The Youngest Prince Of The English Royalty House [EN]: Chapter 95

95. Count Seori’s Visit

Without any grand European scheme, purely by coincidence, the frail old King Henry II, who nearly succumbed to a sudden illness, now dreams.

In his dream, Henry II isn’t a frail old man but a baby in a cradle.

‘The heir to the Angevin dynasty has arrived!’

The first voice to greet him is that of his father, the late Duke of Anjou, Geoffrey V, proudly holding the newborn Henry!

Though he harbored resentment during his childhood, he hears his father’s voice, a voice that had always been a pillar of support, embracing him through hardships and teaching him the duties of a nobleman.

[My father was always reliable and respectable.]

Knowing this is a dream, Henry II’s heart grows heavy.

Is it true that as you grow older, you understand your father better? The old Henry II, now a father and grandfather himself, misses his father’s strong shoulders in this fleeting moment.

Once again, the scene changes.

This time, his beautiful young mother, Matilda, appears.

‘Henry, you must become strong for me! Understand?’

[My mother, the most tearful woman in Europe, always hid her emotions.]

He was strictly educated by his mother, Matilda, who was denied the throne as Queen of England. He didn’t realize it then, but he later learned that his mother was a resilient woman who shed many tears in secret.

She did everything to protect her son and eventually passed on the political and military foundations she had built throughout her life to Henry II.

‘This is not enough. The descendants of William the Conqueror must achieve more.’

The stern knights educated young Henry of Anjou, reminding him that he was the heir to the William family, his mother’s lineage, rather than the Angevin family, his father’s side.

[If it weren’t for you, I would have already died on the fierce battlefield.]

It was overwhelming at the time, but they were the honorable knights who led the way and shed blood for Henry when the ‘civil war’ broke out. Some were captured and refused to be ‘hostages,’ choosing execution instead, not wanting to burden Henry.

The next scene features the woman he once loved the most.

‘Henry, I gave up my ambition for my love with you. Just as I chose England over France, I hope you choose me over Anjou.’

Eleanor.

The most beautiful woman in Europe, perhaps the world. Lovers who once shared passionate affection.

It was a memory of when she proposed to him, who was younger than her.

However, Henry knew well that she hadn’t abandoned her ambition. He also knew her true intention: to use him, indebted to her for receiving the Aquitaine territory.

The lovers who once shared a burning love forgot their sweet moments, consumed by their own desires.

[Eleanor, you were… my lover, my comrade, and my enemy, but in the end, it’s all futile regret.]

And he saw it: the lifelong resentment, the ‘Great Rebellion.’

‘Let’s overthrow the incompetent Henry II!’

‘Let’s overthrow the wicked monarch!’

‘Father is not qualified to be a monarch.’

The three princes joined forces with their wives and revolted against him. Had he lost at that time, he would have been poisoned or imprisoned.

[My heart died at this moment.]

Of course, Henry II, the man who shaped the Angevin Empire and laid the foundations for the British Empire, conveniently forgot all his own mistakes in this sad recollection.

Born as the heir to the Angevin family and the grandson of Henry I, Henry II reflected in his dream that his life had not been easy.

‘Now… I am going to meet my maker.’

As Henry II was about to end his fleeting life and let go of everything…

‘Father….’

A familiar child appeared.

[You… are.]

The child who would bring tears to Henry II’s eyes.

The child looked directly at Henry II, who should have been merely an observer, and smiled brightly, saying to Henry II:

‘Dad!’

‘William… my son.’

At the sight of William (1153-1156), who would have been the true Crown Prince of England, Henry couldn’t contain his surging emotions.

‘It’s not your time yet… You must help ‘John’… that special child.’

At the words of his dead son.

‘Yes… I have John left.’

Only then did Henry II in the dream realize that ‘hope’ remained for him. Of course, Prince John was having a terrible time in many ways.

* * *

―Angevin Territory, England―

The setting sun after a tiring day was always heavy.

