Giovanni Sforza, hearing the name, Alexander knew why the man across from him was looking at him that way, and he knew why Caesar said that.

Given by Connie, it is rumored that Colombo Sforza of the Sforza family was killed by him.

The Sforza family is a hedgehog, and almost everyone who has come into contact with this family has this feeling, whether it is the Giovanni Sforza in front of him, or the tigress Caterina Sforza in front of him, or the other people with this surname, it seems that their bodies are covered with thorns.

And perhaps because of their unique origins, this family is obviously more united than the others, and as long as they have a grudge with one of them, it often means that they have offended their family.

What's more, Giovanni Sforza and that Colombo do seem to have a close relationship.

Alexander bowed slightly to Giovanni, but did not speak, just looked at him silently.

In fact, it is no longer necessary to speak at this time, even if you think about Alexander, you can guess that this Giovanni should not have a good impression of him.

Sure enough, Giovanni Sforza's face was gloomy and he led the horse to a place very close to Alexander, and after sitting on his horse and looking down at him silently for a while, the Sforza finally spoke, but his voice was cold and obviously hostile: "If today is not a special day, maybe I will challenge you on the street, you probably don't know that Colombo is one of my closest cousins." ”

"Giovanni is a true warrior," Caesar looked at the two men with a smile on his face, "He's been on the battlefield longer than he's been with Lucrezia, so it's really your misfortune." ”

Caesar's words seemed to surprise Giovanni a little, he looked back at his brother-in-law, and after seeing the smile on Caesar's face, he groaned a little and then said slightly apologetically: "It seems that I don't care enough about my wife, this must be her complaint in front of you." ”

"No, my dear brother-in-law, this is what we all think, and you really should spend more time with Lucrezia, so if there is any grudge you can talk about after today, all you have to do now is to be a good husband and hurry to Lucrezia's side as soon as possible to accompany her." Caesar dissuaded his brother-in-law very seriously, and then his eyes suddenly fell behind Alexander, and then his eyes suddenly became hot, "It seems that today must be a good omen, I actually met a beautiful woman." ”

Caesar's eyes moved Alexander's heart, and he looked back to see Sophia standing not far behind him, having disembarked from the carriage at some point.

Sophia's large eyes flashed slightly over Caesar and Giovanni, and when she saw Alexander's gaze turned to her, her eyes immediately softened.

An inquiring "ah" came from her lips, and Sophia could clearly see that the two people on the other side and Alexander didn't seem to be looking at each other, and she stared at them warily, while her arm was habitually raised slightly forward, making a slight movement that made the two men feel strange.

"Your Excellency, you should be glad," Alexander said, turning to look at Giovanni Sforza on the opposite horse, "If it weren't for a day like today, maybe you'd be in trouble by now." ”

Giovanni Sforza's indifferent face was filled with anger, but instead of exploding immediately, he looked at Caesar next to him, and saw that Caesar's attention seemed to be completely fixed on the girl who suddenly appeared, and he looked at Alexander with a slight sarcasm in his eyes.

"Yes, I'd love to know what kind of trouble it is, but it's really not a good day to fight, but let me warn you that you're only in trouble now." As he spoke, he glanced at Caesar with a little meaning, and then led his mount past Alexander, and galloped forward. 、

Caesar's gaze stayed on Sophia, and he did not hide his interest in the girl in the slightest, and even had a smile on his face.

"I was so impressed by what happened that night, and I must admit that you are the most unique girl I have ever met," said Caesar, smiling, "and perhaps we should find a moment to talk about what you did that night." ”

"My lord, perhaps you should think carefully about how to arrange a few more guards for your sister," Alexander leaned in front of Caesar, and said quietly to Caesar's suddenly ugly face, "I heard that she seems to have just met with something very unpleasant, shouldn't you be more concerned about Lucrezia?" ”

Caesar's originally smiling face gradually sank, but after opening his mouth, he gave up what he wanted to say, but Alexander, who looked deeply, also slowly led the horse to pass by his side, and when he walked to Sophia's side, his eyes couldn't help but pass over Sophia's slightly exposed chest, and then he let out a laugh, and the spur under his feet poked the horse's belly, and quickly walked away in the neighing of the mount.

Sophia turned to look at Caesar who was moving away quickly, and after a slight pause, she suddenly raised her right arm and made a strange movement towards his back.

Those who knew her well would know that if she had the short crossbow strapped to her arm at this time, the current Archbishop of Valencia would probably have to go to God immediately.

Looking at Sophia, who was doing this with a serious expression, Alexander's originally not very good mood suddenly became relaxed, he walked over and reached out to hold Sophia, lowered his head and kissed her forehead, and then picked her up again and walked towards the carriage.

Sophia looked at him with inquiring eyes and let out a soft "ah" sound.

"It's okay, don't worry," Alexander whispered to Sophia, reassuring her, "That Caesar can't do anything to me now, and besides, he can't take care of me now." ”

At this, an imperceptible smile tugged at the corner of Alexander's mouth.

No one would have thought that the assassination of Lucrezia, which surprised the whole of Rome, was actually planned by such an inconspicuous person as Alexander, and when everyone was speculating about who was behind this incident and for what purpose he would openly assassinate Alexander VI's favorite daughter, the "mastermind" of the assassination had returned to the Palace of San Marino.

Caesar's unusual interest in Sophia did not escape Alexander's eyes, and considering the misdeeds of the merry young archbishop, Alexander was already certain that Caesar had no good intentions towards Sophia.

