kingdom of nations

Chapter 104 Wedding
The tall knight helped Hibil up, his movements light and graceful, as if picking up a flower or a bird from the ground. At first, Hibil felt only unfamiliarity with him, wondering when an unknown attendant had appeared beside Baldwin. It wasn't until the maids filed in and lit candles that she saw the familiar calm and indifference in his green eyes.

But he was no longer the little slave she remembered. Like Baldwin, he was a chosen one, with ample meat and intense training and combat. His height and shoulder width far exceeded those of his peers—she once described him, surrounded by maids, as a puppy surrounded by a group of kittens.

Now, the maids were almost uncontrollably drawn to him, like iron beads attracted by a magnet. Even with the reins of reason pulling them back, there were bound to be a few of the boldest among them who would cross that line without hesitation. Hibil knew that several of her maids were better at hunting knights than waiting for them to hunt her.

Surprisingly, the maids stood at a distance, simply admiring the scene with great interest, without doing anything in particular.

"What?" After Baldwin and Cesar had left, Hibil asked seemingly casually, "Hasn't he become someone's yet?"

The maids exchanged glances. "He is a knight of Damara," one of them said.

"You care about Damara?" Hibil said. Damara had not returned to Hibil's side since returning to Arrassal, nor was she in Holy Cross Castle. Many of her maids had turned against her for the sake of a knight, so Hibil did not believe that Damara's feelings for them were that deep.

“That’s not quite right,” another maid said thoughtfully.

“Besides, Damara may be getting married soon, and if her husband isn’t a knight from here, she should break her vow to Cesar,” said the third maid.

“That is indeed the case,” Hibil lowered his head and pondered for a moment, “Then when Cesar is free, who would want him as their knight?”

She thought the maids would fight over it, but they just looked at each other and no one answered.

"Is it because of his status? He is already a Knight of Bethlehem, and my brother will soon put him in a proper position."

“No…that’s not the reason,” a maid stammered, “Although…I’m a little afraid of him…”

Hibler feigned surprise at just the right moment: "Why would you say that? Did he do something terrible to you?"

“No, no, no,” the maid hurriedly said, “but… don’t you think he’s very… imposing?”

The maids immediately nodded in agreement. César was indeed a very gentle man, especially respectful and caring towards women, just like the paladins they had seen in picture books or poems, pure, fearless, and steadfast—but it was precisely this near-perfect character and attitude that made him seem less like a real person and more like a statue of silver or marble.

"Are you afraid of him too?" Hibil looked at the other maids, who all came from powerful families. As a result, they did not care much about the rules and laws imposed on women by the church and secular society. They even dared to seduce priests and monks.

“You could say that,” one of the maids replied with a smile, but their “fear” had a different meaning from that of the other maids.

If it's just for a moment of pleasure, who wouldn't do it?
Cesar was the one among all the knights, and even among all the men, who truly respected and cared for them—this can be seen from Gerald's Damara. Hibil chose Damara because she was young, naive, and easy to manipulate, and would not feel resentful about being handed over to a slave servant by the princess.

However, Hibil didn't consider Damara's feelings at all. Damara was still a child, and it would have been easy for a man older than her to seduce her. Not to mention that Cesar was only nine years old at the time. Even if he hadn't yet understood matters between men and women, what about later? After that, he and Damara often met in the castle.

If he wanted to do something, Damara would have no chance to resist.

And they also saw that, over the years, not only her body, but also Damara's mind remained in a childlike state, still so pure and sweet, without being tainted by any dirt or shadow.

If Cesar disliked Damara and refused to serve her, then at Damara's request, he outnumbered and outgunned a whole group of vicious Saracens, and kept his promise to leave no sinner alive.

He was so good that they couldn't help but be moved. Several maids lowered their heads and smiled. They had already sensed Hibil's malice towards Cesar and would not cause him any trouble.

Unless they could actually enter into a marriage contract with him, they would of course be more than willing if they could make their own choice. Unfortunately, their marriages, like those of Princess Hibil, were linked to two families, two territories, or two countries, and their families would not allow it.

“If I were to make him fall in love with me,” a maid once thought whimsically, “and I could not become his wife, then this love would only break his heart and soul—it would not only be unfair, but an unimaginable and immense sin.”

Her words drew ridicule from her companions: "The only person who could make someone like Cesare abandon his piety and responsibility is probably Princess Hibil."

These words silenced the maids.

Since the erroneous marriage arrangement "hypothetically" agreed upon by Louis VII and Amalric I fell through, Hibyl's behavior became much more restrained. In contrast, she became even more beautiful, and everyone who saw her said that she had finally stopped being so childish and had grown into a good woman who conformed to education and worldly norms.