Because it marked the end of the day for humans, burdened with the endless pain of making a living, a consequence of the ‘sin’ inherited from Adam.

―Ding.

The Angelus bell, signaling the end of the day, rang throughout the Angevin territory.

However, even as the serfs put down their plows, there was someone who wasn’t freed from his daily duties: Count Seori, a vassal who protected Anjou with his comrades, standing in place of his fallen lord.

He looked at the setting sun and thought of his ‘son.’

He couldn’t travel to the Kingdom of Jerusalem, nor could he request the body to be transported back. He asked the Knights Templar in the Jerusalem branch to handle the burial and investigation.

[Father, I… even as a scarecrow-like king… can do everything for the Angevin family.]

Count Seori remembered the last letter he received from his son, William.

A letter from his son, who couldn’t live comfortably because he had the wrong father… and lived a hard life.

He hadn’t known it would be the last.

‘I cannot forgive them. However, if I directly seek revenge, the English political scene will be thrown into chaos, and my lord will be in danger.’

However, Count Seori knew.

He knew very well that if he was blinded by revenge for his son, even the remaining family members would suffer.

So, Count Seori decided to take the following action.

‘I am going to the Duchy of Ireland to help Prince John.’

‘Yes?’

At the words of Duke Norfolk, Count Seori asked back with a nonchalant look.

‘Hasn’t Duke Norfolk already sent his heir to Prince John?’

‘Haha… isn’t that a different case?’

As Duke Norfolk glossed over it with a laugh, Count Seori began to speak his mind with a very serious face.

‘My lord, Henry II, had four great princes like him. But among them, the most trustworthy prince is Prince John alone. The others have strong personalities and will never compromise.’

‘…That’s right.’

Although he lacked many abilities compared to his other brothers, that is precisely why John Angevin Plantagenet became proficient in the art of ‘tolerance.’

‘I am not just talking about the ‘power’ that Prince John holds. Masud, the former ruler of the converted Khwarazm [a Central Asian empire], Doge Orio of Venice, Enrico Dandolo [a powerful Venetian leader], etc. Prince John has already shown ‘trust’ in external forces.’

Thanks to that, Ireland is becoming an island of abundance, not an island of rebels. But the other princes do not need to have trust and deals with Henry the Great’s vassals like us. Aren’t they already self-sufficient?’

As Count Seori gave a lengthy explanation, Duke Norfolk said:

‘I understand. I will respect the Count’s choice.’

‘Duke Norfolk, then please take good care of the Great King.’

Count Seori left those words for Duke Norfolk, a member of the same Seven Great Nobles, and visited the King’s bedroom again.

He looked at his lord, who seemed to be having a long dream. The wrinkles of age were evident even on the face that had been more beautiful than any young nobleman in Europe in his youth.

However, Count Seori understood everything, even the actions of his flawed half-brother. This wasn’t due to a dramatic reconciliation, but because they had become comrades who ‘understood’ each other over a long time.

Drawing a parallel with the relationship between Ishmael and Isaac in the Bible, they saw a different ending from them.

Ishmael, who came first, was the eldest son from a maid. Isaac was the legitimate son born to Sarah, the legal wife. In the Bible, Ishmael isn’t recognized as the ‘legitimate son’ by Abraham, and Isaac inherits everything.

However, when his half-brother Ishmael left on a ‘long journey’ for him, was the legitimate son Isaac really happy? Wouldn’t the burden be greater and more difficult?

When he married his beautiful wife Rebecca and saw his sons Jacob (later Israel) and Esau, his heart would have ached when he saw the fierce ‘political strife’ of those successors.

However, unlike that ending, Count Seori and Henry II bowed their heads first and devoted their lives to Henry II.

Even though he collapsed so disgracefully after cavorting with a 20-year-old girl, it meant that loyalty to his half-brother still remained.

‘Henry… my King… I will go to protect Prince John.’

