While Ariadne was extremely wealthy, or rather Ariadne de Mare had stockpiled grain and was rumored to be the wealthiest debutante in the capital, Alfonso was suffering the opposite in Yesak.
It was the first time in his short life that he had encountered such a situation.
There was no need to worry about food and lodging while aboard the Prince of Yuldenburg's ship.
They slept in our cabins and ate meals together, provided to all passengers.
However, after the ship anchored near Yesak, in the Latgalin region, and everyone disembarked, they were left without tents of their own, no extra food, and no gold to purchase supplies locally.
"...Your Highness. These are the items sent by the Grand Duke of Yuldenburg.”
Sir Elko reported gloomily.
He brought some food on his back and said that a few more tents would arrive.
The Etruscan Prince's party consisted of twelve men, and even if they ate sparingly, they had only enough food to last them for three weeks.
Sir Elko's report continued.
“If we start marching from Latgalin, it will take more than a month to reach Yesak. There will be infantry speed, and there will be places to camp along the way...”
Sir Manfredi spoke in a heavy tone.
“With this...”
There is no chin.
If a decent battle were to break out, where they could make a mark and share the spoils, that would be another matter, but according to the strategic council of the Archduke of Yuldenburg, who had barely given up the last place to Prince Alfonso, they had no plans for the time being to attack a city that would yield any decent spoils.
If you don't plan on attacking, you have no choice but to use the facility.
“Is there a city nearby worth trading in?”
“Yes. It’s close by, Valianti, a decent-sized city, though not quite a large one.”
“...Pawn this and exchange it for gold.”
Prince Alfonso opened the pocket he was holding and took out all the ornaments and precious metals inside.
Finally, he took off the gold brooch that was holding the shoulder straps, placed it on a pile of precious metals, and handed it to Sir Manfredi.
The only thing of value the Prince left behind was the Etruscan Prince's signet ring on his hand.
“...Your Highness.”
Sir Manfredi was speechless. Sir Elko bit his lip silently, and Sir Bernardino also wiped the tip of his nose.
Prince Alfonso calmly comforted the knights.
“These things are not important. I can get more when we return to our home country.”
He pretended to be cheerful and encouraged them.
“Just stay alive. The most important thing is to keep living. You have to at least put food in your mouth. Everything else comes and goes. Do you understand?”
“...If that’s the case.”
Sir Manfredi sighed and took a pouch out of his bosom.
Inside, there were ivory combs, silver buttons, jeweled cufflinks, and other accessories used by the dandy Sir Manfredi.
“Please add this too.”
Sir Manfredi took out only one golden locket from it and wore it around his neck.
“I’m the third son, so I don’t have a seal ring to leave behind... I think I’ll be beaten to death if I throw away the seal my fiancée gave me, so I’ll keep this.”
“If it were her, she would kill you and still have some left.”
Sir Bernardino chuckled as he recalled Sir Manfredi's fiancée.
“All the jewelry you own is her future property. Wouldn’t she be angry that you disposed of it without her permission?”
“Lady Bedelia is not that kind of woman!”
Sir Manfredi pretended to be angry.
“That’s why you’re an old bachelor, you’re so obsessed with victim mentality!”
“Oh my!”
Sir Bernardino, who was furious with Sir Manfredi, also took out his pockets one by one.
“...I don’t have a signet ring or a fiancée. Just take it all.”
Sir Manfredi grumbled from the side.
“Hey, it’s heavy. I should drink this instead.”
“Huh, I’ll go and run the errand! Prince! I don’t trust that guy.”
The other knights, except Sir Elco, who had already been robbed and had nothing left to offer during his captivity in Gallico, took all their valuables and handed them over to Prince Alfonso.
“Please write this down, Your Highness!”
Alfonso blinked to hide his reddening eyes.
He felt ashamed of himself for having to empty her subordinates' personal assets.
Sir Manfredi noticed this and gave the Prince a shoulder push.
“I’m lending it to you.”
Sir Bernardino also patted Prince Alfonso on the head.
It was a type of skinship that only the close associates who had been with the Prince like an uncle since he was little could have.
“Pay it back with all the interest.”
