The Youngest Prince Of The English Royalty House [EN]: Chapter 41

[Episode 41, The Old Crusader]

Strictly speaking, the Crusades were:

A lottery where the process was extremely difficult, but conversely, if given the chance,

you could acquire enormous wealth and territories.

Most of England’s influential nobles followed the princes and King Henry to participate, but

people belonging to three categories were excluded.

The first is:

Like the Duke of Norfolk, who was capable enough,

but had to remain in the homeland to manage their lord’s territory.

They held large shields

and protected the territory in place of their master.

The second is:

Those who didn’t fit the national stage of the Crusades,

just mediocre nobles.

From the start, Henry II, as well as ambitious figures like Young Henry or Geoffrey, wouldn’t take such individuals,

because they would only be a ‘hindrance’.

And the third category, not belonging to the above, is:

Those who remain in the homeland by personal choice, even with outstanding abilities.

For them, the safety of their territory is prioritized over the glory of Christ.

Just as Safe John cherished and protected Mortain and Ireland.

Among such nobles,

there was the quietest one,

a noble who very quietly read the trends.

**

-Somewhere in England-

The old noble read a letter from the front lines and said to his son,

“Son.”

“Yes, Father.”

“Do you know why King Henry raised the Earl of Norfolk, that man’s title, to Duke?”

He was asking about the political background of the Earl of Norfolk’s promotion to Duke.

Then, the young noble, who looked similar to the old noble, said,

“I don’t know well.”

The young son doesn’t completely lack the answer,

but

he was hesitating to choose one of several options.

The old noble, who knew his son’s heart better than anyone, said,

“It’s because of Prince John.”

“Prince John, you say?”

The son in front of him was also born in 1166, like Prince John, and was a precious son born late in life.

But John, the Earl of Mortain, Duke of Ireland, and the youngest prince of Great England, who was in a completely different position from this son, was right there.

‘What if that guy… was born as King Henry’s son instead of mine?’

The old noble’s heart ached.

Because his capable son had limitations in status because he had himself as his father.

That painful son was right in front of him.

Perhaps because of that,

tears that would never be shown to vassals

fell heavily from the old noble’s eyes.

“It’s not Father’s fault. Please don’t cry. My heart is breaking.”

“I’m sorry, William.”

“I’m alright. I am recognized by the other princes, and people don’t look at me with bad eyes.”

“If I had been born as a legitimate son, I wouldn’t have needed to be mindful of anyone from the start.”

King Henry II’s father, and the old noble’s father,

long ago,

was Geoffrey, the Count of Anjou.

If he hadn’t turned his lower body to a mistress (lover) instead of his legal wife,

he would not have been born.

Because he was born illegitimately… how difficult was it to live as a bastard?

“This father is an unfortunate bastard born in an illegitimate way. I have never been recognized in my life…”

“But didn’t King Henry recognize Father more than anyone else?”

“King Henry… thought of me not as a mere bastard, but as a precious member of Anjou-Plantagenet.”

Now that he thought about it,

thanks to that, he got to know his half-brother and great lord.

‘I can’t be a hero, but King Henry is a hero.’

His half-brother

and the rightful King of England.

The old noble, recalling the past, blushed again and said,

“When the King favored me, who everyone had turned away from, I decided to dedicate the rest of my life to the great Henry II.”

The son watched such a father carefully and said,

“Father’s lord is only the great Henry II.”

“Yes, only Henry II. The princes are not my lords.”

“I admit that they are heroes. But those who stabbed my father in the back…”

“Then what do you think of Prince John?”

“Prince John… I can’t quite judge him.”

For the old noble, John was a long-standing concern.

John.

The son of Henry II, whom he loved and could not call ‘brother’, was an ordinary but benevolent prince.

That was the assessment made by the English nobles.

And he made such an assessment himself.

But

he was just a cub of the great lion.

There was no need to serve.

“He is not someone I should pay attention to. He is just a prince.”

‘I was moved by Prince John’s embrace of the bastard, but he too… is just a prince.’

Yes, he was only a vassal of Henry II.

“I knew Father would say that.”

“William, I plan to just stand by and watch the problems of the princes, including Prince John. A leisurely bystander… that is my weapon.”

In that sense, even if Prince John were to die in the midst of infighting,

his bystander stance would not end.

**

-Ireland-

Even if there was a bloody holy war over in the Middle East,

the territory of Ireland was peaceful and quiet today as well.

But

today, the atmosphere was more chaotic than usual.

Because it was the day the Egyptian Copts [Egyptian Christians], whom Safe John had moved to Ireland to make himself safe, were arriving.

“Goodness…”

Even Queen Eleanor, the iron lady who had experienced all sorts of hardships, including the Crusades,

was speechless at the sight of the Copts pouring into Ireland like a tide.

“I received a letter from John in advance, but he really brought the Copts! I really don’t know what John is up to.”

The letter John sent was: [My dear mother! The Coptic friends are really good talents, so please take good care of them.] That was the end of it.

“But what are you believing in to come to this unfamiliar Ireland?”

“We came believing in Prince John.”

“John, who seduced you, is amazing, but you, who accepted the seduction, are also amazing.”

Why did the Egyptian Copts come to faraway Ireland?

That’s because they believed in ‘John’, as they said now.

The true ‘knight’-like appearance he showed in Alexandria, a wealthy port city in Egypt,

and the reputation as Safe John, which he had worked so hard to earn.

He properly repaid the money he borrowed from the Jews.

He became an umbrella for bastards.

He even cared for the serfs who were derogatorily called beasts pulling plows.

His appearance, with a bit of a 21st-century mindset,

was more innovative than an iPhone to the 12th-century medieval people.

