Since ancient times, there have been many tiaras, including the iron crown that symbolizes a long history, the golden crown that heralds great power and wealth, and even the paper crown that reveals embarrassment and helplessness, but none of these tiaras can compare with the triple crown in front of us.

If the three crowns are stacked on top of each other, one is larger than the other, and on the bottom edge of each layer, there is a circle of inscriptions in Latin surrounded by precious stones and gold, which are inscribed on them by the orders of three masters of three different eras, and this crown that appeared from the 13th century onwards is a noble crown that can only be worn by the nominal ruler of Christendom, the agent of Jesus Christ on earth, and it also indicates the representative of the supreme authority of the entire Christian world, the papal triple crown.

Since the 8th century, the pope, who has the official title of metropolitan of the diocese of Rome, has begun to wear crowns, from a crown that only symbolizes his status as the first diocesan bishop of the Christian century, to a second crown that means that the pope has the right to govern all souls and worlds in the world, and then to the three-tiered crown that appeared in the era of the Prisoner of Avignon, which represents the pope as the only voice of Jesus Christ on earth, this incomparably noble crown has changed from a symbol of status to something more infinitely meaningful.

The crown of precious stones and huge purple and gold crosses, which seemed to be heavy but countless times more valuable than their own, lay quietly in the box, but no one thought that what they saw was real, but no one broke the silence that suddenly fell on everyone, because they knew that they might not only have seen this crown, but they would indeed have it.

That's because the papal triple crown, which is so honorable throughout Christendom, was stolen some 11 years ago!

On an ordinary afternoon in April 1485, when a servant opened a Vatican treasury called Lateran, which was used to store precious objects of the Holy See, to clean it, he was shocked to find that the chest containing the papal triple crown was empty, and the incomparably precious triple crown disappeared at some point!

The theft of the triple crown shook the entire Vatican, and when he had only succeeded to the throne for less than a year, Pope Innocent VIII, who was already weak and suspicious, even regarded this incident as God's punishment and warning to him, and he began to become suspicious, even suspicious of everything, so that he finally declared that the loss of the triple crown was the conspiracy of wizards and witches who admired witchcraft and all kinds of heresy, so in the pope's almost hysterical madness, a protracted storm of persecution of witches swept across the European continentAmong them, the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon carried out this move to the home, and at the same time, it was also in that era that the terrifying Inquisition was born.

It can be said that the triple crown in front of him is both a representative of supreme authority and a source of endless trouble, and when he saw the dim red luster of the huge jewel on the cross at the top of the crown, although he knew it in advance, an old Jewish man could not resist the stimulation because he was too excited, and his eyelids slipped from his chair to the ground with a thud.

It was precisely because of this sound that the sluggish people finally woke up, especially Alfonso, who let out a low cry from his mouth after waking up, and his body involuntarily pounced towards the triple crown.

He didn't know if it was really the stolen crown, but his instinct made him rush forward without hesitation.

But the Masked Man reached out and grabbed him, and just as Alfonso muttered muttering to his grasp, the Masked Man suddenly reached out and punched him hard in the stomach.

Alfonso's body slumped and he bent over in pain, clutching his stomach, but then he was rudely dragged by the Masked Man to stand upright.

"Listen, if you make trouble for me, I don't care if you are a bishop or a cardinal, even if you become a pope in the future, be honest with me, otherwise don't blame me for being unkind." The Masked Man said grimly, dragging Alfonso, with his hair scattered, to sit down again, then looked back at the Jews, "The thing is here, you can take a look, and then we will sign the contract." ”

The Jew named Isaac approached, first examining the triple crown, then carefully taking it out of the box after the masked man had gotten his go-ahead, and examining it in the light.

"No, you can't do that, it's for the Vatican, it's for the Holy See, you can't let it fall into the hands of the Jews!"

Alfonso whispered, his voice even pleading and crying, but this obviously did not impress the masked man, and he grabbed Alfonso's clothes on his shoulders so hard that his neck was almost purple from shortness of breath, while his eyes stared warily through the holes in the mask at several Jews opposite.

