The exclamations rang out and disappeared, and the silence that followed the moment made the whole hall fall silent for a moment, and then there were constant whispers, so that everyone looked at Alexander standing beside Massimo with incredulous eyes.

There were many people in this room who knew Alexander, some of whom had been in high Sicilian positions before the night of the bloodstain, some of whom had been clever enough to join Camus after that, and many more who had chosen to submit to Flormenza after his arrival to avoid being implicated.

But whatever the past had been, they all had a deep impression of Alexander, for it was this young man who changed everything in Sicily that night.

It is hard to imagine what would have happened if the riots had continued that night, perhaps an even greater upheaval would have spread from Palermo and then set off a terrible storm throughout Sicily.

So whatever one thinks of this young man, Alexandre Giulian de Cambrai, the nobles of Palermo know that he was indeed the hero of the Santa Rosaria anniversary.

But perhaps it was thanks to him that he was driven out of Sicily, and it was the same Palermo nobles who watched indifferently as he was driven out of Sicily, and then no one ever saw or remembered this man again.

They thought they would never see him again, and they might not even hear from him again, for Naples, though it did not seem far away, was not friendly to Sicily, and a strange young man, once in such a place, would either quickly indulge in extravagance and depravity, or would be drawn into a whirlpool of unimaginable speculation, and finally disappear silently.

But once again, the young man did a miracle by surprise, and rumors about him began to circulate in Sicily, followed by more and more unbelievable information about the young count's dazzling deeds.

But the most incredible thing for the Sicilians was the declaration of war on Sicily, the Sicilians already knew about the half-brother relationship between the count and the current Queen Regent of Naples, but because of this, when they saw Alexander himself actually appear here, many people couldn't help but be stunned by surprise.

Flomenza was puzzled and finally knew who this man was from the discussion of the people next to him, and he looked at this person with the same surprise, because he was too surprised he couldn't help but look at Gonzalo next to him, hoping to get proof from him.

"It's been a surprising night," Gonzalo said he had calmed down from the accident, and he slowly walked over to Alexander and looked at him carefully, as if to make sure he had misread before, and then he smiled and opened his arms, "Do you want me to welcome you, Count, but I'm also a guest here." ”

"I should welcome you," Alexander also opened his arms and gave Gonzalo a gentle hug, and then he took a step back and turned to the nobles who still had a look of surprise on their faces, "You are not mistaken, it is indeed me, I am back, recognized by you as the lighthouse keeper of Sicily." ”

It was as if a bowstring that had been pulled to the maximum tension had finally let go, and with the clamor of "boom" spreading, the whole hall immediately resounded with a chatter.

Not long ago, Naples officially declared war on Sicily, and the main force of it was said to be the Montina army, but now the owner of this army suddenly appeared at a banquet at the Sicilian court, and even the most daring people could not have imagined such a thing.

"Count Montina?" Flomenza finally spoke, he had been silently observing this young man who had heard of it for a long time, just now he was guessing that this man might be bargaining with the French in Naples now, but now he appeared in front of his eyes, Flomenza felt that this was a little unreal, but reason told him that this man had not only come, but also with the envoy of the Holy See.

"Governor."

Alexander bowed slightly to Flomenza, then looked at the Aragonese with some curiosity.

What kind of person is Flomenza? When he heard that he had made a fuss about Mordillo's arrest in Castile and Aragon, Alexander's mind flashed through the image of several people who spoke very close to him, and who had a common nickname, both in the past and in the future: "The Stick".

They are not called the sword of the king, or the whip of the emperor, because the meaning of those titles is more praise and affirmation, while the nickname "stick" is completely derogatory.

The stick in politics or party struggle is used to strike people, and the hand holding the stick may be a monarch or a faction, but whatever it is, the person who plays the stick is always the most cruel and ruthless, and the most disgusting.

Flomenza was apparently willing to be Ferdinand's stick or hound, and the one he used to bite his opponent's teeth was Count Mordillo.

"Count, all I can say is that your presence makes me think that even a clown at a banquet could not have performed such a surprising show."

Flomensa's undisguised taunt caused the people around him to whisper again, and at the same time, some clever people had already seen groups of soldiers appear outside the hall.

"With the authority given to me by the Bishop of Rome," said Massimo, who had been standing by and had been silent, and he took a step forward to look at Flomenza, "Lord Doge, please note that the Count of Montina came to Sicily with me, and he is now under the patronage of the cross. ”

As he spoke, Massimo turned and took the high mark of the cross from the hands of his attendants and poked it beside Alexander, as he looked at the Sicilian bishops standing nearby.

