A week after Justiana's birth, at the Gavras Family castle in the suburbs, a distance from Mangup City—
"There, there, there. Little Justiana, there, there." Manuel gently held his eldest daughter, softly swaying her as dawn broke.
"You're already using a pet name? Do you think our daughter's name is too long...?" Barbara, now a mother, sat by his side, teasing him.
"Ah, no, it's not like that. Can't my daughter have a pet name?" Manuel stammered, explaining to his wife.
Manuel's parents, Alexius and Zoe, sat by the window, watching their son and his wife's happy expressions, and couldn't help but smile with relief. After a while, Zoe took her granddaughter and, with her husband, carefully examined the child's face.
Little Justiana had a rosy complexion, regular features, and was very healthy, showing no signs of illness or pneumonia. Her dark eyes, to her elders, sparkled like black pearls. "Just like her father," Zoe said dotingly, though Manuel remained noncommittal, muttering to himself that his dark eyes were clearly more like obsidian.
Just as Manuel was about to continue holding his daughter and looking at the scenery outside the castle, Badars, his Commander of the Guard and cabinet member, suddenly rushed into the castle to report an urgent matter.
"What is it?" Manuel, a little curious, carefully handed little Justiana to Barbara and went to bring Badars in. To be honest, he still wanted to spend more time with his wife and daughter.
Once they reached the reception room on the first floor of the castle, Badars eagerly and quickly informed him, "Your Majesty, a new situation has arisen in the Empire of Trebizond. According to our intelligence network in Trabzon, Crown Prince John should make his move soon."
"How soon is 'soon'?" Manuel was a little distracted, his mind filled with thoughts of his beloved wife and precious daughter.
"Within a month."
The tension that had eased slightly in Manuel since he announced the end of the "Tauris Re-Baptism" movement late last year tightened again. He immediately acted according to the arrangements he had prepared earlier. "I'll go and tell Barbara, my parents, and little Justiana first. I'll go to Mangup later. Badars, you go to Mangup ahead of me and inform the relevant people to prepare."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"I feel like I've forgotten something."
"Your Majesty, I remember now. Yes, Your Majesty. Loyalty!"
"..."
"Your Majesty, why are you not speaking?"
"It's nothing."
After briefly explaining the situation to his family, Manuel arrived at the Bangup Palace that noon to discuss with his cabinet members how to respond to the developments in Trabzon.
"Your Majesty, in my humble opinion—"
"As Serenus just surmised, Your Majesty. According to the intelligence report, a large-scale political upheaval should occur in Trabzon within the next month," Badars gravely reconfirmed the matter.
Hearing this, Manuel lightly tapped the table. After a moment of thought, he made his decision. "We will wait and see; it is not yet time for us to act."
"Yes, Your Majesty!" his cabinet members responded in unison. Manuel then turned his gaze to the report submitted by the intelligence department, muttering to himself, "My cousin, you must not fail."
Around three or four days later, at dusk, in a fortress outside Trabzon City, John Megas Komnenos, Crown Prince of the Empire of Trebizond, was making his final deployments to his subordinates.
"Amiroutzes, can you confirm that this week, besides my father, no one not on our side will be in the palace?"
"Yes, Your Highness. Prince Alexander has gone on a tour of the east; Prince David is in the capital, but he has always supported Your Highness; these people will not hinder Your Highness. Proceed, Your Highness." The noble youth named Amiroutzes looked at John with resolute eyes and responded.
"Good. By the way, Ridwan, will your side truly take no action?" John turned to ask a bearded Turkmen standing behind him.
"Rest assured, Prince John, the Sultan has always kept his word. Otherwise, he would not have sent me to assist you." The Turkmen named Ridwan patted his chest, giving his assurance.
"As for Dungar, if something goes wrong, please coordinate and lead us to the ships prepared by Genoa in the harbor," John turned and repeatedly instructed.
"Hmm, as you command. Oh, one thing to clarify, Prince John, I'm sorry, but I'm still used to being called by my surname," the Western European named Dungar looked at the Turkmen standing behind the liege he currently served, responding with a complex expression.
This Latin's temper is truly strange; he's old enough, yet still acts like a child obsessed with so-called Western European Crusader knights. John felt a desire to scoff at this thought. However, in such a critical moment, he very seriously agreed to the other party, "Alright, de Laporte."
The young man named Dungar de Laporte could only nod stiffly at this. Fortunately, the sky was dim, and John could not clearly see his specific expression. Before the operation began, John suddenly remembered something and specifically instructed everyone present, "Oh, right, although my father, that old man, is very annoying and gets in the way, he is still the current Emperor of Trebizond, so remember not to kill him."
"Yes, Your Highness."
That night, Alexios IV, Emperor of Trebizond, who should have been soundly asleep in his bedchamber in the Trabzon Palace, felt something was off. However, the palace guards had all been rotated several months ago, and moreover, they were recommended by his third son, David, not the two children who gave him headaches, so there shouldn't be any problems, right?
Thinking this, Alexios IV tried his best to calm his uneasy heart, pulled up his silk quilt, and fell into a deep sleep.
Less than an hour later, Ridwan smiled as he led a team of Turkmen mercenaries. Greeted by the palace guards, they entered Alexios IV's bedchamber without hindrance.
Looking at the sleeping Alexios IV, Ridwan, after confirming his men were all around him, relaxed and unbuckled his scimitar, preparing to talk to Alexios IV after he woke up before taking action.
Half an hour later—
"Why is he still sleeping?! And why aren't you making some noise?" Ridwan felt like he was about to laugh from frustration.
"Uh, Master Ridwan, although he is an infidel, he is still an emperor, after all," one of his Turkmen mercenaries said cautiously, and the bedchamber guards also nodded in agreement.
"You guys... Forget it, I'll do it myself!" Ridwan, his patience completely worn out, irritably grabbed his scimitar and motioned to one of his strong Turkmen mercenaries to act. The called mercenary, after a brief hesitation, could only take the scimitar from Ridwan's hand, rushed to the bed, and with one strike, sent the sleeping Alexios IV to heaven.