The two Neapolitan flags were crossed like portals, hidden under a black square canopy, and the beautifully carved coffin shone with extravagant gold in the light of the hundred candles on the huge chandelier overhead, and the coffin was opened so that everyone could see the king's face one last time, but a thick layer of powder smeared almost pale made Ferdinand lying in the coffin not look so good, and even when he lay there with his eyes closed, he looked a little hideous.

Alexander had already heard someone whispering that the king had lost consciousness at the moment of his final call, and that the archbishop had to have the last prayer for forgiveness read in his place, or he might fall into hell for not completing his last prayer.

But even so, there was a lot of talk about where Ferdinand's soul would go after his death.

Alexander knew that such arguments were pure nonsense, and that what people really cared about now was not whether Ferdinand would become a lonely ghost, but who would end up wearing the crown that had been placed next to the coffin on a black velvet stool.

Alexander stood a little farther away, standing with a group of petty nobles, looking at the crowd in front of him, listening to all the specious rumors beside him, he felt that he was not attending a king's funeral, but rather walking into a large vegetable market.

"I said, friend, where are you from, I'm from Upper Antino, what about you?" A man with pockmarked face and a deep pit in his sideburns smiled at Alexander, although he was very well-dressed, even in a black mourning dress, and a string of flat gold chest ornaments around his neck were still worth a lot, but because his image was a little scary, the people around him were far away from him.

"Me?" Alexander looked at this man with some surprise, he could see that this must have been disfigured by smallpox, and from the deep pit in his forehead, it was clear that this man was in danger at that time, and it was a miracle that he survived. ”

"Agri?" The man looked at Alexander in astonishment, "That's far enough, you must know that I heard the news of the king's critical illness, but it took five whole days to get from Alto Antineno to Naples." ”

"Five days?" Alexander looked at this person strangely, Alexander didn't think that he had a face that looked easy to deceive, but this person deceived people with one mouth, which made him feel very unhappy, "So you took a shortcut that no one else knows?" ”

"I knew you would all say that," said the man, with an annoyed look on his face, as if he had already been subjected to this sarcasm, "do you all think that you will not be able to get from Alto Anteno to Naples in two days, because none of you have a good horse." ”

Alexander nodded noncommittally, he began to find this man a little interesting, and he could see that this man seemed to be a little neurotic because he was often ostracized, so that the slightest questioning would touch his overly sensitive nerves, for example, now, in order to prove that he could indeed get to Naples in five days from the place called Antano, he began to ramble on and on.

As he explained how he had been able to come in such a short time, the man danced and talked so loudly that the people next to him looked disgusted, and many more looked at Alexander with gloating eyes, as if amused that another unlucky man had been targeted by this man.

Alexander was amazed at the man's enthusiasm, and though he knew that he did not know exactly how long it would take to get from Anteno in Upper Italy to Naples, and that there was a proverb that all roads led to Rome, one only had to think of the terrible state of the roads of this era, and one could think that this man was bragging nine times out of ten.

But the man seemed to be too persistent, and his desire to try to convince others was so strong that it had already caught the attention of the guards.

"Maybe you can look at my horses," the man finally revealed his purpose, "and you won't waste too much time, and you'll be sure to take my word for it, they're really good horses, and they're definitely worth your money." ”

It turned out to be a salesman?

Alexander looked at this disgusting-looking guy in amazement, he really couldn't imagine how he met a salesman at a funeral, and it was also a king's funeral, which made Alexander wonder if the Neapolitan guards had already killed their own bohemians and let a salesman swagger into the palace.

"Don't worry, I only sell the best horses," the man was still chattering, not even seeing that there were already two guards standing not far behind him, "Believe me, when you see those little darlings, you will know that I am telling the truth, and I am not a fool, I will not think that a big nobleman like you can still have good fruit to eat after deceiving you, so you don't have to worry at all." ”

"I just want to know why you came to me," Alexander asked with interest, looking at the guards who had already come over, "why don't you ask someone else to sell your horse?" ”

"You asked your friend," the man smirked, "It's my family's tradition to have a good eye, and everyone in our family can see things that others can't, so I'll keep an eye on you when you and Count Mordillo come in." ”

Alexander smiled, he raised his hand and pointed slightly behind the man, "So did your good eye tell you that you should have left early just now?" ”

The man turned his head a little sluggishly, and when he saw the two guards standing beside him, a trace of uneasiness flashed on his already ugly face: "Oh, I said that my friends, listen to me, I came in to pray for His Majesty, I know that my voice is a little loud, this is a bad habit, don't get me wrong." ”

The guards looked at the ugly face with disgust, but they didn't dare to make much noise in such a solemn place, so they could only endure the disgust, and the two of them reached out and grabbed the arm of the "salesman", ready to quietly take him out of the hall.

But what no one expected was that the person suddenly shouted loudly!

"Let go of me, you shitty guys!" The voice hovered over the otherwise quiet chapel, and even the few sparrows that had been perched on the roof were flying in shock!

The choir children were dumb, the reciting priests were dumbfounded, and the nobles in the front row, who were whispering, couldn't help but look back slightly.

For a while, in the entire prayer hall, the eyes of hundreds of people invariably cast their eyes in the direction of the sound!

So the "salesman" who couldn't stop struggling with his feet under the grip of the two guards became the focus of everyone's attention, and at the same time, they also saw Alexander standing close and looking at this scene helplessly.

"Let go of me, you stupid pigs, do you know who you're violating, don't think that your dirty hands can be touched by anyone," the man had to twist his body because his feet couldn't lift his strength off the ground, and when his smallpox-corroded face rubbed against the guard's face, the guard could only turn around because of disgust, which gave him time to entangle, but even then he had been carried to the door, "You self-righteous fellows, one day I will let you know who I have offended, tell you, The people of the Columbus family are not easy to mess with! ”

What is it?

