I Became The King Of Crusaders [EN]: Chapter 156

< The Holy Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (1) >

Baldwin IV inhaled deeply.

Every muscle in his body screamed and convulsed. He couldn’t move anymore.

“Your Majesty! Your Majesty! You must come to your senses!”

Someone grabbed and shook his body.

The voices sounded like murmurs. Baldwin inhaled and exhaled with all his might.

“Sister?”

“Yes, I’m here.”

Baldwin felt a warm sensation.

A sensation he hadn’t felt since contracting leprosy.

Her voice echoed from above.

“Everything will be alright, Baldwin.”

“The new King of Jerusalem? Where did Baldwin go?”

“He went to the Temple Mount as you said. Theodora is with him too.”

“Yes.”

Baldwin sighed.

“That was quite a play, wasn’t it? Don’t you think?”

“You sacrificed more than anyone. More than anyone I know…”

Sibylla’s voice was heard. Baldwin felt his senses growing dull.

The pain of his body collapsing also faded.

“So, you can rest now.”

“Hurry, administer the last rites…”

Someone else’s voice was heard.

“He must confess his sins before the last rites, Your Majesty. Confess your sins.”

“I did my best.”

Baldwin squeezed out the words with all his strength.

“I did my best.”

He closed his eyes and took his last breath. Beyond his fading consciousness, he heard a sound.

“His Majesty the King has passed away! Long live His Majesty the King!”

“His Majesty the King has passed away! His Majesty the King…”

The sound stopped abruptly. He couldn’t hear anything anymore.

Baldwin slowly opened his eyes again.

Darkness. Only darkness and silence surrounded him.

Then a bright light tickled his eyes. A cool breeze brushed his face.

Baldwin squinted and looked ahead.

A blue meadow unfolded before him. In the distant horizon, the sun was setting, painting everything orange.

This was not Jerusalem.

There were no knights in chainmail, no Muslim warriors with flags. There were no doctors bandaging his body every day.

Only the meadow, the sun, and the wind greeted him.

Baldwin walked forward, feeling the touch of the grass brushing against his body.

In the center of the meadow, a man stood on horseback. He smiled at Baldwin.

“I have been waiting for you, Your Majesty.”

“Lord Humphrey! You were clearly protecting me…”

Baldwin muttered.

“You should have died.”

“I did. I have been waiting for Your Majesty to come ever since.”

The man said.

“I have also prepared a horse for you. Get on quickly. The deer will run away.”

“But I am…”

Baldwin looked down at his arm. The pus and scars were no longer visible.

His skin had turned as white as it was when he was a child.

He climbed onto the horse that Humphrey had brought. He didn’t need help getting into the saddle.

Humphrey smiled faintly and said.

“Your Majesty was a great king.”

“…”

Baldwin nodded instead of answering. The two rode together across the meadow.

A cool breeze blew.

Everyone had their own paradise.

* * *

Aig turned his head and looked towards the palace.

“His Majesty the King has passed away! Long live His Majesty the King!”

The shouts echoed, and bells rang out from everywhere. Aig stopped walking.

Everyone heading towards the Temple Mount stopped and looked back.

Their gaze soon turned to Baldwin at the head.

“Prince… No, Your Majesty.”

Aig knelt down, looking at Baldwin. Everyone else did the same.

The people and soldiers knelt before Baldwin and Theodora.

“Long live King Baldwin V! May the King live forever!”

“May the King live forever!”

Amid the continuing shouts, Aig approached Baldwin. He was looking ahead with a firm expression.

“Your Majesty, if you wish, I will turn towards the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.”

“…”

“Your Majesty.”

“There’s no need to go back. He wanted me to complete the coronation as well.”

Baldwin said, looking at Aig. He gave a faint smile.

Aig felt a strange sense of loneliness at the sight.

“Your Majesty…”

“I’m fine.”

“Understood.”

They began marching towards the Temple Mount again. The sound of bells echoed from the city center.

“May the King live forever!”

* * *

Two days later

Damascus

“So, it finally happened.”

Saladin sighed. He gestured for the messenger to leave.

“He didn’t look too good in Kerak either. He even tied himself to the saddle.”

He said, pulling on the reins of his horse. The horse snorted and stopped.

“We’ll have to end the hunt here today. It’s all spoiled.”

“You don’t seem too happy, brother.”

Al-Adil said. He held up the bow in his hand.

“I’d like to hold a celebratory banquet if it were up to me. Considering what that man has done to us Muslims…”

He said.

“It makes me feel good to think that he’s fallen into the fires of hell by now.”

“He was just fighting to protect his kingdom in the end. He’s the same as me in that regard. There’s no need to insult him even that far.”

Saladin said.

“But to die after crowning his nephew. He’s holding me back until the last moment.”

He said.

