When Tiego saw Alexander VI from afar, he was secretly nervous.

He had never met the Pope before, but he thought he knew him well enough, because he had heard so much about Alexander VI before.

Especially in Valencia, even after all these years, people still talk about the absurd and even shameful things that the original cardinal had done.

Valencia's famous Villa in the Rose Garden is a famous place that proves these absurdities.

When he was Cardinal of Valencia, Rodrigo Borgia invited many famous ladies and notorious prostitutes to have fun in the Rose Garden Villa, and he had the doors of the villa closed and engaged in a reckless and absurd act for three consecutive days of revelry, a behavior that shocked even some who considered themselves to be bohemian at the time.

Rodrigo Borgia's bad reputation has been around in Valencia for so long that people tend to forget what the bishops were like after him.

And even though he has been away from the city for a long time, his influence is still deep-rooted, as can be seen from the fact that he has chosen the cardinal in the first place, and has still fully supported the promotion of the bishop even in Rome over the years.

Naturally, Tiego knew Alexander VI for a different purpose than others, but now he was a little nervous about seeing the pope, but it was because of Maria de Luna.

"Duchess, although I don't want to disturb you at this time, there are some important things for you to decide." Thiegor bowed to Maria de Luna from a distance, knowing that the old man in front of him was very shrewd and vicious, so he did not want him to find any clues in his behavior.

"Is it a business thing?" Maria de Luna asked quietly, then turned to her father-in-law and explained, "I'm in the silk business, you know it's important to us, especially because of the current situation in the Mediterranean, the silk trade in Valencia is very profitable these days, and Tiego," she said, glancing at Tiego casually, "seems to have some way of getting more than anyone else." ”

"Oh, the silk business," Alexander VI nodded, and he looked at Tiego, "when I was still a cardinal here, there were some people who made a fortune in this business, why do you also make money in this business now?" ”

"Yes, my lord, I mean Your Majesty," Thiegor looked very nervous, as if he was at a loss in front of the Pope, "I serve the Duchess, because I know some, friends ......"

Alexander VI looked a little interested, he looked Tiego up and down, and then asked, "May I understand that you are talking about friends who, well, pirates?" ”

Tiego looked a little nervous, and he looked at Maria de Luna, as if he wanted to get him out of the siege, but as if he wanted to explain something, and for a moment the merchant looked very nervous.

"Yes, he's working for me now, and the silk market in Valencia is huge, but because Tiego can have cheaper and more reliable sources, our prices are much lower than the others, so that we have nearly 10% of the silk market share in the whole of Valencia," Maria de Luna quickly explained, seeing that the Pope was very interested, and then hurriedly said, "But this business is still a little unideal for us to do on our own, and there are too many people who want to make a fortune from this, And some people have very strong backers, so if you can help us, maybe we can earn more. ”

Alexander VI smiled, pleased with Maria de Luna's cleverness, and it was evident that his daughter-in-law was willing to share some of the benefits of the business, which made him feel that it was a good sign that he had encountered such a good thing on his first day back in Valencia: "I will consider it, it is for our family, and you will be rewarded for all this for Juan." ”

Maria de Luna bowed respectfully to her father-in-law, just as she saw Caderon coming from the other side of the hallway.

"Your Majesty, the Bishop is here, and he wishes to see you alone." Caderon said as he looked at Maria de Luna, who somehow seemed to look a little strange, and Cadron couldn't say why, but he had a vague feeling that Maria de Luna was deliberately avoiding him.

"I knew he was coming, he's wasted a lot of time in Valencia all these years, and I've heard of him in Rome by the nickname of that stupid oak barrel." The Pope muttered as he waved his hand to his daughter-in-law to do her own thing, and then walked outside, accompanied by Cadron.

Seeing that the Pope's figure had just disappeared around the corner of the corridor, Maria de Luna suddenly looked nervous and pulled Tiego behind a pillar, and she asked in a panic: "Are you crazy, come to see me at this time?" ”

"Because I miss you, I don't care who is here."

As he spoke, Thier grabbed Maria de Luna's face and kissed him desperately, allowing Maria de Luna to struggle and pat him on the back until he held him with more force.

"We're really crazy, and we're in big trouble if someone finds out about our relationship." It wasn't until the two were separated that Maria de Luna whispered as she gasped.

"Why are you afraid, just because I'm a businessman, not a nobleman?" Tiego stared into Maria de Luna's eyes and asked, "Or do you think it's a shame to be with me?" ”

"Of course not," Maria de Luna said urgently, "you know, if anyone finds out about our relationship, they will have an excuse to deprive me of custody of Juan, you know, he is 12 years old this year, and in three years he will be able to take over the territory himself, but without my care, no one knows what will happen in three years, do you know how many people are now watching his territory?" ”

"Don't worry about Maria, don't worry," Tiego comforted Maria de Luna's face again, "believe me, as long as we are careful, nothing will happen, and you should know that I will not be just a businessman, and it may not be long before I will have an identity that you can be proud of, and then everyone will envy you for having a lover like me." ”

Maria de Luna, who was a little more emotionally stable, looked at Tiego helplessly, she could hear the meaning of Tiego's words, it was obvious that even if he had a prominent status in the future, as he said, he would still not marry him, which made Maria de Luna very unhappy, but she also knew that this was probably the only thing that Tiego could not do.

