Muhammad Khan could hardly believe such a good thing as a pie falling from the sky could actually happen. "I never thought the first thing I'd encounter after becoming Khan would be such a stroke of luck. Allah above, thank you, Allah!"
After praying to Allah in his heart, Muhammad readily agreed to the request of the newcomers, promising to intervene when they started their uprising. Of course, the condition, as previously stated, was that they would return Northern Crimea and the regions to its north to the Golden Horde as a reward for the Golden Horde's intervention.
A few days later, roughly in the morning of late February, Manuel received a personal letter from King Sigismund of the Lithuanian Kingdom—
"Emperor Sigismund is inviting me to Kiev?" Manuel asked, puzzled, after quickly reading the letter.
"Yes, Your Highness Manuel. Although there was a small mishap, Emperor Sigismund is now the new monarch. Out of the friendship between the two of you, he hopes to meet with you," the messenger humbly emphasized.
"Small mishap" refers to the two-year civil war, doesn't it? He wondered why he had left such a deep impression on King Sigismund, as he hadn't done anything special during his last visit to Vilnius in Lithuania. Manuel was a bit confused.
If it was just that one meeting with King Sigismund in Vilnius, it certainly wouldn't have been enough. But Manuel didn't realize how much his actions—uniting with the Golden Horde to destroy the Crimean Khanate at a time when all other major powers were temporarily unable to intervene in the Eastern European Great Plains—had captured the attention of other monarchs in Eastern Europe. A small coastal Principality had, within just two years, destroyed a new, pagan Tatar state many times larger than itself. While external forces were involved, it was enough to make the other great powers of Eastern Europe take notice. King Sigismund merely had more information than others, and thus reacted more quickly.
Should he accept? Manuel pondered. The Principality was currently enjoying a period of calm, primarily because he and his father were keeping things in check. He was very certain that if he left the country now or soon, the various hidden troubles he had barely suppressed would undoubtedly emerge with lightning speed, causing him all sorts of problems.
According to his own earlier conjectures, to completely suppress the delusions of those restless individuals and bring policies back on track, he would need to stay in the Principality for at least several years to deal with them. However, he didn't want to waste too much energy on such internal strife. After all, recently, he had already begun collecting records of the Gavras Family's rule in the Pontus region, paving the way for his next move.
Perhaps, after making preparations, deliberately causing a big scandal wouldn't be out of the question?
With this idea in mind, that afternoon, he agreed to the request of the messenger, privately finalizing his trip to the Lithuanian Kingdom. He also spent some time convincing his wife and father to actively cooperate with him. After being persuaded, his family members ultimately agreed to his bold plan and pledged their support.
After securing their cooperation, Manuel finally decided to depart for Kiev at the end of February.
Not long after he confirmed his travel date and made proper arrangements for other important individuals, his Commander of the Guard, also his absolute confidant and the head of his intelligence department, Badars, suddenly requested an audience, claiming to have a major discovery to report personally.
"Badars, what important matter is it this time? It must be significant enough for you, the head of the intelligence department, to report in person," Manuel said with a smile, teasing Badars, who stood before him with a serious expression, after personally receiving him.
But this time, Badars did not pick up on his jest as usual or engage in their usual trivial jokes. Instead, he nodded very seriously and said, "Yes, Your Highness, it is a very urgent matter."
"Speak," Manuel said, his expression also turning serious upon seeing this.
"Your Highness, forgive my presumption," Badars took a deep breath, "Please be careful of your younger brother, the young Prince himself." Then, Badars briefly described the main findings of the intelligence department.
Manuel did not interrupt until the very end. Only after Badars finished his report did he gently nod, "Alright, I will handle it appropriately. Badars, and everyone else in the room, you may all withdraw for now."
"Yes, Your Highness. Loyalty!"
After confirming that Badars and the others had all left, leaving him alone in the room, Manuel slumped down, feeling a bit tired, unsure of what to do. "Isaac Gavras, are you serious?"
Isaac, the full name of Isaac. To be precise, "Isaac" is actually a diminutive variation of "Isaac." To distinguish between repeated names, the Gavras Family generally used the diminutive "Isaac" to refer to Isaac.