But as he said, Caesar didn't care about other things at this time.

Giovanni Sforza actually returned to Rome.

This news caused the entire city of Rome to pay attention in an instant.

Nearly a year earlier, the French invasion had transformed the Sforza family in Milan from supporters of the French to later opponents, and Giovanni Sforza had to leave his wife and rush to Mulan to join the army that their family had stopped from fighting the French.

He went for almost a year.

During this year, Lucrezia's life apparently became much freer, and even until she was nearly assassinated, the Vatican princess lived a carefree life in the Potico Palace, and many times she forgot that she had a husband.

Now that Giovanni Sforza has suddenly returned, Lucrezia has not only come as a surprise, but also made many of those who follow the family feel as if something is about to happen.

Alexander was one of them, but compared to others who didn't understand what was going on, he knew exactly what was going to happen next.

So even though he was secretly annoyed by Caesar's unusual thoughts about Sophia, Alexander was not too worried.

Because he knew that soon there would be a lot of trouble waiting for the whole Borgia family.

In the early hours of January 1, 1497, with 12 bells ringing over the cathedral, the Holy See celebrated its first public mass of the year in the incomplete Vatican Western Chapel, presided over by Pope Alexander VI.

This Mass is a Mass of unity, a Mass of victory, which not only solemnly reaffirms the authority of the Vatican College of Cardinals with Alexander VI at its core, but also establishes the firm determination of the Church in the new year to lead the entire Christian world to eradicate unbelief and heresy, and to strive to lead the whole parishioner to a new era full of light at the dawn of the new century.

The Mass was attended by senior clergy such as Alexander VI, Caesar Borgia, Giuliano della Roverre, and the Orthodox representatives in the Vatican also congratulated the Mass, as well as the Church and secular dignitaries who attended the Mass......

Just as the papal scribes, headed by the Pope's private secretary Nomerlo, pondered how to phrase the Mass, they suddenly discovered something that they all had to pay attention to.

With the assassination of Cardinal Monteiro, a vacancy in the Cardinal Order inevitably appeared.

In fact, this incident was never overlooked, and even at the very beginning of the news of Monteiro's assassination, a battle for the position of cardinal had already begun.

Now, after a series of chiarosculs, the battle finally came to the surface with the end of the first Mass in 1497.

In accordance with the millennial Code, the Vatican has decided to re-elect a cardinal to fill the vacancy left by Monteiro.

This is undoubtedly a very important event in the Christian life, and when I heard about it, almost all cardinals who did not have the title of cardinal, but who had the opportunity to do so, could not help but be moved.

Among them were the Archbishop of Valencia, Caesar Borgia, the Archbishop of Genoa, Giuliano della Roverre, and even the Archbishop Alfonso of Palermo, who had just put on his red robe.

For a moment, the whole Christian world seemed to be in turmoil.

It was at this time that Alexander again received an invitation from the Bishop of Palermo, Alfonso.

Alfonso had previously extended an invitation to Alexander, but Alexander politely declined.

For Alfonso, Alexander did not have any ill feelings, after all, although Alfonso and the French colluded to create a big enough riot in Sicily, and even led to the death of Sicilian palace minister Gomez, but Alexander had no prejudice against Alfonso himself, and even when he heard Alfonso's sermon in the Cathedral of Palermo, Alexander felt that this priest at that time was really bold enough.

Whatever his intentions at the time, Alfonso was clearly an ambitious man who dared to put his ambitions into practice.

It's just that whenever he thinks of Kunto, Alexander is wary of this man.

The shadow of Kunto's inexplicable attack and death always haunted him, and it was because of this that Alexander had an inexplicable defense against Alfonso from the inside.

If there was anyone who really benefited from Cardinal Monteiro's murder, it was Alfonso, who happened to be with him when he was assassinated.

Because not only was Monteiro the last person he saw before his death, but also the executor of his deathbed confession, the new bishop of Palermo suddenly became a well-known figure in the city of Rome, and people no longer looked at him as a shabby bishop from a remote parish, and even his identity as an Aragon became fashionable for a while, and became a topic of discussion.

Alfonso remained in the church where Monteiro lived, so he was not far from the San Marino Palace, but Alexandria had not seen him again except after a chance encounter outside the papal audience.

Now that the bishop had suddenly sent an invitation, and considering the rumors about the election of Cardinal Monteiro that were now being discussed, Alexander understood the bishop's mind somewhat.

Obviously, even though he had just become bishop of Palermo, the cardinal's throne moved Alfonso.

It's just that Alexander didn't understand why Alfonso would find him.

The previous bloody night in Palermo had caused Alfonso to be tricked by the Duke of Orleans, and although no one else knew about it, Alexander knew it best.

But even so, Alfonso's collusion with the French is an indisputable fact.

Now that Alfonso seemed to have suddenly moved his mind about the cardinal's position, and thinking about Giuliano della Roverre, who had arrived in Rome at this time, Alexander suddenly felt that although the French did not have any advantage on the battlefield, Charles VIII's secret tentacles seemed to have reached the bed of Alexander VI.

Alexander decided to accept Alfonso's invitation, but before going to the church where Cardinal Monteiro had died, he took not only Paolo Busaco, but also enough hunters with him.

Alexander felt that the city of Rome at this time was right to be cautious, no matter how cautious.

Just as the procession reached Alfonso's church, Alexander stepped out of the car and was looking down at him from the window of the church's bell tower.

"He's coming."

Looking at the figure below, Clarion turned back to the masked man behind him.