Chapter 346 249: Byzantine

On the way to Messina, Robert told him that when he left Normandy, the Count of Anjou had clashed with the King of France again. He figured the King of France would not be joining the Crusaders and had instead appointed his younger brother, a young man named Yuge, to represent the Capetian Royal Family in Constantinople.

This young man, Yuge, seemed quite interested in the Eastern Expedition. He had led the army of France Island to Constantinople around this time last year. Strangely, however, no news had come back from him yet.

The journey from Genoa to Messina wasn't long, but due to several consecutive days of rain, a trip that should have taken a week ended up taking two.

It was already July when they arrived in Messina.

Roger had arranged for a Municipal Official to welcome Eric and the group of Norman Nobility. The official's name was Reynard de Betune, and he was also a Norman from Cotentin.

As agreed, the soldiers were not allowed to enter the city. They were all quartered in the seaside suburbs outside Messina.

However, even in the suburbs outside the city, one could sense its prosperity. This area was also crowded, bustling with a considerable number of shops, workshops, and inns.

The high-ranking Nobility, including Eric and Robert, were housed in two large mansions in the suburbs of Messina. The residences boasted central courtyards with mosaic floors, grape arbors, and gently flowing fountains, possessing a level of luxury that far surpassed many castles in England.

Through the window, one could see palm trees and a Church that was once a heretical temple, lending it a unique, Exotic Realm atmosphere.

After sharing a delicious dinner with Eric and his men, Reynard politely took his leave.

The feast concluded with plates piled high with exotic fruits, figs, and pomegranates, surrounded by sugar-coated almonds and hazelnuts.

Belem had a sweet tooth. When the servants collected the unfinished platters and placed them within his reach, he felt as if he had ascended to Heaven. His cheeks were bulging with food, and he filled another plate until it could hold no more.

Eric watched, amused, as Belem followed the dark-skinned servants toward the passage to the kitchen.

Many of the Normans who had never been to Sicily found it strange to see Saracens serving as servants rather than enemies, but in Sicily, this was the norm.

Here, Saracens, Lombards, and Greeks coexisted.

Odo had other ideas. He was hinting in various ways that Roger of Sicily was collaborating with the enemy.

Although for now, no conflict or violence had erupted.

However, both Eric and Robert understood it would be best not to stay in Messina for too long, as the place was filled with too many heretical elements.

For now, most of the Normans still had a favorable impression of the place, glad to meet fellow countrymen from Normandy in a foreign land after three months of travel. But this goodwill would not last.

The effectiveness of Robert's strict and repeated commands would also wane over time.

Eric had originally planned to visit his uncle, Roger; after all, Roger had gone out of his way to send gifts and blessings for his wedding.

But Roger never appeared.

"Your uncle, Roger, went to Bari a week ago. The Greeks there, backed by the Emperor of Constantinople, have rebelled against your father again. Your uncle went to deal with it," Otto, the current Governor of Pisa, told Eric, relaying the information he had just acquired. "It's a clumsy lie. To think I paid 1 Mark for this worthless piece of news. Greedy pig."

Otto actually wanted to confront the person who sold him the information. But considering he had brought a hundred of Giscard's Norman Knights into Eric's fold, he was now Eric's man—a 'traitor' to Apulia. He was afraid that pressing the matter would expose his Identity.

After all, this blatant lie could have been a story Roger himself had instructed that person to tell.

So, he could only grit his teeth and pay for the information.

"It's a lie to people like us, but not to Robert and his men," Eric said with a smile.

On the surface, Giscard and Roger's relationship was good, but only a very small number of people knew that Giscard harbored a deep-seated jealousy toward Roger.

Roger Outville possessed ambition and abilities that rivaled Giscard's, and he held an absolute advantage in age over the gradually aging Giscard.

This was almost identical to the young Giscard of twenty-odd years ago—equally young, brilliant, ambitious, and one who had usurped his half-brother's territory without the slightest compunction.

Thus, after Roger began to display his capabilities, Giscard quickly showed an inflexible and unusual stinginess toward him. This ultimately led to a clash between the two brothers. Giscard was humiliatingly captured by subjects loyal to Roger and, under a diplomatic settlement proposed by Roger, was forced to grant him the status and lands he deserved.

Of course, the story that made the rounds was quite different. It was said that a tearful Roger begged his older brother for a piece of land to marry the woman he had long loved. Giscard, out of fervent brotherly affection, sincerely apologized for his prior neglect of his younger brother and, also weeping, embraced Roger to beg for his forgiveness.

Roger received the Norman lands on Sicily Island and divided Calabria with Giscard, sharing the cities and towns of the Calabrian region. However, Roger's influence to the east was limited to Calabria, and Roger, for his part, was satisfied with this.