Let's turn back time seven or eight hours.
Inside a room in the Mangup Palace, Isaac was discussing their options with his confidants.
"The front line has completely collapsed, Your Majesty," Wolol informed Isaac of this tragic fact, his face pale. "We can't even organize much of an army. Everything is over..."
"Is it still not too late to escape now?" Isaac asked him abruptly.
"Your, Your Majesty... This, this might be..." Wolol tried to stop him, but the words of obstruction wouldn't come out.
"You mean to say abandoning the capital will shake morale. But morale is already like this; what else is there that can't be abandoned? Instead of continuing to contend with an unbeatable enemy here, it's better to temporarily retreat and find an opportunity to rise again. We still have the Tatars of Northern Crimea and Phanagoria to rely on."
"By the Holy Mother, our departure from Mangup this time is just a small detour. Although past failures will not be undone, the future is still long. As long as we keep moving forward, past failures will eventually become a small segment on the scale." Isaac advised him with unwavering conviction.
This convinced Wolol, and he quickly bowed, sincerely expressing his willingness to follow Isaac to the end. Nearly ten other remaining people also expressed their willingness to continue following him, which made Isaac feel fortunate. "It's a good thing my efforts in studying classical rhetoric and my brother's sayings these past few years weren't in vain."
Thus, after Isaac's persuasion, he and his confidants all supported his decision to temporarily "withdraw" from Mangup. But to ensure the secrecy of their actions, they did not inform the other nobles who supported the uprising of this decision. Instead, they quietly packed their important belongings last night and secretly fled the city.
The result was that the next day, upon waking, the rebellious nobles in Mangup City discovered in horror that their nominal monarch had inexplicably abandoned the city and fled. This plunged them into complete panic, and even the few remaining defenders were swept up, neglecting the city's defenses. It wasn't until Manuel's vanguard arrived to probe that the nobles, who were thoroughly disadvantaged in all aspects, completely abandoned their original rebellious stance and chose to surrender.
"So that's how it is." After returning to the palace and briefly reviewing the detailed report on the recapture of Mangup, Manuel nodded thoughtfully. After roughly planning his next steps, he called Badars and instructed, "Since I have returned to Mangup, it's time for my father to return to the public eye. Badars, I'll confirm again, my father, the Prince of the Principality, should be safe now, right?"
"Your Highness, ever since he was secretly rescued that day, His Majesty has been properly protected by the Secret Department and our insiders," Badars replied, bowing.
"It's time for my dear old dad to come back," Manuel smiled, then thought with satisfaction.
Just as Manuel had successfully led his army back to Mangup, the Prince of Theodoro, His Majesty Alexius, was still taking refuge in a branch residence in the city.
"Hoo, this is truly good wine." Alexius took a sip of the sweet and delicious Cherson wine, sighing leisurely.
Meanwhile, the owner of the residence, Pascalis Gavras, a branch of the Gavras Family of Theodoro, and the father of Manuel's Commander of the Guard and head of the Secret Department, Badars Gavras, thought somewhat helplessly, "My distant relative was sent here to take refuge, so why does he look like he's on vacation now?"
Just as they thought today would pass as usual, Alexius's two confidants, the Chief Spy John Hus and Gregory Giunio, suddenly burst in, joyfully informing the two old men of great news:
"Your Majesty, the Crown Prince has already retaken Mangup, and it was a victory without battle, a victory without battle!" Hus shouted excitedly. After repeated confirmation, Alexius was first surprised, then joyful. "Excellent, by the Holy Mother! I always believed in Manuel. Guney, quickly go inform Zoe of this; we will soon return to the palace. And Pascalis, thank you for your care during this time."
As Alexius cheered for Manuel's recapture of Mangup, in distant Constantinople, the East Rome Emperor John VIII had just reviewed the petition document from the Tauris Peninsula with the Ecumenical Patriarch. After resolving this matter, he specifically summoned Constantine, who happened to be back in Constantinople, to the imperial chamber and told him about their Brother-in-law's recent small actions.
"Rebuilding the Bosporus?" After roughly understanding, Constantine asked back, rather surprised.
"Yes, our Brother-in-law's thinking is indeed unique. You know, when the Patriarch and I first learned of this, we could hardly believe our eyes—this is an ancient state that has been destroyed for nearly a thousand years," John VIII remarked casually.
"However, if he wants to demonstrate his unique position north of the Black Sea, then 'Bosporus' is indeed the most suitable name for the state. It was, after all, a kingdom that controlled the entire Tauris Peninsula and treated the Sea of Azov as an inland sea. And as a vassal of Rome, its special autonomous status can also be flexibly used now," Constantine tried to analyze.
"No matter what, the Empire is isolated and helpless now, and having a slightly stronger ally is better than nothing. Moreover, they could have elevated themselves, but they specifically sought permission from Constantinople, so it seems they also want to win us over. Therefore, I didn't stop them much. The imperial decree granting permission is already on its way, and it's estimated that the Principality of Theodoro will soon be called the Bosphorus Despotate," John VIII smiled relaxedly.
"That's how it is."
After leaving the imperial palace and returning to his residence in Constantinople, Constantine began to praise his Brother-in-law, "Manuel can lead a small Principality to defeat the Crimean pagans? Perhaps I should invest a little harmless energy there, so they can help in future wars with the Ottomans?"
With this thought, Constantine called for two of his confidants who had accompanied him to Constantinople this time. Once they arrived, he immediately discussed the matter with them.
"George, Justinian, what do you think?"
George Sphrantzes first tilted his head, then, after some deliberation, praised Constantine's idea. And the young man named Justinian, slightly younger than Constantine, was even more supportive, "To be able to defeat the Tatars who drove my ancestors out of Crimea back then, it seems they, especially His Highness Manuel, must have quite a bit of strength."
"But Justinian, weren't your ancestors driven out of Crimea because they failed in a power struggle? And that was one or two hundred years ago," Constantine pointed out, somewhat speechless.
"Ah, well, that's not important, Your Highness," Justinian lowered his head, a little embarrassed.
"Speaking of which," Constantine suddenly had a bold idea, "Justinian, would you like to visit your ancestral lands?"