of Princess Sibylla. Though Geoffrey dared not compliment this noble lady’s temperament and ambition, he had to admit that after traveling so many places, he had not yet seen anyone who could match Sibylla—over these years, as the prince’s personal attendant, Caesar had been almost constantly in Sibylla’s presence, yet he had not fallen into her hands, like those young escorts, futilely chasing a glance or a smile from her.
He could hardly imagine what kind of woman could make Caesar do something so irrational.
All this became clear to him when he saw another Venetian delegation in Larnaca.
Caesar’s choice was still a Venetian, only not the niece of the Doge of Venice, but the granddaughter of Dandolo, the most feared “Blind One” in the Council of Ten.
Though the same person, these two identities had an enormous difference.
Though somewhat regrettable, of course, as a Crusader knight, Geoffrey had hoped the future mistress of Cyprus would be a Frankish noble lady, but Venetians were not bad—mainly because during the First Crusade, the Venetians were allies of the Crusaders. They were responsible for transporting the knights and their servants, horses, and armor to the Holy Land.
Not only that, the Doge of Venice at the time also organized a navy: two hundred large ships, nine thousand soldiers, participating in the holy war. They successively captured Jaffa, Haifa, Sidon, and soon after, at the Crusaders’ request for aid, fought a battle with the Fatimid Dynasty’s navy and won a victory.
If the Venetians had not been uninterested in such things—in their alliance, they did not demand territory, only stipulating that in every city captured by the Crusaders, the Venetians must be given a shop, a street, and commercial privileges in that city—then the current Crusader cities and Kingdom would have different masters.
Moreover, if the Pope launched another Crusade, the Crusaders would still need the Venetians’ powerful maritime transport capacity.
At this moment, Dandolo, leading his son and subordinates through the street, suddenly turned around. He stared intently at the open tavern door, as if able to see the people inside through the murky air and pervasive smoke.
Geoffrey walked out.
Speaking of which, he and Dandolo had some history. Before returning to Ayyarasa Road, he was the Templar Knights’ commander in Francia. He had also been commissioned by the King of France several times as an envoy traveling between the Holy Land and Francia. Sometimes he went by land, sometimes by sea. When going by sea, he had sailed on Dandolo family ships multiple times, thus becoming acquainted with Dandolo, and even traveled the Pilgrimage Road together several times.
Their connection was only temporarily interrupted when Dandolo went to Constantinople as Venice’s ambassador.
But Geoffrey had not expected they would meet again here today.
Geoffrey had heard about his eyes, but when he walked over, he found Dandolo’s gaze accurately fixed on him. They saluted each other, kissed each other’s cheeks, then Dandolo reached out, took his arm, and they walked forward side by side, talking as they went.
“I will stay in Larnaca one night, then go to Nicosia.”
“For your granddaughter and Caesar’s marriage?” Geoffrey asked.
“Exactly.” Dandolo answered straightforwardly. “Or do you have other ideas.”
Geoffrey pondered for a moment: “At first, yes. But now it seems your granddaughter is not impossible. Mainly because there are many factions and forces among the Crusaders. Cyprus is truly a land flowing with milk and honey; everyone wants a share.
The key is that Caesar’s current status is very awkward. The Crusaders naturally hope he marries a Christian woman, preferably whose father or brother is also a Crusader knight, but the Pope of Rome is unlikely to easily acknowledge his rights to Cyprus.
Without the Pope’s acknowledgment, his marriage would be hard to arrange among dukes or higher.
Of course, there are plenty of counts’ and viscounts’ daughters and sisters, but such a marriage would have to be based on the ‘status quo’ not changing—no matter what Caesar thinks, as long as he gets the Pope’s acknowledgment, he is the Grand Duke or King of Cyprus—his subordinates and ministers will surely demand he marry someone else.
When a marriage, especially when the man’s status is higher than the woman’s, he can easily deny it. For example, King Amalric I of Jerusalem and Emperor Manuel I of the Byzantine Empire did so, even though their wives bore them more than one child, they could still righteously claim no cohabitation, and mercilessly turn their legitimate children into illegitimate sons.
