Ch.255Caucasus (1)

“I will follow.”

At the man’s words, spoken from behind a Cuman mask, the soldiers of the Ulus erupted in cheers.

“Woooaaah!”

“Victory for the Ulus!”

“Muqali! Muqali!”

Muqali raised his sword in response to the soldiers’ cheers.

As he did so, soldiers who looked distinctly different from the Mongol warriors appeared.

“As expected of the Queen’s consort.”

“Since his arrival, Georgia has grown stronger.”

They made the sign of the cross while praising Muqali, the husband of Queen Tamar.

Seeing this, Muqali sheathed his sword and approached them.

“With this, Georgia has become the master of the Caucasus Mountains.”

Fluent Georgian flowed from Muqali’s lips.

This was the result of his tireless efforts to be recognized as the Queen’s consort.

Even while leading wars against the Cumans and various kingdoms of the South Caucasus, he had continued his self-improvement.

That’s why he could speak such natural Georgian.

“Thanks to the consort’s efforts, Georgia has regained its reputation as the shield of Rome.”

“As long as the consort is with us, the last flame of Christianity will never be extinguished.”

These men were mostly Kurdish junior officers.

The main reason they respected Muqali, a foreigner, was because Queen Tamar was nurturing them as a counterbalance to the nobles.

Therefore, these junior officers showed absolute loyalty to Queen Tamar and her consort, Muqali.

“Thank you.”

Muqali spoke briefly and raised his hand.

At his gesture, the Mongol soldiers began clearing the battlefield.

“Where is the Archbishop?”

“He will be here soon.”

After a short while, a man with a gentle smile appeared, looking every bit the devout Christian.

“You have achieved a great victory, Consort.”

“Thank you. This is thanks to God’s protection.”

As he spoke, Muqali made the sign of the cross.

Seeing this, Archbishop Anton Gnolisstavije broke into a broad smile.

“There may not be a more devout servant of God in all of Georgia than the consort.”

“I would like to claim my faith is the strongest in Georgia, but before the Archbishop, I must admit to being second.”

“Hahaha! When you speak like this, I can’t help but be delighted to see you!”

The Archbishop jested as he spoke.

Then he naturally dismounted from his horse.

As he dismounted, the bishops behind him followed suit.

Seeing them, Muqali greeted the bishops and then spoke.

“The Cumans are barbarians, but they can certainly be enlightened. Please pray for their peace so they may repent even in death.”

“As expected of the consort.”

“Enlightenment is truly God’s sincere teaching.”

“The consort’s mercy lies upon the cold ground, warming their bodies.”

The bishops nodded with moved expressions.

Soon they gathered people and sang funeral hymns for the fallen Cuman warriors.

Seeing this, the Cuman chieftain looked at Muqali with great emotion.

“To show such mercy to us who were your enemies…”

“You were enemies, but I know better than anyone that you acted under the compulsion of a wicked foe.”

Muqali deliberately shifted blame for their actions away from the Cuman chieftain.

Moved by this, the chieftain bowed and began to reveal the truth to Muqali.

“I am grateful for your words. In truth, we attacked this place under the orders of Yuri Bogolyubsky.”

“Yuri…”

Muqali murmured in a calm voice.

But beneath his voice, anger was boiling.

Yuri Bogolyubsky.

A descendant of the Rurik dynasty, he was the suitor recommended by Rusudan, Queen Tamar’s aunt.

Originally, Tamar was supposed to marry Yuri according to the nobles’ demands.

That’s when Muqali appeared.

With Muqali’s arrival, Tamar refused the marriage proposal with Yuri and chose to marry Muqali instead.

Unlike Tamar’s choice, the nobles didn’t want her bringing in outside forces like the Mongols to build her power.

Therefore, they continued the marriage negotiations with Yuri, who shared their interests.

Accordingly, Yuri accepted the nobles’ proposal and tried to continue the marriage talks with Tamar.

Tamar was considerably perplexed by the nobles’ unilateral actions.

However, since it was difficult for her to assert herself at that time, she couldn’t stop the nobles’ schemes.

Anyway, despite Muqali and Tamar’s marriage, the marriage negotiations with Yuri continued due to the nobles.

Because of this, Yuri had been hiring Cuman mercenaries to continuously harass Georgia in an attempt to reclaim what he saw as his rightful position.

The Cuman chieftain whom Muqali had subdued was also someone hired by Yuri.

“It seems the time has come to follow the Great Khan’s orders.”

“What do you mean?”

Muqali did not answer the Cuman chieftain’s question.

