Chapter 294: Broken Wings
Blessed are those in Ayyarasa Road and Bethlehem, especially the pilgrims, for even if their journey was smooth or not, coming from their homes—Francia, Germany, or Apennines—to the Holy Land, already counts as God’s Blessing and the favor of saints.
They had kissed the ground where Jesus Christ suffered, touched the place of his burial and resurrection, walked the Via Dolorosa he once traversed with difficulty, and visited the place where he was born. They were already quite content, never expecting to witness a true holy relic being born here with their own eyes.
Patriarch Heraclius has declared that what happened at the Monastery of Saint Jerome is indeed a holy relic. Upon hearing this, people inside and outside the monastery couldn’t help but cheer, and more people were surging towards it.
However, the abbot, who had foresight, had already summoned craftsmen to build a low wall outside the monastery to control the flow of people. He would, of course, allow the holy relic to be venerated, but the hall needed to be renovated—replacing lamp oil, cleaning holy vessels, changing the vestments of the holy image, placing more candles, replacing the white linen on the altar, and preparing better incense to burn. All these things take time.
Only a select few, such as the King of Ayyarasa Road, the Patriarch, Bishop Andrew, the recently very popular Knight of Bethlehem, and distinguished figures like the Duke of Antioch, could enter the hall before everyone else to pray to Saint Jerome.
The Duke of Antioch, Bohemond, even offered a purple silk robe interwoven with gold thread to be draped over Saint Jerome. The robe that Saint Jerome had previously worn, the one he wore when the holy relic appeared, was then replaced and handed to him.
Some harsh critics would call this act trading in holy relics.
But in the words of the priests, they were merely comforting a pitiful old father whose only son had suffered a great loss. By handing Saint Jerome’s robe to him, was it solely because of the money he donated?
If it weren’t for his profound sorrow, they would absolutely not have done so, at least not at this price.
After the prayer of ascension, Caesar and twelve knights who had also had visions of Saint Jerome changed into the monks’ simple robes—grayish-white, round-necked, linen material reaching to the ankles, with wooden crosses hanging from them, and tied at the waist with a cowhide rope. They no longer wore iron boots but a pair of ordinary wide-mouthed flat shoes.
Next, they would appear as the protagonists of the entire procession, first making a circuit within the city, then one outside the city, a circuit around the monastery, and finally returning to the hall.
Bethlehem is a small city, but it is built on hills. The paths they walked were either narrow trails or steep stairs; there were few flat areas. Moreover, the streets were crowded with people who had come for veneration.
Caesar was slightly surprised when he entered. From what he could see, the city’s population had not increased by merely a few thousand, as Deputy of Bishop Andrew had claimed. If the crowds they saw along the way were as dense as they were now, even ten thousand people wouldn’t be able to hold them back.
But he hesitated for only a moment. Patriarch Heraclius, who was walking ahead, also turned his head. Caesar immediately lowered his head and held his breath, putting the matter aside for the time being. Heraclius had always been lenient with them, and even when Caesar said something shocking, he never took it to heart, and would even discuss it with them enthusiastically.
But Heraclius might be filled with doubt and dissatisfaction regarding the current Church, especially the Roman Church, yet he remained a devout monk. During such an important ceremony, whether Baldwin or Caesar made a mistake, they would inevitably be scolded and punished.
Haridi’s workshop was in a good location, facing the street, with a small alley behind it. He and Lego were clinging to a tree, concealed by the dense foliage, carefully observing the surging crowd.
The procession was moving through the crowd, led, of course, by the priests and monks. The first two young priests carried a pair of gilded incense boats, emitting the rich aroma of myrrh and frankincense that mingled with the evening mist. Following them were priests holding scriptures, reliquary boxes, or rosaries. Because it was a procession celebrating the apparition of Saint Jerome, there were also some relics related to Saint Jerome, such as a pen, a torn piece of parchment, or a mane hair said to have been plucked from the lion that Saint Jerome had saved.
Next came Patriarch Heraclius, wearing a tall crown and vestments, holding his pastoral staff. Behind him was the solemn Bishop Andrew, whom the people of Bethlehem knew well. On the other side was the King of Ayyarasa Road—rumor had it he was a leper, and people curiously observed his face. But in the torchlight, shadows flickered, and they were unsure if the marks they saw were caused by the light or the disease.
The King of Ayyarasa Road was dressed as simply as usual today, but after becoming king, no matter how simple his attire, the radiance of silk and gemstones was difficult to conceal. However, people were soon captivated by another kind of brilliance.