But at least he's doing a good job now.

As she told the Pope, thanks to Tiego's help, they were able to secure a large share of the silk market in Valencia, a wealth that would bring great benefits to the Gandino's domain.

Maria de Luna didn't know if she was finally committed to this man because of the wealth he brought to him or if the man did attract her, but now the two of them were clearly bound together, not just because of the money, but more because of what they did.

Now that Maria de Luna was "their" man, she could probably guess who this "they" were, which was why she was so nervous when she heard the Pope's inquiry.

"I've done what you've told me to do, don't threaten me with that again," Maria de Luna said with some viciousness, her eyes were a little complicated, she had to do things for these people because she was coerced, although it was still terrible, but compared to her and Tiego's inexplicable mixing, it didn't seem like much "The Pope is back, you should know what will happen if he finds out what we did"

"I guess that's not the most important thing, or is it because of that Peloto Caderon?" Tiego stared into Maria de Luna's eyes, "Don't think I can't see the way he looks at you, he hasn't forgotten you yet." ”

"How dare you ......"

Maria de Luna questioned angrily, but her words were muffled by another, more powerful deep kiss until Tiego let go of her.

"Listen, don't worry, no one can threaten us, not even that little retinue, I have a way to help you get rid of him, and your son, I guarantee that he can inherit his territory smoothly, and maybe even more in the future."

"I don't know what to believe from you, you promised me to wait until this matter is over and not come to peester again, and now tell me how much more I have to do for you."

Maria de Luna asked helplessly, she felt that she was really wrong at the beginning, who would have thought that just having an affair with an entourage would bring so much trouble to herself, and sometimes she even thought that if she hooked up with her husband's brothers like Geoffrey's wife Xia San, maybe she would not have these troubles now.

"You have indeed done a lot, but I believe that what I am doing now is actually for yourself, think about it, isn't it because you can have so much wealth now because of the cooperation with us, so if you can cooperate with us to win a better future for your son, isn't it also in your interests?"

Maria de Luna sighed slightly, she knew that she was on a ship that could not be discontinued, and if she did not want to expose his previous affair with Cadherón, so that the Pope could find out about Giovanni's death and her relationship, she could only continue to cooperate with this businessman whom she loved and hated, and as Thiego said, she had done a lot, and if she did, she believed that Zaragoza's side would not easily forgive her.

Maria de Luna reluctantly said, "Well, now I'm going to accompany the Pope, tell me what you mean." ”

"The Duke wishes to see the Pope," said Tiego, in a low voice, pouting slightly at the look of surprise on Maryad Lou Na, "don't ask me why, it's hard for me to imagine what it will be like when they meet." ”

"You and that Cambrai are both madmen, and I wish you two would have been hanged together," said Maria de Luna, indignantly, and then struggled a little harder, "let me go, I will be found if I delay too long, and didn't you come to talk to me about business, and have my money be sent to me." ”

With that, Maria de Luna struggled to break free from Tiego's arms and stood in the hallway, she cleaned up her slightly messy skirt, glared at Tiego again, and walked to the end of the corridor as if nothing had happened.

Looking at her back, Tiego nodded slowly and whispered to himself, "Pelotto Cadron, now this is a personal vendetta between the two of us. ”

The return of the Pope to Valencia did bring a different kind of turmoil to the city.

As the largest in Catalonia and one of the most influential cities on the Iberian Peninsula, Malaysia is famous for its developed commerce and agriculture, in addition to influencing most of Europe's silk industry, Valencia is also an important maritime transit point in southwest Europe, as an important maritime hub of the Kingdom of Aragon facing the Mediterranean, Valencia has a unique advantage.

And for many years to come, this advantage will not disappear, especially with the opening of the New World route, the coast of the Liberian Peninsula will once become the only way for the Mediterranean countries to enter the Atlantic, where they will make their final supplies and recuperation, and these places will also become the window through which those countries will have to deal with Spain in order to be able to pass through Gibraltar, an important point that contains the choke point of the Atlantic. Many of Valencia's nobles and well-known merchants became the targets of bribes from these foreigners, and they made a lot of money, until with the opening of the New World, they turned their attention to that mysterious land, and no longer looked down on the small remuneration of being brokers.

However, in addition to all this, Valencia has another unique industry that is not found anywhere else, and that is the famous Catalan mercenary industry.

Just as the Swiss regarded mercenaries as an important source of wealth, the famous Catalan mercenaries have always been the darlings of the European mercenary community.

These fierce and courageous Catalans were hired by many European monarchs, so that they not only had to fight against their enemies, but also sometimes with their own countrymen.

Unlike the Swiss, Catalans apparently don't have much identification with their countrymen, and they don't care about cutting off their countrymen's heads or having them cut off their countrymen's heads unless they are too stingy with their employers, as long as they give them enough money.