A hint of helplessness flashed on the face of the Archbishop of Sicily, he didn't know Alexander, and even those things about him were gradually heard after becoming the archbishop, so he didn't think that he should be on this person's side at all, but the look in the metroshop's eyes made it difficult for him to avoid.

"Wait a minute, I think we can solve the problem in other ways, but it seems that this banquet will not be done," Gonzalo looked around, and saw that the nobles were nodding, and then he said to Flomenza, "Governor, perhaps today is the day when God has arranged for us to solve our troubles, and we are still discussing this matter just now." ”

Gonzalo's reminder caused Flomenza's already raised hand to slowly fall, he knew what Gonzalo meant by this, and at the same time he remembered the possibility that Naples might be secretly colluding with the French.

This made him feel that Gonzalo had some truth in what he said, and at the same time, he really couldn't help but take the attitude of the Holy See envoy to heart.

However, this made a shadow swell up in Flomensa's heart, because he suddenly remembered that this Count Montina was the father of the Pope's only granddaughter.

“Maldición……”

Flomenza cursed in his native dialect in his heart, and at the same time he glanced quickly in the direction of the bishops, and saw that the bishops did not seem to have made any clear statement, and he was slightly satisfied.

Fromenza also disliked the Sicilian Church, which he felt was too merciful to punish heretics and turn a blind eye to the heretics, which made him feel that the Sicilian Church was not only weak and incompetent, but even completely degenerate.

Flomenza is considering whether to ask the two kings to ask the Holy See to send a more stern and pious bishop from the country, even if only as a metropolitan of Palermo, better than it is now.

"Then Count, maybe we can talk about it alone, after all, you will appear in Palermo at such a big risk, it should not be just to surprise us all in the place of the clown."

Listening to Gonzalo's equally sarcastic words, Alexander only smiled, knowing that Gonzalo was obviously unhappy with his sudden appearance, but it didn't bother him much.

On the contrary, it was Flomensa, Alexander knew that this person did everything, not to mention that he was the cheap son-in-law of the Pope, or the legitimate son-in-law of Alexander VI or even his son, and if he needed it, this person would not hesitate to do it to himself.

Alexander knew that this was not speculation, because his brother-in-law Caesar would suffer such a catastrophe a few years later, and he would be captured and imprisoned by the Aragonese governor in Naples, and Alexander VI would not be dead for long.

The guests had already left, and some nobles, such as the archbishop and Camus, had been asked to stay.

Flomenza walked ahead with a gloomy face, followed by a few guards, for he suddenly remembered the rumors that the count seemed to have fought on the battlefield more than once, which made him feel a little uneasy if he did not have a few guards by his side.

In the back, Gonzalo and Alexander chatted as they walked: "Count, I have heard of your feat in Bucharest, which is quite a feat, and to be honest I was jealous when I knew it, because I thought that if I had been there at the time, I might have done better." ”

Listening to Gonzalo's immodest boasting, Alexander couldn't help but be a little amused.

"I admit that if you were the commander of the regiment in Bucharest, you might have done better than me," Alexander smiled and continued, looking at Gonzalo's smug expression, "but believe me, although you may be able to achieve more than me in the frontal battle, you will certainly not win more victories than I do in the end." ”

"Oh, why?" Gonzalo asked suspiciously, and the few people who followed him couldn't help but listen carefully.

"Because you don't have a Greek princess who can help you eliminate the threat from the flanks with her sister who plays a decisive role in the decisive battle with the Sultan's main force, and you don't have a Greek princess who can mobilize the noble army of the whole of Bucharest to fight with you."

Speaking of this, Alexander stopped, which made Flomenza, who had walked in front of him, see that the people behind him had stopped after taking a few more steps, and had to stand still and turn to look at Alexander.

"My sister is the regent of Naples, and the Grand Duchess of Wallachia is about to give birth to her heir for me," Alexander looked at Flomenza, who looked ugly, "I can get a steady stream of troops from Wallachia, which will be commanded by my fiancée, the future Countess of Montina, Barendi della Rovier, who will follow my will wherever I am, and Pisa, or even Naples, will provide my army with a fleet sufficient to attack anywhere." ”

Flomensa's face became gloomy, and he felt that it was simply an undisguised threat and provocation, and his gaze quickly glanced at Gonzalo, hoping that the general would show the majesty of the commander of the Aragonese expeditionary force at this critical moment.

