Having enthroned his beloved son Sultan Aladdin Ali as Sultan, the former Ottoman Sultan Murad II, as previously mentioned, retired to his palace in Brusa, embarking on what he considered a leisurely retirement.
Meanwhile, in Edirne, the newly enthroned Sultan Sultan Aladdin Ali successfully brought the Janissaries under his control, as the old Sultan had hoped. He ordered their officers to swear allegiance to him while holding the Quran, released Turahan Bey, who had been under house arrest by his father, and demonstrated a willingness to reconcile the Devshirme and Turkmen factions. At the same time, he ordered disaster relief to alleviate the holy fire disease, which was spreading more slowly due to the arrival of summer, attempting to win over the people.
When these deeds reached Manuel's ears, the Caesar nodded in appreciation for this Ottoman prince, who, though destined to die early in official history, had been designed to survive in this timeline: "As expected of Murad's carefully cultivated heir, he is far more stable and astute than Muhammad's abstract behavior when he first ascended the throne in official history. This prince, highly valued by the Sultan, also knows how to utilize his power and strength. If given enough time, he might achieve accomplishments as great as Muhammad II in official history."
"But the Crusaders won't give you that time. And of course, neither will I," Manuel muttered to himself as he walked out of his room and stretched. After lunch, he would, as was his custom these days, head to the military camp outside the city to drill the army.
Just as Manuel had said, no matter what Sultan Aladdin Ali did, his predecessor Murad II's abdication was seen by the Catholic nations of Eastern Europe as a sign of weakness, an inability to control state affairs. Władysław III, the leader of the Crusaders, was even more ecstatic. Immediately upon returning to Buda, he read a manifesto in the square, swearing to Cardinal Cesarini that he would lead a new army against the Ottoman at the end of summer.
It was clear that neither the Roman Curia nor the King was interested in easily achieved peace. Soon, a tense atmosphere began to spread across Southeast Europe, and the recently concluded peace treaty between the Christian nations and the Ottoman faced the risk of becoming a 廢紙.
Under such tense circumstances for all parties, the island of Cyprus in the Eastern Mediterranean was no exception. Since the Mamluk Sultan Jaqmaq declared war on the Kingdom of Cyprus last year, the island of Cyprus had been completely blockaded by the Mamluk fleet. Although the Mamluks could not quickly land on the island due to their limited naval power and the aid the Kingdom received from Christian countries, under the sustained attacks of the Muslims, the Cypriot fleet was almost completely destroyed. At sea, it could be said that they were barely holding on, relying on their Christian allies, primarily Latins.
It was under these harsh conditions that, on the morning of June 28, the eldest daughter of King John II of Cyprus and his legitimate wife, Helena, was born.
At that time, an atmosphere of near despair permeated the island of Cyprus, and even King John had no mood to maintain his appearance. It was at this moment, as the bells of both Catholic and orthodox churches rang out, and the sound of mass echoed through the city, as both together encouraged the people of Nicosia, that this princess, who would inherit the crown of Cyprus, was born.
However, when John II received the daughter born to his legitimate wife from the midwife, his expression was particularly complex. This was mainly related to her mother. Helena Palaiologos, a member of the Roman Empire's imperial family, was only 14 when she was married, but shortly after entering the household, she presented a major challenge to the King's previously happy life.
For no other reason than that before King John officially married, he had already been involved with several women, and among them, a Greek mistress named Marietta de Patras had even given birth to his particularly beloved illegitimate son, Jacques. But the strong-willed and proud Queen, shortly after entering the household and learning the details, clashed with this mistress and her son. In one argument, she even cut off Marietta's nose, forcing the once exceptionally beautiful mistress to wear a mask to conceal her disfigurement when facing her lover.
Due to Queen Helena herself being a beauty and having the backing of the Roman Curia and the Empire, John II ultimately had to become a mediator, trying his best to balance the conflicts between his legitimate wife and his mistresses. But now, the birth of a legitimate daughter was likely to break this difficult-to-maintain balance within the court.
Although he thought this in his heart, facing the current war-torn situation, and in order to comfort the hearts of the military and civilians, King John ultimately kept this thought to himself. Instead, he cheerfully picked up his daughter, walked to the square in Nicosia, and shouted to his subjects:
"Thank God, thank Christ, the Lord has not abandoned us in this desperate situation and has sent us my daughter—this miraculous newborn, to guide us believers to protect the glory and freedom that should belong to us.
"Therefore, this child shall be named Charlotte, 'free man' ①. For the glory of the Lord, so that the Kingdom will not perish due to the barbaric acts of infidels, and so that the subjects will not leave this island and become exiles!"
The birth of the newborn and the King's declaration elicited cheers from the capital's populace, and the war-weary people seemed to have their previous despondency and despair washed away.
While the predicament facing Cyprus remained unresolved, Hungary, which had been restless, finally raised its swords again when the Ottoman withdrew their defenses on the Danube, revealing its recently hidden sharp teeth to the Turks in the southeast.
On July 12, 1444, Ulaslo I abrogated the peace treaty with the Ottoman Sultanate and announced the continuation of the eastward crusade against the Ottoman Turks. Furthermore, Hungary cooperated with the Roman Curia to continue inviting other Christian nations, as stakeholders, to jointly fight the Turks.
Facing the renewed invitation from Hungary and the Roman Curia, all the other previously participating countries, except Serbia, rallied and responded, cooperating to meet the enemy.
But even this time, a completely different voice came from the Bosphorus Despotate.
About a week after Władysław III again declared war on the Ottoman, the Bosphorus Caesar Manuel surprisingly announced that he would launch a holy war against the Tatars of the Eastern European Great Plains. He prepared several cogs carrying a total of over a thousand soldiers and moored them in the port of Trabzon, claiming he would spread the Gospel across the vast Great Plains on the north shore of the Black Sea.
Because this matter was so absurd, coupled with the Bosphorus's apparent weakness towards Anatolia during this period, the Edirne court, upon learning of it, relaxed its vigilance with mockery. And Władysław III, upon hearing the declaration, immediately burst into angry laughter while on horseback, cursing Manuel:
"Has the Goth Caesar Olubey lost his mind!?"