The Youngest Prince Of The English Royalty House [EN]: Chapter 136

136. A New Beginning

—1200, Duchy of Aquitaine—

To think my son is already getting married. There was, of course, much to prepare.

“Honey, I’ve finished preparing for the event.”

“The rest will proceed when Adelaide arrives. Thank you for your hard work.”

“It’s nothing. As the Duchess of Aquitaine, I should do at least this much. I’ll take my leave now.”

“Thank you for your efforts.”

Mary, as beautiful and youthful as my mother, gracefully departed.

Speaking of mothers, all my half-sisters born from my mother have died.

After the funeral Mass for my eldest sister, Princess Marie, Alix crossed the River Jordan [a euphemism for dying] the following year.

My sisters, who were about the same age as my mother, took their revenge on our mother, Eleanor, in that way.

But, in a twist of fate, our mother did not pass away.

Perhaps that was her karma.

‘I can’t say I have no regrets towards my maternal grandmother, but right now, I’m only thinking about Prince Richard’s future.’

The Count of Champagne was still Richard’s vassal, with whom I competed for the top spot, so he wasn’t too angry about the neglect of his deceased mother, Marie.

‘The blood flowing through my veins is solely the noble blood of Capet and Blois. The hypocritical and filthy blood of Aquitaine ends today.’

The Count of Blois, who was Alix’s son, did not hide his anger. He seemed ready to never even urinate in the direction of England [an expression of extreme contempt].

He was already loyal to Philip II as a royalist, and now he has become a key noble of the Capetian dynasty.

The blade of revenge is terrifying, and he will be quite a headache in the future.

Even one of my own brothers crossed the River Jordan.

Henry, who was reluctantly serving as the co-king of Jerusalem in the Kingdom of Jerusalem, fell ill and died.

Around that time, a letter came from there.

—My eldest sister-in-law, Princess Marguerite, expressed through a ‘Biblical’ metaphor that she absolutely did not kill him. Well, she doesn’t need to kill her husband now. Henry, who gave up the crown of England, probably died of frustration.

Later, Geoffrey told me the situation properly, and from a modern perspective, it seemed like Henry was suffering from depression.

Well, it’s no wonder he was angry since Richard snatched the position of heir to the English throne that he so desired.

Well, that’s enough about that side of things.

Now is the time to prepare for my life as a great noble of England.

Everyone knows that Henry II is gradually passing on power, and the real power lies with Prince Richard. The problem is that I have a lot of work to do to become the perfect second-in-command.

‘The Aquitaine territory is a great opportunity.’

The incompetent King John of original history failed to seize such an opportunity even when it was handed to him on a silver platter, but I worked day and night to create even more opportunities.

Of course, I never foolishly tried to do everything alone, thinking, ‘Only I can handle this!’ like the emperors of China.

Seven years is not a short time.

During this time, I implemented many things to prepare for the future as much as possible. The biggest thing is the Angevinization [integrating Aquitaine into the Angevin Empire] of the western French region.

This is a project that will continue not just for my generation but for my grandchildren’s, creating cultural and economic distinctions to completely separate the Kingdom of France and the English territories in western France.

Children who don’t know how to read learn Angevin, and those who learn Angevin are given opportunities for social advancement.

Maintaining good farming methods from the East and West to produce more goods, and based on that, developing both industry and commerce. The task was to make Aquitaine more prosperous, and I achieved my goals more than expected.

‘Now is the time for a new wave to come.’

It is now the time when the Angevin—Sunday school first-generation talents who experienced Sunday school—are being reported to the Aquitaine diocese—jointly supervised by the Duke of Aquitaine—and hired as current officials after the Aquitaine exam.

The fact that talents who have been instilled with the new ideology that I injected through Sunday school are now entering the field means that there are more things I can do again.

I prepared for my son’s wedding during this time.

This year, I am becoming a father-in-law, and soon I will be a grandfather, so I must work harder and pass on more to my children.

But lately, I’ve been feeling it.

“I often feel mentally tired.”

Born in 1166, John is already in his mid-30s.