Sure enough, Gonzalo seemed to be enraged by Alexander's words, and he and Alexander confronted each other face to face, and after a moment he asked in a slightly low tone: "So your army will attack Sicily, Count?" ”

"Or anywhere," Alexander said amusedly, glancing at Flomenza, "you don't think I'd be so stupid as to try to attack the Aragonese army when they arrived in Sicily, there are many places I could attack, like Sardinia, like Bariari, and even Aragonese itself." ”

"You're crazy!" Flomenza finally couldn't help but speak, he took a step forward and stretched out his finger and pointed at Alexander's chest, "Count, you may have such an army and such a plan, but you have forgotten one thing, you yourself are here now, surrounded by the royal palace of Palermo and hundreds of guards, don't tell me that your daughter is the grandson of the Pope, and don't show off how much influence you have in the Vatican, I can make you and your uncle my prisoners at any time, if your army dares to attack Sicily, I'm going to have you both hang outside the walls, you probably haven't lived through the Reconquista. Then I tell you, we have been fighting the Moors for hundreds of years, and in those hundreds of years we have learned one thing from the infidels, and that is how to bring our enemies to their knees by the most brutal methods. ”

Florencea's eyes flashed with anger as he glared at the others, and he felt compelled to take this opportunity to warn the Sicilians that what they had done was actually merciful, and that he did not mind satisfying their curiosity if they had to see his harsh side.

The people around them, apparently frightened by Flomensa's words, could not help but look at the archbishop and Camus, for whom only these two men might be able to stand up to the already enraged governor.

But they were disappointed, and the archbishop stood silently twisting the hand beads hanging from the cross, while Camus leaned into the wheelchair pushed by the servant, gasping for breath and seeming to fall asleep at any moment.

A smug smile crossed Flomenza's face, after several years of brutal rule, he had established a formidable authority in Sicily, and now he was almost the true uncrowned king of Sicily, and no one could shake his position anymore.

Flomenza's gaze swept over the faces of the men, and she saw their fearful eyes, and she saw the fear in their hearts.

Finally his gaze fell on Alexander's face, and just as he was about to speak again, Alexander raised his hand to stop him.

"You probably misunderstood the Governor, I didn't come to threaten you, and I didn't intend to make you submit with words," Alexander smiled at Flomensa, and as he watched Flomenza listen to his explanation, a smug look flashed across his face, and Alexander continued, "I'm just here to show you what to do so that you don't fall victim to a war." ”

As he spoke, Alexander raised his right hand and snapped his fingers.

"Bang Bang Bang~"

After snapping his fingers, the gunshots rang out!

The guards around Flomenza should fall to the ground with their guns!

Almost at the same time, under the tower where Mordillo was being held in the palace, a dark shadow hid in the shadows of the alleyway behind it and quickly approached the guard in front of the tower, and when the guard noticed something unusual, a crossbow arrow had pierced the guard's throat with the dull sound of bowstrings in the man's hand.

At the same time, a bright light flashed by, and the conical bayonet sword in the man's hand slashed the throat of the other guard.

"It's easy," the man whispered to himself, quickly fetching the key from the guard, opening the wooden door, and flashing into the tower.

He went up the wooden staircase, and searched room by room. Soon he was ascending the third floor of the tower when he saw a light flashing from a room facing away from the sea.

"Found it."

The man walked quickly towards the room, and he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when he saw the figure inside through the window above the door.

"Lord Count." The man shouted, and when he saw that the people inside seemed stunned, he immediately asked, "Lord Count Mordillo?" ”

"Who are you?" Mordillo asked a little warily, no one had ever come to visit him at such a late hour, which made him feel a little abnormal.

"My lord, I'm here to save you." The man immediately searched for the keys in his hand and tried to open the door, but to his surprise, the keys seemed to be ineffective.

"The guards downstairs don't have the key to this room," said Mordillo, who walked not far from the door, and looked anxiously at the man outside, and said to him, "Listen, only the person who brings me food every day can call this room, or bring the key when the governor himself comes." ”

"Damn it!"

The man slammed the door in annoyance, and then realized that the thickness of the door was not something he could open with his strength.

"My lord, I will find a way to get you out, but do you have anything to say to me now, I mean to your nephew, the Count of Montina, who asked me to save you."

Modillo leaned against the door and the window: "Oh, he's such a good nephew, well, you go and tell him what I was about to say to him, I found ......"

"What sir?" The man also leaned over and listened carefully.

Suddenly, a bright light flashed, and the sharp blade of the stabbing sword went down the window to the throat exposed behind the door!