The Youngest Prince Of The English Royalty House [EN]: Chapter 15

[15. The Great Army of Lions (2)]

I was shocked that my teacher became a cardinal, but time flowed on anyway.

The Mortain estate.

This land, which I worked so hard to make somewhat valuable,

now felt as cozy as home.

‘I shed tears of blood for the reconstruction of this land.’

I had many concerns about what to do with this area, where I couldn’t expect any fixed income, let alone tourism revenue.

They say if you desperately want something, the universe helps you.

This backwater, which the former lords of Mortain had thoroughly ruined,

was now a ‘real’ estate that generated income on its own without requiring further investment.

It was no longer a deficit.

“Ha… Mary, can you believe it? Our Mortain is coming back to life like this.”

I proudly told Mary, whose belly was growing bigger, but

my wife Mary was cold.

“I’ll only be a little impressed.”

“You’re too harsh.”

A little!

“John, think about it. This small estate is ultimately just a place to test you.

What did you tell me? You said you wanted to become a great noble.”

Ah, that’s right. Last time, I told Mary that surviving and becoming a great noble was

the greatest wish of my life.

Even if history changed and I couldn’t become John I (King of England),

I said my wish was to become a great noble that no one could ignore.

“Making this small estate, especially one in poor condition, this good is a good thing.

But you can’t just be a rural count forever. You need to think bigger.”

“Bigger, you say?”

“A great noble that even your brothers and nephews can’t touch easily.”

A great noble.

The corners of my mouth slightly lifted at the word that somehow felt grand.

I missed the days at Westminster Palace when I lived like a bum, but

luckily, I didn’t have much work to do today.

[To Prince John, if you accept us, we will work hard.]

Thanks to the illegitimate children of the great lord Henry II flocking to me,

the burden of work was greatly reduced.

History Peter!

True to his name Peter (the Apostle), he became a fisher of men.

In the afternoon, on a good day with warm sunshine, there were veterans sweating.

“Hap!”

“Yap!”

Loud shouts.

Now they were wielding weapons and showing off their manliness.

“That’s not how you do it.”

“Work a little harder.”

Now even Lionheart Heinrich joined in to help raise the army.

Compared to the armies borrowed from my father and in-laws,

the Mortain guard that exists solely for me!

Of course, it’s a standing army that is maintained with my money,

so maintenance costs are high.

But what does it matter? I burst out laughing without realizing it.

“Hehehe.”

A strong army that will become stronger tomorrow than today with the help of Godfrey and my brother-in-law,

the Mortain army!

My chest swells as grand as the Roman Empire.

Peter looked at me and asked.

“Are you that happy, Your Highness?”

“Of course, I’m happy! With an army of this strength…”

I trailed off for a moment.

“At least I’m not afraid of those French bastards. In times of crisis, there is a strong guard to protect me, the lord.”

“Your Highness, France is not the great power it used to be. The target we should be wary of is the nobles of England.”

“Is that so?”

Peter’s words were a bit of an exaggeration, but

the Kingdom of France is honestly a step below England right now.

Yes, I have to be careful of the nobles within England.

I watched the training of the army that my brother-in-law and Godfrey were training again.

Strong, the Mortain army.

Proud, the Mortain army!

I barely held back the tears that were about to come out,

and praised the person who created such an army.

“Sir Godfrey, you are truly amazing. Thank you for your hard work.”

“You flatter me…”

When the proud Godfrey showed humility, a man stepped forward.

“Hey, Count of Mortain, I helped too, you know?”

“I am also grateful to the Lionheart. That being said, I have something to discuss with Godfrey personally.”

My brother-in-law was slightly sulky at the words to leave,

but my interest is in Godfrey now.

The Lionheart, who will return to his territory later, and

Godfrey, the best bastard I will make my vassal, are in different positions.

According to French history,

before Philip II brought down King John.

‘Anyway, King John is so incompetent that I hope you smart guys will just stand by.’

