Barendi apparently did not trust Alexander's letter to convince old Rovere, and she was even a little worried that it might anger her father, and that if that might happen, their marriage could go unexpected.

As a daughter, Barondi, as a daughter, knew better than anyone how old Rovere had fled from Rome and how she had returned to Rome with the support of the French, so she could not believe that her father would give up his good relations with the French, and whether she thought that Alexander could move old Rovere.

It was in this fear that Barendi watched as the messenger hurried away from Montina with the letter, and tried to convince Alexander to abandon the apparently improbable idea before the messenger disappeared into the distance.

"My father was the most faithful friend of the French, and many of the Genoese were pro-French." Barondy wants to convince Alexander of the truth, and although she doesn't know what Alexander is up to, she worries that he might really anger her father.

"Trust me, sometimes things don't necessarily go the way you see, or even the way you experience them." Looking at the worried look on Barendi's face, Alexander gently comforted her, of course he couldn't tell Barendi directly at this time, as the largest leading party in the Italian city-state, old Rovere would become an anti-French warrior that no one would have thought of before in the next ten years, and after becoming Pope Julius II, he became famous for his tough attitude towards the French, and even his title of "defeating the Pope" was largely due to his high fighting spirit towards the French.

Alexander was intrigued about why the elder Rovere had turned from a pro-French leader to a great enemy of the French, but as he came into contact with the elder Rovere, he gradually discovered some of the clues.

Unlike Alexander VI, Alexander believed that the elder Rovere was an ambitious man, which is not to say that Alexander VI did not have ambitions, but that the ambitions of the two men were very different.

In Alexander's opinion, if Lucrezia's father valued the family more than anything else, Barendi's father was definitely a man who valued personal goals more than anything else.

This is evident from the fact that he did not hesitate to stand by in the affairs of Montina as soon as he learned that the Genoese nobles had decided to be hostile to Alexander, and even when Barentia decided to show his support for Alexander, the elder Rovere did not show any wavering.

It seems a little complicated, after all, Alexander VI has had two sons-in-law, but although this does not mean that Alexander VI does not care about Lucrezia, Alexander does not see any concern for Barendi from the actions of old Rowile, or in his mind, his daughter is more important to the family's responsibility.

Even Alexander believed that even Konstantin, as a son, was not necessarily on the radar of old Rovere, a man of iron will who could sacrifice everything for his ends.

What such a person can make him change his mind is not family affection or honor, but only interests and conditions that can allow him to achieve his goals.

So what was the purpose of old Rovere?

Alexander felt that there was no one who knew the future Pope of War better than himself, and it was because of this that he was sure to convince, or rather make old Rovere, understand that he was his fellow traveler.

"Rest assured, your father will accept my advice, and he may even be proud to have such a good son-in-law as me." Alexander whispered to comfort Barondi, who knew that Barondi's uneasiness was actually due to his understanding of her father, "But I have some other things to do while I wait for your father to reply. ”

"Oh, what is it?" Barondi asked quietly, she had actually been waiting for Alexander to say that he was going to leave temporarily, but she didn't expect him to do it the day after returning to Montina, which made Barendi feel inexplicably annoyed, which also surprised her, because she remembered that she had almost never been angry about such things before, but now she began to feel jealous.

Barendi felt that it was all Alexander's fault, and he disturbed her mood.

Seeing that Barendi didn't seem to care, and pretended to be generous, Alexander reached out and stroked the top of her head in amusement, and then finally couldn't help laughing.

Barondi's face flushed, she felt that her mind was completely exposed, and she moved her head in annoyance to shake off the palm pressed on her head, but her rare gaffe made Alexander want to tease her even more.

It wasn't until Barentia looked annoyed that Alexander let go of the hand on her head, then took her from under his arm, took her into his arms, and said, "I'm going to Florence." ”

Barendi was stunned, she didn't think that Alexander was not going to Pisa, but then thinking about the pitiful journey from Pisa to Florence, her mood was not good again.

But she endured it in the end, knowing that this was already taking care of her self-esteem for Alexander, otherwise it would have been too embarrassing for her as a hostess to rush to Pisa to meet another woman the day after returning home.

"Don't be cranky," seeing that Barendi's face was still full of displeasure, Alexander could only continue to comfort her softly, "I promise you that I am going to Florence this time, and only to Florence." ”

Seeing that Alexander was very serious, Barendi was a little surprised, she knew that although Alexander always deceived her with sweet words many times, as long as he really promised, he would not go back.