Anyway,

the moment the Copts were determined to become the labor force of Ireland,

Duchess Mary and Peter of Ireland became incredibly busy.

The yield increased due to crop rotation.

And new Coptic Christians entered Ireland again.

Of course, even in the midst of this, there are always shameless people.

A woman who had eaten her conscience in stew

thought it was enough now

and was slowly considering ‘running’ away.

“Hohoho, you’re all working hard. This old woman… is not feeling well, so I should leave now.”

“Mother, are you running away now?”

Eleanor is indeed a ‘unique’ mother-in-law,

but Mary was no ordinary daughter-in-law either.

“Mary, are you angry at your mother-in-law, who is like the sky?”

In the past,

she wouldn’t have dared to disobey Eleanor, the Queen of England and her mother-in-law.

But Duchess Mary of Ireland

had already finished ‘adapting’ to her mother-in-law, Queen Eleanor.

Isn’t man an animal of ‘adaptation’!

“Mother… Mother, are you angry at me now?”

There is a conditional buff skill within the Irish territory,

but at least here in Ireland,

Mary didn’t need to be mindful of her mother-in-law at all.

‘Other territories are one thing, but this is my area. Besides, our mother-in-law already knows my identity. Then the game is over.’

Look at her now.

“How dare you to your mother-in-law…”

“What did you say?”

“You can hear it, anyway, I’ll work hard. Is that okay?”

“Of course, the greatest woman in Europe… can’t eat free stew, can she?”

“Yes… I’ll show you how this old mother-in-law works.”

“Oh my, old? Looking at your appearance, I think you’re not my mother-in-law, but my sister-in-law!”

Watching the heartwarming relationship between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law,

“Then… you two have a good time. I have other business…”

“Where are you going, Matilda? You have to do it together too.”

“Princess Matilda, this is not Westminster Palace (England Palace).”

With the traffic cleared,

starting with the nobles,

the bastard legion,

the clergy legion,

the youngest legion,

the workers that Prince John had created with blood and sweat moved.

And Mary

worked harder than anyone as the mistress of Ireland.

As another day ended,

in Mary’s dream, who fell asleep as if collapsing,

[I’m sorry… my daughter.]

A ‘real father’ shedding tears of blood appeared.

“You don’t deserve to say that. Because you ‘ignored’ everything until the end, even though you knew everything.”

Even though the dead came out in a dream, Mary was rather confident.

The fault was only with the ‘father’.

[The reason I came to your dream is not because of that. I am..]

But

she couldn’t hear the words that Mary’s father, who appeared in the dream, wanted to say.

Because a maid woke up the Duchess of Ireland in a hurry.

Mary woke up from her sleep and had an uneasy expression.

A maid waking up the sleeping duchess?

If the maid who had helped her since before did this,

it meant something bad was happening.

“Duchess, we’re in big trouble now. Right now, the Duke of Ireland….”

“John… why?”

Mary, who collapsed after hearing the news that followed,

thought of her father in her dream today.

The meaning of those tears of blood…

**

-Anatolia-

The holy war that took place in Asia Minor, which can be called a bridge connecting East and West,

the sacred war, which both Christianity and Islam have traditionally emphasized,

is a secular war that is completed by making flags with countless blood.

The Islamic coalition was strong.

It was difficult because they had to come from afar to support.

Even though the cooperation between the units, where the Shia-Sunni conflict still remained, was a bit unnatural,

the Islamic coalition knew well what it meant to lose the ‘Middle East’ and the ‘Holy Land’.

The fall of the Sultanate of Rum [a Turkish state in Anatolia].

The salvation of the Sultanate of Rum.

The two armies, placed in extreme situations, fought desperately.

And now the fight began to turn into a ‘melee’ that excluded tactics and strategies.

What the two major camps, engaged in a futile war of attrition, were looking forward to was

‘Acre’.

The port city that Christianity lost with its eyes open, and the Islamic guys ate for free.

Depending on who occupied that place, which could become a penetration city in the Middle East following the Sultanate of Rum,

the grand strategy would change.

From the start, because of such importance, the Holy Roman Emperor volunteered to dispatch to Acre.

So, news related to Acre came to the crusaders who were fighting hard

and to Henry II, one of the top commanders.

Of course, news about John too.

“John, who was trying to save Emperor Frederick… was hit by an arrow instead?”

“What, John is now in critical condition?”

During the melee,

he had a desperate civil war with his brothers.

Even when he was stabbed in the back by his three sons, whom he secretly relied on,

he wasn’t this surprised.

The title of Duke of Anjou in his bright young days,

King of England, the most handsome man in Europe.

On the other side of that brilliant life,

how many thorny paths were there?

To such Henry II,

his youngest son, John,

was a precious youngest son.

‘John… John, that child…’

Even in the original history, Henry II, who believed in John, who was incompetent and not safe, until the end.

The always rational King was shaken.

He wanted to run to John right away.

That child, John,

was ‘ordinary’.

He seemed to be moderately concerned about his safety. But as a human being and a nobleman, what’s wrong with that?

In the damned Anjou-Plantagenet family,

Safe John

was too precious to Henry II.

But the position of the Great King

is a position where the country comes before the children.

Damn it.

In this fierce battlefield,

how can the Christian king retreat?

In this place where everyone is dying,

Henry II shouted in a loud voice.

“My son John is just one of the crusaders. I cannot ruin the ‘holy war’ because of my child’s affairs.”

With those words,

Henry II

issued a very obvious command that he had repeated countless times over the years.

“Now, brothers of faith, follow me!”

King Henry II of England was also

just one of the crusaders.

**

And Acre.

“Please save His Highness quickly.”

“We are doing our best.”

“Agh.”

Dangerous John, who is in a life-or-death crisis, is John really in pain?

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