Temptation

In the guest room next door, Sibylla reflected on the day's events. She had seen prosperous towns before, but never one like Norn's manor, where both heathens and believers of the Lord coexisted peacefully, bustling with energy and hope.

But looking at Norn's own quarters, the best room in the manor, she found it surprisingly modest. There were only the necessary furnishings, with no opulent decorations. The only thing that lived up to Norn's reputation for wealth was the bookshelf by the side.

A slender finger gently traced the spines of the books: The Iliad, The Odyssey, Poetics, and so on. Sibylla turned and asked curiously, "I didn't expect Baron Norn, so young, to be so well-read."

Otto, who was accompanying her, replied with a hint of pride, "Norn spent three years in a monastery before coming here and developed a good reading habit."

"Oh?" Sibylla looked at the weathered but charming Otto and stepped closer. "So why did he come here to pilgrimage?"

"It's mainly because of me," Otto couldn't help but let out a bitter smile. "If it weren't for me, he might still be happily playing in his territory."

"And what about you, Sir Otto?" Sibylla drew out her question, her narrow eyes twinkling with interest.

Otto's face was calm, but a vision of a beautiful young woman flashed through his mind, her lake-blue eyes filled with affection for him.

"Because I need to atone for my deceased wife," Otto placed his hand on his chest, feeling the cross his wife had left him, as if she were still by his side.

Hearing this, Sibylla, who had been so interested, was taken aback and couldn't help but show some sorrow. A young man's face also flashed through her mind, sunny and full of vitality.

Sibylla couldn't help but sigh inwardly: If her husband were still alive, she would be with him, taking care of their newborn child, instead of coming to this unfamiliar manor.

"Why is the Lord so cruel?" Sibylla sighed sorrowfully, not sure if she was talking about others or herself.

"The Lord's will is inscrutable, but I believe the Lord still favors the Adler family, otherwise He wouldn't have brought Norn to me," thinking of Norn, Otto's mood improved a bit.

"Is that so? I envy you, Sir Otto. At least you have a good nephew," Sibylla looked at Otto, whose eyes were shining again, and couldn't help but feel envious.

"Your Highness, please take heart," Otto could only offer comfort. After all, the most noble princess in the kingdom, who had been newly married less than three months before, had lost her husband to illness, leaving behind only a posthumous child.

"At least you have Prince Baldwin to rely on."

Mentioning Baldwin, Sibylla's sorrow deepened. Although to outsiders, the victories at Montgisard and the Yabok River had made her brother's prestige unparalleled and earned the kingdom's widespread admiration, she knew very well that Baldwin's illness was no secret to her.

Sibylla was well aware that Baldwin himself was also very clear that he wouldn't live past thirty.

"To outsiders, I am a princess of the kingdom, living in luxury and unaware of hardship," Sibylla turned away and stood by the window, where the city of Jerusalem was barely visible through the dust. "But I am just a woman, sacrificing my own happiness for the kingdom."

"If blessed by the Lord, it would be wonderful to marry a true knight," Sibylla slowly closed her eyes, as if recalling her brief moments of happiness. "But if I end up with the wrong person, I would just be a widow still nursing her child."

Sibylla opened her eyes again, her face full of sorrow, "Moreover, the situation in the kingdom is far from optimistic. Duke Reynald of Chatillon is constantly clamoring for war with the heathens, while Count Raymond of Tripoli is secretly negotiating with Saladin. And with Saladin bound to return, where will we find another King Baldwin to save the kingdom?"

"I need a man to rely on, and the kingdom needs a king," Sibylla's gaze grew resolute. She knew her brother's purpose for this trip, but Sibylla felt that compared to Norn, the man in front of her was more in line with her goals: brave, handsome, and unaffiliated with any faction in the kingdom. As long as Otto stayed, his nephew Norn would naturally become a loyal subject of the kingdom, and Norn's wealth and his Hashashin would become the kingdom's mainstay.

Sibylla gently turned around and slowly approached Otto, "Sir Otto, it seems we are both equally unfortunate, but also equally fortunate."

Sibylla stepped forward and took Otto's hand, sitting together on the soft couch, her green eyes sadly looking at Otto, "Compared to those things, perhaps we can talk more about each other."

Seemingly noticing the dirt on Otto's hand, Sibylla took a towel and gently wiped Otto's hand.

Otto was surprised and wanted to pull his hand back, but Sibylla stopped him, "Sir Otto, this is just cleaning, not an offense."

As the towel gently wiped, the warmth from Sibylla's palm also passed to Otto.

"Moreover, even if it were an offense, it wouldn't bind us nobles."

Sibylla's body slowly leaned closer to Otto, so close that they could feel each other's breath. Her emerald eyes narrowed slightly, making her gaze seem like an endless vortex, drawing in the soul.

This made Otto unconsciously stare in a daze.

"It's so hot in here!" Sibylla slowly took off her outer garment, leaving only a loose white robe, revealing large areas of smooth, white skin.

"Your Highness!" Otto hastily got up and took two steps back, "What are you doing...?"

Sibylla gently reached out, grabbing Otto's collar, her fair cheek almost touching Otto's face, her hot breath brushing against his handsome face.

A soft laugh, a crystal-clear tongue lightly licked her cherry-red lips, Sibylla looked at the handsome Otto, and pressed him down onto the soft couch.

"To possess me is to possess the kingdom."

These words were like pouring oil on the fire. Otto felt his chest boiling like a volcano, desire constantly urging him. If he just reached out and embraced Sibylla, not only would the beauty's embrace be open to him, but the kingdom's ministers would kneel at his feet.

Just as Otto's reason was about to leave, the cross on his chest was accidentally knocked to the ground, making a clear, resonant hum.

The face of a beautiful young woman appeared in Otto's eyes again, her lake-blue eyes replacing the emerald ones in front of him.

"Otto, when our child is born, shall we name him Caen?"

The familiar words rang in his ears again, and a warm feeling brought Otto's almost out-of-control soul back into his body.

Otto pushed Sibylla away, "Your Highness, please respect yourself!"

Sibylla, who was pushed away, couldn't believe it. The man in front of her actually refused her, which made her feel greatly insulted.

"Am I so ugly that even with an entire kingdom as a dowry, I can't get you?" Sibylla screamed in a hoarse voice.

All that was left for her was the back of Otto as he walked away.

"I'm sorry, Your Highness," Otto gently touched the cross his wife had left him. "I already belong to someone else."