It's settled.
This was Manuel's first thought upon returning to his temporary residence from the Grand Master's Palace.
After more than half an hour of discussion and negotiation, he leveraged the influence of Venice and the inherent strength of Bosporus Caesar to reach a sufficient consensus with Grand Master Rivied: firstly, the Knights Hospitaller would absolutely not plunder or rob Bosporus merchant ships, which were fellow Christians, and would incidentally protect these orthodox fleets from pirate incursions, just as they protected Catholic vessels; secondly, the Knights Hospitaller would also partially participate in the Black Sea trade route promoted by Bosporus to develop trade between the two parties.
Looking at the written treaty in his hand, he couldn't help but review it several times to confirm there were no omissions. After carefully reading it, he cautiously hid it to avoid any complications.
After a night of simple rest on Rhodes, Manuel and his entourage continued their journey the next morning on the same ship they arrived on, departing from Rhodes, the headquarters of the Knights Hospitaller, and sailing towards the Despotate of Morea, ruled by his Brother-in-law, Constantine.
Strictly speaking, the current ruler of Morea was not just Constantine; his other two brothers, Theodore and Thomas, also served as co-Despots of Morea, ruling the Peloponnese with him.
Although Manuel had no prejudice against these two brothers-in-law, the only person he truly valued meeting was Constantine.
After a temporary stop for supplies at a port in the Principality of Naxos, a Venetian vassal state, the caravel secretly carrying the Bosporus Caesar's family sailed directly towards the Despotate of Morea, arriving in the morning near mid-August at the port of Kalamata (Καλαμάτα), the capital of the recently fallen Principality of Achaea. This port, located within the Messenian Gulf (Μεσσηνιακός Κόλπος), is one of the Peloponnese Peninsula's most abundant excellent harbors.
This time, Manuel, as always, did not get bogged down, heading straight to the Despot's Palace in Mistras (Μυστράς), where his brothers-in-law resided, guided by his wife. However, along the way, he paid attention to the various living conditions he observed. The good news was that while most of Morea's common people were in rags, their spirit was comparable to the populace under Bosporus; the bad news was that the diverse mix of people along the way made him vaguely feel that the Palaiologos family's rule over the Peloponnese was quite disorganized.
Perhaps just as the historical records he read in his previous life indicated, although Morea experienced a period of prosperity under Constantine's diligent governance, various Turk, Greek, Latin, and Albanian bandits in the uncontrolled mountainous areas outside the Palaiologos Dynasty remained a constant threat to the Autocratic State. If this remained true in this world, Morea might still struggle to provide strong support for Constantine's ambitious northern expedition.
About half an hour later, Manuel and his group arrived at the Mistras Palace and met his long-unseen Brother-in-law, Constantine, the Despot of Morea. Upon hearing that his sister and Brother-in-law had specifically come to Morea to see him, he immediately came to greet them.
After all these years, Constantine still had that dignified face, his dark pupils still filled with the same determination as in his youth, but seemingly softened. The only change in his appearance was that his beard had grown much longer, transforming from the short beard he had when attending his younger sister's wedding into a thick beard covering his entire chin.
Speaking of beards, Manuel was somewhat similar to him, though the latter had merely grown a short beard that just covered his chin from being beardless.
Since this was an informal meeting, the formalities between them were much more relaxed. Upon seeing their long-unseen relatives, Barbara and Constantine, the siblings, immediately embraced, and Manuel also gave his Brother-in-law an orthodox embrace after they parted. Then Constantine invited them to sit down and chatted with his Brother-in-law about their respective experiences in governing their territories, while Barbara, with tacit understanding, held her children and sat quietly to the side, looking attentive.
"So," just as they had all relaxed, Constantine seriously posed a question to his Brother-in-law that had been bothering him recently, "Brother-in-law, my brother said you have a distinct Hesychast tendency, is that true?" After Manuel's secret visit to Constantinople and his subtle display of Hesychast tendencies before John VIII, Constantine had, for some reason, felt a vague, inexplicable worry.
News travels fast, Manuel thought, shaking his head inwardly, and offered his explanation, "Brother-in-law, don't you think the Romans' own true faith is the best?"
This surprised Constantine, who then gave a helpless, bitter smile, "But one must consider the situation."
"That's why I don't oppose church unity," Manuel said, somewhat exasperated, "I'll repeat what I said to Basileus: I don't oppose church unity; at most, I just don't like it. If possible, I even plan to send someone or attend the ecumenical council organized by the Pope later."
"Really?" Constantine asked, somewhat doubtfully.
"Naturally, I swear to the Lord," Manuel vowed, then skipped this topic and began to discuss trade between the two parties. According to his vision, while especially increasing trade with Constantinople, he also planned to add a trade route between Bosporus and Morea. Regarding his idea, Constantine, while admiring his talent in opening trade routes, inadvertently raised a concern, "Manuel, my Brother-in-law. It must be a loss for Bosporus merchant ships to specifically bypass Latin trade outposts and strongholds to pass through the inner city of Constantinople and the Morea region, right? Although I know this small amount of trade might be very minor to you, why are you willing to go to such lengths?"
Looking directly into Constantine's serious eyes, Manuel replied with utmost sincerity, "My Brother-in-law, we are in-laws; that is enough. The Doukas Dynasty closely cooperated with the Komnenos by forming various marital alliances. Now, under the threat of the Latins and Turks, shouldn't we unite even more closely to resist these common enemies? Compared to these great enemies, what is a mere bit of trade?"
Convinced by the other's earnest attitude, Constantine felt somewhat ashamed and wanted to apologize to his Brother-in-law, but the latter expressed understanding. Afterwards, their conversation again deviated from recent political affairs and turned to their respective family matters. At this point, Constantine also brought in his current, second wife, Caterina Gattilusio, and the two families, for a rare occasion, harmoniously discussed their respective experiences.
Sensing that the atmosphere was just right, Manuel smiled at his wife, then rose and took his son, the infant Theodore, from her arms, and made a request to Constantine: "Brother-in-law," he said with an earnest smile, "Would you be willing to be this child's godfather?"