On the street of the old school in Valladod, a somewhat immature face appeared in the window on the second floor of a building that was some years old.

This young man, who was only about ten years old, with fluffy black curls and a face that had not completely lost his baby fat, made this child look very cute, especially his slightly chubby body and fleshy hands, which gave people a very pleasing impression.

The boy had been standing in front of the window of the crossroads in the distance and looking out for a long time, or rather, since more than half a year ago, he had climbed upstairs to the window for a long time, but each time he was disappointed to find that the person he was waiting for had never appeared.

This made him very frustrated, so although he still looked hopeful, he could only puff up and deflated his chubby face again and again because of anxiety.

"Alonso," a middle-aged woman shouted upstairs from under the window, "Come down and eat, or your brother and they're going to snatch up the fish sauce and meat pie." ”

The boy peeked out of the window, as if hesitating to go downstairs for dinner or continue looking, but when he saw the occasional figure on the street in the distance, he was immediately overwhelmed by the thought that the next one might appear.

"Mom, you can eat first, just leave me a little." The boy looked up again into the distance, stubbornly hoping to see the man he wanted to see in the next second.

"You kid, you're so stubborn." The mother waved her hand helplessly, and she always wondered why this son was so stubborn among her several children.

"It's coming, it's coming." The boy stubbornly stood at the window looking at the intersection in front of the old school street, although his stomach was already growling, but he always wanted to wait a little longer because of the little thought in his heart.

In the living room downstairs, the family sitting around the table is eating dinner, in addition to the fish sauce meat pie on the table, there are several cold dishes marinated with salt and vinegar millet, although it is not a good choice to eat this in this season, but the family wants to eat it.

"You have to persuade Alonso," the hostess suddenly said to her husband, looking at a few children who couldn't help but stop to look at her, the hostess cut each of them an extra corner of meatloaf, and then continued to her husband, who was always bored eating, "This is not good, he takes what that person said too seriously, in fact, we all know that the man may just lie to him, but he doesn't think so, think about how long it has been, that person has never heard from him, maybe he has long forgotten about Alonso, it is no wonder that he was only a few years old at that time after all, Who would be trustworthy to a child. I think you'll take him to the lumberyard tomorrow, I heard that the queen is looking for workers everywhere to build a big ship, and he's about the same age to give someone a hand, so that at least he can give the family more subsidies. ”

The man stopped stuffing food into his mouth, he first smacked the meat left on his fingers with his mouth, then looked up at his wife silently, and after a while said: "Wait, just wait another six months, Alonso is still young, when he is 13 years old, I will take him to the lumberyard, and let him work at home and take care of his younger siblings." ”

The woman was a little annoyed, but she didn't dare to say anything more when she saw that her silent husband's face was a little bad, but the movements in her hands were inevitably heavier, especially when the man asked her for a second glass of wine, the woman's hand on the wine glass was too hard, and the glass made a "bang" on the table, and the wine also spilled out.

"What are you doing, are you making a face on me?!" The man suddenly broke out, he stood up, grabbed the wine glass, waved his hand and splashed the wine on his wife's face, at the same time, he didn't care about the few children next to him, he was so frightened that he immediately lost his voice, lowered his voice and said angrily, "Don't think that he was born to me and point fingers at my son, my son is capable, he will become a great person in the future, if you dare to delay his future, I can't spare you know?" ”

The woman nodded in horror, she knew that her husband was grumpy, and if he really annoyed him, she would have to suffer.

But she also felt aggrieved, thinking about her son's stubborn insistence on that meaningless hope, she was even more worried that it might really delay his future after a long time.

Thinking about it like this, the woman plucked up the courage again, and she wanted to persuade her husband again, even if it really angered him, but at least she had to try it for the future of her son.

The woman opened her mouth, but before she could speak again, a cheer full of joy and surprise suddenly rang out from the otherwise quiet upstairs.

Immediately afterwards, the boy named Aloso had already run down the stairs with two stout short legs clumsily, and as he ran he kept shouting, "Here we are! Here it comes! The grown-up is here! ”

The boy's shouts startled the family downstairs, and the couple looked at their son who ran downstairs with some confusion, while his younger siblings immediately forgot about their parents' usual sternness because of his brother's unexpected behavior, and followed and shouted and screamed.

For a while, the whole house was surprisingly lively.

The boy ignored the noisy siblings, still shouting to his parents, "Come, come!" He rudely pushed away one of the brothers who was in front of him, and ran towards the door.

Both husband and wife showed surprise on their faces, they could guess what their son was talking about, and they knew how much he was looking forward to the arrival of that person, but when they heard his son really shout "Come on, come on", they began to wonder if it was true.

