In the main court of the Carolingian Palace, two young nobles confront each other.

The same youth, the same robustness, the same illustriousness, and the same striking are two planets destined to collide with each other if they orbit in the same orbit.

At the sight of Caesar Borgia, a hint of pride rose on the face of Constantin della Rovere.

The Rovere family looked down on Borgia, almost no one had a good opinion of the foreigners from Valencia, and the family's notorious reputation had long since become a joke in the Vatican, and many in the Holy See even felt ashamed to mention the family's surname.

"I hope I didn't interrupt your conversation." Caesar had a smile on his face, and although he was wearing a cardinal's robe, his demeanor was full of the directness and heroism of a warrior, and at this moment, Alexander's mind could not help but flash Da Vinci's description of this man, "elegant demeanor and angelic eyes".

Caesar's appearance had bewitched many people, and before he was given that terrible nickname, he was even considered the most likable of the Borgia family, and perhaps more would have liked him if it had not been for the ridiculous rumors between him and his sister Lucrezia.

"Actually, you did disturb us," Constantine was not deceived by Caesar's seemingly polite behavior, and even deliberately showed a hostile tone as soon as he opened his mouth, "but if you could release the Queen of Naples by grace, I would still think that you could have the virtue of good intentions." ”

Caesar's original smiling expression slowly retracted, he looked at Constantine's face for a moment, and then suddenly turned to Alexander and said: "I have come to invite you this time, I know that you are very concerned about the current situation of the queen, so I invite you to the Potico Palace, so that you can personally greet the queen." ”

After saying that, Caesar turned to Konstantin and said, "Please forgive me for not being able to invite you to my sister's palace, after all, it seems that something is not appropriate." ”

A flash of crimson and anger flashed across Konstantin's face, and he even heard someone nearby sneering softly.

The fact that the Roveres had tried to propose to Lucrezia for Constantine a few years earlier was seen as a sign of goodwill from the Roveres to the Borgia family, and it was a sensation throughout Rome, as it meant that if the marriage was successful, the alliance of the two powerful families would completely dominate the entire city of Rome.

But in the end, Alexander VI, who was still a cardinal at the time, flatly rejected this marriage proposal, which almost everyone considered to be a good marriage, and it is even said that Alexander VI said in a very disdainful tone at the time: "This is the worst proposal, I cannot give my daughter to a man who is destined for nothing." ”

This merciless rejection and humiliating evaluation made Constantine a joke among the young people of Rome for a time, so much so that when Caesar brought it up a few years later, it still reminded the Carolingian people.

Konstantin stared at Caesar angrily, his right hand reached out in front of him and grabbed the hilt of the sword, this action startled the entourage on both sides, some of them learned that their masters were ready to draw their swords, and some of their cronies hurriedly blocked Konstantin and Caesar, who was also touching the hilt of the sword and preparing to do it.

"My lord, I don't think it's a good idea to fight a duel," Alexander said, standing between the two facing each other, "because you mentioned the Queen of Naples earlier, so I don't want anyone to misunderstand that your conflict involves the Queen's reputation, after all, she is still in mourning." ”

Alexander's words caused both sides of the confrontation to pause slightly, and after glancing at Alexander, the two men slowly retracted their tense stance. 、

In fact, for them, this kind of conflict that seems to be about to break out at any time is just a gesture, and they will not really go in and out of the red knife for this little thing, let alone make a fuss about the topic involving Joanna as Alexander said, after all, rumors are enough to spread the word beyond recognition.

Constantine may not care, or may wish that the more such rumors, the better, but Caesar would not do so, as it might make his brother Giovanni suspicious.

Constantine eventually chose to leave, but before leaving, he repeatedly told Alexander to express his concern and concern for the queen's situation after meeting Joanna, and he even took a large emerald ring from his finger and handed it to Alexander, asking him to hand it over to the queen himself.

Caesar, who was standing on the sidelines, did not say sarcastic about the young knight's passion, but as he walked out of the Carolingian Palace, he smiled sarcastically in the direction where Constantine had disappeared.

Alexander left the Carolingian Palace after waiting for Nashan to come and pick up Sophia, and he refused Sophia's move to quietly give him the short crossbow when she hugged him slightly, because he felt that the hidden weapon obviously couldn't hide from the guards around Caesar, and once it was discovered, it would be another complicated, and looking at the appearance of those people around Caesar, there should not be an assassin who would be so bold as to dare to take risks, so it was much safer to follow Caesar.

It is not far from the Carolingian Palace to the Potico Palace, after all, it is said that Alexander VI, in order to see his most beloved daughter at any time, built a very secret passage from the Vatican Palace where he lived to the Potico Palace, so that he could enter Lucrezia's boudoir at any time and visit his beautiful daughter.

Although there are many rumors about this kind of obvious slander and metaphorical insinuation, it can also be seen that Alexander VI was indeed very fond of Lucrezia, so when he walked through a narrow street on the side of the Carolingian Palace, along the periphery of the Vatican Hill, he came to a palace that looked like an ancient Roman era, looking at this light white marble building, Alexander could not help but secretly envy the Pope's favor for his daughter.

Unlike other palaces, Palazzo Potico is a one-storey Romanesque building, and the entire palace is presented in an almost completely retro fashion, with the iconic prismatic Roman columns, the carved lintels curled up, and the typical Roman temple slope roof, all of which show the heyday of Ancient Rome, and the marble sculptures that stand on either side of the gravel path that leads to the palace entrance from the garden to the palace entrance are completely inherited in the obvious style of the ancient Roman period.