Enough to set aside revenge for a while and go to help Prince John.

* * *

―Ireland―

Just like in the 21st century, news related to misdeeds and ‘controversies’ spreads much faster than heartwarming good deeds.

Safe John, the lord of Ireland, where the [Project to Create Our Own Script Because French is Too Difficult] is in full swing, can’t lift his head because he is so ashamed that his father collapsed after doing something so scandalous.

He is busy trying to create Angevin (modern French) because French (medieval French) is too difficult and they cannot communicate with letters, but what are they going to do with the tarnished honor of the Angevin royal family?

But I did not curse my father.

I wish he had contracted a ‘sexually transmitted disease’… Ah, that would have been embarrassing in its own way.

Anyway, before that happened, I was a faithful, gentle, and loving son, so I prayed for my father to wake up. I didn’t eat meat for a while.

I defended my father by saying, [My father took in a woman from Gaul for the harmony of Anjou, and that’s what happened!]

‘While Tracy John betrayed his father at the last minute, Safe John has such deep filial piety for his father.’

Frankly speaking, I am a filial son with a warm heart. Both in my past life and now! Now that Henry II is showing his ugliest side, I was the only prince who thought of his father.

To put it a bit exaggeratedly, wouldn’t I be a Caucasian gentleman who descended upon the barren Western world?

Enough to brag to a knight of Chinese descent.

‘How is it, Akbulhoi? Do you feel the benevolence, righteousness, and propriety [Confucian virtues]?’

‘Your Highness is a true scholar.’

I heard very flattering words from the descendant of the famous General Akbi.

Around that time, a precious guest arrived.

‘Uncle, welcome.’

‘Thank you for welcoming me like this, Your Highness!’

Count Seori, a capable man who was recognized as a ‘noble’ through his wife’s title, even though he was born out of wedlock.

He is the father of the deceased William I and becomes my ‘uncle.’

And he is a veteran nobleman who has served our father since childhood. How could I treat him without respect?

Anyway, after the welcoming banquet was over, Count Seori began to speak to me seriously.

‘According to the secret treaty, half of Jerusalem will go to the Eastern Roman Empire. The northern part of Syria as well… However, the remaining half will be taken by the West.’

‘Yes?’

Secrets I didn’t know were revealed.

According to Count Seori, if William I died suddenly while in office, the Eastern Roman allies would appoint a new governor-general in Jerusalem.

Of course, the cunning European powers couldn’t give everything to the Eastern Roman Empire. The Jerusalem Bishopric… They are also establishing the Jerusalem Bishopric, the very name of which makes my heart swell.

After finishing such stories, Count Seori said with a cold face:

‘The investigation results will be out in 1190. Of course, I am not interested in the truth.’

‘Yes?’

The old nobleman, who took a sip of wine at my question, said:

‘Anyway, the truth died with my son. However, I came to Ireland thinking more about the future.’

* * *

―English Territory, Brittany Castle―

While Prince John and Count Seori were in contact, a meeting of the other princes was taking place in Brittany Castle.

Because something very significant for the future was about to happen in Angevin Dynasty England.

Numerous nobles and clergymen who would provide the justification were present.

But not everyone here is English. Nobles who wield influence in the Holy Roman Empire also came. Of course, they didn’t come to be subordinates of the English princes.

It can be said to be a scene that reveals the intricate ‘deals’ in European politics.

‘Distinguished guests, thank you for heeding my humble request and coming to this place. I am Henry, the ‘Duke of Aquitaine.”

The young Henry, who declared himself the Duke of Aquitaine instead of using the ‘title’ given to him by his father, King Henry, spoke with a seriousness he had rarely shown in his life.

‘I feel responsible for the chaos in Europe, and so I have a request for the distinguished guests.’

―Tell us.

At the words of the nobles who were already partially swayed, Henry, who called himself the Duke of Aquitaine, said:

‘Holy Roman Empire… I have a request for those in our brother country: Please remain neutral.’