Therefore, Catalan mercenaries are very popular, because this industry is very prosperous, they even have their own special mercenary guild in Valencia, some merchants with large pockets have become agents of Catalan mercenaries, and some of them have simply established mercenary chambers of different sizes.

The "East India Company" is a name that is still relatively unknown in Iberia, and it is already well-known except in Lisbon, at least in the rest of the Iberian Peninsula today.

The "East India Company's Valencia Office" is located on the street at the northeast corner of Maknini Square, facing the square is a very imposing three-story building, and one of the projects operated by this company is the famous mercenary business.

This is even a major source of income for the company.

Thiegor usually spends most of his time here, and his residence is in a corner of the third floor.

He hadn't been home for a long time, and he had been here all this time, except for the hurried back to Bareari to see his wife and children.

Tiego found himself liking more and more of his character, a successful businessman, a man of great wealth and influence in Valencia and even in Zaragoza, but also a spy, a man who was always secretly trying to disrupt the order of the kingdom of Aragon.

He found that he actually loved the identity, which made him feel adventurous and exciting, and the dangerous work exposed him to things he had never been exposed to before, which sometimes reminded him of the days when he toiled to support his family and felt that the previous decades were really a waste of life.

Tiego stood in front of the window and watched the busy group of workers below, trying to put together a pile of marble-carved letters that, when finished, would form the "East India Company Valencia Office", a sign so large that it could be seen even across the street from Piazza Marconini.

This is probably one of Valencia's most special signatures, and Thiego believes that it will attract more customers.

A carriage slowly approaching through the square caught Tiego's attention, and Theego frowned slightly at the sight of the man who seemed to be a little faltering from the carriage parked at the door.

Watching the man disappear into the corner of the porch below, Tiego turned to look at the door, where there was a soft knock on the closed door.

"Please come in."

The door opened, and Normezi, with a silver mask on his face, walked in, carrying a cane also wrapped in silver, which could be heard from the muffled sound of the tip of the cane poking into the ground, and how hard the person who used it was to press all his strength on it.

As soon as he entered the room, Normezi collapsed in the chair beside him, gasped for air, and then, with a somewhat trembling hand, took a small glass bottle from his pocket, corked it, and sprinkled some of the perfume on his body.

"I hate summer, it makes me smell like the worst lump in the garbage," Normezi said, panting, looking into Tiego's looking eyes, waving his hand casually, "Do I look that bad?" ”

"Even worse, my friend," Thiego sat down and looked at Normezie, "tell me what you came to do, if it weren't for something very important that the Moors wouldn't have sent you to Valencia, especially since you look really bad right now." ”

Normezi waved his hand again, he took out a handkerchief and gently wiped the thick water from the horrible scars under the mask, and looked at the disgusting marks on it, he sighed and threw the handkerchief to the ground.

Then he rubbed his hands on the silver cane in his hand, looked at Tiego with a look of smugness that could be seen even with a half-mask, and then he said slowly but forcefully, "I did it." ”

Tiego's heart jumped violently!

At that moment, he felt a tightness from the part of his heart, and then his whole body was cold!

"What did you say?" He asked in a voice that he felt a little trembling.

"I said, I did it."

Normezzi swung his hand at the end of the cane, and then he immediately took a handkerchief from his pocket and gagged it to his mouth with a violent cough.

"I feel like I'm having a fever," Normezi said as he tried to get up, but he stumbled down in his chair again, and looked at Tiego who walked briskly over and looked down at him, he raised his head and smiled reluctantly, "So, I'm probably satisfied." ”

Tiego nodded slightly, he knew what Normezi was talking about, anger at Ferdinand's betrayal had led him to choose a path of revenge, which now seemed to have come to an end, and his life had also come to an end.

"Trust me," Normezi grabbed Tiego by the sleeve and brought him closer to him, "Valladolid's court will soon be in chaos, Ferdinand's ambitions will turn him against Isabella, I did it, I did it alone, and now I have revenge." ”

As he spoke, Normezzie coughed violently again.

Tiego immediately called for the servant to take care of Normezi, and looking at the back of the man who had been helped out of the room, Tiego quickly walked to the table and picked up the pen.

Although he knew that Ulliu must have written to report the incident to Alexander, he decided to write to the Duke as soon as possible.

"My lord, you probably already know what is happening in Valladolid, as you planned, Philips has successfully contracted that terrible disease that is destined to be incured, which has changed the situation dramatically, before that, according to your arrangement, Madame Maria de Luna has created a lot of rumors in the court of Zaragoza that are unfavorable to Gonzalo, I believe that Ferdinand will not turn a blind eye to this, and now that the Pope has returned to Valencia, what should you do next, please make arrangements as soon as possible...... ”

After writing the letter in secret words, Tiego went to the window and made a gesture, and a worker at work immediately began to walk in nonchalantly.

"Send this letter out at once," Thiegor instructed the worker, "and it is crucial." ”