Ch.258Caucasus (4)

“Beware of night visitors… How intriguing.”

The man looked at the parchment in his hand with a puzzled expression.

“Why would the Crusader King send such a message?”

Bo’orchu bowed respectfully before answering.

“Is it not to protect each other’s safety as fellow defenders of Christianity?”

After hearing the translated words, Richard stroked his beard with a suspicious expression.

“Were the Crusader King and I that close?”

“You fought together at the Siege of Tripoli, the Annihilation of Beirut, and the Battle of Damascus. I cannot say you weren’t close.”

When the major battles of the Crusade were mentioned, Richard had no choice but to nod.

This made sense because Richard himself had led the vanguard alongside Temujin in these battles.

They were essentially comrades-in-arms.

So he couldn’t deny having a relationship with Temujin.

“We stood back-to-back in battle and punished heretics together, so I suppose we are comrades. Very well. I accept his goodwill.”

“Thank you.”

Bo’orchu bowed. In response, the Lionheart raised his hand in acknowledgment before turning to his loyal servant.

“Could you guide our ally’s soldiers to a place to rest?”

“I will follow Your Majesty’s request.”

Guy de Lusignan guided Bo’orchu to the resting quarters. Once Bo’orchu and Guy had disappeared, Richard immediately summoned his swordsmanship instructor and England’s greatest warrior.

“It seems you need my help, Your Majesty.”

“Lord Marshal.”

William Marshal. A giant standing 193 cm tall who had won over 500 jousting tournaments.

With such impressive achievements, he had been Richard’s swordsmanship instructor during his childhood.

Since he was essentially the man who had made Richard who he was today, the Lionheart rose from his seat and showed proper respect.

“How may I be of service to Your Majesty?”

“I received a message from the son of Prester John that visitors will come tonight.”

John was the English name for Johan.

For this reason, Richard referred to Gurkhan as Prester John.

“Visitors coming at such a late hour. Surely not with good intentions.”

“Precisely.”

“Am I to protect Your Majesty’s life?”

“You must protect everyone’s lives, including mine.”

“A simple task.”

William Marshal nodded. For William, recognized as England’s greatest warrior, this was not a difficult task.

“However, could you capture them alive?”

“Do you wish to interrogate them to confirm who is behind this?”

Richard nodded in response.

“Circumstances suggest it’s Philip’s doing, but… we should confirm it.”

Despite being known for his impulsive character, he was actually quite cautious.

That’s why, rather than killing the assassins immediately, he wanted to capture them to identify who was behind the plot.

“Philip… why do you think the French King is behind this?”

“England rules more land on the continent than the French King.”

Since the time of Richard’s father, Henry II, England had possessed more land than the French King.

Since the English kings had been vassals in French territory since the days of the Duchy of Normandy, the French kings sought to subdue the English kings to resolve this issue.

Given this context, it wouldn’t be strange for Philip II to send assassins.

“However, I don’t believe Philip is one to act so conspicuously.”

“Then could it be Salah al-Din’s doing?”

Marshal shook his head at this.

Then he calmly replied.

“The Mongols could be behind it.”

“The Mongols… what reason would they have to instigate conflict between me and the French King?”

“This is just my speculation, but it seems the Mongols want to monopolize Ayyubid territory by driving a wedge between you two and forcing you to return home.”

Richard frowned at Marshal’s explanation.

“The Ayyubids are powerful enemies. I don’t understand why they would want to face such a formidable opponent alone.”

Lionheart Richard had fought against Salah al-Din several times.

So he knew better than anyone about the Ayyubids’ exceptional capabilities.

A powerful enemy.

That’s why Richard had tried to arrange a marriage between his sister Joanna and Salah al-Din’s brother, Al-Adil I, to make him an ally.

Having planned to make them joint rulers of Jerusalem after their marriage, he held Salah al-Din’s abilities in high regard.

“Besides, with the Holy Roman Emperor still alive, it would be impossible for them to monopolize the territory.”

“That’s why I find it difficult to understand the Mongols in this situation.”

Richard nodded at this.

Then he stood up and slowly walked around.

“It means they’re either being reckless or have a plan to defeat the Ayyubids alone?”

Either the Mongols were being reckless,

Or they had the ability to conquer the Ayyubids.