"Shut up for me," the masked man whispered to Alfonso, "don't you want to be a cardinal or even a pope, where do you think the money came from for those who could buy the papal throne before, and do you think that Cryan chose you alone?" If you're not willing to cooperate, we'll be able to find someone who will. ”

Alfonso's heart skipped a beat when he found the man who was right, that Clarion would not just invest his capital in him, that he was just one of the more hopeful candidates for the cardinal throne than anyone else.

Alfonso's desire for the cardinal's throne calmed down, and he was keenly aware of the look of danger in the masked man's eyes, thinking that this man would trade the legendary stolen triple crown with the Jews, so if he was really too excited to show opposition, this person might not kill him.

Alfonso was already beginning to regret it, and he realized that he might have been used again, and whether or not it was the same French behind his back, at least Cleion didn't have any good intentions towards him.

Working with these people?

Thinking about these people, and looking at the triple crown that was held in the hands of several Jews and carefully examined, Alfonso felt that he had really fallen into a terrible trap from which he could not extricate himself.

Several Jews looked at it carefully, and one of them, who seemed to have studied the tiara very well, even lightly dipped the three circles of Latin inscriptions around the crown with water after obtaining permission, and then carefully expanded it, and then applied the marks on the paper with ink, and then placed it in the light to carefully examine the rubbings.

"Joshua, how is this?" A Jew couldn't help but whisper in the ear of his companion who was checking the handwriting.

"Don't speak, you have to know whether this notch is knocked out with a carving knife or a hammer, and if you look at it a little, you may make a mistake." The Jew, who was called Joshua, unceremoniously stopped his companion, his eyes narrowed slightly, and he carefully observed every small bulge and depression on the edge of the rubbing under the beating of the lamp, and after a long time he said to himself in a very small voice: "According to many books, this crown was first established and worn in the time of Gregory IV, and because there was no good carving knife capable of carving neat writing on gold, it was all typed out of a very hard marble hammer. Because the head of the stone is rounded, if you look closely at the edges of the handwriting, you will see that there should be traces of undulating wavy shapes. ”

The Jews kept their mouths shut nervously, so they heard Joshua's words, so they hurried up and looked carefully at the piece of paper held up in mid-air to reflect the light behind them.

"I see, there's a mark on it," a Jew whispered, and then looked at Joshua as if he was mistaken, "So this ......"

"It's true," Joshua slowly put down the paper in his hand, staring at the triple crown on the table, his eyes showing unconcealable excitement, "It's hard to imagine that it's really that crown, it's simply a treasure that God has given us." ”

The Jew's mouth muttered to himself, and he involuntarily reached out to pick up the triple crown again, but was stopped by the masked man who had been watching them.

"Alright, we can sign an agreement."

The masked man's cold words woke up the excited Jews, who gasped and looked at the crown and then at the masked man, and the room suddenly seemed a little strange.

Alfonso was sensitively aware of the danger, and he couldn't help but move to the masked man's side, his tongue dry as he looked at the people opposite.

"So you're going to mortgage this thing for 6 months?" Eventually, one of the Jews sat down and opened his mouth in a business tone: "4 cents of interest for a total of 6 months, and if you exceed the time limit, you will have to pay 1 cent more per month. ”

Alfonso's throat was even drier, he knew very well that he was not the one in charge of this deal, but he still felt his heart beat wildly when he thought about the terrible interest, not to mention the triple crown involved, which made him understand that this was definitely not a simple loan.

"Don't worry, we can afford to borrow it," the Mask Man said disapprovingly, slowly withdrawing his hand from the triple crown, "We all know what that means, so it's best for all of us to be careful, if the news leaks out, no one here today will be spared." ”

The expressions of the Jews changed slightly, they knew that this was actually a threat, but they knew from the moment they decided to take the deal that they might be up to it, so they just nodded silently.