Instead, he recommended rest.

“Thank you for the valuable information. I’ll provide wine and meat, so please rest for a while.”

“I appreciate your consideration.”

The chieftain bowed and left.

His soldiers followed behind him.

“I must see the Queen.”

At Muqali’s words, the Georgian junior officers bowed.

“We will escort you.”

Thus, Muqali headed toward Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, under the protection of the officers.

When he arrived, the Georgian people threw flowers at Muqali and the Mongol soldiers, celebrating their triumphant return.

“Long live the consort!”

“He is the shield of Christianity!”

“God! Bless the consort’s victory!”

The Georgian people chanted Muqali’s name and praised him.

This was because after Muqali became Tamar’s husband, he had eliminated all external threats to Georgia.

Thanks to Muqali’s victories, security had stabilized, allowing the Georgian people to focus on commercial activities without worry.

This made them favorable toward him and his soldiers.

Receiving such praise, they arrived at the castle where the beautiful Queen Tamar stood waiting with her officials.

“Welcome, consort.”

Queen Tamar smiled and opened her arms.

Seeing this, Muqali dismounted and approached the queen, embracing her.

“Oh my goodness.”

“Their relationship is still so good.”

“The two of you are Georgia’s treasures!”

The people rejoiced at the affectionate display between the queen and her consort.

Since both Tamar and Muqali were beloved by the people, their loving relationship could only be seen as beautiful.

Unlike the favorable atmosphere among the people, the nobles behind Queen Tamar wore disapproving expressions.

“Ahem…”

“As queen, you must maintain your dignity.”

“To show such behavior in front of the people… it’s unacceptable.”

At the nobles’ murmuring, the young Tamar blushed.

Seeing this, Muqali stroked her head as if to tell her not to worry.

“Do not worry, Your Majesty. I will protect you.”

“C-consort…”

Tamar looked up slightly at Muqali.

Seeing his masculine demeanor, Tamar unconsciously blushed a little.

Muqali kissed her forehead and moved her behind him.

Then he looked at the nobles, emanating an intimidating aura.

“The ruler of this land is Queen Tamar. Why do you criticize her behavior?”

“The Queen must maintain her dignity.”

“Someone who should be a role model for all should not show such frivolous behavior.”

“It is written in the Bible.”

At the mention of the Bible, Tamar’s expression darkened.

In Georgia, a devout Christian country, what was written in the Bible was both law and truth.

Knowing this well, Muqali understood that retreating now would put him on the defensive.

So, not yielding to the nobles’ provocation, he pointed at the noble who had mentioned the Bible.

“In which verse of the Bible is that written?”

“T-that’s…”

“Your tongue, which speaks falsehoods as God’s will, is like the serpent that deceived Eve.”

“T-that’s not true! It’s clearly written in the Bible…”

“Then why can’t you say where?”

“…”

“Of course it’s not there. For as God said in Galatians, ‘But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.'”

At Muqali’s words, the nobles could say nothing.

As he said, the Bible fundamentally emphasized love and contained many verses about love.

Therefore, it was difficult to criticize Tamar’s actions using Bible verses.

“I cannot forgive you for intimidating Her Majesty with false truths.”

Muqali said this as he drew his sword.

The nobles stepped back with frightened expressions.

“Is it right to persecute us like this?”

“T-this is an overreach that infringes upon the rights of the nobility.”

“That’s right.”

“Wagging your tongue recklessly is a poor choice that shortens your life. And you are guilty of conspiring with Yuri to throw Georgia into chaos.”

At the mention of Yuri’s name, the nobles’ faces turned pale.

Some nobles began to deny their involvement.

“W-we know nothing about this.”

“You misunderstand.”

At the nobles’ words, Muqali raised both arms and shouted loudly so all the people could hear.

“All the Cuman mercenary chieftains who invaded Georgia have confessed to being instigated by Yuri Bogolyubsky. Yuri’s use of Cuman mercenaries is entirely due to the nobles secretly continuing marriage negotiations behind Queen Tamar’s back, making you no different from parasites eating away at the country.”

Hearing this news, the people began to stir.

“What? The nobles sold out our country?”

“Wait, they continued marriage negotiations behind Her Majesty’s back… what does this mean?”

“No wonder the nobles have been hindering everything Her Majesty does…”

The people openly displayed their hostility toward the nobles.

Thus, the atmosphere turned favorable for Muqali.

Sensing this, Muqali raised his hand and gave orders to his soldiers.

The Mongol soldiers immediately began to surround the nobles.