The statues of Juno, Diana, the goddess of the moon, Venus, and Minerva, the goddess of wisdom, stretched up to the steps of the palace, and between the towering pedestals of these sculptures, cherubs with wings spread and postures were placed directly on the ground, as if they were surrounding these beautiful and noble goddesses.

The courtyard is small, but it seems to be a small art gallery through the doorway, which is refreshing, and the majestic face of the main god Jupiter carved on the lintel at the top of the door frame is unusually eye-catching, after walking up the two floors of the same typical Romanesque marble steps.

This is a true temple of art. Even if he hadn't walked in yet, Alexander already had such feelings.

Two young women stood on the steps, both of them looking beautiful, and one of them looked much prettier and much younger.

When Caesar embraced the apparently prettier girl, and then kissed her milky cheeks dotingly, Alexander knew that she was the famous Lucrezia Borgia.

To Alexander's surprise, Lucrezia Borgia had thick blonde hair that reminded him of Josa, shining like gold in the sun, and her hair was tied up on the top of her head with a thick velvet headband encrusted with jewels, and then it naturally fell down to her back, looking like a nymph in the woods of Greek or Roman mythology, her skin was as white as honey milk, perhaps because she was happy to see her brother, and her bare shoulder sockets were slightly sunken with two faint flushesIt looks like it's transparent, and it will be punctured with a slight force.

Compared with the young woman next to her, who was slightly older than her, Lucrezia, who was now 16 and not yet 17 years old, looked innocent and energetic, she even bit his ear lightly when Caesar kissed her, and did not pay any attention to Alexander, who was standing not far away and watching this scene, but when her brown eyes looked over, the smile on her face slowly faded, it was clear that her passion and beauty would only be shown to her relatives. Borgia had a noble status as the Pope's daughter and daughter-in-law of the Sforza family.

Alexander noticed that Caesar seemed to be quite close to the other woman, but apparently different from Lucrezia, and Caesar seemed to maintain some slight distance from the woman.

But when he knew who this woman was, he also understood the origin of Caesar's attitude.

Julia Farne, Alexander VI's most favored mistress today.

Looking at these three wonderful people, Alexander found it quite interesting, because according to the most ferocious rumors in the city of Rome at the moment, the new favorite mistress of the Pope seems to be sisters to some extent with her mother-in-law, the widow of a Spanish nobleman, because they are both Pope's women, and this Spanish widow once raised Lucrezia, and it is even said that she still lives in the Potico Palace.

This intricate and even somewhat chaotic relationship fully satisfied the Romans' need for gossip, and even more unbearable rumors spawned from it, at least during the two short days in the Carolingian Palace, Alexander heard eloquently describe that the Pope had always been "open and honest" in Potico's palace, even in front of his daughter.

"This is Alexandre Giuliante Cambrai from Agri," Caesar and his sister spoke enthusiastically for a while before introducing Alexander, but his attitude was casual, so that people did not feel the slightest faux pas in doing so, but on the contrary, it made people feel that they did not see it, which gave Alexander a glimpse of the little tricks of this tyrant: "You probably don't know where Agri is, but it is enough to know that the defeat of the French, which is now widely spread, in the valley of Bruini, is due to him." ”

"The Neapolitan who defeated the French?" Julia Farne looked at Alexander in surprise, "He's so young, I thought he was a strong but old old man, like that Gonzalo." ”

"Julia, you're wrong, young people can beat the French," Caesar corrected with a laugh, "or it's easier to beat the French, because they don't have so many scruples." ”

Caesar's words stirred Alexander's heart, and he heard something from them.

The coalition forces actually surrounded Rome much more than the French, but it was precisely because of various scruples that they did not fight.

If this continues, with the onset of winter, it will be at least until the spring of next year to launch an offensive.

In fact, Alexander remembered that it was in 1497 that the coalition forces had recovered Rome from the French.

Now it seems that Caesar, at least today, has little affection for the French, let alone used the opportunity of the French invasion of Italy to stir up trouble.

Perhaps it was not until Louis XII succeeded the short-lived Charles VIII in another invasion of Italy that Caesar would really become an accomplice of the French in Italy.

And it was also during this time that Caesar took the opportunity to expand his power.

And now, although Caesar Borgia is powerful in Rome, in the eyes of others, after all, he is just relying on the big backer of Lao Tzu, who is the pope, to make profits through intrigue and trickery.

Alexander pondered as he followed Caesar into the Palazzo Potico, and Lucrezia, who claimed to be the prettiest girl in Rome, seemed to be of no interest to anyone but her own brother.

Julia Farne, on the other hand, seemed to be a little curious about Alexander.

In a rather palatial room, Alexander meets Joanna, and a woman who is next to her, although she is old, still charming, catches Alexander's attention.

This woman was Giulia Farne's mother-in-law, Alexandra de Mira, who raised Lucrezia to adulthood and served as the mistress of Alexander VI with her daughter-in-law.

Seeing Alexander, Joanna's emotions were somewhat excited.

Although they were only separated for two days, after encountering the danger of almost dying, being in the midst of a group of strangers, even the strong-willed people often felt uneasy, not to mention that Joanna was obviously not such a strong person, so after meeting Alexander, the Queen of Naples even choked up slightly because of excitement.

The scene gave some inquiring glances to the women next to them, who seemed to have some kind of unknown relationship with Joanna.

And Alexander could even perceive that Caesar, who was standing on the side, was looking at him and Joanna with keen interest.

Thinking about it, if Caesar took the opportunity to spread rumors and made him and Constantine de la Rovere become "rivals in love", Alexander would be a little uncomfortable, and then think about the possibility of adding his own father-in-law to the list of "rivals in love", Alexander began to feel a little headache for a while.