Therefore, whether the Emperor of the Byzantine Empire or the Holy Father of the Roman Church offers a so-called ‘niece,’ it does not mean they look down on Caesar. In fact, if Caesar were not so benevolent, he should choose the Pope’s niece, first securing his claim to Cyprus. As for what happens later, there are plenty of people who go back on their word and show ingratitude.
“If he is willing to take the shortcut, the pressure he faces now would be much less.” Dandolo said: “If he is willing to compromise, I might reach an alliance with him in another way.” But he would definitely take Boccia back to Venice— if the marriage fails, some might think the candidate would be taken back to their respective courts, but in fact it is not so. Sometimes one can settle for second best.
Of course, they dared not say this in front of Dandolo, but Dandolo knew some people did have such plans.
“Your granddaughter must be an elegant noble lady.” Geoffrey merely complimented, but saw Dandolo reveal a strange expression. “You will probably be disappointed. In fact, I love her very much. After I returned to Venice from Constantinople, in the initial and worst period, only she was willing to stay by my side, carefully tending to me and comforting me.”
“She is a kind good child.” Geoffrey said, thinking to himself that if so, she would match Caesar well.
“At that time I had already decided she should receive a reward commensurate with her good deeds.” Dandolo smiled. Many people, including his son and daughter-in-law—Boccia’s father and mother—when handing over Boccia’s guardianship, simply thought it was a grandfather’s affection for his granddaughter. How should a grandfather dote on his granddaughter?
The simplest and most common way is to let her grow up carefree like a flower in a greenhouse, shielding her from wind and rain, from blazing sun, letting her naively think everything in the world will change according to her wishes. When she turns twelve, find her a suitable match and marry her off, at most with a considerable dowry.
But he did not do that. He taught Boccia the same way he taught his grandsons.
This approach was certainly unconventional, but it could maximize Boccia’s future, allowing her to live well even without others’ protection.
If things had stopped there, Boccia might have returned to the family to become an ordinary and happy woman. But soon after, Dandolo discovered that among his grandchildren, Boccia was the smartest and most perceptive. She even dared to challenge things long ingrained in people’s minds, such as the Choosing ceremony that only males could perform.
That incident did cause a great uproar. Even Boccia’s parents did not stand by her. Their son had nearly been ruined by Boccia—though those boys were not disturbed at all before the gate opened and did not know what happened outside. But this did not stop them from pushing all the blame onto Boccia. Their baseness greatly disappointed Dandolo.
In places far from the Holy Land, even with relics, the chance of being chosen is far less than in Ayyarasa Road, Antioch, or Nalessa. Even if those boys were not chosen, they were male members of the Dandolo family and might enter the Council of Ten or other power structures in the future—at the very least, become wealthy merchants.
Thus, their anger and dissatisfaction became laughable. Not only unable to face their own mediocrity, but trying to blame their failure entirely on their little sister…
Before this, Dandolo had even considered choosing a monastery for Boccia after his death, or directly building one for her to become the abbess.
Women after marriage always gain greater freedom, even nuns married to Jesus Christ.
Now he was no longer satisfied with this ending.
But he had not expected a better path than becoming a nun would suddenly appear before him. Compared to enclosed Venice, Cyprus had a more open atmosphere, and he also knew that in Crusader marriages, they did not care much about whether women were docile and obedient, because they often had to go on long expeditions with the King of Ayyarasa Road, possibly away from the castle for a year or two.
During this time, only their wives guarded the territory for them. They could not have it both ways—wanting both an ignorant submissive woman and a fearless warrior.
And he had already brought a dowry for his little Boccia.
Three ships, and the sailor-soldiers on them—all free.
“Though this is good for Cyprus, your sons and grandsons, and Venice’s council—will they agree?”
Geoffrey asked with a complex expression. The Venetians had previously promised a dowry of thirty ships, but these thirty ships were not to be delivered immediately, and had to be offset with tax revenue or paid directly.
Moreover, what Dandolo brought were not merchant ships, but warships with one hundred fifty oarsmen, called sea fortresses, equipped with rams and heavy posts, towering forecastles and sterncastles, small catapults and siege crossbows all complete—this was ready for battle immediately.
“Twenty more merchant ships and ten escort ships will arrive after the wedding.” Dandolo said calmly: “This is all my property; no one can interfere.”
