"Your Caesar, as of today, the casualties for conquering Tbilisi are approximately as follows: the remaining seven to eight hundred of the over three thousand recruited infidels were all committed yesterday, with about ninety percent killed or wounded; the Georgian noble lord armies, which have effectively become our auxiliaries, lost two to three hundred men in total during the siege and street fighting; as for the elite Grand Company and Philaka Legion, their casualties barely reached triple digits.
"Furthermore, regarding the stubborn Georgian pseudo-army that refused to surrender, they should have suffered five to six thousand casualties in yesterday's siege and street fighting. However, this might include civilians mistakenly counted as casualties due to friendly fire from our army."
The next morning, Badars, the Commander of the Guard and confidential secretary, bowed and roughly reported the casualties of the siege to Caesar Manuel, who was already seated on the throne in the Tbilisi Royal Palace. Below the throne, besides Badars who had stepped forward to report, stood the Bosporus generals, the Georgian high nobles accompanying Bosporus, and the former Georgian ministers and officials from within Tbilisi. The latter group, led by Ecumenical Patriarch David III of Georgia, was deliberately placed to the side, waiting for their fate with anger, fear, composure, or apprehension. As for the Bagration Royal Family within Tbilisi, including King Alexander I, they were all captured last night and temporarily well-settled in the Tbilisi Sioni Cathedral.
After listening to Badars' report and dismissing him, Manuel then successively praised the bravery of his soldiers, promised post-war rewards, and ordered the army to quickly control all of Kartli while announcing the change of hands in Tbilisi. Only then did he smile and invite the captured nobles forward, preparing to discuss how to deal with them.
If they were willing to cooperate, that would be ideal. However, if they chose death over surrender, Caesar would not mind sending them a 'Roman Triple Set' of eye-gouging, castration, and exile, or a direct ticket to heaven or hell. After all, he had no shortage of either defecting Georgian nobles or capable generals and bureaucrats; if you wouldn't do it, plenty of others would.
"Gentlemen, the Kingdom of Georgia has fallen, and the crown is about to change hands. I will not speak any more meaningless words; please give me a clear answer, how about it?
"Submit to me, and everything will remain as before; or choose to resist to the end, like your former King. If you choose the latter, I cannot guarantee anything, neither publicly nor privately." Manuel did not engage in pointless talk, but simply and directly presented the two choices to these former Georgian officials, smiling as he let them decide.
Facing the Roman Caesar, whose attitude was strong to the point of being somewhat crude, these captured former Georgian officials looked bewildered and confused, as if they were hesitating.
"Your Caesar, may we ask some questions?" Ecumenical Patriarch David III of the Georgian Diocese was the first to step forward, posing his questions in an extremely respectful tone.
"For the Holy Father's sake, ask away." Manuel spread his hands, indicating permission.
It was still David III who first asked, "Your Caesar, do you intend to completely destroy Georgia's legal system? Will you integrate the Georgian Diocese into other dioceses?"
Caesar smiled slightly, "I have no interest in either of these: regarding the former, I was merely invited by the lords within Georgia to eliminate a corrupt ruler and restore Georgia to Roman orthodoxy; the latter is not for me to decide. If a change in diocese is truly needed, it must be submitted to Basileus and Ecumenical Patriarch in Constantinople."
Upon receiving Manuel's reply, many Georgians breathed a sigh of relief, and David III also respectfully bowed and withdrew, stating that he had no further doubts.
Next to step forward was a member of the Bagration Royal Family. This elderly Bagration seemed to gather immense courage and asked, "Your Caesar, how do you intend to deal with His Majesty the King and our Royal Family?"
The man's tone displeased Manuel somewhat, so before answering, Caesar first rebuked him, "Correct two points: first, Alexander I should now be called the former King; second, I advise you Bagration to preferably no longer refer to yourselves as 'Royal Family' hereafter."
Facing Caesar's warning, the Bagration Family members present, including the man who spoke, all bowed, indicating they had no intention of offending. It was then that Manuel smiled and nodded, responding to the man's question, "Barring any unforeseen circumstances, your Bagration family's former King should be able to enjoy his twilight years. As for your esteemed family, if no collective rebellion occurs, then you will still be legitimate noble lords."
Manuel's meaning, in plain terms, was that he would temporarily keep Alexander I in comfort until his death, especially since Alexander I's second son, Dimitrios of Imereti, was currently on his side, and he didn't want to turn their relationship into a 'mere patricide' kind of dark joke. At the same time, he would continue to recognize the original territories and status of most of the Bagration Family, though rebellion would, of course, be a different matter.
Having received Caesar's lenient reply, this Bagration noble bowed in thanks, and other Bagration Family members were also moved, whispering among themselves, feeling that the rule of this Roman monarch was not entirely unacceptable.
Just as Manuel thought the dust had settled, a young noble, dressed in a greyish-white kaba and with perpetually angry eyes, suddenly burst forth from among these old Georgian nobles and, without warning, directly cursed at him,
"You scoundrel! A shameless Goth barbarian who became a pseudo-King of Lazica, and is only temporarily on top by military advantage and bribing traitors. Now you dare to impersonate..." Before he could finish, he was struck down by a guard in front of the hall, unconscious. The other old Georgian nobles didn't even dare to breathe: they had completely unexpected that such a fool would jump out and anger this Roman Caesar.
"Family name?" Manuel didn't even look at the unconscious man, asking about his origin with terrifying calmness.
"Volkov," a noble familiar with him answered tremblingly.
"Never heard of it," Manuel sneered, "My Gavras Family has been rooted in Chaldia since the Macedonian Dynasty. Our ancestor, Theodoros, once resisted the tide of Turk invasion. Even when the Gavras Family was displaced to the Black Sea coast, it is not for the likes of you to casually comment on, let alone now that I have returned to Pontus. What kind of nameless, hopeless wretch dares to question the prestige and lineage of Gavras? Guards, drag him out and execute him immediately!"
After the man was taken away for execution, Manuel's gaze towards these old officials became considerably colder. At this moment, he merely tapped the armrest of his throne, delivering his ultimatum word by word, "Alright, the pleasantries end here. Gentlemen, let's speak plainly: if I find Tbilisi difficult to govern, I can completely empty and burn this city right now before returning to my capital, leaving you with nothing to resist the Black Sheep Dynasty on your own. After all, for Bosporus, gaining the allegiance of Imereti and Samukhetsi, and completely controlling the eastern coast of the Black Sea, has already achieved its predetermined goals. Even abandoning Kartli and Kakheti would not be considered a loss for Bosporus."
"And what about you? I know, Tbilisi has been conquered by infidels before."
Watching the Georgians exchange glances, Manuel knew he had achieved his goal,
"Make your choice, Romans or Turks."