The boy opened the door, but before he could step out, a figure was already standing outside the door, blocking the light behind him.

The boy couldn't help but take a step back, and then looked up at the visitor with some excitement.

But when he saw the man's face clearly, his originally chubby face froze for a moment, and then he showed a panic that he didn't know what to do.

"What, Alonso, don't know me anymore, or have you forgotten my promise to you?" The face under half of the silver mask struggled to squeeze out a smile, and there was a hint of relief and joy in the eyes behind the eyes, "But I don't think you have forgotten, or you wouldn't have come to greet me." ”

"Yes, Lord Normezi." The boy was a little overwhelmed, he bowed as his father usually did when he saw the big men, but the chubby little belly made him look a little funny, and then he immediately turned back to his father, who had already walked behind him, as if asking for help.

"My lord, it's really you."

The man, who was also like his son, who was a little surprised by the dress of the visitor, immediately stepped forward to salute, but when he took the man's hand to kiss it, because the man seemed to instinctively dodge, his face could not help but feel a trace of embarrassment and annoyance after being humiliated, but he immediately suppressed it, and then shouted loudly and drove the other children back to their rooms upstairs, leaving only his wife and eldest son with him to look with anticrative anticipation at the man who had been invited to the house to sit at the table and eat.

Normezi was indeed hungry, and he had not had a good rest or a decent meal on the way from Seville to Valladode, so when he saw the food on the table, he immediately walked over and sat down, grabbed a piece of fish sauce pie and took a big bite.

At the man's suggestion, the woman hurriedly poured a glass of wine for Normezi, and then carefully placed it next to him.

"Not bad." Normezi immediately took a large sip of his glass, swallowing the food that was about to get stuck in his throat because he had eaten so violently, and then he let out a sigh and began to eat slowly.

The family of three standing there just watched Normezi eat until he finally put down the food he had eaten and burped and drank all the rest of the wine, then he looked up at them.

Normezi's eyes fell first on the boy named Also, and he couldn't help but smile when he saw that he was eating and ran back upstairs to take the things he had taken.

"Behold, our little genius is almost an adult," Normézi stretched out his hand and patted the boy on the shoulder, before he said to the boy's father, "I can see that you have raised him well." ”

"Of course, my lord, Alonso is the hope of our Beruguet family in the future." The man replied with some pride, and then urged his son, "Hurry up and show your recent works to the adults, so that he knows that you have been studying hard." ”

"My lord, I've been drawing, as you told me, just keep painting until you come."

The boy immediately handed over a scroll of canvas, and his eyes flashed with nervousness.

Normezi opened the canvas and was greeted by a charcoal sketch that was obviously still very naïve, but even then Normezi was surprised, he knew that this boy named Alonso Beruguete was talented, and because of this, when he came to Iberia two years ago, he met this boy, and he said that if he was still learning to paint in two years, he would pay for him to study at the best art school in Rome.

It's just that at that time, he really just said it casually after the excitement, and although he did not forget this promise, he did not think that the boy could really hold on.

After all, although he has a very good talent, not only is his family background ordinary, but none of his family and relatives have this talent, so it is difficult to cultivate an artistic atmosphere and environment that can inspire him, and it can be said that it is difficult to cultivate an artist in such a family.

But now Normezi can't help but admit that geniuses have an extraordinary side, at least this one named Alonso Beruguet surprised and surprised him.

"It's incredible, you know you're better than a lot of people I've ever met who are much better than you," Normezzie looked at the chubby boy before motioning for the family of three to sit down, only his next remark made the family change their faces, "But I don't think you should follow me." ”

"I mean, it would be a bit of a waste if your talent were pinned on me, knowing that a genius should have a wider world and a richer and more generous patron," Normace's mood suddenly fell a little, he gently stroked his cheek with his cloth-gloved left hand, and then his gaze fell on the boy's face, which looked healthy and lively, "I know people who are of high enough status to allow you to freely enter and leave the court of any monarch in Europe, and even recommend you to the Pope, Of course, you need to be really talented, and they are all rich, and they can provide you with the money you need to study in the future, and you can also send you to study with the real masters, and I think I can give you to them. ”

Normezie's words made the family's faces change from excitement to disappointment, from disappointment to excitement, and then even the woman let out a cry of "God!" because she couldn't hold it! Marvel.

