I Became The King Of Crusaders [EN]: Chapter 194

< 194 – Masyaf and Alamut (4) >

“Hey, Sinan.”

I stared at the man before me.

A body beaten to a pulp and slumped over.
A gag was stuffed in his mouth, likely to prevent him from biting his tongue.

“Didn’t you say I’d pay the price someday? Seems like the situation is quite the opposite now.”

It was definitely after the Egypt affair was settled. He was furious that I had passed information to Saladin, or so I recall.

“If you had just come and surrendered willingly, you could have kept your position as commander. Why did you have to make things so difficult?”

Causing such a ruckus by dragging Aleppo into it. He had to pay the price for complicating the situation.

Well, in the end, I benefited from it too.

The Assassins of Alamut approached.

“Sinan is yours to take, as promised.”

They dragged Sinan away.

“If problems arise later because of that guy…”

“There’s no need to worry. The Imam [religious leader in Islam] has already planned a fitting punishment for him.”

The Assassins’ punishment, huh.

I don’t really want to imagine it.

Just then, Joscelin approached me and whispered.

“Your Majesty, are you really going to hand Masyaf over to them?”

He added, looking at the Assassins.

“They seem like a dangerous element as well. Wouldn’t it be better to occupy this fortress now while we have the chance…?”

“Occupying the fortress wouldn’t be difficult. But the aftermath is the problem.”

I answered with a smile.

The Assassins’ strength comes not from a simple fortress, but from their intelligence network and assassin squads.

“There are still hundreds of Assassins loyal to Sinan scattered throughout the Levant and Syria.”

I looked at the Alamut Assassins.

“If they don’t take control, it will become a major headache.”

With the leader Sinan captured, the other subordinates would follow Alamut’s control.

“And right now, we need every soldier we can get. We can’t afford to be fighting in places like this.”

I approached the Alamut Assassins.

“There’s something I forgot to mention. Sinan has been paying tribute to the Order every year.”

I said.

“From this year on, you will have to take over that tribute. Prepare the goods and send them to Jerusalem within three weeks.”

“That wasn’t part of the agreement. We just occupied the fortress, how can we possibly…”

“Or you can give up the fortress and leave. The choice is yours.”

“…”

The Assassins stared at me. Silence fell, and both the knights and the Assassins stood still.

It was a tense atmosphere, as if swords could be drawn at any moment. After a brief silence, the man finally shook his head.

“Understood. But it’s difficult to prepare the tribute within two weeks, so please make it three…”

“I’ll give you three weeks.”

I interrupted. This should be enough. They won’t be able to think of anything else while gathering the tribute.

They should stay quiet as mice during the Third Crusade.

Turning away, I headed towards the tent where Richard and Marshall were.

As soon as I entered the tent, Ayge followed me in.

All three of our gazes turned to him.

“What is it this time, Ayge?”

“It’s news from Jerusalem. King Philip II…”

Ayge caught his breath and continued.

“He is not feeling well and is bedridden.”

“The King of France is not feeling well?”

Richard scoffed, as if for everyone to hear.

“That fellow is finally causing trouble. Coming all the way to the Holy Land and feigning illness.”

“Duke.”

William Marshall said, as if to dissuade him.

“Please, refrain from making rude remarks. There are many ears listening.”

“Marshall, you know I’m right, don’t you? Baldwin, don’t you think so too?”

Richard shrugged.

“He’s probably whining about being sick and having to return to Europe.”

“I agree with the Duke.”

I answered with a smile.

Marshall sighed again at my words.

“But I didn’t expect him to come up with something like that.”

Coming to the Third Crusade and then trying to run away with illness as an excuse.

Nothing different from the original history.

The king who revived the toothless French kingdom and a wise ruler.

But from my perspective, knowing the future, smart guys like him were easier to predict.

Guys like Guy de Lusignan and Reynald of Châtillon were harder to deal with.

“If Philip keeps insisting on returning to Europe, it will be difficult to hold him back.”

Richard sighed deeply.

“Let’s just send him back to Europe. My brother is in England anyway, so he can handle it.”

Marshall nodded in agreement.

“If we stop him here, it will only create more problems. It might look like we’re obstructing the king’s divine right.”

“That’s not wrong either. We can’t just stop someone who’s whining about being sick.”

I replied with a smile.

But I had anticipated this situation before leaving Europe.

‘If I can’t even win over a guy like Philip, Saladin is out of the question.’

It was time to bring out the traps I had prepared in advance.

“But if his illness is cured, there would be no reason to leave, would there?”

Both Richard and Marshall tilted their heads at my words.

* * *

Arriving in Jerusalem, I headed straight to the room where Philip was lying.

Preparation is necessary before putting on a play.

“Pinch me hard, Ayge. Hard enough to make me cry.”

“H-How can I pinch Your Majesty? What punishment would I receive for such sacrilege…?”

“I’m asking because I trust you that much. Just avoid the face so there are no marks.”

“I can’t do it, even if I die!”

After a lot of bickering, Ayge eventually sneaked an onion from the dining hall.

This is more potent than I thought.
Tears streaming down my face, I burst into Philip’s room.

“Where is King Philip?!”

“Y-Your Majesty! Are you alright?!”

The lords and nobles who saw me were startled and asked.

I need to look even sadder here.

“That’s not important right now! The King of France has collapsed, what have you all been doing?!”