“...Yes.”
Alfonso took the bag that had been gathered in a jiffy, suppressing his emotions.
“Let’s handle it well and hold on.”
He asked Sir Elko.
“There has been no contact from home yet.”
“Not yet...”
Sir Manfredi quickly lightened the mood.
“Considering the time it takes to get there and back, it’s not really time for a reply.”
Prince Alfonso sent a letter home from his first port of call.
It was a letter informing his father that he had escaped safely after explaining to him what had happened in the Kingdom of Gallico and that he was heading to Jesak with the Third Crusade led by the Archduke of Yuldenburg.
In addition, it contained a question about when, in the King's judgment, it would be proper to return to Etruscan.
The Prince separated from his army and requested that a warship be sent if possible to enable him to return home, and if that were not possible, that he be given sufficient funds to travel home without danger.
Because the sole heir to the throne who ventures outside the borders and roams the high seas, where enemy ships and pirate vessels abound, is a rare prey.
If they were captured by pirates and forced to pay ransom, it would be a shameful loss for their country.
“...Let’s send another letter.”
It won't do any harm to write another letter of urging to his father.
Besides, this time he was planning to finish writing the remaining letters that he couldn't send at the time because he was in a hurry and sent them together.
Alfonso didn't believe what Lariesa had said—your woman had betrayed you and joined forces with your brother—but he also wanted to receive a warm letter from Ari himself.
“The ship from the Republic of Porto that dropped us off last week is expected to return later this week.”
“Why are they leaving so late?”
“I heard that they are going to do some local trade while they are here. I wonder if anyone will say that they are not a businessman.”
The Republic of Porto, as the transport agent for the Third Crusade to Latgalin, received payment entirely in ducato coins.
Unlike the other participating countries, they did not serve in the service of God.
“Well, that’s fortunate for us. We can send them a letter when they return.”
Alfonso gave instructions.
“Sir Bernardino, go to Valianti and visit the pawn shop.”
“No, you weren’t sending me away? Do you really not trust me?”
Sir Manfredi was furious. Alfonso laughed and joked with him.
“I thought that if I left it to you, you would exchange it all for alcohol instead of gold.”
Alfonso spoke with a bright expression as he looked at the knights. If he tells this story, everyone will be in good spirits.
“The rest of you write letters to send home. Send them all home together when the Porto merchants return.”
The knights' faces all brightened, except one.
“No, I don’t write letters?”
This time Sir Bernardino got angry. Alfonso responded with a smile.
“Don’t you have anyone to send it to?”
“Prince!”
Even in a cornered situation like now, they were able to laugh because they had each other.
While he was laughing, his worries, his fear of hunger and the laughter of the other well-dressed soldiers were forgotten.
This too, will one day become a memory we can share with a smile. He had to believe that.
At that time, in the Etruscan kingdom, there was a great uproar against the Prince who did not send even a single letter.
“Why is there no news about this guy!”
Leo III sat in his inner chamber and lamented.
Next to the King, who was wearing only a light robe, sat Countess Rubina, or rather Duchess Pisano, elegantly attending to him.
“You must be worried, Your Majesty.”
She offered Leo III some delicious grapes and added slyly.
“Considering that the letter from the Archduke of Yuldenburg arrived safely, it seems that the letter itself was not unsent.”
The Grand Duke of Yuldenburg, who had set sail for Jesak with Prince Alfonso, wrote an official letter to the Etruscan kingdom about a month after leaving the Gallico kingdom.
'It was not planned in advance, but Prince Alfonso, the heir to the Etruscan throne, is very determined to participate in the crusade, so I am accompanying him to Yesak to spread mercy more widely. I ask for the broad understanding of the Etruscan King.'
“Well, you know! Is it that difficult to write a letter to your father?”
Leo III, who thought that he was entitled to receive the letter, showed no introspection or reflection on what he had done to his son.
“...Still, it’s still amazing.”
His son's wit was also welcome to him.
The Etruscan court was in a celebratory mood on the day news arrived that Prince Alfonso had successfully escaped from the Gallico kingdom.
With no one left in the royal family, Leo III alone was excited.
