The Youngest Prince Of The English Royalty House [EN]: Chapter 128

128. Rewarded (2)

This feeling was akin to cosmic horror, a fear stemming from the ‘unknown’ that I had never before experienced. Right now, my mother and father’s saccharine gazes were the source of that very horror.

Perhaps they sensed the strange atmosphere between us. My mother brazenly declared,

“Honey, aren’t we a couple?”

“A lovely couple.”

—Chu.

“…!”

In front of the guards and all sorts of Irish nobles, Father kissed Mother on the cheek. They were committing a terribly embarrassing act in public.

Even a simple cheek kiss between two people who are usually like enemies, performed in front of their subordinates… isn’t it mortifying? Is this really acceptable?

“Dad, Grandpa and Grandma are kissing!”

“Kiss, kiss!”

Yes, they were a couple. Due to the strictures of the Middle Ages, divorce for a royal couple who adhered to Catholicism was incredibly difficult, and there were quite a few ‘separated’ couples who maintained the facade of a marriage out of necessity.

“Why, is it so strange that we’ve reconciled?”

At Mother’s words, I nodded silently. Of course, it’s strange.

Then, Henry II spoke with theatrical flair in front of everyone.

“We, in our twilight years, are going to rekindle our love.”

‘Rekindle our love,’ my foot. My heart remained unmoved. It was like watching Gary Oldman’s acting, appreciating the skill without being emotionally invested.

“Father, this is…”

Even young James, who was well aware of our family’s dynamics, looked pale. He must have been shocked by the desperate *modus operandi* of his grandparents.

I whispered to my son.

“It’s politics, my son.”

Ah, my son is too young to witness this charade. What kind of deal did these two strike?

Regardless, I firmly voiced my thoughts to my parents.

“Royal Father, and Royal Mother, I am very confused right now.”

“….”

The Demon King of Chaos seems to have extended his reach beyond the East and into the West. Confusing. Truly confusing.

No, why are these two suddenly so affectionate? What’s truly astonishing is that it doesn’t seem like mere acting. Is this what reconciling in their old age looks like?

But.

This is a public setting, so I can’t delve deeper into the matter right now.

‘In their old age… It must be that their interests have aligned.’

I know my father and mother intimately. They had crossed the point of no return long ago, with Father’s infidelity, Mother’s retaliatory affairs, and Mother’s subsequent rebellion.

“Let’s talk inside.”

I needed to usher these saccharine parents indoors so that everyone else could regain their composure.

After entering my most private reception room, where there were no eavesdroppers, I questioned my parents.

“What on earth has happened?”

My question was straightforward.

A political union was understandable given that the children had instigated two rebellions, but I wanted to know the specifics.

Then Father spoke first.

“Since Adam ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil by the temptation of the serpent, all humans are destined to die.”

The exciting Bible study begins. Our father isn’t particularly devout, but he has an excessive fondness for the Bible.

Anyway, at Father’s mention of Adam, Mother, who was sipping wine beside him, interjected.

“Henry, here we go again.”

Judging by Mother’s expression, this kind of exasperated comment wasn’t new.

“Yes?”

But I answered absentmindedly.

Then our proud father, Henry II, said with a face filled with emotion.

“Actually, I almost died while in flagrante delicto [caught in the act of adultery], and I had a lot of time to reflect.”

Yes, if a person teeters on the brink of death from overexertion and returns to life, they are bound to have some realizations. If they don’t, that’s a problem in itself.

With a solemn expression, Father, who was acting weighty, said.

“I realized that I had lived my life in vain.”

Considering Henry II, who remained a terrible father in history despite being a great king to the country, it was true. It was remarkable that he admitted it himself.

“I also realized how indifferent I had been to my family.”

At Father’s words of repentance, Mother nodded in agreement. Because she sympathized.

Indeed, to me, a reincarnated soul, Father Henry II always prioritized England. And he paid more attention to pretty women than to his family.

The former could be understood as the behavior of an absolute monarch in the Middle Ages, preoccupied with the power struggle between France and England, which left him little time for his family.

The latter was disgusting the more I thought about it. Wasn’t Henry II practically a European stud farm, fathering hundreds, even thousands, of illegitimate children?

Then Father, who had been serious for a while, looked at me and said.

“I’m not the only one who suffered.”

“What did you say?”

“John, I’m 11 years older, but you’re 12 years older. This father has lost.”

“What are you talking about!”

—Slap.

Mother slapped Father on the back. A crisp and satisfying sound. She hit him well. Honestly, it was a gratifying blow.

“Ellie (Eleanor’s nickname), aren’t you being too harsh? An old father, being hit in front of his youngest son!”

“…Huh, do you even have a conscience?”

Eleanor retorted fiercely. Then she said to me.

“Don’t pay too much attention to your father’s words, good John. The reason we are saying these things is because we want a united Anjou. A reconciliation for the sake of a great power?”

“A united Anjou?”

“The Anjou *something*, *something*, *something* [unfamiliar terms] that you have been implementing are idealistic policies that cannot be applied in the short term. But… it would be different if you met a monarch who could make good use of these things, right? What if your brother Richard, who became the crown prince, properly introduces your policies?”

“…I don’t know well.”

I couldn’t answer immediately. I didn’t fully understand Mother’s intention.

At this time, Father, who had been silent for a while, said with annoyance.

“Ugh, I miss the children who went to the Kingdom of Jerusalem!”

“You kicked them out.”

* * *

—1192, Kingdom of Jerusalem—

The Kingdom of Jerusalem, where Jesus Christ once lived.

People clicked their tongues at this sacred kingdom, which holds immense significance as a holy site for Christians.