“W-We are all praying for King Philip’s recovery…”

“Silence, all of you!”

I approached Philip’s side.

Lying in bed, he looked every bit the seriously ill patient.

But my intuition told me otherwise.

‘Just a mild heatstroke, and he’s making such a fuss.’

It was the same level of heatstroke that Henry II, Richard, and I had all experienced for days.

He’s making it out to be a terminal illness.

He too was quite surprised by my sudden actions.

“It’s a great relief to have the King of Jerusalem here. I’ve been feeling so unwell for the past few days…”

“There’s no need to worry, noble King of France.”

I said, holding his hand. I looked around at the crowd and added.

“On my way here from Masyaf to Jerusalem, Archangel Michael appeared to me and spoke!”

First, a little seasoning.

“The Lord has taken pity on the King of France and will heal all his ailments!”

“Oh!”

The nobles and lords exclaimed at those words.

“Indeed, the Lord watches over the Crusaders and the Holy City!”

“That’s right! How could He just stand by and watch King Philip collapse?”

I looked at them and added.

“All of you, go outside and spread my words. It is enough for me alone to care for the noble King of France here.”

“Of course, Your Majesty. Who can imitate Your Majesty’s divine healing?”

They all nodded and left the room. Now, only Philip and I were left in the bedroom.

Philip was the first to speak.

“Your words always give me great strength, Baldwin. But perhaps…”

He said in a worried tone.

“The Lord may not want me to be in the Levant. It’s embarrassing to say, but perhaps my faith is still lacking.”

Is he still going to act?

Philip had tricked me once before in Europe.

He was making a fuss about not coming to the Crusade, so I dragged him along by talking about prophecies.

So he must have expected this much.

‘No matter what kind of wordplay I use, he’s going to return to Europe somehow.’

In fact, I didn’t really care whether Philip returned or not.

But the thousands of French soldiers were a different story.

Unlike their king, Philip, they were enthusiastic about the expedition.

I couldn’t afford to send them away when I was short on soldiers.

“Then there’s nothing I can do. I’ll have ships prepared so that the French army can leave.”

I said with a sigh.

“They will probably be ready to set sail sometime next year.”

“Next year? That’s too late.”

Philip coughed.

“I need to return to Europe as soon as possible for this illness to heal. If I die here, France will fall into chaos.”

He continued coughing and added.

“I’ve already contacted the maritime cities…”

“They will only be able to resume ship operations after this Third Crusade is over.”

I smiled.

“While we are transporting troops and fighting, where would they find the spare capacity to transport French soldiers?”

“But I have a separate contract with them.”

Philip said.

His tone suggested that he sensed something was amiss.

“They agreed to provide ships whenever I requested them.”

“It seems you didn’t examine the contract carefully enough.”

I leaned forward.

An angle where Philip’s face was clearly visible.

“Once the expedition begins, all ships in the maritime cities of the Levant are requisitioned by the kingdom.”

I added.

“How those ships are operated after that is entirely up to me.”

“Requisitioning all the ships in the Levant? That’s the same as turning Venice, Genoa, and Amalfi into enemies.”

Philip muttered in disbelief.

“You can’t forget Pisa. It’s unavoidable to protect the Holy City of Jerusalem. His Holiness the Pope has already approved it.”

I shrugged.

In fact, this was a trap I had prepared years in advance.

I had already secured the cooperation of the maritime cities.

Requisitioning the ships was just an excuse; in reality, the maritime cities would retain control.

The maritime cities had promised Philip that they would transport troops whenever he wanted, but in reality, they had told a clever lie.

They probably squeezed more money out of Philip in return.

Those cunning bastards.

“T-That, that…”

Only then did Philip’s forehead tremble slightly. A look of realization on his face as he understood how the situation was unfolding.

He probably didn’t expect me to be so thoroughly prepared.

I smiled again and opened my mouth.

“Or, going by land instead of sea is also an option. That’s how the First and Second Crusades came, wasn’t it?”

Of course, I have no intention of sending him that way either.

“I will send a letter to the Basileus (Emperor) of the Eastern Roman Empire in advance to prepare supplies and guides.”

I added.

“The Basileus recently repelled the Sultanate of Rum, so the road will be safe.”

The meaning was simple.

If you try to go by land, I’ll drag in the Eastern Roman Empire and the Sultanate of Rum and turn it into hell for you.

“Are you really going to return that way?”

“…”

Philip didn’t answer my question.

His expression was now half resigned.

Will he insist to the end?

Or will he obediently stay and pick up the crumbs?

Philip isn’t the type to keep making losing choices.

You’re smart in your own way, aren’t you?

“I was planning to entrust the capture of Damascus to France in this expedition.”

I said.

“If you capture Damascus, that glory will shine not only on France but on all of Europe.”

In the silence, we glared at each other.

And at the same time, as if by agreement, we burst into laughter.

“…I suddenly feel like my body has gotten better.”

“I knew you would say that.”

A few minutes passed, and we came out of the bedroom together.

In front of the nobles and lords, I grabbed Philip’s hand and raised it high.

He also wore a bright smile that was 180 degrees different from before.

“King Baldwin has healed the King of France!”

“Long live the Holy City of Jerusalem!”

The excited cheers of the crowd echoed through the palace.

Yeah, this is the kind of event that suits the Third Crusade.