"No, no," Alfonso, who had not spoken, suddenly spoke, ignoring the gaze of the Jews on the other side, pulling the masked man back two steps and lowering his voice, "this will not work, I cannot sign the agreement, and if anyone knows in the future that I have obtained money from the Jews with the triple crown as collateral, I will not only be excommunicated, but even burned at the stake." ”

The Masked Man stared at Alfonso with a cold expression, and after an awkward moment, the mask on his face moved, as if smiling, before he said in a sarcastic tone, albeit low, but still faintly audible, "Your Excellency, I will not let you sign, let alone risk any risk of revealing your identity." ”

Alfonso's face turned a little blue, and he could hear the obvious ridicule of the masked man, but he still asked uneasily: "Then why do you have to let me come, can't you trade by yourself?" ”

"That's what they asked," the masked man glanced at the Jews, "maybe they want to get to know you, or maybe they want to get some promise from you." ”

Alfonso, who had received the answer, understood after a moment's thought, his expression regained his composure slightly, and when he returned to his seat, he looked at the Jew across from him with much calmer.

"I can't promise you anything," Alfonso didn't intend to leave any room from the beginning, he knew too well how terrible it would be for him if it was exposed, and he continued to say with the look on the face of the Jew opposite, "Six months, our relationship is only valid during these six months, and then we will pay off the principal, so you don't get into any trouble during this time, and if you agree to the deal, go ahead, or we'll leave." ”

The Jews looked at each other, they did not speak to each other, but they made eye contact, and after a long time, when Alfonso was about to get impatient, the oldest of them finally spoke: "Well, we agree to your terms, and we ask to see you not on any terms, but to see if our investment will be rewarded." ”

"Return." Alfonso muttered in his throat that he understood what the Jews meant, and that he knew that while there would be no promises, the relationship between him and the Jews had become unclear.

It was all Krion's work, and Alfonso suddenly felt the urge to strangle Krion, but he knew that now he had to rely on Clarion or the man next to him who was always wearing a mask.

An agreement was signed under the watchful eyes of several people, and when Alfonso noticed that the masked man had not signed his name, but had put a special badge on it that he had never seen before, and the Jews did not question it, but seemed to be relieved.

"There's so much mystery in this city." Alfonso said to himself that although he himself had many secrets that were not known to outsiders, there were so many secrets in the city of Rome that Alfonso felt that he could lose his way at any moment when he walked into the labyrinth.

A few heavy bags were brought in, and the heavy sound of those bags when they were placed on the table made several people's hearts throb.

12,000 gold florins, which is definitely a lot of money in anyone's hand anywhere, especially when this large pile of gold coins is placed in front of him, the deep shock is difficult to explain for a while.

"We will weigh it with a gold scale, and you may watch from the side," said the old Jew, "and rest assured, though we are stingy and greedy for money, the Jews are the most trustworthy in their business." ”

The masked man looked at the other man noncommittally, and he slowly sat down next to the scale, looking seriously at the gold coins stacked on top of him.

When all the gold coins were loaded into the boxes and loaded into the wagon, and looking at the back of the wagon swaying and disappearing into the rain, several Jews looked at each other silently, and they exhaled in excitement, and it took a while for the old Jew named Isaac to remind, "We must get out of here, and we will see each other less in the future." As he spoke, he looked at Joshua, "Joshua, the things are left with you, and from now on you don't want to go home for the time being, and everything will be said until it calms down." ”

Joshua nodded silently, he looked back at the box that had been repacked on the table, and he couldn't help but feel excited, and after thinking about it, he finally asked the others, "Can that bishop become a cardinal?" ”

"We don't know, but it doesn't matter," Isaac said, staring at the box with the triple crown, "we now have this priceless treasure in our hands, which is what will be most useful to us, and let's not forget that we still have that signature on the agreement." ”

Joshua nodded silently, then walked over and picked up the wooden box and carefully left with the old men through the back door on the other side of the house, and soon the Jews disappeared into the rain.

In the carriage, sitting on a whole box of golden florin, Alfonso hesitated for a long time, and finally couldn't help but poke his head out of the carriage and asked the masked man who was driving the carriage, "Who are you?" ”

The masked man glanced back at Alfonso behind him, then at the waterlogged road ahead, and from the cold rain, Alfonso faintly heard him say, "We are your servants, servants who can make your dreams and ambitions come true." ”