Chapter 41: The Chosen One
“Yo hey!”
Longinus poked his head down to look and saw a face paler than the new moon. He remembered; that was Prince Baldwin. The prince probably hadn’t seen his face before.
He immediately shrank back. He didn’t know the situation in the tunnel, but if the prince suddenly shot him with a crossbow bolt, he really feared the devil who led him down would laugh so hard the entire hell would shake.
“That’s Longinus,” Caesar said. “My servant. I told him to wait here for us.”
As if echoing his words, a rope tied with several knots was quickly thrown down from above. Longinus climbed down like a big monkey, and with Caesar’s help, carried Baldwin on his back and climbed out again. After a few breaths, he climbed down once more. Caesar did not refuse his kindness and rode on his back out of the shaft.
Baldwin was already wrapped in a blanket drinking mulled wine. Caesar glanced at it. “You’re well prepared.”
“As long as you’re willing to spend a few silver coins or even copper coins… no one will care if they can sleep a full night.” Longinus also brought out a big stack of gooey baked cheese. After baking, the cheese was drizzled with honey in its melted layer—a simple but somewhat expensive sweet. Like mulled wine, it was something that could replenish a lot of energy in a short time.
“Was it Caesar… who told you to wait here?” Baldwin finally stopped trembling. He asked vaguely while eating the baked cheese in big bites.
Longinus glanced at Caesar. “He told me to keep an eye on the Templars, saying that those insatiable fellows probably wouldn’t give up so easily.”
“What’s the situation at the Temple?”
Longinus looked at Caesar again. “Tell him,” Caesar said.
“The King of Ayyarasa Road was assassinated.”
Baldwin’s movements stopped. He looked at him, then turned to the tense Caesar. “Don’t worry about me.” His tone was so calm it made Longinus’s hair stand on end. “I can think too, Caesar. When you touched the blood through the door crack, I knew something big must have happened, so much so that they couldn’t come to look after us—maybe it was brief, but those people had calculated it that way.”
“I’m the king’s son. Besides the king, who is before me?” Baldwin’s eyes sparkled with crystalline light, but his words were hard as biting nails. Each word was like an iron hammer striking the enemy. “You’re right; they are maggots more cruel than Jephthah, greedier than Judas of Kerioth, more venomous than Jezebel（Note 1）! Devils! Feces!”
“Please don’t be too saddened,” Longinus hurriedly added. “When I arrived, knights had already rushed out shouting that the assassin was beheaded and the king was unharmed! The scene was orderly, with no cries.”
He had been watching the Temple closely. When the building on the Temple’s west side suddenly flared up with firelight and burst into fierce clamor, he immediately became alert.
He might not be as smart as his young master, but his understanding of those monks and priests was far deeper than the latter’s. When they did things, once they decided, they were decisive and straightforward, without hesitation, leaving no room for retreat!
Almost in an instant, torches headed toward the stables. Longinus didn’t know if his young master’s plan would succeed—what if they fainted? What if they didn’t break through the water room’s wall? What if the tunnel entrance was completely blocked? Worst of all, what if they were stuck halfway? He wasn’t sure.
The only certainty was that if those knights caught him, he would definitely be seen as the assassin’s accomplice.
So he hesitated no longer and immediately fled along the path he had already scouted.
He ran to the shaft agreed with Caesar. The nearest small house to the shaft had been bought by him. The male owner had taken the others to the neighbor’s, leaving only a girl to do things for him. The mulled wine and baked cheese were what he had the girl prepare continuously.
Praise Jesus Christ! His waiting wasn’t in vain.
“I don’t know if your father opened the Temple gate…” Caesar immediately said. “Longinus, hurry to the Temple Mount—Baldwin, take a token…”
He paused. They only had soaked linen tunics on them, and the only fish bladder potion had been swallowed. But Baldwin immediately took the dagger Longinus handed him and cut off a lock of hair. “Give this to my father.”
“Take this and tell the king—no, go find monk Heraclius and say we’re here, and then ask him if the hunter is still guarding the rabbit hole. If not, ask him to make arrangements quickly.” Caesar looked at the sky. Venus had not risen, dawn had not come; they still had time.
Longinus nodded and asked again, “Do you want to rest in my little house?”
“No,” Baldwin said. “We’ll stay here.”
From the shaft to the Temple Church, as long as they didn’t take the tunnel dug by the devil, it only took the time to recite the Lord’s Prayer five times.
Originally Caesar wanted Longinus to go directly to Amalric I, but on second thought, the king must be heavily guarded now. Even if he saw Longinus, he wouldn’t listen to him and order everyone to withdraw. Better to have him quietly find Heraclius and let Heraclius persuade the king.