She became even more gentle and melancholic, especially when facing those knights.

She often lowered her eyelashes, concealing her blue eyes, which resembled whirlpools in the sea. Her face was pale, occasionally flushed with a low fever in the morning and evening. She was no longer so aggressive and arrogant, and even someone like David, who knew her role in the attack on Count Étienne, couldn't help but feel pity for her.

Who doesn't make mistakes? Especially since she was only a thirteen-year-old girl at the time.

At that time, people viewed women as if they were children who had not yet grown up. Since they had used this as a reason to deprive them of many rights, it was not appropriate to be too harsh on them now. Even Amalric I put aside his dissatisfaction with Hibil a few years later and began to seriously consider her marriage.

The king originally intended to marry Hibil to a foreign knight, so that if Baldwin did not have his own children, her husband would not be able to lay a finger on Alassalu just because he was the queen's husband and the future king's father. He still favored Hibil, after all, his daughter with the Byzantine princess was still an infant, while his eldest daughter was already sixteen years old, her flower mature, and she could bear a healthy seed.

However, Amalric I did not expect his death to come so suddenly.

Abigail was certainly not a good choice. Moreover, he had a father with a gloomy, cunning, and fickle nature—Bohemond had suffered greatly from his mother and stepfather in his youth. And shortly after regaining power, he fell into a Saracen prison. Had it not been for the intervention of the Byzantine Emperor Manuel I, he might have been imprisoned for even longer.

But he did not come without a price. His price was being forced to allow the Byzantine tentacles to penetrate into his country and his family. He married Manuel's daughter and together they fathered the fool Abigail.

But it was precisely because Abigail was foolish enough that he was chosen. His existence meant that Raymond could not rule the court alone, and it would be difficult for him to form an alliance with Bohemond.

In any case, once Bohemond gains more influence, and given that he is the future king's maternal grandfather, he could potentially sideline Raymond overnight. It's even possible that Bohemond could become the de facto king of Arrassal.

If Abigail were a man like Baldwin or Cesar—no, I should say, if he were like David, Raymond would have struggled to deal with Bohemond—but as if possessed by a demon, Abigail was a complete idiot who could accomplish nothing, whether in court or on the battlefield.

He was an inescapable shackle, or a stain, that God placed upon Bohemond.

Look at what he's done before! Before he even entered Holy Cross Castle, he had already angered Baldwin, ruined his father's reputation, and created a very bad impression among the knights. Bohemond wasn't naive enough to think the knights would keep quiet—not just the knights in the castle, but also the two visiting knights. They wouldn't cover for such a despicable man. He believed this matter would soon spread like wildfire, to Alassa, Acre, Jaffa, Gasarafa… and might even reach the Apennines or the Franks.

This is truly a grand event; those people may not have even heard of Baldwin, Raymond, and Bohemond before they heard of Abigail's name.

But no matter how much people despised this frivolous fellow, his marriage to Hibyl remained unshakable.

This is the decree of King Amalric I, and Baldwin will carry out the king's wishes to the fullest extent.

In order to complete this marriage, he even postponed his own coronation ceremony.

So, on the birthday of John the Baptist (June 24), they held a wedding for Abigail and Hebil.

In the days leading up to the wedding, Hibil fasted and bathed. On the wedding day, the maids added large amounts of fresh and dried flowers to the water in the tub and applied a mixture of powder and white vinegar to her skin. This mixture was meant to make her skin appear whiter, although long-term use could lead to lead poisoning.

On Arrasa Road, women also used rose water and olive oil. These two substances were certainly much better than a mixture of lead.

But neither of them really interested Hibil, perhaps because Abigail had been visiting too frequently these past few days.

Sometimes Hibil wanted to yell at him, "You should go and make something of yourself! Go and kill the Saracens! Even if it's just participating in a tournament, or serving my brother or your father, see if they can get you a good position!"
Instead of constantly sticking to me like a fat, annoying bee!
Of course, in the end she said nothing. Although Abigail was almost madly in love with her, he was still a man after all, and naturally had a disdain for women. If she said anything, it would not only be useless, but she might also lose her last useful hunting dog.

“Look at this!” a maid exclaimed in delight. “How beautiful it is…”

Although the wedding dress of Hibir had been made long ago, people were still amazed when this dark blue dress, exactly the same as the robe worn by the Virgin Mary, was brought out, even though it could be described as simple—the dark blue silk had little embroidery or decoration, with only silver embroidery and pearl embellishments at the cuffs and hem, like layers of ripples on the sea.

This color in this era symbolizes purity and the protection of the Virgin Mary, who will bless the bride with a carefree, joyful, and healthy life, and also bless her to give birth to a healthy boy as soon as possible.

