There was nothing left for the great French army but an ignominious flight. The Cardinal Legate said that the Aragonese must be devils. King Philip told him that they were nothing of the kind, but brave and loyal soldiers, defending their King against an unjust invasion; and he expressed his regret that he had ever undertaken it at the Pope’s urgent call. The Cardinal remained silent. En Pedro assembled his army on the hill of Panisars to intercept the retreat. The French King raised the siege of Gerona and fell back on Peralada with the remnant of his forces. Many had died of sickness, while the losses in numerous harassing encounters had been most serious. The King of France was very ill, anxiety and regret hastening his end. Feeling that he was dying, he sent for his son, and said: ‘You were wiser than I. Had I followed your advice I should not now be on my death-bed; nor would the many brave men have been lost who have died and will die in this war. Send a message to your uncle of Aragon and ask him to allow my body to pass with yourself and your brother. For I am certain that it rests with him whether a single Frenchman shall ever return, dead or alive.’ The dying King then obtained a promise from his son that he would be a friend and protector of his brother Charles. The King died on September 30, 1285, in the house of a knight named Vilanova, about two miles from Peralada. When En Pedro received the message from the young King Philip he sent orders that the late King’s body was to be allowed to pass with its escort, and requested his brother of Majorca to meet it with a body of cavalry and protect it from attacks. For Lauria and his sailors were watching on one side, and bands of wild _almogavares_ on the other. But safety could only be assured to those who passed with the corpse and the oriflamme. The Count of Foix with five hundred horsemen went first, then the young King and his brother with the oriflamme, following their father’s body. The Cardinal Legate came close behind, careful of his own safety. He said that the rest would go to Paradise. The Aragonese could no longer be restrained, and fell furiously on the remainder of the retreating host and on the baggage. The Cardinal was so terrified that he died of fright a few days afterwards; while the King of Majorca escorted his nephew, the young King of France, with his brother Charles and the body of the late King, through his dominions. The victorious King En Pedro, after making liberal grants to the towns of Peralada and Gerona, returned to Barcelona with his principal nobles. On the same day the Admiral Roger de Lauria arrived with the fleet, and there was great rejoicing. This time the Pope’s curses went home to roost with a vengeance. En Pedro was firmer on his throne than ever. Sicily was safe. The Pope’s _protégé_ was in prison at Barcelona. The Pope’s King of Aragon was only king of what was under his own cap. The Pope’s machinations were scattered to the winds.