"This is truly the situation I hate the most," Manuel closed his eyes and began to think, "Let me consider what to do. Perhaps, I should try?"
Finally, at the end of February, the day before Manuel was to depart for Lithuania, he arranged to meet with his younger brother, Isaac, at the auxiliary manor of the family palace, intending to have a serious talk with him there.
Both kept their word. Shortly after noon that day, Manuel finally took a good look at his younger brother's current appearance. Isaac had grown a lot since five years ago; at least in terms of height, he was almost as tall as Manuel. His face was somewhat similar to Manuel's, both having a delicate and charming type of appearance. But compared to his elder brother, Isaac, as the younger brother, lacked much of the world-weary experience, replaced instead by immaturity.
Looking at his much-grown younger brother, Manuel carefully recalled in his mind, when was the last time he had truly observed his brother? He began searching his memories, only to realize with embarrassment, "Was it five years ago?"
Conversely, Isaac was also carefully observing his elder brother, whom he hadn't properly looked at in a long time. The two brothers observed each other in awkward silence for a long while, until Manuel finally broke the quiet, "Isaac, you've grown so much." He smiled.
"Yes, Big Brother, you too," Isaac replied, then for some reason, he subtly avoided Manuel's gaze.
In the past, Manuel might have thought his brother was shy and introverted, but now he knew the true reason.
But even so, he still wanted to try.
Manuel pretended as if nothing was wrong and extended his left hand to Isaac, wanting to hold his hand as they did when they were children. Faced with his elder brother's kindness, Isaac first reached out his right hand towards Manuel, but then, just before touching it, he timidly pulled it back. But eventually, under his elder brother's gentle gaze, he took hold of that left hand.
Afterward, the two brothers, just like when they were children, casually strolled through the manor, chatting about past events. When they touched upon interesting topics, they even burst into laughter together.
The two brothers continued chatting and playing until the last rays of the setting sun cast their glow upon the ground.
"Isaac, there's something I want to say. Are you interested in listening?" Manuel said in a very gentle tone, looking at the lingering snow reflecting the sunset.
"Mm," Isaac nodded somewhat blankly.
"To be honest, I don't have much to say," Manuel smiled gently, "It's just that we are both still young, aren't we?"
Isaac nodded with a bewildered expression.
"When you're young, it's normal to have some very difficult-to-accept delusions. Honestly, I've recently been enlightened by someone about my own fantasies.
"But thankfully, it's something that can be remedied." At this point, Manuel's tone shifted, "But some things, if truly done, are irreversible."
"Big Brother, are you saying..."
"Ah, I didn't say anything. Anyway, I only know that for us, this is just a small part of life's scale. Your path is still very long, and perhaps in the future, you'll have a lovely wife and children..."
"I'm only fifteen or sixteen!" Isaac interrupted hastily.
"Alright, alright, I just meant one thing," Manuel chuckled, "I mean, people nowadays are very cunning. Some guys are very good at exploiting others' delusions, so don't let those people trick you."
Isaac lowered his head, silent after hearing this. Manuel sighed inwardly at the sight.
"Then let's leave it at that for today." As dusk fell, Manuel waved and stood up, preparing to say goodbye as they had agreed.
But then, Isaac behind him suddenly called out, "Big Brother, someone..."
Manuel turned around, looking at him with anticipation.
But in the end, Isaac struggled for a long time, only to whisper, "Someone asked me to tell you, good, goodnight."
"Mm, goodnight."
After bidding each other farewell, Manuel remained in place, watching Isaac leave. Only after confirming Isaac had indeed departed did he drop his smile. Today, he ultimately did not place Isaac under house arrest, but that was all. As an elder brother, he instead gave a grim, bitter smile and made the decision he had to make—
"Badars, prepare. I'll find a time to put Isaac under house arrest after I leave Theodoro." This was the order he gave to his Commander of the Guard after returning.
In early spring, the accumulated snow and ice of winter began to melt. But when the white ice and snow melt, what reappears is not necessarily the beautiful scenery left from last year, but possibly dark, repulsive sludge, even more unpleasant than the chilling ice and snow.