He only hoped Heraclius wasn’t with the king.
Heraclius indeed wasn’t with the king.
The scene was once very chaotic—when Amalric I rushed out of the room bloodied, shouting Saint George’s name, the night-watch attendant immediately screamed. The news spread like ripples. Everyone called for their knights and attendants.
Some hid in rooms, some ran to the stairs, some crashed into the great hall, more ran to the king. Worst of all, it was midnight; some knights in haste even forgot to put on their robes, and others drew swords upon seeing unidentified strangers and fought them…
Heraclius had just stopped the king’s bleeding. Seeing this scene, his face went numb. He immediately ordered on the king’s behalf, calling the Count of Tripoli, the Duke of Antioch, and other nobles, along with the Grand Masters of the Knights Templar and Knights Hospitaller, and the Provost of the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre. They gathered dozens of the most loyal, strong, and brave knights, who shouted “The king is unharmed, the assassin is beheaded” while raising flags and torches through every place.
Those found by them, if they could prove their identity, were ordered back to their rooms; if not, thrown into prison. If they resisted, they were treated as the assassin’s accomplices and executed on the spot.
After handling this, Heraclius was about to report to Amalric I when his heart suddenly tightened. He didn’t care about much and rushed to the Temple Church, where he ran head-on into the ashen-faced Grand Master of the Knights Templar. He had already discovered the six Templar Knights killed outside the church; they hadn’t even made a sound.
The Grand Master had called loudly, but there was no response inside. Unsure whether to open the door, he turned back to ask the king.
Heraclius only felt darkness before his eyes. Fortunately, an attendant brought Longinus at that moment.
Longinus hurriedly relayed Caesar’s words to Heraclius. He said, “The black rabbit and white rabbit are both safe and sound; just don’t know if the hunter is still guarding the previous cave.”
“The hunter is greedy and arrogant; how would he bother?” Heraclius replied. “He’s already gone back, snoring on his pillow—a good opportunity. Let’s put the rabbits back in the hole.”
He quickly returned to Amalric I’s side and told him the good news. Amalric I immediately stood up to go with him. Before Heraclius could dissuade him, Raymond firmly opposed. “Either you take me with you.”
He was full of hot blood but didn’t notice Amalric I’s suddenly changed face. “No,” the king said coldly. “You stay here.”
Raymond was stunned. He had always been Amalric I’s most relied-upon right-hand man. The king had never been so disrespectful and distrustful of him, treating him like a traitor.
He stood there until the Duke of Antioch Bohemond sauntered over, arms crossed. “Don’t take it too personally. Facing one disgusting thing after another, even a king can’t help being emotional once.”
Though he didn’t like Bohemond much, seeing him come to console, Raymond’s expression softened a bit. “I’m just worried…”
“Oh, don’t worry, don’t worry. The last thing we need to worry about here is you,” Bohemond said with a grin. “If I were you, I wouldn’t go before Amalric I to humiliate myself. Haven’t you noticed one thing? He despises you.”
“What?”
Bohemond leaned close to Raymond and whispered, “Isn’t it obvious? If Amalric I died, and Prince Baldwin died too, who would inherit the throne of the King of Ayyarasa Road? Of course, only you—Baldwin II’s grandson, Amalric I’s cousin, the closest to the throne!”
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As soon as Amalric I saw Baldwin, he didn’t care that he wasn’t wearing a veil and hugged him tightly, sobbing uncontrollably. Heraclius saw this and felt an indescribable emotion surging in his chest—he hurried to his student, not asking about the previous details, and discussed the matters to prepare immediately.
The Patriarch of Ayyarasa Road had indeed returned to his residence, not far from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. He stood by the window, gazing at that holiest place, savoring the pleasure of publicly cursing the king before countless people.
Moments later, he returned to his desk, unlocked a wooden box with a key. Inside were three manuscripts he had carefully written: the first for if Prince Baldwin wasn’t dead but wasn’t chosen; the second for if Prince Baldwin was dead（in which case chosen or not didn’t matter）; the third for if King Amalric I and Prince Baldwin were both dead.
Of course, in all of them, he dutifully and earnestly told the people that this was exactly the thunderous wrath sent by God.
Yes, he admitted, Amalric I and the other Crusader knights were warriors of Christ, but they had already received the rich rewards promised by God. Yet they weren’t satisfied; instead, they bred arrogance and greed.