"What I said is true, and believe me, Alloso will become a great painter in the future." Normezi smiled and said to the couple, "But this time I will stay in Valladour for a while, and I think you can let him follow me as my acolyte first, and I will pay you, and when I am done here, I will send him to Naples, and then the men I said will decide which master to send him to further his studies." ”

"My lord, you're so nice, I don't know how to thank you." The woman said excitedly that it was obvious that Normezzi was happier than waiting for her son to become a great painter in the future, and that her son would work for him.

And the father next to him obviously thinks more, because he always believes that his son is talented, he is unwilling to let his son work, because he doesn't want his son to be an ordinary person like himself forever, he hopes that his son can one day achieve a career, because of this, although his wife nagged more than once, but he has never wavered in his determination to cultivate his son.

"Don't thank me, it's probably the only good thing I've done in my life," Normezzi said, his gaze falling on the sparse leaves on the soup plate in front of him, stunned, "Maybe God has forgiven me for my sins, so that I can at least do something clean before I die." ”

Normezi's words made the family of three look at each other, they didn't know what was wrong with the adult, but it was clear that he seemed to be in a bad mood, which made the family all shut up.

As if sensing that he had made the atmosphere dull, Normezi's gaze fell on the boy's painting again, and then deliberately exclaimed: "This is really a masterpiece of a little genius, but do you know that your current paintings are still too naïve, it's not that you don't paint well, but you haven't really seen the masterpieces of those great painters, and only by seeing the works of those masters often can you learn to learn those real skills." ”

"Yes, sir."

The boy immediately nodded with joy, he had been looking forward to this day for two years.

The boy named Alonso Beruguete could never forget that two years ago, the Neapolitan nobleman promised him that if he persisted in studying painting, he would be brought to Naples to study this event.

Now that the Count of Giulip had returned, and had promised to take him to Naples, Alonso Beruguete was so happy that he had almost forgotten the Count's inexplicable daunting appearance when they first met, and the mask and gloves that he had not taken off since he had entered the house, even during meals.

As for the smell of the mixture of a heavy pollen aroma and a strange smell of something unpleasant that he had smelled when he sat beside the Count, the boy paid no attention to it.

"To-morrow we will go to the palace, and I will go to see your two Majesties," said Normezi, "and as for you, to-morrow you will go with me as my lady-in-waiting." ”

Hearing this, the couple couldn't hide their excitement again, and they immediately told their son to do his best to serve the adult.

Then the male protagonist suddenly remembered something, and said to Normezi: "But my lord, it may not be a coincidence that you have come, King Ferdinand returned to Zaragoza more than half a month ago to preside over the annual anniversary of the apparition of the Virgin, and now only Her Majesty is in the palace, as well as her daughter and son-in-law. ”

"That's a great unfortunate, but who do you mean by daughters and sons-in-law, as far as I know, the king and his wife have several daughters." Normezi asked with a hint of curiosity.

"It's Juana of Aragon, and her husband Philip." Speaking of this, a layer of light appeared on the woman's face, "Your Excellency, you are really late, if you can come a few months earlier, you can see the pomp and circumstance of the couple when they came to Valladode." ”

"Oh, really?" Normezi was a little curious.

"It was indeed a great occasion," said the man, who was a little excited about the subject, "and the queen made a great ceremony to welcome her daughter and son-in-law, and the whole procession was not enough to circle Valladod, and it is said that 20 oxen were killed at once, as well as countless sheep and pigs, and the great fish brought by the sea by hand, all fresh. ”

"But these are not nothing," the woman seemed to have forgotten her husband's previous cruelty to her because of this, and she said to Normezi excitedly, "the most important thing is Princess Juana and Duke Philip, they are really the most suitable couple, both of them are so beautiful as a miracle, especially Duke Philip, who is now called the beautiful Philip." Even some women are starting to be jealous that he has such a pretty face......"

"You women just like this," the man interrupted his wife a little impatiently, "Speaking of which, Princess Juana and her husband have brought jobs to many Valladodians because the queen has built a big palace for them, and this project began two years ago, but until now the princess and her husband have been here for more than half a year, but the house has not yet been built." ”

"So, Philip lives in the palace?"

Normezi regretted a little after casually asking, but saw that the couple obviously didn't notice the flaw in the sentence he asked, so they secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Come to think of it, how could there be someone everywhere like the Duke of Rometesia, who might have made him try something out with even a single word.

"Yes, the princess and her husband live in the palace now, so if you go to the palace tomorrow, you should be able to meet them." The man nodded in reply.

"Well, I'll rest now," Normezi got up, dragging his tired body toward the staircase, and after a few steps he stopped and turned back to the boy, "don't forget to get up early tomorrow, and we'll go to the palace together." ”