Chapter 116 Isabella’s Past
The air in the room seemed to freeze, and the faint light coming from the window hit the girl's face, reflecting her slightly fair skin.
She sat on the edge of the bed, folded her hands on her knees, and looked up at the man standing by the door with a slight hesitation. Now she did have her own opinion, but she still felt that she shouldn't ask this question. question.
"What kind of person do you think...my brother Wang is?"
It was not polite to ask a knight who had sworn loyalty to the Leper King what he thought of his lord. What's more, Gareth is also a [Prophet].
Sure enough, as expected, Garris's outline appeared softer in the light, but his lowered eyelids obscured the fluctuations in his heart. One of his fingers gently rested on the window frame, and his fingertips rubbed it slightly.
Without waiting for Garris's reply, the girl spoke to herself: "I feel that until now, we all seem to be living in the shadow of a dead person."
Yes, living in the shadow of the dead, among the many things that have happened in the past few months, which one was not caused by the original plan of the Leper King?
Even today, the arrival of Bishop Amedai is also due to the dispute over royal power.
In this whirlpool of disputes, the only person the girl could rely on was Garris, but he behaved like a piece of wood.
"You know, Garris, in my eyes, it is impossible for Brother Wang to go to heaven. Like me, he is a descendant of Anjou, a descendant of the devil, and is destined to go to hell."
Just when the girl was about to say something else, Garris came directly to the bed, knelt down on one knee, and hugged Isabella. He realized what the girl wanted most now.
"Don't think too much, I'm always by your side."
"What if I really went to hell?"
"Then I will destroy hell."
Hearing Garris's answer, the girl's lips curled up. That was all she wanted.
"Did you wear the seal ring?"
"Bring it."
"Bring it to me."
When Garris released the hug, took out the seal ring from his pocket and handed it to Isabella.
Isabella spoke again: "Give me your left hand."
Garris didn't know what Isabella meant, but he still obeyed.
The girl's slender hands grasped Garris's left hand, feeling the warmth from the palm. She spoke again, and the tone of her words was a little excited, no longer self-pitying.
"My brother Wang is a bastard, so don't believe what he says anymore. Just listen to me... I will only listen to you..."
The girl grabbed the ring finger of Garris' left hand and pushed the seal ring up. After crossing the second knuckle, she found that the size was just right.
Ha~
When Garris showed a puzzled expression, the girl let out a chuckle. This was her little rebellion.
……
The unity of the kingdom relied on the support of the nobles to the monarch. However, in the Middle Ages, the monarch was just the most powerful one among the nobles.
So how to subjugate the nobles and make them obey the monarch?
Marry them, give them favors, show your power, and make them obey.
In the eyes of the Leper King, his mother, stepmother, and sisters were all the most effective tools in politics.
The Leper King's stepmother was arranged by him to marry Balian de Ibelin in order to appease Balian for his contribution in the Battle of Montgisard.
His sister Sibylla made two political marriages to European nobles, because this could deepen the relationship with European nobles and bring more reinforcements.
Isabella was no less generous. In order to check Guy and unite with Leonard, she was arranged to marry Humphrey early.
Humphrey IV was the son of Humphrey III, a noble in the north of the kingdom. His mother Stephanie was the daughter and heir of the lord of Transjordan.
When he came of age, he inherited the fiefdom of Torun from his father and became a leading figure among the younger faction of the northern nobles in the kingdom. His mother also inherited Transjordan and became one of the most powerful women in the kingdom.
That was that night seven years ago.
It was drizzling in the Holy City, and Isabella received a summons from her brother,
The Royal Palace in Jerusalem was originally rebuilt on the basis of Islamic architecture. It is full of exotic style. Compared with the small and dark castles in the West, it is more like a garden and is designed to make people feel comfortable.
The evening rain hit the grass blades, and the former girl was led into the palace by the palace servants.
In this luxurious room, there is an open balcony, and Brother Wang is reclining on the lounge chair on the balcony, with his back to them.
Hearing the sound coming from behind, Baldwin made a gesture to signal those who had nothing to do with it to retreat.
After the palace servant saw the gesture, he backed away without saying a word, leaving this luxurious bedroom to the brother and sister who had not seen each other for a long time.
Isabella looked at the room with slight curiosity. In the past two years, she had had very few opportunities to get along with her brother.
With slightly brisk steps, the girl walked from the door of the palace to the balcony, and stood timidly behind her brother's recliner.
The Royal Palace in Jerusalem is like a crown, quietly located on the top of the Temple Mount, overlooking the entire ancient holy city.