There were powerful talents who thought so,

one of whom was the best bastard, Godfrey (Bishop Geoffrey of York).

When the original King John’s series of blunders failed to guarantee the safety of his children,

the best bastard Godfrey left King John.

‘I won. Archbishop Godfrey abandoned King John.’

Philip II laughed evilly.

That’s why I can’t give up on Godfrey even more.

“Godfrey, I want you to be my Alan Rufus.”

Alan Rufus was the closest aide to William the Conqueror, even though he was the richest man of the time.

“I refuse. I don’t need money, and I have no intention of becoming a vassal.”

Of course, I was rejected.

But I, Safe John,

am a person who does everything to protect safety.

I was the one who kept challenging Princess Agnes even after being rejected countless times.

To protect my life, my family’s lives, and my subordinates!

Anyway, I kept demanding vassalage from him.

As my love for Godfrey grew hotter,

my brothers suddenly started to take an interest in me.

In a burdensome way.

“Prince Geoffrey has sent a letter.”

“What?”

[To John]

Oh my!

Our Geoffrey, who is busy plotting, is sending me a letter first.

How can there be such a scary thing?

In the letter, Geoffrey said that

accepting the Lionheart was a surprisingly good thing. He told me to be proud of myself.

Geoffrey, the most gloomy of the three brothers, is praising me,

how should I interpret this?

Still, it’s ironic that I feel good when I’m praised by Geoffrey!

But the second brother also expressed his affection for me.

The supplies that Richard sent on several carts arrived.

“This is a gift from the Duke of Normandy.”

“Glory to the Duke of Normandy! I cannot help but be moved by the Duke’s mercy.”

The second brother gave me material support.

But what’s unusual is that he didn’t send a letter. Disappointing!

And the eldest brother, young King Henry.

“John, it’s been a while.”

The eldest brother came to me without a letter or support.

Surely, he didn’t come to brag about how well he’s doing?

I don’t know why, but I greeted my brother with the polite attitude of a subject.

“Your Majesty, what brings you here?”

“I came as your older brother today, John.”

“Is that so? Brother, it’s good to see you.”

At that time.

The Lionheart, showing off while looking around young King Henry’s army, came up and

greeted Henry.

“I see the young King of England.”

“Brother-in-law, you don’t have to pretend to be polite.”

“Hahaha. You’ve arrived?”

The Lionheart treats the eldest brother so kindly.

“How is Matilda?”

“She’s doing very well. She’s busy raising five children, hahaha.”

“… Lionheart, I would like to talk to my brother for a moment.”

“Then, I will step back. Young King.”

Lionheart Heinrich left like that,

and Henry, who was alone with me, said sweetly to me.

“Our John, you must have had a hard time.”

At that moment,

I felt an emotion that I didn’t even know I had.

Was our first brother this kind?

No.

There must be some ulterior motive.

“The reason I came to see you is simple. There’s something I want to confirm with you directly.”

“Confirm?”

Among the princes of England, or even the bastards, is there anyone as faithful and peaceful as I, Safe John?

Then Henry smiled brightly and said.

“What trick did you use to call ‘that’ Lionheart to your territory?”

I am John Plantagenet, I know nothing. Why is my brother-in-law doing this here?

“Brother, the Lionheart is no ordinary person.”

“I know that too.”

“He is more than you think, and his exile has more ‘meaning’ than you think.”

He shamelessly came in, ate a lot of meat, drank a lot of wine. He also pretended to be cool a lot.

Anyway, the Lionheart I know was just a troublemaker who used to be well-known in his prime.

‘Ah, he helped me train my soldiers a little.’

Of course, he’s living off me, so that’s what he should do.

Other than the fact that he’s my brother-in-law who’s getting help from me,

I really don’t know anything.

So I organized my thoughts and said to Henry.

“The Lionheart I think of is just a brazen brother-in-law who invaded my poor territory and

mercilessly sucks my blood.

Honestly, what does it matter what influence my brother-in-law has in the Holy Roman Empire?

He’s just an uncle playing around in my small territory now.”