They received news from Venetian merchants that the civil war of Europe’s most dysfunctional family was over, and the losers were coming to rule them.

“A new king is coming from the Anjou royal family?”

“Ugh, just look at the state of their family.”

“The losers are ruling our kingdom. It’s too much, even if we are somewhat removed from mainland Europe.”

In the world.

It was humiliating that those who lost, not those who won, the power struggle would become the rulers of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

If there is a universally understood principle throughout the East and West, it’s that the fate of the loser is determined solely by the mercy of the winner.

The War of the Lions, where the Black Lion and the White Lion competed for the throne of England! Richard won against Prince John, Henry and Prince Geoffrey lost.

Originally, in the battles of medieval Europe, if the princes won decisively, it was common for the losers to meet one of the three major demises: a fall from a horse, a suspicious death, or death by illness, or to be confined to a dark and gloomy tower. But they lived!

Richard was confident. Prince John had sweetness. Of course, the two people’s thoughts were different, but they thought that they enjoyed complete power, not precarious power enough to kill their brothers.

‘Were Geoffrey and I that much of a threat?’

“Ha….”

There is a man sighing.

His name is Henry, who was once the Duke of Aquitaine.

He saved his life, but lost all his territory.

“Co-king. Damn….”

“Brother, what can we do?”

Prince Henry knew. He was shown great mercy simply by having his life spared. There were plenty of ways to kill people secretly in the English royal family if they didn’t like them.

“But why the King of Jerusalem?”

Guillaume I, a relative of Prince Geoffrey, died under suspicious circumstances. He was told to ascend to the vacant throne, even to the position of ‘co-king’ that he hated the most.

At that time, Marguerite, who was talking with her sister-in-law Constance, looked at the two men and said.

“Hohoho. You two… don’t need to be so disappointed.”

“If you don’t get discouraged, you’ll have a chance.”

“Marguerite, what do you mean?”

“Let’s meet the person we need to meet first.”

Just before the two princes were exiled to the Kingdom of Jerusalem, Henry II ordered the defeated princes to stop somewhere before going to the capital of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

What greeted Prince Henry’s party, who arrived with the remnants of the knights who loyally guarded them despite being defeated in the civil war, was Balian, a loyalist of Baldwin IV.

“Welcome, new monarchs.”

“Lord Balian, are you the one who will greet me?”

Prince Henry knew Balian well. A French nobleman whom Baldwin cherished very much. And, most importantly, he is the most capable nobleman in the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

‘Could it be that the Royal Father is planning something through this guy…?’

Prince Henry, who had been manipulated by Henry II, who shared the same name as himself, felt bitter again. He had already grown up and established his own base, but the ambitious rebellion failed.

Perhaps he felt like he was being used as his father’s chess piece. But Balian answered Prince Henry’s heavy question indifferently.

“You have to meet another ‘person’, not me.”

Then the door of the shack opened and people came out.

Of course, the knights who guarded Prince Henry showed vigilance, and Balian looked at them and said with a calm face.

“They are our people.”

Like the old Baldwin IV, a man wearing an iron mask and the Templar knights following him.

“Who are you?”

He immediately took off his mask and said.

“Can’t you recognize your cousin? Older brother, older sister-in-law.”

Although the Count of Surrey is of illegitimate birth, his son is William, born to the Count of Surrey and a noble lady. He is the son of an illegitimate child, but he is a powerful nobleman who is not illegitimate.

In addition, William was a person who had interacted with members of the Anjou royal family while showing a neutral stance. So there is no one among the royalty in this place who does not know William, the former Surrey son of a nobleman.

It would be unbelievable even if you thought about the story of the Bible that the dead Lazarus came back to life.

At that moment, Prince Henry and Prince Geoffrey realized.

Since there is no Jesus Christ, there is no chance that the dead will come back to life. It must be said that the information has been concealed so far.

The other losers of the Anjou royal family did not grasp the situation, but Marguerite, who was a French princess, immediately judged the situation.

‘Who else but Anna Comnena, who hid her name, must have blocked the information with money.’

‘Prince John, what are you doing?’

Queen Marguerite, who was kicked out of the joint queen of England and became the joint queen of Jerusalem.

“Honey, let’s put it down now. After all, it’s only Geoffrey’s son Geoffrey who will continue our lineage.”

“…I have to maintain even this pathetic position.”

Prince Henry also knew well. From the beginning, becoming the joint king of Jerusalem was an outer packaging to kick him out to Jerusalem.

* * *

A banquet was held where everyone was drinking and getting drunk.

A fun banquet hosted by the Great King and Great Queen of England, who came in person to celebrate the winner, Safe John.

Of course, the atmosphere could only be good. We really won properly, so we are playing like this.

“For the great England.”

—For!

The owner of this territory is me, but the Great King and Great Queen of England are scattering gold coins in Ireland.

The banquet with other people’s money is the sweetest, because it’s not with my money.

But there is no expenditure without a reason in this world. The fact that our mother and father are not people who spend money because they are nice is already a well-known fact.

A banquet that everyone enjoys, a banquet that the privileged class enjoys, and a banquet where only family gathers.

“The Safe Guild is growing day by day.”

The Safe Guild, which is running properly with not only my money but also my wife’s seed money, was safe as its name suggests. That was enough.

“I gave Brittany to your brother, so John, you will be the Grand Duke of Aquitaine from now on.”

“Don’t give me this bitter cup [unpleasant task].”

“It was a deal with Richard.”

But Father gave such a direct answer.

“Thank you.”

This time, I gratefully received the spoils.

You have to say thank you~ and receive it when an adult gives it to you!