It is difficult to describe Caesar now as simply beautiful; that word is used for children or women. But when people saw him, they were still like a bird caught in a net, unable to break free. Even though he was not wearing fine clothes now, only the plain linen robe of a monk, with no jewels on him, only a laurel wreath woven by the torchlight and the setting sun.
He held a holy image of Saint Jerome, his expression solemn, his features well-defined, exuding an indescribable majesty. People’s gazes and footsteps involuntarily followed him, until they were obstructed by others—there were simply too many people on the street, with no room for them to move.
Behind Caesar were twelve knights who had also had visions of Saint Jerome and managed to reach Bethlehem to participate in the procession. However, they were completely overlooked. A few knights exchanged amused glances; they didn’t really mind. This was not a martial arts tournament or a dancing hall. The richly dressed dignitaries following them, however, were likely to be disappointed, met with waves of sighs and complaints.
But these unpleasant sounds quickly faded. As is the inevitable finale of every procession, monks and attendants also tossed coins to the people at the end of the procession.
“He’s still the same,” Lego said sourly. Haridi glanced at him and didn’t hear much hatred or disgust in his words. “Don’t you hate him?”
Lego scratched his hair.
Although for the Isaacites, it was a transgression for a victim to refuse to walk into their trap, he had to admit that among the lords, bishops, and officials he had encountered, Caesar had been quite tolerant. He had not even pursued the sin of them intentionally using gold coins of questionable weight and purity to show him favor.
Only when they intentionally used his name to bestow alms upon the commoners of Bethlehem （ this was a very dangerous move ） did he take decisive action.
Even so, he did not hang them on a wooden frame but merely expelled them from Bethlehem.
When Lego was going to Nalessa, he was still worried that his past actions in Bethlehem would bring more trouble, but this situation did not occur.
It could be said that the harm he suffered from Caesar was less than what he suffered from his own kin.
This realization made the cunning Isaacite merchant uncharacteristically lose interest in further discussion. He dejectedly climbed down the ladder and sat in the courtyard, lost in thought. Haridi continued to watch for a while longer. Only after the entire procession had passed did he return to his workshop to organize the items he had been crafting.
When there was no need to continue crafting syringes, making those thin hollow tubes—called needles—was much faster. After all, it was not a very complex structure. Apart from the threading, which was a bit troublesome, he could craft the rest with his eyes closed after doing it a few times.
He collected all these precious small items in a wooden box lined with black velvet, locked it, and took it into his bedroom, placing it in a secret spot.
Caesar had told him that he would not send any envoys or servants to collect these items; he would come to retrieve them himself. However, he did not know if he would wait until the entire ceremony was over or come immediately.
Caesar would naturally wait until he was about to leave Bethlehem to collect these items.
After all, in the monastery, monks slept in a large room, lit by many lamps. The monks had only a small wooden box—and an unlocked one at that—to store some personal belongings. Everyone could see these items: a pen, paper, a small knife, a bar of soap, and little else. He was no exception.
As the procession was about to pass through the gates of Bethlehem, Caesar felt a gaze upon him. He reacted quickly, looking in that direction, but only saw houses immersed in darkness. They were now near the city wall, in the defensive zone where only the poorest people lived.
It wouldn’t be surprising if there were children or women there. Even in Bethlehem, many sins occurred. Piety did not mean the absence of desire; it was possible they even harbored the idea that merely coming to the Holy Land once could wash away all their sins—as long as they prayed, as long as they confessed…
To later generations, such a completely contradictory statement would be untenable. But at this time, even the Church acknowledged it. Otherwise, who would pay taxes, who would attend Mass, who would make offerings, who would buy indulgences?
Thinking that it might just be two curious children, Caesar no longer pursued it and instead followed the steps of the priests.
——————
“That person is truly beautiful,” the young monk said innocently, even from a distance and with only torches for illumination.
But the moment Caesar turned his head, he felt an uncontrollable shock. Mortals have always had a strong pursuit of beauty and extreme tolerance for it—even though someone had already said that the young knight was the culprit behind this calamity.
“So that’s a devil,” the ascetic beside him said calmly.
“Oh, aren’t all devils supposed to be ugly?”
“Of course not,” compared to the stern reprimands of other priests, the ascetic’s peaceful demeanor was more conducive to listening carefully to his words. “If a devil wants to incite people to fall, the first thing he must do is gain their trust.
If he had a face as foul and twisted as his heart, how could he gain people’s trust? He would certainly need to disguise himself, and he would disguise himself as beautifully as those blessed by God, making people trust him, love him, and be willing to obey him from the moment they saw him, just as he is doing now.”
“What did he do?”