It could be either, but… from Richard’s perspective, this wasn’t the important issue.

Though he regretted losing Egyptian territory, he thought of lands that were easier to acquire and govern.

“What do you intend to do, Your Majesty?”

Richard smiled at Marshal’s question.

“I have no reason to refuse.”

When the Crusade had progressed to a certain point, Richard had wanted to return home.

Of course, it wasn’t for simple reasons like homesickness.

“Isn’t this the perfect opportunity to meet your brother?”

Richard’s brother John was in collusion with Philip.

Richard had noticed this but couldn’t return home.

As the commander of the Crusade, he couldn’t return home merely on suspicion that John and Philip were conspiring.

So he needed a pretext to return.

An assassination attempt was sufficient cause for such a pretext.

“But the Mongols might be up to something strange.”

“Even if the Mongols are truly behind the assassins, they clearly don’t intend to harm me since they warned me to be careful. So they won’t do anything that would harm me.”

The Lionheart answered calmly, seeming to have made up his mind.

Marshal, who had served Richard since childhood, sensed that he would not change his mind.

“I will make preparations, Your Majesty.”

“Good. And as you know…”

“About the assassins? I will handle the matter of who is behind them properly.”

“As expected of Lord Marshal.”

Richard smiled faintly.

Then he turned his head to look at the French camp where Philip was.

* * *

French King Philip wore an incredulous expression.

“Why are you informing me that assassins are planning to assassinate the English King?”

The Mongol envoy immediately answered Philip’s question.

“Here is a message from your brother-in-law, Lord Temujin.”

Philip’s younger sister Agnes had been the wife of Byzantine Emperor Andronikos I.

Living a miserable life as Andronikos’s wife, she gained her freedom when Alexios II was restored to the throne and Co-Emperor Belikos I was crowned.

Freedom in name only, as the fate of deposed emperors’ wives was typically wretched.

Most were either confined to monasteries or executed.

Still in her prime, she believed her fate would end there too.

Then Temujin appeared before her.

Temujin took care of the wounded woman.

Agnes recovered quickly,

And she personally sent a letter to King Philip expressing her desire to marry Temujin.

Upon receiving this, Philip expressed his gratitude to Temujin and arranged the marriage in the name of the French King.

Having become family through this marriage, Philip couldn’t help but be friendly toward Temujin.

Anyway, Philip’s expression changed moment by moment as he read the letter.

“I see… indeed, my brother-in-law’s words make sense.”

After saying this, Philip stood up.

Then he gestured for his servant standing nearby to approach.

“You called for me, Your Majesty?”

“Yes. Prepare to return to France immediately.”

“Immediately, Your Majesty?”

“The English King will use me as an excuse to return to England.”

“Ah…!”

“Upon his return, he will mention the relationship between me and John, trying to break the oath of Bonmoulins.”

During the time when Henry II was alive,

Philip II had met Henry II at Bonmoulins, accompanied by Richard I.

There, Philip demanded that Henry II name Richard as his successor.

Henry II hesitated, and Richard knelt before Philip in front of everyone, swearing his allegiance.

Because of this oath, Richard became obligated to follow Philip as the ruler of all Plantagenet territories on the continent, including Normandy, Aquitaine, and Anjou.

“As long as the oath exists, he is my vassal and would find it difficult to raise his sword against me.”

In the medieval period, it was common for vassals to target their king’s life.

However, attacking a king without justification was unthinkable.

Thus, vassals strived to secure such justification.

In this situation, assassins of unknown origin were attempting to kill Richard.

It was a perfect opportunity to secure justification. So from Richard’s perspective, the exact identity of who was behind the assassins wasn’t important.

France had to be behind the assassins.

Only then could Richard eliminate his treacherous brother John, revoke his oath, and conquer the leaderless French territories.

“But now he has an opportunity to break that oath, so he’ll use the assassination issue as an excuse to blame me.”

The servant nodded upon hearing this.

“I will inform the soldiers to prepare for our return immediately.”

“Good.”

Philip nodded.

Then he looked at the Mongol envoy.

“Tell my brother-in-law I am grateful.”

With these final words, the French King left the tent.

After he disappeared, the Mongol envoy, now alone, stood up.

A smile spread across his face.