"Duke! We absolutely cannot let General Baldwin leave. If he goes, the anxious citizens will rise up!"

Two weeks had already passed since Baldwin, the savior of Edessa, had arrived to a fervent welcome from the citizens. To the vizier's worried voice, Duke Toros of Edessa responded with a resolute expression.

"But there's no need to forcibly detain someone who wishes to leave. The Muslim threat isn't imminent."

Toros knew well that Baldwin's mere presence in the city was a great help. Though they were only a few hundred men, the belief that the invincible Crusaders were protecting the city had value beyond their actual military strength.

However, Baldwin was merely a mercenary requested by the lord of Edessa, and Toros, as the employer, had to bear their maintenance costs (albeit with considerable expressions of gratitude).

And the expense of supporting several hundred heavy cavalry was quite burdensome for Toros, who was already struggling to collect taxes due to religious issues.

"Besides, Antioch fell to the Crusaders last week. The Muslims won't be concerned with places like Edessa anymore."

While Edessa was a fairly large city, it couldn't compare to the ancient metropolis of Antioch. Moreover, word had it that all Muslim forces in the area had gathered at Antioch to confront the Crusaders.

"Not concerned? Quite the opposite, Duke! The Muslims gathered near Antioch will eventually fail to defeat the Crusaders, and they'll surely turn their blades toward Edessa!"

"If they do so, we can request aid from the Roman forces in Antioch. We'll crush the enemy from both sides."

"Roman forces? Duke, that simply won't do! The citizens will never accept it!"

"Whether they accept it or not, we have no choice. Now that Antioch has fallen to the Crusaders—no, to Rome—the hegemony in this region has already tilted in their favor."

Besides, Toros himself felt more comfortable dealing with the Roman army, where he had once served, than with the Seljuks or Baldwin. Toros shook his head firmly and concluded:

"In any case, if rumors spread that Roman forces are marching to protect Edessa, the citizens will calm down. After all, the Crusaders are essentially Roman forces, and Roman forces are essentially Crusaders."

"Duke...!"

The vizier raised his voice in frustration. But there was nothing more to say. Toros dismissed him with a wave of his hand.

A moment later, the vizier, who had remained in place despite Toros's deliberate dismissal, carefully suggested:

"What about... adopting General Baldwin as your son?"

"What?"

"Make him your son and heir to Edessa. That would give him reason not to leave, wouldn't it?"

Indeed, the succession issue was something that the aging, sonless Toros needed to resolve as soon as possible. If Toros were to pass away without an heir, there would be no one to protect his young wife and little daughters.

"Besides, during his stay here, he has never committed any impropriety—he's an upright man. The people would gladly accept him."

"That's true, but..."

Moreover, he possessed "military might." With that, he could certainly protect his half-sisters in any situation.

Toros began to seriously consider it. The vizier, watching him, continued with an even more determined voice:

"Furthermore... General Baldwin has expressed willingness to convert to Orthodoxy whenever you wish."

"...!"

Toros was surprised. He hadn't considered that possibility.

Toros looked at the vizier as if asking if he could take responsibility for those words. The vizier, Constantine of Gargar, nodded willingly.

Then he quietly added:

"If you wish, I can summon General Baldwin right away. You should speak with him."

※※

It was my mistake. I fatally underestimated Nikephoros's devotion and seriousness.

"Now, Princess, please look at me and say it once more?"

Nikephoros's gentle yet firm voice echoed in my ears. Wrapped in tension, I stammered:

"G-God is the second person of the Trinity and the Word of God. He is the glorious radiance of the Father and the perfect image of the Father's essence... um, so... for our sake, He took on true flesh and body and soul..."

In truth, I still didn't understand exactly what it meant. I was merely reciting the knowledge Nikephoros had imprinted in my mind over the past few days.

The confession of faith continued for quite some time after that. When it was all over, Nikephoros smiled gently and said:

"Very well done. Now that you've completed your Mission, you should receive your Reward, shouldn't you?"