Standing behind Brother Wang and following his gaze, the entire city slowly unfolded under the night, like a quiet picture scroll.
Fine raindrops fell from the sky, and each drop shimmered in the sky, echoing the stars and lights in the city. The Jerusalem at night is reflected hazy and dreamy, making it float in the mist.
There was silence, the girl didn't know how to speak, and her brother was obviously not in a hurry, so the two of them admired the city of Jerusalem in the rain.
When the dark clouds dispersed and the spring rain stopped, Baldwin spoke.
"Bella, sit in front of me." A hoarse voice sounded with difficulty.
There were tables and stools set up in front of the recliner on the right side, and after she sat down, she had the opportunity to look at her brother's front.
A robe and gloves cut from pure white linen wrapped the leper tightly, leaving only an iron mask on his face that only exposed his eyes and nostrils.
Leprosy was seen as a punishment from the gods in this era, and the Arabs struggled to understand why Baldwin was king.
Imad al-Din Isfahani, in his book, writes thus: Although sick, the Franks remained faithful to him, and they gave him every encouragement... and were content to make him their ruler; They exalted him... They were anxious to keep him in power but turned a deaf ear to his leprosy.
However, according to rumors in Jerusalem, although Baldwin was a leper, everyone who saw him claimed to have felt the light from Christ.
Every knight who spoke to Baldwin said they fell under the influence of the king's tenacity.
However, the girl did not see the so-called courage and glory in her brother. All she could experience was the decay of this body.
She knew how terrifying it would be if her king brother took off the iron mask.
Leprosy patients will gradually become numb and lose their sense of pain, their physical mobility will gradually decline, their skin will erode and their facial features will become distorted, they will lose their reproductive capacity and may even be permanently disabled.
This is the suffering of this world! More grinding than hell!
Leprosy had deprived her brother of all enjoyment, leaving only a body that could hold a soul to survive in the world.
"My beautiful, beautiful, lovely sister who is favored by my Lord, you are already eight years old." The hoarse and broken voice contained sincere emotions.
Her brother motioned for the girl to come to him, then touched the girl's immature face with his gloved right hand, pinched her chin and raised her head, which made the girl feel uncomfortable.
Cuteness may be acceptable, but beauty and beauty are too false for a girl who is only eight years old. This kind of praise is creepy.
"Bella, I love you, I really love you. After my father passed away, only us, three brothers and sisters were left. We are connected by blood."
"Brother Wang, I love you too."
The girl responded like this. Before Baldwin took over, she was taught by Balian personally.
Therefore, a few years ago, their brother and sister were not strangers. At that time, Baldwin was considered healthy and often relied on his own body to protect Isabella from the wind and rain.
But in just these few years, just these few years, everything has changed.
"Balian, is he in good health? Is your mother, Maria, still in good health?"
"Balian's body is as strong as ever, and my mother is in good health."
Baldwin also had difficulty speaking because of leprosy. Just talking about a few commonplace words seemed to consume all his energy.
"Sorry." After chatting for a few words, Baldwin suddenly uttered such a word inexplicably.
The girl was a little confused. She didn't know why her brother Wang said this.
"Starting from tomorrow, you go to Karak Fort in Transjordan and get along well with Humphrey."
Fort Carrack, a strange place name, Humphrey, a stranger whom I have never met.
"I'm sorry, my beautiful, beautiful, lovely sister who is loved by the Lord, you can no longer be with Balian and your mother day and night."
……
Three years ago, Saladin was given bread and wine, roasted whole lamb and cooked beef at Karak Fort, which was used to celebrate a special engagement.
In the battle where thousands of people besieged the city, Isabella and Humphrey made an engagement.
This is the union of royal power and local nobles, symbolizing the unity of the kingdom.
Even Saladin gave his blessing to the engagement and told the soldiers not to attack the tower where the engagement was being held.
In this engagement, Isabella received a seal ring from her brother. It was a symbol of royal power and a representative of Anjou. It also meant that her future husband would have the right to claim the throne.
But did this husband choose himself?
Compared with the old couples and young couples that other aristocratic ladies often encounter, Humphrey is at least still young, but Isabella cannot have the slightest impression of him.
Because she could feel that she was being treated as a trophy, her status as a royal princess only increased her worth and made her appear even more precious.
But trophies are trophies, and who cares what they think about the trophies?
Only the person you grow up with will care about you a lot.
The end of the second volume of drizzle
(End of chapter)