Chapter 605: Behave, My Child
"The Caesar has adopted Giovanni Giustinianni Junior as his stepchild and said in front of all the army generals that the boy will enjoy similar benefits as the rest of his children in the future."
"Oh?" Anna’s eyes narrowed; her gaze sharp.
It was as though the air had become still, contrasting the balmy Mediterranean night breeze. A shiver coursed down Julian’s spine, his beads of sweat seemingly turning to ice under her scrutinising gaze.
There is of course several reasons why Julian and all the other courtiers feared this woman, for the Basilissa is the one leading the Human resource committee, in charge of setting the examination papers and assessments for University graduates, military officers and government trainees, in which they can only acquire government positions if they passed the exam, which is a part of a national wide reform suggested by Alexios to improve the standards and quality of the government. Many old brothers who came all the way from the mercenaries and pirates had to retire early and change to other positions because they could not keep up to the study plan set by the Basilissa.
Such as Baron, the old warden who was once a captain in the navy, and now a warden in the jail of the Thessaloniki customs.
And thus, in fact, the Basilissa has her say in determining the shift, promotion, change of position and titles of almost everyone in both the military and government, this in turn ensured that most of the officials are kept up to their jobs, but at the same time it also casted the queen’s name in the minds of everyone knowing that they cannot offend the Basilissa if they wants to remain in their office. But of course, this is not the reason why the older brothers that followed Antonius for more than a decade still feels overpowered, especially Julian, who has been following the Caesar before he got married with Anna.
There is another than that Anna loves as the mother of the nation; After the establishment of the Kingdom, she found out that most of the older gangs are still single yet when they reached their thirties, and so she began introducing the other noble or educated ladies to them encouraging them to get married before it is too late for them to have an offspring like Anjelo. Julian is no exception, for his wife was a student under Anna, and that is the reason why Julian is frightful of the queen, for he has no idea about if his wife would expose any of his secrets during the lady’s friendly little chats.
...
...
...
Anna remained still for a lingering minute, contemplating over the weighty words that Julian had just uttered. Julian stood too, feeling as uncertain as a green recruit, unsure of what was brewing in his queen’s mind. In fact, he already regretted the sentence he’d blurted out in pressure, knowing that the moment it had left his lips, he’d bound himself to another conflict. A ticking bomb that might not seem obvious now, but could detonate in the next decade or two, threatening to shatter him to his very core.
"I see then." Anna’s smile was as radiant as ever, rivalling that of Helen from Euripides’ famed play, Helenē. But that smile offered Julian no warmth, rather, it chilled him to the bone. He had lost far too much during this visit to the Caesar’s tent tonight. "The Caesar is currently at the commanding tent, discussing some details with Lord Miralai, you might want to go there to seek for him if you do really have something urgent."
"Thank you, your Grace." Julian bowed slightly, but a sense of bitterness aroused in his head, for he knows that there are only one reason why Antonius is meeting with Abdullah at this time; All his plans, all his efforts, that he has put into the dam to flood the city, is going into waste. With that in mind, the general made a slight sigh, saluted the Basilissa, and ventured off disappearing under the night fold, under the watchful eyes of the queen.
...
Antonius returned late at night, a grin lighting up his face. Upon his return, he devoured the prepared dinner, downed a few cups of wine, and shared a chat with his wife. He attempted to leap into bed for a well-earned sleep before Anna shooed him out of the tent to tend to his basic hygiene. The Basillisa refrained from querying Antonius about the issues Julian had shared with her that night, choosing instead to reminisce about happier times in Thessaloniki during his absence and to chat about their daughter. Antonius, seated in the bath bucket, savored this casual, familial time, the main reason he yearned for Anna’s presence in the camp: to bask in the warmth and blessings of his family.
After a thorough bathing, Antonius, now dressed in fresh clothes, lay down on a clean carpet and nestled his head into a freshly washed pillow. Meanwhile, his wife busied herself with cleaning the bucket and dishes left behind by her husband before quietly lying down next to the already sleeping, exhausted man. She didn’t resent this lifestyle. The struggles she’d endured in previous years to support her family and maintain the ties, loyalties, and connections throughout their network were unimaginable to others. All this effort was to prevent any trivial issues from hindering her husband’s pursuit of his ultimate goals.
After extinguishing the candles, Anna gently nestled beside her husband and closed her eyes.
In the silence that enveloped them, she felt her husband turn towards her and whisper into her ear. "I am sorry, Anna."
Startled, she opened her eyes to find him looking at her, his gaze filled with nothing but love.
"I am sorry, Anna, I am not a qualified husband."
A warm tear trickled down Anna’s cheek. She didn’t say a word, instead leaning in to embrace her husband tightly, burying her face in his hair and savouring the familiar scent. They spent the night together, in silence, sharing the warmth of their bond.
....
The young Sultan, Beyezid II, is finally brought out of the medical centre, on horseback again, without handcuffs, breathing fresh air.
Antonius approached the little man who is only half of his age, gave a pat on the head of the horse, made a smile towards the boy and commented. "Finally, Sultan, you are going back to your home."
The Sultan too, made a smile, fluently took out a piece of paper and a quill, wrote down some lines and passed it to the Caesar.
"You see, Caesar, we have a tradition for us Ottoman Turks, that is if we came back from the battlefield emerging victorious, we shall return to home riding our own mounts with our blades and trophies high up in the air as we parade through the streets, but if we died in a battlefield, we shall be carried back to our hometown on the back of our own horse, with the blade hanging by the side, our horse, our blade are the only things that can be used to identify who the man is. But today, I have no blade by my side, and the mount beneath my hips is not mine, so therefore the man this horse is carrying too, is not Beyezid II."
Antonius lifted his head up again and passed the board back to the Sultan. "It is amazing that you can write so many lines in such a short time."
The Sultan replied passing the paper back. "Thank your courtier Abdullah."
"I am sorry, Sultan, for your white horse has fled from the battlefield, no where to be found, and your blade has been taken away by our news agencies." Antonius shrugged his shoulders and made another innocent smile. "Your blade shall be exhibited in the most significant position in the Polemiko Mousio Thessalonikis, war museum of Thessaloniki, located in the Dromos of Grigoriou Lampraki, the price for an entry is only half a Stavraton, be sure to pay there a visit next time."
The Sultan’s eyes turned cold, but Antonius’ eyes turned even colder.
"You are not worried that I might purposefully blow up this meeting with my mother, causing the life of your valued courtier, and the lives of thousands of your men?"
"I worry not. For I know that you know the consequences if you screwed up this meeting."
The Sultan continued staring at the Caesar with his back upright.
"Behave, my child."
The gate of Edirne came to a gradual open, with hundreds of Ottoman palace guards gushing out of the gate lining up in another defensive circle formation in the no man’s area, and one royal cart behind them coming to a stop, and a vague figure seated on the cart. The Sultan knows, that his mother has come.
Suddenly, the Sultan felt his face blushing red, as he felt that he does not deserve to meet his mother again after all of the events, he attempted to turn back, but the Caesar grabbed the horse by the manes before it could turn.
"Behave, my child."
