"Only God knows."
"Fine." Belem quieted down.
"What exactly happened?"
"It’s really no big deal. Seriously, a lady-in-waiting in the Marchioness’s court and I... we hit it off. You know how it is, what court doesn’t have a few whores?" Belem scratched his crotch.
"Count Belem harassed a lady-in-waiting in the court."
"Bah, a knight’s love, a knight’s love." Belem waved his hand dismissively. "I’ve been fighting for half a year, so what’s wrong with enjoying myself a little? Besides, I didn’t force Lucrezia in the end. She was the one who seduced me. But nobody believes me. Really, Eric, you have to believe me.
She has a husband. Am I really going to kill her husband? I don’t do that kind of thing. You know me. I’ve always championed a knight’s love. Coercion isn’t a knight’s love, that’s what bandits do. No, that’s worse than a bandit."
"Lucrezia?" Eric heard an unfamiliar name.
"That’s the lady-in-waiting. I didn’t force her, really. But she definitely didn’t like her husband. Her husband is one of the ’magnates’ from Florence. ’Magnate’ is a title those citizens just made up for themselves. It’s ridiculous. A bunch of lowlife, profiteering merchants calling themselves ’magnates.’
It’s just them amusing themselves. But they are indeed very powerful in their own city. For the nobility, it’s a shameful usurpation." Belem shrugged, then scratched his crotch again.
"If no actual harm was caused, isn’t this punishment a bit excessive, Sir Ugo?" Eric looked at Ugo.
"That’s only part of it. Lucrezia’s husband, Mr. Antonio, did indeed press charges against Count Belem. But Count Belem is being punished for another matter as well."
"What?" Eric looked at Belem.
Belem lowered his head, looking a little embarrassed, and scratched his crotch again.
"I think it would be better if Count Belem explained it himself."
"Er... after the Lucrezia incident, I wanted to blow off some steam. It just so happened that a bathhouse in Canossa was having a sale—buy three, get one free. But the free one was... of questionable quality. A real rotten egg."
"Rotten egg?" Eric was a bit confused.
"It means she had gonorrhea," Ugo added as an explanation.
"Couldn’t you fucking tell when you were doing it?" Eric was speechless.
"I just thought she hadn’t bathed. Besides, women in Italy all wear perfumed oils. I figured she was just using cheap perfume."
"Did you have to sleep with her?"
"It’s a bastard who doesn’t take what’s offered for free."
"And then?"
"And then, Count Belem brought his men and trashed four bathhouses. The girls were reportedly badly injured," said Ugo.
"What? I didn’t even touch them, and they just fell over! It’s a frame-up, a frame-up! How could I hurt girls who work so hard, relying on their own bodies to make a living?" Belem shouted.
"Why four bathhouses?" Eric felt something was off.
"I don’t know why, but all four of them were running a sale on the same day. I was busy from morning ’til night." Belem stared at the sky, avoiding Eric’s gaze, and scratched his crotch again.
"So you just let them tie you up? That’s not like you." Eric watched Belem, his eyes narrowed slightly.
Eric remembered that Belem had brought a full one hundred Norman Knights with him.
Then Eric looked at Ugo again.
"Yes, Count Belem was surprisingly cooperative." Ugo recalled the scene from half a month ago. He had originally thought there might be a fierce battle, but Belem didn’t resist.
"Exactly! I’ve been terribly wronged. If this were Normandy, those madams and that bullshit ’magnate’—not one of them would be left alive!" Belem said through gritted teeth. "And you, Eric, have the nerve to question me? Who do you think I’m taking this fall for?"
"Don’t tell me it was for me?" Eric pointed at himself, amused.
"Of course it was for you, who else?! Before long, this Marquisate will be yours! Eric, the future Marquis of Tuscany!"
"What nonsense are you spouting?"
"Your future wife is the Lady Feudal Lord of Tuscany, that Marchioness. Anselm and I had a hell of a time arranging it. And the Holy See has already given its consent.
It’s rare enough for a woman to possess such immense wealth and land, not to mention she also has breathtaking beauty!
Eric, this will be the greatest marriage of the century, because it will unite the lands of the Normans in Italy!"
"So I guess I have you to thank."
"Hey, it’s not all my doing. Last time in London, I promised you I’d find you a good match. I’m just fulfilling my promise now. But again, it’s not all me—your self-portrait deserves some credit too.
The other self-portraits they sent were just a pile of dogshit."
...
The full moon illuminated the Church’s bell tower, casting the city walls in a pale light. Under the glow of torches, sentries drank cheap, low-quality cider, but this did nothing to dampen their cheerful chatter. The streets were brightly lit, with most citizens still going about their day’s work, and patrons continued to stream into the pubs and taverns.
Matilda leaned on a windowsill in Canossa, gazing out at the bustling streetscape. The castle was the tallest building in Canossa City, and from here, one could see almost to the city gates.
The sight of two cats fighting on a castle turret made her smile.
It was nearly summer, and the past few days had been muggy. Fortunately, it had rained today, and the cool night breeze felt pleasant on her face.
It carried the scent of flowers and ripe wheat.