"Isn't it okay to go to Florence or write a letter like you would for your father?"

Barondi asked a little dissatisfied, she was about to go out again just after she came back, even if she didn't go to see another woman, she still felt a little unacceptable.

"Not this time, there are some things I have to do myself." Alexander reluctantly said that of course he knew that doing so would make Barondi uncomfortable, but as he said, there were some things that he had to do himself.

Looking at Alexander's serious expression, Barendi hesitated for a moment, and said with some anger: "From Florence to Pisa, there are less than 20 fats. ”

Seeing that Barendi finally said this sentence that was blocked in his heart, Alexander couldn't help but let out a "poof" laugh.

"Don't worry, I won't be going to Pisa this time, because time is tight, and what I have to do this time is very important." Alexander earnestly promised Barendi.

It is unclear how much of Alexander's promise was trustworthy, but it did not affect Alexander's trip to Florence.

It was only when Alexander ordered Ofleiil to set off with him that Barentia's mood improved slightly.

As an important right hand on Alexander's side, this period of time can be said to be a rare opportunity for Ofleiyi to exercise, because he needs to be responsible for the defense of the entire Montina, Oflaiyi has almost integrated everything he can master, so the result is that it can be said that the current Oflaiyi is just beginning to move towards the identity of a real chief of staff, but then he needs to do more.

So seeing that Alexander had taken Offrey with him, but left Gompati behind, Barondi was somewhat relieved.

"He can't let his right and left hands put down important work in order to dispel my suspicions." Barendi was glad she had figured it out.

Ofrey was worried that he hadn't had time to report to the Count about something in the realm, and the trip made him feel like a good opportunity.

It's just that why Alexander just came back and went to Florence, Ofleiyi was a little puzzled.

Of course, the captain of the marching army would not think that the Count was taking the opportunity to have a tryst with Lucrezia, for like Barondi, Ofrei knew better than everyone else that the situation was changing almost daily.

However, when he learned the purpose of Alexander's trip, Ofleyi was somewhat surprised.

"We went to see Mashimo, we haven't seen Mahimo for a long time, and I miss him a little."

Florence, Monastery of St. Mark.

Massimo now lives in a bungalow in the monastery, which was the original residence of Savonarola.

Unlike Savonarola, Massimo didn't like dark environments, so he had the shutters on the windows removed, so that the room was much brighter.

However, he did not touch the rest of the house, the desk used by Savonarola and the sturdy but slightly shabby wooden bed were still in their place, and the books collected by the original owner were all left untouched on the wooden shelves against the wall.

Mashimo refused the monastery's request to send someone to attend to him, and instead moved in alone, much to the convent's discourse.

People don't know why the new dean did this, but looking at the lights that come from the windows of that house every night, people have mixed feelings.

Although he became the illustrious abbot of St. Mark, Massimo rarely appeared in front of the public, which of course pleased the Florentine officials, who at first feared that the abbot appointed by the Holy See might frequently interfere in the affairs of Florence, and might even compete with them for secular power, but now the abbot was a rare man of human sophistication, at least for nearly half a year, the Florentines hardly noticed that the abbot wanted to get along with them.

Even in the monastery, Massimo was not seen very often, and he spent most of his time reading or writing in that house, which led many to speculate that the abbot seemed to be following the steps of Savonarola step by step.

The only person who had frequent contact with Massimo was a Florentine official named Machiavelli, who was now a popular figure in the Florentine ruling Sazi, and as the head of the Florentine People's Army, Machiavelli now had no small power.

However, this man was obviously very ambitious, and in addition to always sparing no effort to try to be better in front of the government, he seemed to be quite interested in the history of Florence, so in addition to frequent visits to the libraries of all the universities, he often visited the Abbey of St. Mark, because the monastery had a rich collection of books and all kinds of important documents comparable to those of those universities.

Machiavelli was obviously interested in the books that Savonarola had left behind, and in fact it was known that he had served as a diplomat during Savonarola's reign, but no one could have imagined that after the other Savonarolola elements had been liquidated, Machiavelli would become a popular figure in the new government.

Machiavelli often visited the abbot, which made him Mahimo's spokesman in the eyes of many.

Sometimes, even the Archon Sazi would take advantage of his conversation to ask him questions or reveal certain attitudes he wanted to hear from Massimo, but in many cases there was not much to really hear.

