The handsome, yet ice-faced, black-haired youth before Old Doge was Manuel's trusted confidant, Badars Gavras, from a collateral branch of the Gavras Family of Theodoro, and the interrogator for this operation.
First, let's briefly touch upon the relationship between Badars and Manuel's family.
As is well-known, during the European Middle Ages, all major noble families had main and collateral branches; for example, while all French kings after Hugh Capet were his paternal descendants, they were categorized into different dynasties due to inheriting the throne through different branches.
In this world, the Portuguese Aviz dynasty, which initiated the Age of Discovery, was a collateral (illegitimate) branch of Burgundy.
Collateral branches arose for various reasons: perhaps to be ennobled far from the main branch; not inheriting the family's legacy; to contend with the main branch; or gradually becoming estranged from the main branch over time… Sometimes, the main and collateral branches of a large family are collectively referred to as a clan.
Regarding the naming of collateral branches within a clan, some collateral branches would change their surname, others would add a unique modifier to the surname, and at the very least, they would record the branch name on the family flag or coat of arms.
The Gavras Family of Theodoro is an example of the latter; indeed, the branch of Gavras to which Manuel belongs is not the main branch, which is still in Constantinople.
Manuel's branch is actually the Khovra branch of the Gavras clan, while Badars's is a collateral branch of the Khovra branch of the Gavras clan, so when referring to the Gavras Family of Theodoro, Badars and these collateral branches are generally not included.
Now, back to the present.
Old Doge finally understood the situation and ceased his futile cries for help.
As for why Badars was here, we must first rewind to two days prior.
Earlier, two days ago, inside the Theodoro Palace—
"So, Father, we only need to send people to keep an eye on his residence, right?"
"Yes, my child, don't be fooled by those fashionable knight novels.
The most effective conspiracy sometimes requires the simplest operation."
"Hmm…"
Afterward, father and son parted ways; Alexius went to spread smokescreens, while Manuel found Badars and four young, strong confidants and directly issued a military order for them to tail the target's residence.
Those four were reservists from the Philaka Legion, and Badars was Manuel's trusted guard (though, at Manuel's request, his guards were not allowed to follow him without orders).
After issuing the military order, Manuel returned to the barracks to drill the army.
Only after the four men captured Old Doge and brought him the information did he hastily dispatch Badars.
Let's turn the clock back to the present.
"I see," Badars read the contents of the secret letter first.
The content seemed unremarkable, merely recording some trade activities in Ligurian.
But Badars knew this was a Genoese cipher; fortunately, he had a cipher key at hand.
He then took it out, compared it with the secret letter, recorded the deciphered content on the back of the letter, and then deliberately read it aloud:
"Your Excellency, the Consul, according to reliable information, Theodoro intends to purchase more warships from Venice.
Although the previously mentioned invasion plan for Theodoro can be considered aborted, Prince Alexius harbors significant hostility towards us, and we must proceed with extreme caution."
After reading, Badars carefully put away the letter, then finally revealed a hint of a smile, but Old Doge felt the coldness contained within it, and his face turned ashen.
"So, please identify the person behind you.
If you confess now, we will not make things difficult for you."
Although Old Doge knew his secret was out, he still held a glimmer of hope, thinking, "Perhaps this young noble master will take pity on an old man like me."
So, he hesitated for a long time, then finally gritted his teeth and stubbornly denied everything: "My Lord, I am just an honest and law-abiding villager; how would I know such things?
I truly don't know how this letter came to be."
Badars's eyelids twitched; it seemed this old man would not speak honestly.
So he coldly ordered:
"Administer the water torture."
Old Doge was terrified upon hearing this; just as he was about to beg for mercy, the four burly men immediately grabbed towels from around them, soaked them, and began to press them firmly over Old Doge's face, then slowly poured cold water over them.
Hearing the old man's muffled screams, Badars, following Manuel's instructions, reminded them, "Don't kill him; we need him alive.
It seems extracting information from him won't be easy, so please bear with it today.
Oh, and try not to cause any skin injuries; at his age, he might not be able to withstand it."