“All the sins you can imagine, he has committed,” the ascetic said. “As Pope Gregory I said, the first sin is pride.
When he was your age, he pretended to have the will of our Lord and cleaned the entire Church of the Holy Sepulchre. But how did he do it?
He did not, like your hardworking brothers, prostrate himself, lower his head, bend his knees, and wipe the dust from the ground with his hands. Instead, he stood upright, holding a wooden pole and dirty cloth strips, like knights dragging their spears as they walked, moving through the most sacred of holy places, claiming he had completed an immensely arduous task.
When people were deceived by him and mistakenly called him a Little Saint, did he deny it? No, on the contrary, he readily accepted this honorable title, not feeling at all that it was a title a young man should not be able to bear.
He was jealous. When he first arrived at Holy Cross Castle, he was merely a slave to an Isaacite merchant. At that time, Prince Baldwin already had his most loyal servants. But to gain Baldwin’s trust, he intentionally harmed them, killing two of them and framing one of them for attempting to kill him.
God be praised, that servant had a vision of a saint just before he was harmed, and thus escaped from the clutches of the devil.
“Yes,” he looked down at the young monk and continued, seeing the fear on his face, “do you think that was the end?
The escape of a good person only incited the devil’s wrath. He vented his anger on other innocent people. At his instigation, Prince Baldwin dismissed all servants except him and refused to let anyone else approach him, not even Abijah, the son of the Duke of Antioch, and David, the son of the Count of Tripoli. What noble and pure young men they were—Baldwin was deceived by him and refused to listen to the pleas of these good people.”
“Is that true?”
“It is true. If you ask anyone in Holy Cross Castle, they will tell you that from the age of nine to sixteen, Baldwin had only Caesar by his side. Not only that, but he was also extremely lazy.”
“He refused to do work?”
“Work? If you judge a devil’s actions with such a superficial view, you are greatly mistaken. Whether a person is lazy is not determined solely by how much they do, but by whether they diligently perform sacred duties like a devout believer.
He rarely prayed and seldom went to the small chapels and churches. He needed to be reminded to make an offering for a Mass, and large donations were never seen.
“But I heard that he once distributed the rewards he received to all the poor people of Ayyarasa Road.”
“Do you think this is generosity and selflessness? Just like laziness, which I mentioned before, you cannot interpret the word literally. What the devil desires is not just gold, and gold is not that important to the devil.
Otherwise, how can we see in various records the devil tempting mortals with gold in exchange for their souls?
He is greedy, but what he is greedy for are mortal souls, trust, and love.
He greedily plunders everyone’s regard and affection, taking it for himself without considering that it rightfully belongs to God. A mortal does not have the right to possess these things.”
“Didn’t the King notice?”
“Mortals are easily deceived, even knights and kings who have received the blessings of saints. Amalric I and his son Baldwin, who were already far from God, have now, under the devil’s guidance, taken a different path. They are certainly destined for hell, but this is also unavoidable.
After all, that devil is by their side, and he is so cunning,” the ascetic recalled the strange rumors he had heard from those people. They had talked about Caesar’s peculiar demands regarding food—but they only thought he came from a low background or had associated with those lowly people for too long. Yet the ascetic keenly sensed that eating fruits raw while cooking vegetables into soup might have originally been a subtle way for the devil to display his wickedness, which no one noticed.
Moreover, in terms of lust, this young knight was utterly unashamed. When he became a knight of Gerard’s Damara, Damara was still very young. Princess Sibylla, who was at Holy Cross Castle, had also been tempted by him. If Amalric I had not arranged a marriage for him, she might have committed a sin under the devil’s temptation.
Even so, this devil, relying on his fabricated and polished beautiful face, obtained a good marriage. This marriage brought him all of Cyprus, transforming him from a landless count into a true lord with vast territories.
He first married the Byzantine princess Anna, that is, he consorted with a heretical woman, and later married a Venetian woman.
Venetians did not receive much favor from the Church. They had only recently converted. Similarly, as cunning merchants, they either feigned compliance with the Roman Church’s various demands or ignored them. They were a shameful lot of merchants, even willing to mortgage and sell their faith at will.
They even joined forces to refuse the Roman Church entry into Cyprus.
The ascetic initially hesitated at the command of Alexander III.
But after arriving in Ayyarasa Road and Bethlehem, he immediately sensed the strangeness of the Holy Land. What a terrible thing it was. In the place where Jesus Christ was born, lived, and died, a devil had climbed to an extremely important position. There were indeed some naive good people willing to cleanse them of sin and restore light.
Otherwise, in another ten or twenty years, this place might become a true hell on earth.
