Temple Sword

Chapter 51 The Landless King
Autumn 1305
Genz, Hungary
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Antal was terrified of castles, and from now on he would not have to live in a manor or a monastery in a small room that smelled of excrement, but in the royal castle before him, with all the pomp, hypocrisy, and responsibility that came with it, he would not Know if you are ready to accept this fact.

After weeks of hard riding, they arrived at Genz Castle on a sunny autumn morning.Soldiers escorted him and Umberto to the inner courtyard, and Salreche was given a stall the size of the family's entire stable.They said the king would arrive in the evening, and they left them both there.

Umberto also left shortly after, saying goodbye to the boy and wishing him good luck.Their parting was not all that sentimental, as the singer assured him that he would be by Antal's side often and asked him for first-hand information about the king.

In the afternoon Antal was alone in the castle, with servants hurrying past him eagerly preparing for the king's arrival.The soldiers drilled in the courtyard, while the guards stood almost motionless at the gate, moving only at the changing of the guard.No one noticed a Templar wandering aimlessly in the huge building, or if they did, no one said anything.

Antal felt awkward and helpless, especially since no one had given him a place to live or introduced him to the castle.There was nowhere in Genzburg where he felt at home, not at all.

He wandered the corridors like a ghost, pausing every now and then to clap his hands or stretch his limbs, then continue on without purpose.A few hours later, he came to the kitchen inexplicably, and a thousand kinds of fragrances filled his nostrils, making his stomach growl mercilessly.

He was about to go in and beg for some food - he was the king's chief knight, after all - when a big-ass maid appeared at the door and chased him away like a stray dog.The women who work in the kitchen don't seem to care about rank and title, whether it's a noble lord or a greedy brat, they can do it right.

To pass the time more quickly, Antar joined a group of young soldiers who were training in the yard.This finally succeeded in alleviating his worries and boredom. At first he just played sports with them, but soon he imitated William again and loudly taught the more than 30 young soldiers in front of him how to chop. , poke and stand.And those soldiers were immersed in his shouting, repeating the training movements without any complaints.He immediately decided that he must pay more attention to these boys in the future.

After dark, the king and his entourage finally entered the castle under the wildly fluttering colorful banners and the sound of loud horns.Antar watched the slowly approaching procession from the wall of the castle. He could see the crowd stretching their necks and following the king to watch the excitement, as well as the well-disciplined phalanx of soldiers gathered in the courtyard.No one told Antal what to do, or where to stand, so he walked cautiously down the stone steps and waited by the railing on one side.

Archbishop Thomas of Esztergom was the first to enter the castle in a gorgeous four-horse carriage. He ignored everyone around him and continued to move towards the interior of the castle.

Charlie Robert was thoroughly enjoying the welcome of the crowd, waving to the crowd behind him as he rode into the castle, letting everyone see him and telling everyone that he had no intention of hiding.He was riding on the back of a black horse, and his royal blue cloak fluttered in the evening wind like a pair of bright bat wings.On either side of him were riders, their spears raised high, their heads held high.

The lively scene didn't last long. The king's team entered the castle courtyard, and the gate was closed tightly. The crowd dispersed, and the sound of the horn disappeared, only the flag was still flying.

Charlie sprang from the saddle, stroked the black horse's neck with satisfaction, and told his groom to give his steed two pretty apples, in addition to the usual oats.

The soldiers inside the city gate also breathed a sigh of relief, the solemn and perfect square formation turned into a bustling anthill, and the king himself was no longer an unreachable king, but a man of flesh and blood.

Antares spotted Laszlo in the king's procession, his future squire in splendid attire: a dark blue cloak embroidered with golden lilies of Anjou, with a A dagger and a short spear in his hand.Under his cloak is chain mail, and on his head is a nose helmet.Antal had not seen him since their parting at Visegrad, and had no idea that the king had enlisted him in his army afterward, promising that the boy would let him go until he saw Antar next time. He was taken aback.

What Charlie Robert said is true, Laszlo is like a real knight, his brocade clothes are like dragon scales, but he seems to be too busy to notice Antar who is waving at him, but He disappeared into the depths of the castle with a group of soldiers.

The king, on the other hand, hurried up to the railing, blithely, and stretched out his arms to Antal, who was still standing there in bewilderment.

"My dear friend!" Charlie helped up the young knight who was kneeling on the ground, "Don't be stupid, you are not my subject!" As he said, he grabbed Antar's shoulders and hugged Antal like a brother. He hugs.

"Your Majesty, is your journey going well?"

"Come on," Charlie Robert walked forward, gesturing for Antal to follow. "A few days ago, I received the good news. Since then, I have slept more soundly than a baby in a swaddle, traveling carefree like a wanderer, with nothing to do but enjoy the scenery. Think. For the first time in my life, I discovered that the sky is so blue!"

As he spoke, he took off his riding gloves and stretched them aside, when suddenly a servant appeared out of nowhere and took the gloves from him.

Antar wondered if he could get used to the young king always having people popping up out of nowhere, and to him this was the strangest new thing he had ever encountered.

"Why don't you ask me what the good news is?" Charlie raised his eyebrows and looked at him. "I thought you'd be interested."

