I Became The King Of Crusaders [EN]: Chapter 33

The Man Who Saved Rome (3)

* * *

“This, this is slander!”

The man twisted his body and shouted.

Below the imperial palace, in the dungeon.

Manes Komnenos’ husband, Rainier, was half-bound to a chair.

A suffocating fear emanated from him.

“How could I have plotted to assassinate His Imperial Majesty?!”

“Princess Theodora has already testified. She said that you and Manes came and confessed your sins.”

Alexios spoke in a stiff tone.

His expression was colder than ever before.

The guards were the same.

They were all silent, but their emotions were the opposite.

‘They look like they’re about to explode.’

I stood outside the prison cell and watched.

“You realized the assassination had failed and immediately fled the imperial palace. And you still claim to be innocent?!”

“Y-Your Majesty! I tried to stop the plan!”

Rainier cried out in an even more urgent tone.

Was it only now that he realized he couldn’t deny it?

“But before I could even inform you, Manes suddenly set things off….”

“Now you’re trying to blame your wife. Shame on you, Rainier.”

The young emperor turned his head.

“I don’t think there’s anything more to hear from you.”

“Y-Your Majesty!”

Alexios came out of the prison cell.

I noticed that the young emperor’s hand was trembling.

He looked at me and sighed.

“What do you think, Duke?”

“Rainier must have been an accomplice as well. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have followed Princess Manes to the Hagia Sophia [the main cathedral of Constantinople].”

I said.

Bewilderment, regret, fear.

These emotions meant only one thing.

He was also an accomplice in this plan.

“It’s fortunate that the Patriarch [the highest-ranking bishop] handed them over immediately.”

He sighed.

“I didn’t expect things to go so smoothly with just pig’s blood.”

“What’s important is the message, or rather, the meaning within it.”

I said with a smile.

The handkerchief placed in front of the Hagia Sophia.

It wasn’t actually Alexios’ blood that soaked it, but pig’s blood.

‘Alexios did suffer a scratch, but it wasn’t enough to draw blood.’

In a way, it was like staging a fake play against the system.

But in the end, it was an important message.

[Princess Manes tried to assassinate the Emperor!]

No matter how many times you say this, it’s useless.

To appeal to public sentiment, you had to use a different method.

‘A blood-stained handkerchief.’

There couldn’t be a more powerful prop than this.

The Patriarch was also swayed by public sentiment and had no choice but to kick the two out of the cathedral.

“I’m glad you’re here in the capital, Duke. If it had been before the festival, the citizens wouldn’t have believed me.”

Alexios sighed.

“They would have accused me of only siding with the Latins [Western Europeans].”

“Well, Your Imperial Majesty would have managed it well.”

Of course, this was a lie.

If it weren’t for me, it would have been a complete mess right now.

Rushing to drag soldiers to drag the princess away, failing, and then getting angry and trying to replace the Patriarch, causing public sentiment to explode….

A mess within a mess.

‘But why did Manes Komnenos make such an unreasonable move?’

She would have known better than anyone that public sentiment was leaning towards the Emperor.

‘Did she think there would be no chance at all if time passed?’

I spat in disgust.

Then it makes sense that she did such a foolish thing.

“I’ve been wanting to ask you something since that day, Duke.”

Alexios cleared his throat and asked.

“How did you notice that they were assassins? The captain of the guard confessed that he didn’t even notice until the last moment.”

He said.

“All the assassins entered the banquet hall through legitimate procedures.”

“It’s not that great. They all had their hands inside their cloaks, as if they were holding something.”

I said.

It wouldn’t matter if I said it was a hunch this time.

“They were also visibly nervous. Those reactions combined to give me certainty.”

“I see. I didn’t notice at all.”

He looked at me with admiration.

No, that kind of look is a bit 부담스러운데 [burdensome/uncomfortable in Korean].

I cleared my throat and asked.

“Where is Princess Manes now?”

“She’s locked up in the imperial palace’s private prison. She’ll soon be sent to a convent outside the capital.”

He muttered.

“She’ll spend the rest of her life there. If I had my way, I’d take revenge right away, but….”

A convent, huh.

Practically the most severe punishment that could be given to a princess.

It was called a convent, but it was closer to a prison.

Still, is it better than dying right away?

I think she was poisoned by Andronikos, who seized power in the original history.

“She probably won’t live long there either.”

Alexios muttered.

“She tried to take my and Agnes’ lives. I’ll have to take care of it later when things calm down.”

Hmm, it seems like she won’t live long in this world either.

I looked at the boy.

He seemed more mature after the assassination attempt.

No, he has no choice but to mature.

Everything is going crazy, so he can’t be a child alone.

“Then Rainier….”

“I’ll have his eyes gouged out so he can’t cause trouble again. No one will follow a blind man.”

Alexios said in a calm tone.

As expected, the long-standing traditions of the Eastern Roman Empire cannot be ignored.

Blinding and castration.

He looked at me and gave a faint smile.

“Let’s go to the conference hall now, Duke.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

I left the room, ignoring the screams echoing from behind.

