The Restoration of Rome: In the Name of Augustus

Chapter 100 The Big Wedding

After the wedding ceremony, a grand wedding banquet was held at the Grand Palace.

Basilius and Barcelisa, having shed their elaborate formal attire and donning only their usual banquet dresses, took their seats hand in hand on the ivory thrones on the central platform.

As the Crown Prince of Jerusalem, Lyon, along with his mother Mary, was seated on the right, second only to the royal family, next to Imperial Marshal Cantorstfanos.

Count Raymond was seated below the Imperial Cantorstafanos, next to the Imperial Foreign Minister Ioannis.

Patriarch Theodosius and Latin Archbishop Heraclius sat opposite him with a group of clergy, arranging for the guests to be seated while giving loud speeches.

When Jacob, dressed in a priest's black robe, blended in, Theodosius and the Patriarchs of Constantinople recognized him and waved to him.

Although Accord is lazy and loves to eat, and often reeks of alcohol when he preaches and recites, and his sentences are often incoherent, he is quite eloquent. Usually, you can get along with him fairly well after scolding him a few times.

At the start of the banquet, the first course was peacock meat cooked with honey and wine. In Latin tradition, the peacock symbolizes "immortality and resurrection".

Theodosius pushed the plate toward Heraclius and smiled, saying, "Please let our Latin brothers taste first, so that we may be united as in Christ."

Heraclius took the silver knife, made a small cross on his chest, cut the tenderest breast meat into three pieces, first handing one piece to Lyon, then to the Patriarch, and finally keeping a small piece for himself.

He lowered his eyes and said reverently, "His Highness the Crown Prince is at a stage of rapid growth and needs food to strengthen his bones, while I only need one piece to savor the Lord's grace."

"Nothing that goes in can defile a person, but what goes out can defile a person. Temperance is not restraint, but allowing grace to operate in an orderly manner." He raised his eyes slightly and smiled at the Patriarch, "Just like etiquette, if it is only gilded but not seen to shine, it is just peacock feathers."

Theodosius, lost in thought, smiled knowingly. "Speaking of gilding," he said, "the late Emperor Manuel once owned a painting of the Virgin Mary by a Latin artist, its gold background so thick it almost obscured the face. The craftsmen of Constantinople criticized it as 'like brass rather than holy light,' and it was relegated to a shelf. Your Excellency, how do you consider the balance between the thickness of the gold and its sacred weight?"

Heraclius was stumped for a moment, and he lowered his head in thought, remaining silent for a long time.

Seeing this, Jacob put down his knife and fork, drew a small cross on the tablecloth with his fingertip, and answered for the archbishop: "Latin painters use gold to tell people that the Virgin Mary is surrounded by glory. Greek icons use light to tell people that the Virgin Mary herself shines. True balance is not in the paint, but in the heart."

"Heart?"

“That’s right.” Jacob said casually, “If the heart is filled with formalities, light cannot penetrate. If the heart is filled with light, even a plain wooden board can reflect the Kingdom of Heaven. That’s why I often advise believers who are working to first gild their hearts before making the wooden board shine. Otherwise, we are just putting gold leaf on the peacock’s tail, forgetting that it should point to the resurrection.”

Having said that, Jacob raised his silver goblet filled with wine and saluted Theodosius.

"Jacob, your trip to Jerusalem has made us almost unrecognizable to you." Theodosius and the Constantinople clergy around him exchanged glances, admiring Jacob. "Your outstanding preaching truly puts us monks to shame."

Lyon, sitting across from him, silently watched the entire show of Accord's pretentious behavior.

What a thrilling and exhilarating debate!

He turned to look at Count Raymond, Ioannis, and Contorstefanos, who were talking. Compared to the group of monks, they were much more peaceful.

Count Raymond inquired about the Empire's relations with the Turks and Venetians after the Battle of Antalya.

"Although the Empire gained the upper hand in negotiations by capturing the Turkic prince, when I went to contact the Turkic envoys... their attitude remained arrogant." Ioannis shook his head and sighed, "The peace talks are only temporary; the Turks will surely return."

Kantostefanos said with deep concern, "In the Battle of Antalya, we were only lucky to capture Merik Kilij. The Turkic Sultan has many sons, and many talented generals, but Merik is the most useless. With this defeat, the Empire will have to deal with fools like him in the future."

After saying that, he snorted coldly: "And even a fool like Merrick, if it weren't for the schemes he carried out in cooperation with your country, we wouldn't be a match for him."

Count Raymond nodded and continued, "And Venice? They've lost most of their ships, and I've heard that the German Redbeard has recently been sending envoys to interfere in the affairs of the northern Italian city-states. Venice should maintain peace with the Empire and focus on dealing with the Redbeard's provocations."

Ioannis exchanged a helpless glance with Cantostefanos and said, "Who knows? The Venetians are always making trouble, but they don't dare to actually fight. They don't even have a governor now. I heard that those elders and councilors are arguing all day about the redistribution of profits after the Battle of Antalya..."

"Speaking of the Battle of Antalya, I've always been very curious..." Cantostefanos turned to Raymond, his expression meaningful. "Your country's strategy kept even me, the Imperial Marshal, in the dark. Your country's operational plan, the movements of Venice and the Turks—all were communicated to me by His Majesty. How exactly did your country bypass the Imperial military and political system to reach His Majesty directly?"

Raymond exclaimed in surprise, "Your Excellency, you've asked the wrong person. I'm only in charge of the kingdom's foreign affairs and never interfere in military or political matters. In fact, since the death of Humphry III, the kingdom's Master of Stables, three years ago, the position of military commander has been vacant, and all military and political decrees are issued by the king. If you want an answer, you'll probably have to go to Jerusalem and meet the king in person."

"I see, that's a real shame..."

"However, perhaps..." Count Raymond suddenly turned his gaze to Lyon, who had been secretly observing them, "His Highness Lyon might know."

"Your Highness the Crown Prince?" Cantorstefanos looked at Lyon in confusion.

Their Basilius was only three years older than the prince before him, yet he remained childish. This prince named Lyon was just a ten-year-old child; what could he possibly answer?

Lyon put down his silver cup, met the Marshal's gaze, and looked calm, without a trace of childish timidity: "The answer to Your Excellency's question is actually very simple. Although Basilius and my brother Baldwin IV are separated by mountains and seas, they are both young monarchs who care about the country and are determined to restore it."

"Jerusalem and Constantinople share a common interest in resisting the infidels and the greedy Venetians. The Battle of Antalya is an inevitable outcome of this shared interest. Therefore, all information must reach the supreme commander who can make the decision in the fastest and most reliable way."

At this point, Lyon turned slightly towards Alexius and Isabella, and said with a hint of respect, "As for how to bypass the red tape... Before His Majesty ascended the throne, we had a prior relationship. We collaborated to devise some communication channels that did not rely on the traditional bureaucratic system and were directly accountable to the Emperor. My brother, on my advice, was also able to use these secretive and efficient channels to share urgent military intelligence with His Majesty. This is not because we distrust the generals of the Empire, but because military intelligence is urgent and speed is of the essence."

Lyon turned to Cantostefanos and said, "I presume Your Excellency understands?"