The Gallico kingdom kept the fact that Prince Alfonso had disappeared hidden from the Etruscans until the very end, but they could not bury all the strange circumstances.
The Etruscan kingdom has learned from several sources that Prince Alfonso has ceased to appear in public and has not been seen in public.
Prince Alfonso's letters were also not delivered to his homeland except for the first few.
Leo III and his ministers began to seriously worry that perhaps the Gallico kingdom was really doing harm to the heir to the throne.
In the meantime, a letter from the Grand Duke of Yuldenburg arrived.
“He was able to escape with his skills. He relieved my father of his worries. I thought he was still a child, but he is a worthy successor to a country.”
Rubina smiled as kindly as she could, feeling her insides twist.
“That’s right. He's all grown up.”
“So that’s what I’m saying.”
Leo III brought up the subject.
“Shouldn’t we send something to this guy? He’s probably all alone among the Crusaders right now, so how much sense can he have?”
The King was concerned about the situation of his Prince, who was accompanied by a small force of men while a multinational army was gathered.
“Since he was sent as an envoy to Gallico, there weren’t many people and he didn’t have any military funds, right?”
“I guess so.”
“When you go to a war zone, everything you do, everything you breathe, and everything you do, is about money.”
Leo III thought about it in his head.
“Would it be better to send a small group of knights, or would it be better to send military funds?”
If the Prince wishes to return after working locally, it would be better to send him a small group of knights, but if he wishes to return home immediately, it would be better to send him gold coins.
“This guy needs to be contacted to even discuss it! There’s no answer, no answer!”
When Leo III again became angry, Duchess Rubina lightly threw out a bait.
“Oh my, Your Majesty the King. You are so merciful.”
Me, merciful?
Duchess Rubina was taken aback by the unexpected compliment, but she began to seriously spur Leo III on, who was not offended.
“Your Majesty the King is the only father in the world who would send military funds and knights to his son who ran away on his own without even reporting to the King and is now in the land of Ratgalin.”
She added a word while secretly rubbing his shoulder line.
“Even though he safely escaped the Kingdom of Gallico, he hasn’t sent a single letter to his father. Isn’t he an unfilial son?”
It was the first time in his short life that he had encountered such a situation.
There was no need to worry about food and lodging while aboard the Prince of Yuldenburg's ship.
They slept in our cabins and ate meals together, provided to all passengers.
However, after the ship anchored near Yesak, in the Latgalin region, and everyone disembarked, they were left without tents of their own, no extra food, and no gold to purchase supplies locally.
"...Your Highness. These are the items sent by the Grand Duke of Yuldenburg.”
Sir Elko reported gloomily.
He brought some food on his back and said that a few more tents would arrive.
The Etruscan Prince's party consisted of twelve men, and even if they ate sparingly, they had only enough food to last them for three weeks.
Sir Elko's report continued.
“If we start marching from Latgalin, it will take more than a month to reach Yesak. There will be infantry speed, and there will be places to camp along the way...”
Sir Manfredi spoke in a heavy tone.
“With this...”
There is no chin.
If a decent battle were to break out, where they could make a mark and share the spoils, that would be another matter, but according to the strategic council of the Archduke of Yuldenburg, who had barely given up the last place to Prince Alfonso, they had no plans for the time being to attack a city that would yield any decent spoils.
If you don't plan on attacking, you have no choice but to use the facility.
“Is there a city nearby worth trading in?”
“Yes. It’s close by, Valianti, a decent-sized city, though not quite a large one.”
“...Pawn this and exchange it for gold.”
Prince Alfonso opened the pocket he was holding and took out all the ornaments and precious metals inside.
Finally, he took off the gold brooch that was holding the shoulder straps, placed it on a pile of precious metals, and handed it to Sir Manfredi.
The only thing of value the Prince left behind was the Etruscan Prince's signet ring on his hand.
“...Your Highness.”
Sir Manfredi was speechless. Sir Elko bit his lip silently, and Sir Bernardino also wiped the tip of his nose.
Prince Alfonso calmly comforted the knights.
“These things are not important. I can get more when we return to our home country.”
He pretended to be cheerful and encouraged them.