Machiavelli enjoyed the feeling of being an intermediary, which made him feel as if he had invisible power, but he also knew that he only felt this way because he had taken on the role of bridge between Florence and Massimo, which made Machiavelli feel that everything he had now was so fake, but it was also clearly more exciting for him to want to get ahead.

However, Machiavelli was not in a hurry, because he knew that such an opportunity still existed.

His bravery in "protecting Pisa" had earned him enough favor in front of the Count of Montina, and he could have earned an enviable position in Montina or Pisa if he had asked for it.

And at that time, he was indeed tempted, and he believed that as long as he made a request, the Count would definitely agree, because it was not only the city of Pisa that he had saved, but the Count's favorite woman and his daughter.

There were even times when Machiavelli thought that it would not be too much to ask the Pope for his merits, for one only had to think of the amazing pomp with which the Duchess de d'Estlese was baptized, and that the Pope was still very fond of his only granddaughter.

However, after a long period of consideration, Machiavelli surprisingly did not make any requests.

He returned to Florence to train his officers and reorganize the civil army, and apart from visiting the abbot of St. Mark's Abbey when he had nothing to do, few people knew that he had missed such a good opportunity.

In the middle of June, the rain gradually increases, but unlike other cities where the whole city becomes a big mud pond when it rains, Florence's relatively good drainage facilities play an important role at this time, and if you are interested, you can even take the opportunity to enjoy the city's seemingly real beauty in the rain.

Machiavelli rarely had a free time on this rainy day, most of the time he was busy, in addition to reorganizing the national army, he also served as the second secretary of Sazi's side, which allowed him to meet and communicate with more Florentine and other foreign dignitaries, which also made him a hot figure in Florence today.

Machiavelli crossed an alley to the door of the abbey, and because he was in and out of the house frequently, he did not delay long before following the gatekeeper who had heard the news and had come to open the door.

The rain was getting heavier by this time, and Machiavelli took off his soaked soft hat and hurried across the patio to the corridor, and then down the corridor to the lonely house in the side courtyard of the abbey.

Before he could enter the door, Machiavelli saw Massimo who had to sit in front of the window and read in the light because it was cloudy.

"I think you're looking more and more like a real abbot now," Machiavelli said in a slightly mocking tone as he entered, shrugging as he took off his wet clothes as he looked at him silently, "I mean you look like him now." ”

Machiavelli said and waved his finger at the empty space of the house, then sat down and rubbed his somewhat cold hands: "What kind of person do you think Savonarola is, or do you think he didn't do anything wrong?" ”

"I only saw him at the stake," said Massimo, placing a book on the table, and Machiavelli noticing that it was Savonarola's On the Florentine. ”

"And you're looking for answers from what was left behind by the last person who was trapped in the well?" Machiavelli pursed his lips and asked disapprovingly, and seeing that Mahimo did not seem to want to answer, he continued, "You probably already know that the Count has returned to Venice. ”

Mahimo nodded, a look of emotion on his face.

Unlike Machiavelli, Mahimo was really emotional when he heard all the almost legendary stories about Sophia.

Many people are not the same as they used to be, and even he himself has changed a lot.

Although less than a year had passed, Massimo felt as if his former self was so strange, and he even wondered how he had come to have been in the previous years, and now he was more from the book trying to find the answers that confused him, and all these changes were brought to him by Alexander.

"Do you think the Count will want to ......" Machiavelli suddenly spoke but stopped, although the following words did not come out, but he believed that Massimo understood what he was about to say.

Sure enough, Massimo seemed to think about it, but then shook his head thoughtfully: "I don't know, in fact I never understood what he wanted." ”

"But that doesn't stop us, does it," said Machiavelli, in a tone of encouragement, "perhaps the Count will be happier when we make things happen." ”

"I don't know," said Massimo in a deep tone, "you know, I sometimes think it's all pointless, and even if the Count gets the city, I think Florence is really depraved, at least the city is worse than Savonarola says." ”

"But Savonarola failed, and it turns out that a true ruler should have a strong will and enough means to match it, otherwise Savonarola is an example."

Machiavelli slapped his hand on the table as he spoke, and then he saw what seemed to be writing on a piece of paper on the table.

When our Lord Jesus Christ said, "Repent of yourselves," His intention was to dedicate believers to repentance throughout their lives, so the word "repentance" should not be understood as a simple ritual of repentance, i.e., confession and penance under the auspices of the clergy...... God, what is this?! ”

Looking at the words on the paper, Machiavelli was stunned for a moment.

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