"Yes, Your Excellency."
Seeing that everything was arranged, Badars hastily left temporarily, as he still needed to quickly deliver the information to Manuel.
After Badars informed Manuel that the messenger had been captured, Manuel first went to the barracks to tell everyone he had urgent matters to attend to, letting the army drill themselves, then rushed to find his informant and began to operate his intelligence network.
Speaking of which, the information about Old Doge was also provided by Manuel to Badars from his intelligence network, which he had begun building since childhood in his capacity as Crown Prince.
However, his intelligence network still seemed relatively primitive at the moment; otherwise, he wouldn't have been unaware of a traitor sitting in a high position within the Principality.
Fortunately, he was still young and had time to refine it.
Soon, in less than two hours of operation, Manuel quickly dug up the information he wanted from his intelligence network: Old Doge's son had died in the previous war between Genoa and Theodoro, but he still had a grandson, Giovanni, who had just turned 10, in Kaffa.
Upon learning this information, Manuel knew the optimal solution to make the old man talk, but at this moment, his heart inadvertently wavered a little: "Is this really okay?"
After all, inwardly, he wasn't a medieval person; this seemed a bit too…
But after a moment of hesitation, he still made up his mind and ordered: "Badars, thus and so…"
After all, to revive Rome, he had to force himself to get used to such things from now on.
When Badars returned to the interrogation room, Old Doge was already in a state of mental collapse, and the four burly men had already filled many pages with notes, waiting to hand them over to him.
"Your Excellency, Old Doge's confession is all here."
Badars nodded, indicating his satisfaction, took the confession, and began to read it.
The confession was quite comprehensive, detailing Old Doge's entire life history: Old Doge was originally from Liguria, served in Kaffa when he was young, later married an orthodox Greek woman there, settled down, and had two sons.
The second son died young, and the eldest son was later captured and forced into service during the war between Genoa and Theodoro, eventually dying in battle, leaving only a young grandson.
He was later noticed by Maurice Doria and hired as his steward until now.
"The most crucial part wasn't mentioned at all?" Badars thought, disappointed.
Then he gently asked, "It seems Doria has treated you well."
The delirious Old Doge said slowly, "Yes, if not for Lord Doria, then our Doge family would have been left to rot in the streets."
"Yes, and your grandson, your only family, Giovanni Doge, must be very grateful to him too," Badars said, feigning nonchalance.
"Yes… wait, how do you know his name?
Giovanni, where is he now?"
"You guess."
"What, you, then, could it be, ah! You can't do this, you can't!"
Old Doge instantly sobered up upon hearing about his grandson and immediately burst into tears.
"Then please tell me, what is the relationship between Maurice Doria and Genoa?"
Old Doge was now like someone struck by lightning; his bowed head made his expression unreadable, and after a long silence, he whispered, "Lord Doria was originally a Genoese nobleman.
When he was captured back then, wasn't Theodoro's navy severely lacking personnel?
So Lord Doria deliberately volunteered to atone for his sins for the Principality and became a naval officer again.
Later, His Highness the Prince appointed him as the Admiral of the Navy.
Although Lord Doria said this was merely to win people's hearts.
Later, the Lord wanted to return to Italy legitimately, so he used his family's connections to establish a relationship with Governor Boccanegra and became an insider."
"When did this start?"
"In the year 1424 AD, around midsummer, I believe."
After speaking, Old Doge cried out, "I don't care what happens to me, but my Lords, my grandson has nothing to do with this.
He is absolutely innocent; he's only 10 years old…"
"Who told you we captured your grandson?" Badars laughed.
Old Doge was now utterly astonished; although he had been tricked, what this young noble master said meant that—
"Holy Mother above, thank you, my Lords…"
Seeing this, Badars stopped reading the confession and ordered the four men, "His Highness has commanded you to keep a close watch on this old man."
He then took the confession, mounted his horse, and rode towards Manuel.
After Badars briefly informed Manuel of the confession and the interrogation process, Manuel smiled a bit bitterly, thinking, "How does this make me look like a villain?
Alas, I suppose such days are still long ahead."