Alexander suddenly turned his head and looked at the shadow that only a corner of his clothes was left in the door, showing a surprised look?

"What did he just say about his last name?" Alexander turned to ask the person closest to him.

"Like, it's Columbus." The nobleman also said a little inexplicably, and then his face changed suddenly, but his eyes were looking behind Alexander, exactly the same as when Alexander looked at the "Columbus" just now.

Alexander also sensed something strange behind him, or he heard the people who had been in a bit of a commotion near him suddenly become silent.

He turned slowly and saw Frederick, Duke of Naples, standing not far in front of him.

Or, it should be said that the Prince of Naples.

According to Ferdinand's "wishes", when he was dying, the House of Nobles of Naples prepared an edict for him, in which it was announced that in the event of the king's death, Frederick would be crowned Prince of Naples as regent until Naples was succeeded by a new king.

Although everyone knew that the edict had been drawn up entirely on Frederick's orders, he had now rightfully become Prince of Naples, and he was one step closer to the crown that was on the bench.

This was Alexander's second meeting with Frederick, but neither was it pleasant.

"Young man from Sicily," Frederick's voice was calm, and there was no hint of hostility, but Alexander did not believe that the prince did not know at all that what happened in Kosenza had something to do with him, "and the young lord of Agri, I didn't expect you to hide behind so modestly, knowing that just now we were all talking about the grain you brought to Naples. ”

"Your Highness, it has always been my long-cherished wish to be able to work for the great Kingdom of the Two Sicilies." Alexander bowed slightly and was about to stand up straight, when he saw Frederick extend his hand to him.

Immediately, there was a slight whisper all around.

The kiss ceremony, in many cases, this kind of etiquette that embodies a deep sense of hierarchy heralds a strong sense of dignity and inferiority, and for many years, some people have struggled to win the right to kiss the back of the hand of the superior, and even several wars have broken out because of it.

In order to kiss the bishop, the king, or the pope's robe, the back of the hand, and even the feet that are not washed all the year round, countless people have gone to great lengths to fight each other, but Alexander is clearly not among them.

And in the presence of the Archbishop of Naples, Frederick stretched out his hand to him, which was why the people around him could not help but whisper.

Obviously, this is naked humiliation!

Everyone was looking at Alexander, waiting to see what he would do next.

"Don't do stupid things, boy, don't do stupid things." Modillo looked at the two people facing each other from a distance, he whispered softly in the voice he could hear, and when he felt his hand being grabbed hard, he turned his head to look at his sister beside him, "Don't move George Anne, don't move." ”

"That's, that's really ......" Georges-Anne's voice trembled slightly, she never thought that the Sicilian young man who had met twice in a hurry would be "that child", when she saw her daughter's letter, Georges-Anne didn't know how to deal with this child who suddenly appeared, but now when she saw Alexander alone facing Frederick, she was so nervous that she almost lost her mind.

"Kiss my hand and get out of here." Frederick's voice was not high, and only the two of them could hear it, "Then I can forgive you for those sins you have committed, but you should know what to do next." ”

Everyone looked at the two men, even the Archbishop of Naples, who had given up his reserve, and he and the priests and deacons frowned at the two men who had given way to the open space, while the archbishop's eyes glanced slightly at the poor queen, who was kneeling in front of the coffin, her whole body draped in a black veil.

No one paid any attention to the young queen at this time, for there was no offspring for Ferdinah, and the young queen would have to give up her crown to others, which would probably be more cruel to her than her dead husband.

Alexander bowed down again, and he felt the sarcasm and ridicule of the people looking at him, and the sarcastic smile that Frederick had to look down on.

Then, a small smile appeared on his face.

"Please accept my apologies, Your Highness," Alexander bowed, "I only hope that I have not caused too much harm to your son, His Highness Alfred, because of the recklessness of those of my men, but I still have to pay tribute to His Highness Alfred, after all, he was at the forefront of your mission to prevent me from bringing food to the Neapolitans, and was knocked to the ground by my Bohemians." ”

Frederick's face flashed murderous for a moment, his hand snapped back and he clenched his belt tightly, where the sword was hung, and then he let go of it as he took a deep breath.

"You're brave, but you're not smart enough," Frederick's chest trembled slightly, he could feel the strange stares around him, he was actually confronted in front of so many people, by a bastard from a foreign country, but he couldn't get angry at what Alexander just said, because Alfred did stop Agri's food delivery team, and was beaten down in front of everyone, "Tell the Bohemians that I will make them pay for what they have done." ”

"Do as you command, my lord."

Alexander bowed slightly, but this time no one thought he was bowing to Frederick, on the contrary, this bow was deeply sarcastic and contemptuous.

As Alexander strolled out of the prayer hall, he could feel that even the guards looked at him differently, in addition to curiosity and inquiry, there was also a faint excitement in the eyes of some people, any challenge to authority was enough to make people excited, let alone a future king.

But Alexander himself knew that this time he really annoyed Frederick.

"My good uncle, it's really up to you this time." As he walked, Alexander thought to himself, "I hope that your arrangements for so many years are not just empty ambitions, otherwise we will all be in real trouble." ”

Alexander, preoccupied, returned to the Bohemian dwelling, but as soon as he entered, he saw Ulliu confronting a man.

Although the man had his back to him, Alexander recognized him by the time he babbled, "Trust me, the Columbians will never lie to you."

"What's your name?" Alexander asked.

"My friend, it's really you!" When he saw Alexander, the pockmarked man immediately became excited, "James, my name is James Columbus, and I am willing to serve you, my lord." ”