In the 21st century, that’s a young and MZ age [referring to Millennials and Generation Z]. But in medieval Europe, where the standard for adulthood is 13-14 years old, he is now closer to a ‘senior citizen.’ But this is not the problem. 30s is still young age even in the Middle Ages.

The real problem is that I am mentally exhausted because I was reincarnated with all the memories of my previous life.

The weight of the head of the family on the shoulders of Great Old John.

James, Elizabeth, Charles, Louis.

As the father of three sons and one daughter, my shoulders are very heavy.

“The golden mask always makes me feel good.”

It is a moment when I feel the greed of human desire.

Safe John’s ancient Egyptian edition [a reference to his past life], excavated from Egypt, is safely in the basement of the Aquitaine mansion, always welcoming me. The mystery of ancient Egypt.

The silver crown of Psusennes I, the golden mask of Tutankhamun. These large and magnificent crowns are my treasures.

Gold. Gold, huh.

Now is the time to create a golden life.

“Your Highness, the Chief Secretary of State has entered.”

It’s Peter, who now has a sense of experience. To think that the illegitimate child who was scolded by his grandfather would become such a great official.

“Yes, is the preparation going well?”

Peter, who was a boy, has grown a lot. I felt that he had matured now, handling various internal affairs in the territory.

“Your Highness, you’ve been through a lot.”

“I’ve been through a lot since before.”

There’s so much to do since the territory has really developed.

“Even if you delegate work, I still have too much to do.”

“Well, things will get better after the wedding Mass.”

“I don’t know… I think it will increase.”

“This is a report on the North African development business.”

“Very good.”

It is a colonial project of the Duchy of Aquitaine with Spain and Sicily through close friendship with my sisters. Thanks to that, I am making a lot of money.

Enough to marry off my son without any burden.

“Peter, our James is already getting married.”

“That’s right. To think that the young master is having a wedding Mass.”

Time really flies.

* * *

—Duchy of Aquitaine, Poitiers—

There were thieves in every era. However, in strict territories, there are bad guys who try to hide in the shadows as much as possible.

They are thieves who eat gold. It means economic offenders.

“Hehehe. Western France is not the same as before. At least, if you eat enough to handle, no one will know. Even the nobles can’t catch us.”

“No one can catch economic fraud.”

“Is that so?”

At that time, two handsome young nobles entered the shanty house. Along with knights.

“Who are you, young master?”

Then, the handsome young noble in front spoke.

“I am revenge…”

The beautiful young man, seeing the men looking at him as if he was talking nonsense, said,

“Ah, that’s a pseudonym. I am James, the Duke of Aquitaine. I have come to punish your fraudulent acts.”

It was like an undercover inspector, revealing his identity by showing a golden badge engraved with a lion.

“Arrest them all!”

Prince John’s eldest son, James, was still diligently cracking down on fraudsters today.

Seeing this, his younger brother said to his older brother,

“Are you always living so busily, brother?”

He wasn’t talking about the obvious entertainment he was engaging in now. He was asking why he was bothering with such troublesome matters when he was already burdened with his official duties and military affairs.

“Charles, if I don’t live busily for the territory, I cannot prove my worth.”

‘Primogeniture [the right of the firstborn son to inherit].’

James knew the benefits of being the eldest son since he was young, and he knew what he had to do to protect those privileges.

The Duchy of Aquitaine was shining brightly.

Because it had a lord called Safe Zone. However, where there is light, there is darkness. Although bandits and pirates had decreased, there were still bugs that stole gold.

Dealing with these people was what James, who was about to become a groom, had to do.

“I need to eliminate most of these bugs in my territory before I get married.”

Of course, the realistic James knew that it was impossible to completely eradicate these bugs. He was just considering a practical alternative to systematically suppress them.

Noblesse oblige [the obligation of nobility to serve society].

Because it is a duty.

* * *

My daughter, Elizabeth, is preparing to welcome her new sister-in-law with her mother.

They told me not to come because it’s a women’s affair.

‘To be precise, they are preparing the Eastern Roman-style wedding dress that Adelaide will wear.’