"R-reward?"

Nikephoros smiled and fumbled around his waist. My gaze naturally followed there. I unconsciously gulped as he pulled out something thick and firm... from his waist.

"Oh!"

I gasped in surprise.

"Are you surprised?"

"Y-yes..."

I hurriedly reached out my hand. But Nikephoros firmly shook his head and stopped me.

"You need to say thank you first."

Ah, right... thank you...

I gulped again and looked up at Nikephoros obediently. Then, with a trembling voice, I began:

"Th-thank you for filling the princess's head with a jumbled mess again today, M-Master Nikephoros."

"...Jumbled mess? Hmm, in any case, good work today. Here, enjoy it to your heart's content."

"Yes!"

With my response, I reached out and firmly grasped it. Then I immediately put it in my mouth.

A sticky sweetness spread throughout my mouth, and my dazed mind slowly began to return.

"Ah, now I feel alive again. I thought I was going to die from low blood sugar."

Munch, munch, I straightened my posture while chewing on the large candy.

Nikephoros chuckled and walked toward the bookshelf with the massive textbook they had finally finished reading.

"The theology studies were more fun than you expected, weren't they?"

"Hmm... well, I'll say they were for now."

In truth, it wasn't fun at all. How on earth do bishops memorize all these things?

I stretched and continued:

"But I don't think knowing this will be of much help when dealing with the Armenians."

"How could it not help? If we can make the Monophysites of the Apostolic Church understand the complete union of Christ's divine and human natures that I explained to you, it could be the foundation for church unity."

"How do we make them understand?"

"...Well, I'm not sure myself."

"What? That's disappointing."

If Nikephoros didn't know, there was no way I would.

I waved my hand dismissively and changed the subject.

"Anyway, now that the theology lesson is over, let's get back to reality. Have you heard that Toros of Edessa has adopted Baldwin as his son?"

"Yes, I have."

"Baldwin will stage a rebellion in a few days. He might have already swallowed Edessa by now."

"...What?"

Nikephoros tilted his head and asked again.

"You're saying he'll rebel against his new father?"

"Yes, Toros has taken a lion cub into his embrace. Of course, on the surface, it will be reported that the citizens overthrew the tyrant Toros and installed his heir Baldwin as the new ruler."

I added an example that Nikephoros might understand:

"You know how our father also became the adopted son of the previous Empress before ascending to the imperial throne? It's similar to that."

The reason Alexios was relatively easily recognized as emperor (though there was significant friction with the Patriarch) was because he was the adopted son of Maria, the empress of the previous emperors.

Nikephoros nodded as if he finally understood.

"So he was just waiting for a pretext?"

"Exactly. Nothing is more unstable than succession without legitimacy."

The famous 21st-century saying, "It's about justification, justification!" held true in the 11th century as well.

"Then Baldwin has truly swallowed Edessa without any difficulty, just as you predicted, Princess."

"I told you, he's a capable fellow."

I continued with a light smile:

"Of course, we've also completed our preparations. Levon has officially expressed his intention to join hands with 'Etienne.'"

"Did you even secure a promise to isolate Edessa?"

"Of course, I told you I had my ways."

I nodded and continued:

"And with some time to spare, I've also devised a plan to directly mess with Baldwin. He must be quite flustered by now."

"You directly intervened in Edessa?"

"Well, while sending an army was unreasonable, there was enough time to send a few people. I deployed about twenty."

"Twenty people...?"

Nikephoros, with a surprised expression, immediately asked:

"Can you explain in detail? I'm also curious about how you obtained the promise from Levon."

Nikephoros's eyes were filled with doubt, though he didn't seem to distrust me. He just couldn't believe it.

Well, there was no need to hide it anymore.

"I'll start with the story of Levon..."

Imagining Levon deep in contemplation in Ayas, I slowly began my explanation.