“Making the young Baldwin king is the greatest success the Leper King has achieved. Gee had to become king.”

He turned his head and looked at Al-Adil.

“Have you found out where Count Gee went?”

“According to rumors spreading among the Franks [Europeans], he has gone east in search of a man named Prester John [a legendary Christian priest-king of the East].”

Al-Adil replied.

“They even held a grand send-off ceremony.”

“It’s probably just a play. What’s it really like?”

“His whereabouts are unclear. I couldn’t get a good grasp of it. Why bother when you could just behead or exile him…”

“The Franks’ church never allows divorce. Instead of officially separating from Sibylla, they simply got rid of him.”

He muttered.

“But a Christian priest-king in the East. Maybe there really is such a country.”

“The situation in Abyssinia (Ethiopia) is also unusual. The number of ships has been increasing since the Venetians started operating in the Red Sea.”

Al-Adil said.

“If we’re not careful, they may try to interfere in the Levant [historical geographical area including present-day Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan].”

“Time is short, but the number of things to deal with keeps increasing.”

Saladin clicked his tongue. Then Al-Adil frowned and opened his mouth.

“We should have beheaded all the prisoners in Damietta. Baldwin created a relief fund…”

“Then we wouldn’t have been able to get back the gold we lost in Cairo. And it’s not that big of a risk with only a few hundred returning. The real problem is the relief fund itself.”

Saladin said.

“Baldwin’s popularity is getting out of hand.”

“…”

“If the Franks draw their swords, we have no choice but to draw ours. We need to pay pensions to more cavalry and soldiers.”

“Recklessly increasing the number of pension recipients will put a strain on our finances.”

“Then I’ll have to take more money out of my vault.”

Saladin smiled.

“We shouldn’t give the impression that we are inferior to the Franks. We must always be one step ahead of them.”

“You don’t have to go that far. The people of the Levant and Egypt already follow you. They all recite your name in the mosques.”

“Maybe they do now. But I don’t think they will after I die.”

“…”

“Let’s go. This is not the time to be playing around. We need to come up with a plan too.”

Saladin said, pulling on the reins. The two crossed the hunting grounds under the escort of Kurdish soldiers.

* * *

Jerusalem

Headquarters of the Knights Hospitaller

Jernal scratched his head as he looked at the picture in front of him.

“It’s amazing no matter how I look at it. A stamp that prints such a large picture.”

He asked, looking at Kang, who was standing opposite him. No matter how he looked at it, the green uniform stood out.

“Did you make this?”

“The first suggestion was made by Prince Baldwin, no, Your Majesty.”

Kang said. He pointed to the printing press and said.

“His Majesty also suggested using a wine press.”

“Yes, His Majesty was the first to come up with the signal tower. The elixir too.”

Jernal said. He stroked his beard with a thoughtful expression.

“I didn’t think he would be sitting on the throne like this back then. You really never know what will happen in the world.”

He turned his head and looked at the printing press. He had designed the signal tower, but this was his first time seeing this kind of device.

“I thought the Prince would bring something new… Explain it to me one more time. I still don’t understand it very well.”

“First, you need to make a woodblock to apply ink and print. Then…”

Kang’s explanation continued. After listening to the explanation, Jernal scratched his head.

“It’s simpler than I thought. Very simple. Why didn’t the Romans think of this sooner?”

He accepted the woodblocks Kang handed him.

“Your name is Kang, right? Did you make these woodblocks yourself?”

“You could say that. I made most of them for fun.”

“Very elaborate. It feels like looking at a well-made stained glass window.”

“I’ve worked as a carpenter before.”

Kang nodded.

Jernal looked at the woodblocks one by one, turning them over.

“Is this a woodblock that prints indulgences [documents reducing penance for sins]? There are numbers engraved on it.”

He muttered.

“Numbers and letters. This is amazing. Do you know how long it takes to transcribe the Bible?”

Jernal shook his head and said.

“You probably don’t know. Even with dozens of priests working on it, it takes several months to over a year. It takes much longer if elaborate illustrations are included.”

He muttered.

“To be able to print pictures, letters, and numbers. If done well, it could completely replace transcription.”

Jernal continued to look at the woodblocks. One of them caught his eye.

A king wearing a silver mask and riding a horse. Anyone could recognize him at a glance.

“Isn’t this His Majesty King Baldwin IV, the late king?”

“I slightly changed the appearance I saw at the coronation.”

Kang scratched the back of his head.

“Of course, there are some differences from the actual appearance…”

“He looks dignified. Have you ever printed this with a printing press?”

“I haven’t printed it yet because I made it for fun.”

“Then let’s test this one first. If it goes well, it could become a picture to put in the church.”

The two worked together to attach the woodblock to the printing press. As time passed, the priests around them gathered one by one.