1621 Fall(September-November)

The only ones who didn’t show up at the accolade were the French – Louis XIII, the king of France, and other French nobles.

“Imperator. It’s an honor to deliver the news that the Louis XIII, King of France - your grandson and son-in-law - has recaptured the holy land of Jerusalem and reclaimed the realms of the Kingdom of Israel in the Old Testament!”

“So, on his behalf, I humbly ask you to name Louis XIII as the King of Jerusalem.”

‘Oh. So that’s what you’ve been plotting till now, ignoring my letters with no reply, sending Richelieu as your proxy to Constantinople, eh?’

I was taken aback. Louis XIII and Cardinal Richelieu were the only 2 fools in entire Europe who rush in where angels fear to tread.

‘Does Louis think I’ll overlook him since he’s both my grandson and my son-in-law, even knowing what I’ve done too late Elizabeth, the late lioness, who was both his mother and my daughter?’

Whatever his reason was, it made me frown.

“Isn’t the current Duke of Savoy, Lord Charles Emmanuel I, legitimate king of Jerusalem?

And that’s why I tried to hamper their claim. Even though it was without a fief, the title, ‘King of Jerusalem’ was still being inherited.

After the fall of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the ex-royal family was split into 2 senior lines, the House of Lusignan and the House of Savoy. While the former dropped its’ claim after Catherine surrendered her rights to the Republic of Venice in 1489, the latter still held the title ‘King of Jerusalem’ till now.

And since Duchy of Savoy was one of the vassal states of the New West Roman Empire in the Italian Peninsula, I was beating around the bush, instead of directly asking if they want a piece of me and saying I won’t tolerate it.

“Sorry to disappoint you, Imperator, but that’s incorrect. Currently, Louis XIII is the legitimate King of Jerusalem.”

And that was Richelieu’s reply, bowing his head deeply.

‘Hmm, so you’re saying that your title is not inherited from the Duchy of Savoy, but Maria of Antioch?’

Maria of Antioch’s descendants is a cadet branch of the ex-royal family of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, which is also split into 2 - the House of Lorraine and Aragonese.

In this case, there can be 2 claimers for the title ‘King of Jerusalem’ - not the Duke of Savoy, but Louis XIII and me. Former is plausible because late Elizabeth the Lioness had annexed the Duchy of Lorraine while she was alive, which Louis XIII inherited. And latter makes sense since I, Eduardo Ivlivs Caesar Avgvstvs, 1st Imperator and Basileus of the New Roman Empire, am also the King of the Union of Aragon and Two Sicilies(Naples and Sicily).

‘So, you’re trying to take away the winner’s tip, eh?’

“Bold indeed, Cardinal Richelieu. But mark my words. Fame has its price.”

“T...thank you for your advice, Imperator.”

Richelieu answered, with his attitude becoming rigid. It seems that he was overwhelmed by the golden laurel wreath on my head. The 1st Imperator and Basileus of the New Roman Empire isn’t something that a mere cardinal can look down on.

“Very well, give and take then. Bring me Cyprus. That land shall be the fief of my knights.”

And I shoved my hand, forcing Richelieu to get out of my room. It was a signal to Louis XIII, that if he wanted more conversation with depth, he should come to Constantinople himself, not sending his proxy.

2 weeks later

“Imperator, Louis XIII, the king of France and the head of the 1st division of the 10th Crusade, wishes an audience with you.”

‘Judging by the timing, I guess he must have known that the situation would go like this, and have set sail right after sending Richelieu.’

I wasn’t irritated or mad at this. On the contrary, I was pleased. After the death of the Lioness, no one but them had the guts to pick a decent fight against me.

Although they’re trying to teach fish how to swim, it intrigued me.

‘Like mother, like son, huh?’

“Long live Imperato...”

“I see that you were dogging it all this time.”

That was my first words to Louis XIII, ignoring his greeting, as he prostrated before me.

“I...Imperator, I...I...”

Of course, at my words, Louis XIII became stiff. Even a fool would notice I wasn’t happy if I didn’t receive his greetings and criticizing that he was playing tricks on me.

“Well, it wasn’t a bad tactic. I guess that young cardinal – Richelieu - you deeply trust worth his salt.”

“But next time, try to be more patient. Didn’t they say slow and steady wins the race?”

“I...I’ll bear your advice in mind, Imperator.”

“You should know your place, Louis! It’s good that you wish to strike while the iron is hot, but look before you leap. Please don’t ignore your grandfather and father-in-law’s advice.”

After that, I’ve officially named Louis XIII as the King of Jerusalem, in exchange for the return of Cyprus, since France was also the vassal state of the New Roman Empire.

And Cyprus was bestowed to the Sovereign Military Order of Malta and Ordem Militar de Cristo as their fief, which marked the official end of the 10th Crusade.

So, the European nobles who took part in the Crusade either returned to their home with their soldiers or settled in their newly bestowed fief, trying to comfort their subjects.

And I continued to stay in Constantinople, keeping approximately half of the 3rd division(230,000) - 120,000 soldiers – stationed at Greece and Anatolia. Needless to say, it was to crush the remaining guerrillas who are now fighting to revive the Ottoman.

“Since you – Louis XIII and Richelieu – intrigued me, I’ll drop the idea of creating a rift between you two. Instead, Egypt is mine.”

And I’ve ordered the Sovereign Military Order of Malta and Ordem Militar de Cristo, which are now settled in Cyprus to help the ‘brothers of faith’ in Egypt, which are still suffering under Muslim rule, providing them ships, soldiers, and war supplies.

It was to provoke a Coptic rebellion in Egypt since the Levant region which belonged to the Ottoman has gone to dogs. Except for the realm ruled by the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the rest of the Levant was broken into several small Muslim kingdoms, which are ruled by the former viceroys – now self-proclaimed king/Sultans - appointed by the Ottoman, quarreling with one another.

Of course, it wasn’t happy news to Louis XIII, because he aimed to seize Egypt via the Kingdom of Jerusalem by negotiating with native Mamluks. But he had no choice.

“Allahu Akbar!”

“Remember the Battle of Karbala!”

“Death to Sunni!”

“Death to heretic Franks!”

Persians were storming into the Levant region, aiming to revive Shia Islam. So, the Kingdom of Jerusalem had no room to acquire Egypt, let alone its’ survival.

Without the help of the New Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Jerusalem was just a house of cards at the hands of Persia. So, Louis XIII had no choice but to give up Egypt and cooperate with me, for the sake of Jerusalem.