"I know that this is the hour of time for you and me. I'm not going to keep you without fun. When the sweet waves receded, Gawain, with a hint of guilt, got up and put on her robe, the female archon's hair hung down on her forehead and ears, and there was still a blush on her neck that had not faded, she covered herself with a cloak, and stood on the floor with her slender feet exposed, listening to the sad swaying of the bushes outside, and fell into Gawain's arms, and said softly.

"Holy Sister, in the future I promise to revive the great fortress of the city of Melitene (the fortress on the border between northern Cilicia and Armenia), and then hand it over to you and the faithful as a new republic." Gawain hugged Cabeamia's delicate undulating back.

"Don't be exterminated in Cilicia, it's not too late to say that."

"No, I am a man blessed by the devil, and I am not superstitious about anyone's promises, but I am determined to follow my own plan. Soon the affairs of the Mute Valley will be entrusted to you" Gawain comforted the uneasiness of the holy sister, and then the two affectionately kissed goodbye to Mr. "Rabbit" in the rattan box over there, still changing various expressions, giving up rolling and breaking through, lying on his belly shyly, cocking his tail and constantly hitting the edge of the box, and continued to make a purring sound, probably hungry.

In the evening, the Grand Duke, who had arrived belatedly, made a pretentious inspection before the end of the market of Aqum, and after a few moments at the cash-office and the city hall, he summoned some of the representatives of the merchants, gave a lecture, mounted his horse, and sent the two members of the Brotherhood back to the city to report to Anna, and then took Muzafiadin to another elegant villa for the night: the blonde widow, who was dwelling there, was nursed in the company of Madame Chise.

There is no doubt that even in pregnancy, the widow still has a way of pleasing Gawain with her charming flesh.

The twilight was hazy, the small trees and ponds around the widow's villa were still shrouded in the morning mist, the little goose in the water hung its long head, floating comfortably on it, Gawain's feet were also a little vain, and he walked down the stairs step by step, and the Turkic servants in front of the courtyard on the first floor noticed that the Grand Duke's walking pace was somewhat similar to that of the white goose in the pond.

Several envoys from Seleucian City, who had been urgently sent by Anna, stood under the thick trees and respectfully told the Grand Duke, "Her Royal Highness the Princess has no intention of disturbing you, but she has asked us to convey the news." ”

Gawain looked at the secret letter cylinder held by the envoys, and did not take it, but let out a long breath, got on his horse, looked at the beautiful scenery of the midsummer morning light in the Alarman Valley in the distance, and whispered, "Everything is in the plan, concentrate on breaking through the cage side first." ”

In the plains of the border between the Syria Gate and the Armenian Pass, Prince Ruben in the camp was trembling with anger, holding the letter sent from Gawain, he was angry and frightened, after all, now that the pilgrims had won a complete victory on the battlefield of Antioch, Gawain had tens of thousands of elite soldiers and horses under him, as well as many garrison militias and Jinat—I don't know what kind of fiscal policy Gawain adopted to support so many troops (Gawain said, in fact, I just control all the shares of Seleucia and West Cilicia)? In any case, even Gawain's chain of castles in the eastern part of the territory could not be breached, let alone face the Grand Duke of Romania head-on? This put a lot of pressure on Reuben's heart, and he finally decided to write back to the Seleucian side:

"We have prudently decided not to settle the dispute over our territory by force, but we have not renounced our claims to the cities of Sith and Tarsus, which have belonged to us since ancient times in Armenia, and we await the reasonable arbitration of the city of Rome, Constantinople and the Council of Pilgrims."

Then, Prince Ruben asked the generals around him, "How is the situation on Edessa's side?" ”

"Kobuha fled, abandoning the siege of the city, and then the area of Azadze became very delicate. Moreover, according to the information received by our spies in Antioch, it will not be long before the victorious pilgrims will launch a war of conquest in the region of Azazadze. "Two officers in charge of intelligence urgently reported.

Under the candlelight in the tent, Prince Ruben pinched his chin with his hand and sat down in a chair, his sword and bow hanging from the curtain bracket behind him, the master of the Northern Cilician mountains pondered slowly and delicately, "Conquest of the Azazai region? This region is located between Malatya, Aleppo, and Edessa, which means that the forces of the Normans, Ridwan, Kobha, and our Ani will inevitably be involved in the confrontation between the West and Gawain; Or take the opportunity to go east and cut a piece of meat from the Normans, this is a question to be carefully considered. ”

Just as Prince Ruben was exhausted, Hugh and William, who were going to Constantinople to hold the emperor accountable, and dozens of people (most of their men were on standby in Port Saint-Simon) had arrived on the outskirts of Seleucia. But that hateful Gawain is still in the palace of the Acropolis, and his hospitality is still limited to "folk specifications". No, they were sent to the pilgrim's inn next to the Jianda Hospital, where the roads were bustling with merchants, pilgrims, and people who had come to Seleucia from the mountains to seek a living, most of whom wore the name of "Isurians," wore a torn cloak, a syringe, a sickle, and a scabbard around their waists, and were followed by a string of children and wives, clamoring everywhere to join the army and enjoy the Gospel Shrine. Soon, however, at the tower at the end of the market, a cavalry garrison rushed over, brandishing whips, to drive away and arrest the restless elements.

Hugh was in a terrible mood in the midst of the confusion, and when he had lodged there, several messengers came to him and gave him a document jointly stamped by Prince John and the Grand Duke of Gawain, which said, "Your Excellency's intentions have been clearly understood by the Prince, but now the road to Alalmanburg will only be opened on the day of the day specified by both sides, and there is still a month before the next opening, and I am supervising the construction of the fortifications of the fortress in the city of Filadofiam, so I hope that Your Excellency will go from the valley of the Mut, where there is a gorge to the northwest, To Philadelphiam I will be waiting for you there, as for security, don't worry, this is still far from the range of the Empire and the remnants of the Konya Turks, and in addition, I can ask Grand Duke Gawain to send a cavalry escort, and I will have the commissioner meet you at the border. ”

Hugh put the paper aside in horror, he could not be sure whether the long road to Philadofiam was safe or dangerous, but he could not help it, for in fact he had been ostracized by the pilgrims, and most of the army was not with him. Now in the place, Gawain is not friendly to him, and the situation on the side of Emperor Komnenos is also unknown, this letter with the seal of the prince may be just a trap for booby-trapping.

"No, William must be allowed . . . Granmenille walked ahead of me. Eventually, Hugh decided to use the Norman earl as a stepping stone and a shield. (To be continued.) )