The maids helped Hibil change into her wedding dress, style her hair, and put on an exquisite golden crown, a gift from Baldwin. The heavy gold, precious sapphires, and rubies shone brightly even though they were covered by a thin veil, but they still could not compare to the princess's beauty.

Since Amalric I had passed away, the task of handing over the princess could only be completed by Baldwin, who was the guardian of Hibir—regardless of age, as long as he was male, he had the right and obligation to all his sisters, and he could arrange their marriages, whether they were willing or not.

The most splendid and dazzling attire today undoubtedly belongs to the bride and groom, and among the ladies, the most beautiful is without a doubt Hibyl. Regardless of her inner thoughts, her appearance is, as poets have praised, like a flower adorned with jewels.

Abigail was also a handsome young man with long, thin eyebrows, bright eyes, a narrow but high nose, and thin lips, much like his father. Even the most critical person would not have called him ugly.

But the problem is, since Cesar is here, people will only look at him.

Even on such a formal occasion, he was dressed in dark clothes: a pure black velvet coat and matching tights, and even his boots and gloves were black, with only a few gold embroidered details in some places, and a silver cross hanging on his chest.

Baldwin was also dressed in white today. Unlike the custom of later generations, white was a noble yet sorrowful color at this time. He was still mourning his father. Their attire was inconspicuous among the brightly dressed guests, yet it was impossible for people to look away.

Clothing is merely an embellishment.

If the brocade is already magnificent enough, the presence of flowers becomes superfluous.

Even though César had tried to keep things as simple as possible without compromising the wedding, just as a gemstone stands out against a solid background, simple attire better highlighted his appearance and charisma.

All of them, yes, all the ladies were looking at him. They stared at his black hair, his green eyes, his red lips, their eyes glued to him, smiling, completely oblivious to the fact that their husbands or brothers were right there beside them.

To be honest, some of their husbands and brothers were also secretly watching the young man, regardless of his sexual orientation. The pursuit of beauty is innate. Only older people, with enough life experience, can gently cough to remind these young people not to get too carried away.

After all, the main characters today should be Hibil and Abigail.

Abigail's face was very unpleasant. He stared nervously at Hibil, worried that she would look at Cesar like the other maids. Fortunately, Hibil did not. She remained as indifferent as ever, to both him and Cesar.

Although comparing herself to Cesar didn't bring Abi much comfort, at least Hibil's attitude showed that she wasn't the kind of frivolous woman.

He smiled and took Hibir's hand. When Abigail saw the gleaming gold ring, he was filled with tenderness. Unlike people in later generations, couples at this time also exchanged rings, but not during the wedding ceremony, but during the engagement. The two rings were engraved with the names of the husband and wife and the date of their marriage, which could be considered one of the proofs of the marriage.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, they each made vows and received everyone's blessings.

Afterwards, they were led into a room. Although at this time, when women were pregnant and giving birth, they did not need dozens of nobles to watch over them, as was the case with queens hundreds of years later, to prevent anyone from switching babies or harming the mother.

But in terms of the bed-sharing ceremony, they were far more radical than people of later generations—Hibil and Abigail were each dressed in a loose, thin linen robe (and only one of their kind) and placed on a large bed, which was surrounded by a dozen or so witnesses, including Baldwin, Cesar, Bohemond, Raymond, Berion, Humphrey, and other important figures. Heraclius stood before their bed to dispel the curse and bestow blessings upon the newlyweds.

Then the crowd pulled a large sheet over them. According to tradition, they should have intercourse under this sheet, which means consummating their marriage. People should watch them finish the act for the marriage to be considered officially established.

After all, the canon law at that time stipulated that if the wife could not fulfill her duties as a wife, and the husband could not fulfill his duties as a husband, the marriage would be invalid. This was because, for the church, marriage was not for romantic love, but for procreation. If one party failed to do so, the marriage naturally had no meaning.

Generally, onlookers are not too critical. For newlyweds to successfully consummate their marriage, they simply need to lift their robes and intertwine their legs.

Hibil closed her eyes and stretched out her legs. Although she had expected it, the cold and rough feeling when she touched Abigail still made her shudder. At the same time, she smelled an indescribable odor—not a foul smell, but something even more unbearable.

She trembled uncontrollably, and Abigail thought it was just shyness and nervousness from a virgin. He pulled her arm and kissed her, trying to comfort her, but Hibil almost fainted—Abigail's embrace made her feel nauseous, and she could only bite the inside of her lip, forcing herself not to moan or wail.

The light moved before her eyes, and she instinctively opened them. She saw the tall, black-haired servant beside her brother blowing out a candle. As if this was a signal, people chuckled good-naturedly and left one after another.

"The ceremony is complete!" they shouted happily.

(End of this chapter)