"Of course I want to know, Your Majesty!" Antal quickly replied, "I just..."

"You don't want to ask rude questions, do you?"

"Exactly, Your Majesty."

Charlie stopped, took a slow breath, and let it out.He turned to Antal, gripping his shoulders firmly.

"There are a few things you need to remember," said the king earnestly. "First, you are the only one who can ask me any questions other than the Archbishop of Esztergom. Second, you must be honest with me and I will treat you with the same sincerity, and when I said in Visegrad the brother you would be, I didn't just talk."

"I see, Your Majesty."

"You're going to have a lot of work to do," Charlie continued, walking confidently through the winding corridors of the castle. "I want to learn to fight, not the motherly caresses of my old court teachers, but real fighting, steel against steel, life at stake. Those who taught me how to use the sword I have sent them back South, let them teach the cute and harmless little princes, leave me alone!
My soldiers don't even dare to fight me properly for fear of hurting me, but I don't think I need such care, I can be a better fighter than them.The Hungarians are a strong and wild people, so they need a king like themselves.I will give such an empire a knight king, Antal, and you will be the one to make me a true warrior! "

"Me, Your Majesty?" Antar was stunned, but then the surprise on his face turned into a satisfied smile, "It is a great honor for me, and I will do my best to teach you."

"I hope so," the king nodded. "On the battlefield, on the city wall, as long as it is useful, I want to know. If Archbishop Thomas troubles you, ignore him, and I will protect you! You see him today How angry are you?"

"Is that because of me?" Antal asked in surprise.

"Yes... partly because of you and partly because of me. He doesn't like me having you around me and he doesn't like me...what did he say? Like a savage nomad, He put aside diplomacy only thinking about killing by force, he must be afraid that one day I will return to ancient beliefs and old customs, just like Laszlo IV... The Pope almost launched a crusade against him."

They came to a strong wooden door, which Charles opened, and brought in his knight.

"This is your room," he pointed around, "and of course you will be given a similar room in every castle I recover for myself. Esztergom will be the first of these, When I came to Hungary, I first went to the castle of Esztergom. I didn't know what a rough and difficult road lay before me. I didn't even have my own palace for many years.

I lost Esztergom after that, but now I feel like I have new powers!I will no longer tolerate the status quo of the kingdom, I will unleash my strength and anger without reservation, and use it to take back Esztergom first!Then Buda and other big cities...but tell me first, are you happy with the room? "

Antar was breathless, in the spacious room, with rush mats on the floor and, in the absence of it, around a crackling fireplace, facing a low oak table on a soft bearskin.Wooden boxes are lined up along the wall, with a small round table and some chairs in the middle, and a four-poster bed with a canopy on the other side - Antal never dreamed that one day he would sleep in such a bed instead of a normal one grass bed.

As if to continue to shock the knight, Charlie walked to the window and pointed out: "From here you can see a dazzling view! See those tiny bright spots gathered together? That's Kosice, and over there is Millig Peak!" He enthusiastically introduced, then opened one of the oak boxes, reached out and took out a folded piece of clothing, "I specially asked someone to make it for you, so far there are only seven pieces of clothing like this, I want you to start wearing it today."

He spread the clothes on the bed, causing Antal to cry out in surprise, but couldn't say anything.It was a snow-white woolen cloak, and the red Templar cross stretched from neck to hem, left to right.Above the cross is the coat of arms of Charlie Dobel himself: the right half is the red and white stripes of the Arpad family, and the left half is the golden Anjou lily on a blue background. moved.

"What's the matter?" asked the king, "don't you like it?"

"Our knight order stipulates that clothes should always be one color, such as white, black or linen," Antal said in a single tone, as if endorsing it. "If conditions permit, we will prepare a set of winter and summer white robes for each knight who takes the Three Oaths, so that those who have left the darkness may declare their union with their creator through their pure white robes. as one.

White is the color of chastity, and chastity represents the safety of the soul and the health of the body.According to the apostle Paul, the knight who does not preserve his purity cannot find eternal rest, because he will never see God.People should follow the path of peace and holiness. If not, people will not be able to see God.Pompous and unnecessary clothing is forbidden, and all are restricted to modest clothing and footwear that can be easily removed. "

"What are you talking about?" Charlie Robert blinked at Antal who was staring at the robe in confusion.

"Rules of the Knights," Antal said with a smile on his face, "Twenty rules about dress."

The King laughed loudly at this, and the Templar relaxed, too, and laughed with his benefactor.They all knew that by the king's side, the shackles of the knight order were far away from boys, and Antal didn't need to follow all the weird rules.The archbishop obviously didn't like it, but Charlie didn't care, and Antal didn't look like he wanted to refuse anyway.

"You haven't asked me why I'm in such a good mood," said Charlie Robert.

"Why, Your Majesty?"

"Because," the king's lips twitched, "that damned Wenceslas . He had thought about it when Iron Curse was created, but his tyrannical father was still alive and he wasn't allowed to make his own decisions.

A month later, if God the Most High wishes, the sullen Archbishop Thomas will be able to place the crown of St. Stephen on my head.Then I'll make all disobedient nobles pay, I'll put Ivan Kossej in an iron cage and drag him across the country so everyone can spit on him. "

(End of this chapter)