“Just stay alive. The most important thing is to keep living. You have to at least put food in your mouth. Everything else comes and goes. Do you understand?”
“...If that’s the case.”
Sir Manfredi sighed and took a pouch out of his bosom.
Inside, there were ivory combs, silver buttons, jeweled cufflinks, and other accessories used by the dandy Sir Manfredi.
“Please add this too.”
Sir Manfredi took out only one golden locket from it and wore it around his neck.
“I’m the third son, so I don’t have a seal ring to leave behind... I think I’ll be beaten to death if I throw away the seal my fiancée gave me, so I’ll keep this.”
“If it were her, she would kill you and still have some left.”
Sir Bernardino chuckled as he recalled Sir Manfredi's fiancée.
“All the jewelry you own is her future property. Wouldn’t she be angry that you disposed of it without her permission?”
“Lady Bedelia is not that kind of woman!”
Sir Manfredi pretended to be angry.
“That’s why you’re an old bachelor, you’re so obsessed with victim mentality!”
“Oh my!”
Sir Bernardino, who was furious with Sir Manfredi, also took out his pockets one by one.
“...I don’t have a signet ring or a fiancée. Just take it all.”
Sir Manfredi grumbled from the side.
“Hey, it’s heavy. I should drink this instead.”
“Huh, I’ll go and run the errand! Prince! I don’t trust that guy.”
The other knights, except Sir Elco, who had already been robbed and had nothing left to offer during his captivity in Gallico, took all their valuables and handed them over to Prince Alfonso.
“Please write this down, Your Highness!”
Alfonso blinked to hide his reddening eyes.
He felt ashamed of himself for having to empty her subordinates' personal assets.
Sir Manfredi noticed this and gave the Prince a shoulder push.
“I’m lending it to you.”
Sir Bernardino also patted Prince Alfonso on the head.
It was a type of skinship that only the close associates who had been with the Prince like an uncle since he was little could have.
“Pay it back with all the interest.”
“...Yes.”
Alfonso took the bag that had been gathered in a jiffy, suppressing his emotions.
“Let’s handle it well and hold on.”
He asked Sir Elko.
“There has been no contact from home yet.”
“Not yet...”
Sir Manfredi quickly lightened the mood.
“Considering the time it takes to get there and back, it’s not really time for a reply.”
Prince Alfonso sent a letter home from his first port of call.
It was a letter informing his father that he had escaped safely after explaining to him what had happened in the Kingdom of Gallico and that he was heading to Jesak with the Third Crusade led by the Archduke of Yuldenburg.
In addition, it contained a question about when, in the King's judgment, it would be proper to return to Etruscan.
The Prince separated from his army and requested that a warship be sent if possible to enable him to return home, and if that were not possible, that he be given sufficient funds to travel home without danger.
Because the sole heir to the throne who ventures outside the borders and roams the high seas, where enemy ships and pirate vessels abound, is a rare prey.
If they were captured by pirates and forced to pay ransom, it would be a shameful loss for their country.
“...Let’s send another letter.”
It won't do any harm to write another letter of urging to his father.
Besides, this time he was planning to finish writing the remaining letters that he couldn't send at the time because he was in a hurry and sent them together.
...In San Carlo, Ariadne will be worried about him.
Alfonso didn't believe what Lariesa had said—your woman had betrayed you and joined forces with your brother—but he also wanted to receive a warm letter from Ari himself.
“The ship from the Republic of Porto that dropped us off last week is expected to return later this week.”
“Why are they leaving so late?”
“I heard that they are going to do some local trade while they are here. I wonder if anyone will say that they are not a businessman.”
The Republic of Porto, as the transport agent for the Third Crusade to Latgalin, received payment entirely in ducato coins.
Unlike the other participating countries, they did not serve in the service of God.
“Well, that’s fortunate for us. We can send them a letter when they return.”
Alfonso gave instructions.
“Sir Bernardino, go to Valianti and visit the pawn shop.”
“No, you weren’t sending me away? Do you really not trust me?”
Sir Manfredi was furious. Alfonso laughed and joked with him.
“I thought that if I left it to you, you would exchange it all for alcohol instead of gold.”