With those words, I rattled off the Lionheart family’s nuisance.

I had no guilt. Because it’s all true.

“Hahaha! I’m sorry for saying unnecessary things, I misunderstood you.

You’re not a venomous brother like Geoffrey.”

Of course not.

If I were such a sly guy,

I would have married someone better,

and I would have taken a territory with better conditions than here.

“I have to go now, I have a busy schedule.”

Henry came like the wind and left like a typhoon.

I wanted to sprinkle salt on the place he left, but salt was too expensive now, so it was impossible.

**

After the unwelcome eldest brother left, a welcome guest came.

It’s my brother-in-law.

Unlike the generous but unscrupulous ‘brother-in-law’, I greeted the kind brother-in-law with a welcome face.

“Welcome. Welcome to Mortain.”

My brother-in-law, the Earl of Hartford, and I exchanged greetings with bright faces.

“Oh, Earl of Hartford! It’s really nice to see you like this. This is a good place to rest for a while. Oh, of course, it’s also a great place for retired nobles to live.”

“Hahaha, I heard that the Lionheart is in the Mortain territory. It’s really nice to see you like this.”

I knew the tick Lionheart Heinrich would interfere.

My brother-in-law is now so attached to Mortain.

He wants to rest here more.

I felt that humans are indeed animals of adaptation.

But now, before the warm reunion,

I was curious about why my father Henry II suddenly held a great council.

Even I, who doesn’t know politics, guessed that this council was not a simple meeting.

“Henry II, the great lord of England, sent me here.”

“Father did?”

I expected him to send a messenger, but he sent my brother-in-law.

What on earth is our dignified father thinking?

After that, I heard that our brothers pretended to land for treason and joined my father’s main force. As expected, the people in our family are very clever!

**

When the mountain breeze of Mortain blew thickly,

Mary said to the Earl of Hartford with a friendly face.

“I’m sorry, but I have something to talk about with my brother, so everyone please step back.”

“Yes, Countess.”

When all the maids and servants left,

Mary smiled brightly and said to the Earl of Hartford.

“I didn’t know I would see my brother this quickly as a married woman.”

Mary smiled happily at seeing the Earl of Hartford after a long time.

“Have you been healthy in Mortain all this time?”

“Yes, I’m doing well. And there’s a new life in my belly.”

Then the Earl of Hartford smiled with his eyes.

“What a happy thing? I’ll be able to see my nephew soon.”

“He’s already named this child. James if it’s a son, Elizabeth if it’s a daughter.”

Mary’s words that she didn’t convey in the letter.

The Earl of Hartford took a sip of beer while listening to her words.

“James, Elizabeth! Good names.”

“My sister, but what are you going to do about revenge on the enemies who ‘killed’ you?”

“Revenge?”

Then Mary’s eyes turned fierce,

and then she smiled with her eyes.

“Do I need to take revenge? I’m already dead anyway. And those people are people who are going to ‘die’?”

Mary didn’t need to get her hands dirty. She didn’t have anything to do with the enemy who was already paying for their sins.

Mary, thinking of her partner and the child in her womb rather than the enemies of the past, smiled and said.

“Princess Agnes will really regret it. To abandon such a husband and choose a young man from the Eastern Roman Empire as her partner.”

“Isn’t that her destiny?”

After finishing speaking, Mary unfolded a map of Europe,

and her beautiful eyes saw the vast territory of England.

And she said to the Earl of Hartford.

“From now on, I will live for John. No matter what the cost.”

Mary smiled coldly.

**

-Italian Peninsula, Papal States-

“It’s ridiculous, can you trust the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and drive out Peter’s successor?”

“The conclusion has already been reached.”

“Tongue of the serpent! You are Satan. How dare you threaten God’s representative with secular power.”

When Pope Lucius III was so angry, Cardinal Thomas sneered and raised his finger and said.

“The Pope has abdicated.”

And soon after, all information about the Roman Catholic Church was controlled.

The Great Army of Lions (3)