As expected, they were planning to make it more splendid with the help of the world’s number one cultural powerhouse, the Eastern Roman Empire, and today is the day of my son’s wedding Mass.

Of course, I have to greet the guests.

“The Duke of Normandy has arrived.”

“Brother, welcome.”

“My daughter Adelaide is a precious daughter. You know that, right?”

“Of course, I know.”

And then my parents arrived.

In the original history, my father should have gone to the Jordan River, and my mother should have been gradually weakening, but after I changed history…

After seven years of strange cohabitation since the civil war, they seemed to have become close while handling domestic affairs in mainland Britain. Perhaps, it felt like a conditional reconciliation for the next Richard regime.

“Oh… we’re old and suffering a lot.”

My father, Henry II, looked tired. Well, handing over power requires a lot of effort, and considering that the power is Great England that my father built throughout his life, the succession work will be difficult.

“You’ve lived quite diligently for seven years.”

But did he have to brag about it himself?

“Henry, shut your mouth in front of the children.”

“We’re in front of people. What are you talking about?”

And then another carriage came, solemnly escorted by knights.

In that carriage would be Adelaide, the Duchess of Normandy, who resembled the beauty of my mother, Sibylla.

And then more guests flocked in.

Of course, there would be many people. My son James is a special being.

* * *

—1200 AD, Southern Song, Lin’an [present-day Hangzhou]—

At the moment when John’s son James’s wedding Mass was about to begin.

A tearful tragedy was unfolding on the other side of the world. It was because the Song Dynasty, the empire of the Eastern Han people, was facing its final moments.

The Mongols, who had been quietly biding their time, destroyed Western Xia, eliminating the variables in the west. Immediately afterwards, they launched military operations.

Advancing and advancing again, they neutralized the Southern Song’s stubborn resistance, and Temujin [Genghis Khan] had already besieged Lin’an, the capital of the Southern Song.

The young Subutai, the experienced Jamukha, and Temujin, who commanded them, swept in like a storm.

The Southern Song was very wronged. They had not committed misgovernment, nor had they suffered natural disasters. They detonated expensive gunpowder, wielded sharp spears and swords, and tried their best to protect their country.

“Defeat those Mongols!”

“We cannot be defeated by barbarians!”

“Do not forget the Jingkang Incident [when the Jin dynasty captured two Song emperors]!”

Absolutely not. They could not suffer humiliation from the barbarians like before.

They were pushed back.

They were pushed back again. Even when cornered, they struggled.

Because it was a Han dynasty that could not be destroyed even by the barbarians’ attacks. So, they abandoned their pride, bowed their heads, and co-opted Goryeo [Korea] and Wa [Japan], fighting against those treacherous Mongol barbarians without any shame.

But now they had to admit it. It was the end.

“Is this… the limit?”

Zhao Dun (Guangzong), an official of the Song Dynasty, cried out.

The Mongols were calm. They chose practicality over barbarism, and thus learned and practiced Christian-style looting from the West.

Instead of annihilating prisoners as in the original history, saving and using them greatly helped the Holy Mongol Empire and provided the economic power to enable efficient blitzkriegs.

That is why Lin’an was captured.

“We have captured the city gates.”

“Now is the time to proclaim the Lord’s word!”

They were spreading Mongol-flavored Christianity.

“Charge!”

“Jamukha, as you said, moderate mercy is very good at times.”

“It is thanks to His Majesty’s ability.”

“No. When I think about it, it’s thanks to the efforts of our Mongols.”

Temujin had now become a Christian emperor called John Temujin I.

But he could not forget that he was a leader for the Mongols who lived lonely in the grasslands.

The Mongols. Once a despised nomadic people, scorned by both the Jurchens of the Jin Dynasty and the Han Chinese. But now the tables had turned.

Now it is the holy Mongol warriors who follow Jesus Christ who will lead the East.

“Bring the Han emperor.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Temujin, who was trying to install a new puppet following the last emperor of the Jin Dynasty, thought.

Now only Goryeo and Wa remain.