Alfonso spoke with a bright expression as he looked at the knights. If he tells this story, everyone will be in good spirits.
“The rest of you write letters to send home. Send them all home together when the Porto merchants return.”
The knights' faces all brightened, except one.
“No, I don’t write letters?”
This time Sir Bernardino got angry. Alfonso responded with a smile.
“Don’t you have anyone to send it to?”
“Prince!”
Even in a cornered situation like now, they were able to laugh because they had each other.
While he was laughing, his worries, his fear of hunger and the laughter of the other well-dressed soldiers were forgotten.
This too, will one day become a memory we can share with a smile. He had to believe that.
***
At that time, in the Etruscan kingdom, there was a great uproar against the Prince who did not send even a single letter.
“Why is there no news about this guy!”
Leo III sat in his inner chamber and lamented.
Next to the King, who was wearing only a light robe, sat Countess Rubina, or rather Duchess Pisano, elegantly attending to him.
“You must be worried, Your Majesty.”
She offered Leo III some delicious grapes and added slyly.
“Considering that the letter from the Archduke of Yuldenburg arrived safely, it seems that the letter itself was not unsent.”
The Grand Duke of Yuldenburg, who had set sail for Jesak with Prince Alfonso, wrote an official letter to the Etruscan kingdom about a month after leaving the Gallico kingdom.
'It was not planned in advance, but Prince Alfonso, the heir to the Etruscan throne, is very determined to participate in the crusade, so I am accompanying him to Yesak to spread mercy more widely. I ask for the broad understanding of the Etruscan King.'
“Well, you know! Is it that difficult to write a letter to your father?”
Leo III, who thought that he was entitled to receive the letter, showed no introspection or reflection on what he had done to his son.
“...Still, it’s still amazing.”
His son's wit was also welcome to him.
The Etruscan court was in a celebratory mood on the day news arrived that Prince Alfonso had successfully escaped from the Gallico kingdom.
With no one left in the royal family, Leo III alone was excited.
The Gallico kingdom kept the fact that Prince Alfonso had disappeared hidden from the Etruscans until the very end, but they could not bury all the strange circumstances.
The Etruscan kingdom has learned from several sources that Prince Alfonso has ceased to appear in public and has not been seen in public.
Prince Alfonso's letters were also not delivered to his homeland except for the first few.
Leo III and his ministers began to seriously worry that perhaps the Gallico kingdom was really doing harm to the heir to the throne.
In the meantime, a letter from the Grand Duke of Yuldenburg arrived.
“He was able to escape with his skills. He relieved my father of his worries. I thought he was still a child, but he is a worthy successor to a country.”
Rubina smiled as kindly as she could, feeling her insides twist.
“That’s right. He's all grown up.”
“So that’s what I’m saying.”
Leo III brought up the subject.
“Shouldn’t we send something to this guy? He’s probably all alone among the Crusaders right now, so how much sense can he have?”
The King was concerned about the situation of his Prince, who was accompanied by a small force of men while a multinational army was gathered.
“Since he was sent as an envoy to Gallico, there weren’t many people and he didn’t have any military funds, right?”
“I guess so.”
“When you go to a war zone, everything you do, everything you breathe, and everything you do, is about money.”
Leo III thought about it in his head.
“Would it be better to send a small group of knights, or would it be better to send military funds?”
If the Prince wishes to return after working locally, it would be better to send him a small group of knights, but if he wishes to return home immediately, it would be better to send him gold coins.
“This guy needs to be contacted to even discuss it! There’s no answer, no answer!”
When Leo III again became angry, Duchess Rubina lightly threw out a bait.
“Oh my, Your Majesty the King. You are so merciful.”
Me, merciful?
Duchess Rubina was taken aback by the unexpected compliment, but she began to seriously spur Leo III on, who was not offended.
“Your Majesty the King is the only father in the world who would send military funds and knights to his son who ran away on his own without even reporting to the King and is now in the land of Ratgalin.”
She added a word while secretly rubbing his shoulder line.
“Even though he safely escaped the Kingdom of Gallico, he hasn’t sent a single letter to his father. Isn’t he an unfilial son?”
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