This city should belong to the Holy Father, Holy Child, Holy Spirit; mortals had no right to usurp it, but they put crowns on their own heads…
Now, they should be afraid, because facts had proven that those who dared offend God, no matter how prominent, would go to hell. Not only to hell, but hooked by their eyebrows, roasted over the lake of fire until the end of the world, with maggots burrowing in their bodies, devouring their flesh…
He thought and drew out a piece of charcoal—too lazy to call a priest to scrape parchment, he added a few threatening words in the blanks to make the faithful more obedient…
After revising the manuscripts and relocking the box, the Patriarch went back to bed to sleep.
And in the place he couldn’t see, Amalric I carrying Baldwin, Longinus carrying Caesar, along with Heraclius, silently entered the hall of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
Interestingly, earlier the Patriarch, to catch Amalric I off guard, generously made promises and bribed a group of priests—they had opposed Thomas of the Gerard family before, but Thomas used Caesar’s asceticism to turn defeat into victory. These days they weren’t faring well.
They worked for the Patriarch out of desperation, but probably didn’t expect that after he achieved his goal, he would abandon them without care.
Now these priests had swapped places with Gerard’s Thomas. It would depend on whether Thomas wanted them to do asceticism in the desert or redeem sins in the army.
Anyway, at this time, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre was back in Thomas’s hands. For Amalric I’s request, he naturally granted it all. “But you brought them out of the Temple Church; how will you explain to the world?”
“You can go see,” Heraclius said. “The beeswax on the Temple Church doors is intact.”
“What do we say then?”
“Say a devil or servant of heathens wanted to disrupt the Choosing ceremony, set a fire outside the church. Merciful God saw and picked up the two children, placing them in His only begotten Son’s embrace to keep them unharmed.” Heraclius said fluently, clearly having thought of the excuse on the way.
Thomas was a bit nervous. “Did the Temple Church catch fire?”
“It will before morning prayer.”
Thomas opened his mouth but said nothing.
“I’ll buy a thousand-year indulgence.” Amalric I said.
Thomas was instantly delighted, clapped his hands, and exclaimed, “This is God’s will, to turn people back from the wrong path.”
He cheerfully personally opened the hall’s door, watching them place the two children properly. “They…” he gestured with his eyes. “How are they?”
Heraclius was stunned. When chosen, the trial subject bursts with white light: thunder-like shape is “Chosen by Michael”; river-like is “Chosen by Raphael”. The longer the time, the brighter the light, the more blessings received, the stronger the saint sensed.
But when they saw Baldwin and Caesar, they had already left the Temple for a while.
Unknown if they left after being chosen, or… If the latter, their Choosing ceremony failed.
“It doesn’t matter anymore.” Unexpectedly, Amalric I spoke this time. Thomas looked at the king but was startled by his dark eyes.
“How many people know about this now?”
“You, me, Thomas, and…” Heraclius looked at Longinus. “This knight.”
Longinus felt like he was still in that bone-chilling shaft. “In the Holy City, the only one I’ve sworn to is Caesar.”
“He’s not a knight yet.”
“Precisely because he’s not a knight, Your Majesty, no one will notice me. You know, they say I’m the slave of slaves.”
Amalric I gave a short laugh. “Anyone else?” His gaze didn’t leave. “Anyone.”
Longinus closed his eyes. “Yes… Your Majesty.”
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What exactly are “Chosen by Michael” and “Chosen by Raphael”?
Caesar held Baldwin’s hand. After seeing Amalric I, Baldwin could no longer hold on and fainted. Caesar was unspeakably exhausted and dull too, until Heraclius gave them the antidote; only then did they recover a bit.
But to sit here together, both Baldwin and Caesar were already content.
“Even if not chosen,” Baldwin said optimistically, “it doesn’t matter. Then I can become a monk with you. If they won’t let me be with you, I’ll ask father to build us a new monastery.”
“I think even if you’re not chosen, you may not be abandoned.” Caesar gave his judgment, but didn’t say Amalric I’s true intent. Baldwin might one day see the cruel reality, but the later the better.
Baldwin turned to look at Caesar. Those emerald-like eyes in the dim light were like obsidian—a point of light was slowly spreading from the obsidian’s center…
“God…” he said tremblingly. “God bless, Caesar…”
“No,” Caesar watched the glowing Baldwin. “It’s you.”
Note 1: Judas of Kerioth（One of Jesus’s twelve disciples, ultimately betrayed Jesus out of greed）, Jephthah（A cruel general who won battle victory by sacrificing his daughter）, Jezebel（A queen of Israel who encouraged her husband to carry out cruel persecutions and killings）.