When you try to kill someone, you have to be prepared to die yourself.

And there was something else that was important.

‘It’s just the beginning.’

Andronikos.

He must have started moving.

* * *

Imperial Palace.

As the situation was quickly resolved, the capital regained stability.

Empress Dowager Maria summoned nobles and clergy to the imperial palace to confirm their oaths of allegiance.

The Emperor, the regency council, and Princess Theodora were in charge of managing the situation.

I also attended the meeting as an unofficial member.

“There’s no time to waste. We need to strengthen the capital’s defenses right now.”

I said, tapping the table.

“Andronikos must have been waiting for this chaos to happen. We have to assume he’s already started moving.”

The capital’s chaos.

He, full of greed, would not miss this opportunity.

Princess Manes and her husband paved the way for him to move.

But this isn’t a bad thing.

Rather, it’s an opportunity for us.

‘If he threatens the capital with an army, we’ll have a reason to purge him.’

I had to remove the barb while I was here.

I can’t keep sitting here in Constantinople.

“My father has forgiven him several times because he’s a member of the imperial family. But really….”

Alexios said.

“If Andronikos brings in Admiral Kontosfenanos and brings a fleet, that’s a clear act of treason.”

“And at the same time, it’s a favorable situation for Your Majesty. Because the capital isn’t actually in chaos.”

I nodded in response.

Andronikos must be expecting the gates to open wide as soon as he arrives.

But that’s what happened in the original history.

It’s different now.

Then Theodora chimed in.

“Then it would be better for the capital to appear still chaotic. If they know the situation has been resolved, they might withdraw their troops.”

Hmm, that’s right.

No matter how arrogant the opponent is, it’s better to hide information.

There must be people in Constantinople who follow Andronikos.

“The Princess is right. Let’s ban people from leaving the capital and only allow a few designated merchants to leave.”

I added.

“I’ll tell the Latin merchants in advance. Tell them to spread rumors that the capital is in chaos.”

“The citizens will understand well enough if we issue a curfew because there was an assassination attempt.”

Theodora said.

I looked at her.

She was the most active member of the imperial family in resolving this crisis.

As she sided with the Emperor, public sentiment immediately shifted to this side.

Even now, her emotions were endlessly calm.

Does she really want to protect the empire her father ruled?

“What’s the troop situation, Your Majesty?”

“My mother has already issued a conscription order. We won’t be short of guards to put on the walls.”

Alexios said.

“If we have to, we can gather conscripts.”

“Before that, we need to figure out where the enemy is first. And….”

I looked at the map on the table.

Constantinople.

The triple walls were reassuring just by looking at the map.

Unless they brought cannons, the walls of Constantinople could not be breached.

But the problem was the people guarding the gates.

No matter how strong the walls are, it’s useless if there are traitors inside.

“First, we need to deploy the Varangian Guard [elite Viking/Norse bodyguards] to the gates and key locations. To prevent anyone from opening the gates recklessly.”

I said.

What exactly was the original history event like?

I wracked my brain.

Andronikos brought a fleet and came through the wide-open gates….

“And let’s prepare catapults on the side connected to the sea. So that we can drive away the fleet at any time.”

Andronikos.

If he knew that Constantinople was rejecting him, how would he react?

What would happen?

I realized one thing.

“There was something else that was most important. We need to issue an evacuation order around the capital right now.”

“If it’s an evacuation order… you mean confiscating supplies and food into the capital. Including the citizens.”

Alexios said.

“But unless the siege is going to last a long time, there’s no need to inflict pain on the citizens….”

“We must issue an evacuation order no matter what. Even to reduce the suffering of the citizens.”

I shook my head.

The fastest way to bring Andronikos to his knees.

That was to destroy everything around him.

I smiled as I looked at Alexios and Theodora.

If we control the information well, they won’t prepare for a long-term war.

“No matter how many troops they bring, what will happen if they have nothing to eat?”

* * *

Aegean Sea.

A group of ships cut through the waves.

The Grand Fleet led by Admiral Kontosfenanos passed through the straits without any hindrance.

“Everything is going according to our plan, isn’t it?”

Andronikos said, standing next to him.

As always, he hid his physique with a large robe.

“Everything seems to be going *too* according to plan.”

“You worry too much. How many days until we arrive?”

“There are only about two days left.”

“Two days, huh. That means the empire will be in our hands in just two more days.”

He burst out laughing.

“If the rebellion fails….”

“Rebellion? Keep in mind, we raised an army to protect the young emperor. We are entering the capital only as the emperor’s servants.”

Andronikos waved his hand.

“We also have a sufficient justification because we have a letter from Princess Manes. Didn’t I guarantee it? That the capital would soon be shaken greatly?”

“Yes, you said so. But there are many problems.”

The admiral sighed.

“We set sail in a hurry, so we only have minimal supplies….”

“What does supplies matter when we’re about to enter the capital right away?”

Andronikos wiped his saliva and looked across the street.

The Queen of all cities.

Constantinople loomed before his eyes.

“Ah, how long I have been waiting for this moment.”