Maria de Luna was a little nervous, it was not the first time she had seen Alexander, it was the first time she had seen Alexander in front of Giovanni's coffin after his assassination, and she had not taken the young man seriously at the time.

Even though she later heard that the Pope had asked this man to investigate Giovanni's death, she still didn't pay any attention to him.

But now, Maria de Luna found herself so frightened of this man that she trembled with nervousness at the thought of meeting him.

It all started with a visit from the Moorish man, who told her that he knew her secret, that she knew about her husband's death, and that she had concealed the name of Giovanni's possible killer.

Then the Moorish began to blackmail her, and she had tried to give him money, but the Moorish man did not seem to be interested in money, and he seemed to prefer to watch her forced to submit to his mercy.

Maria de Luna had to return to Valencia as he had commanded, and she was secretly relieved when she heard of this arrangement, although it seemed unaccustomary to leave Rome and return to distant Iberia, but as long as she could get away from that terrible Ulliu, Maria de Luna did not mind very much.

But at that time, she knew that those people would find him again one day, so she secretly vowed that as long as she returned to her territory, if those people pestered her again, she would not hesitate to eradicate them.

It's just that she never thought that she would end up in trouble.

The other party did not threaten her, and the matter made her conditions that she could not refuse.

Not only did they promise to help her son gain a foothold in the territory coveted by the powerful neighbors, but they could also quickly become wealthy, so that they could enjoy everything that was in line with their status.

Forced or unable to resist temptation, Maria de Runa relented.

And the other party did not break his promise, and the stability brought by the wealth of the territory, Thermalia de Luna was inexplicably happy, and the Duke of Gandino, who gradually played an influential role in Valencia's silk trade, reminded the locals of the great influence of the Borgia family in Valencia.

It's just that the unexpected mixing with Tiego is something that Maria de Runa didn't expect before, she doesn't know if it's also part of Tiego's plan, anyway, when she senses that something is wrong, the two have inexplicably hooked up together.

"You look a little nervous," Tiergo asked with concern, and when he saw Maria de Luna's face was gloomy, he kissed her lightly, "You don't look good, why, don't you want to see me again?" ”

"No, I just don't want to see that Cambrai." Maria de Luna replied in a low voice, her eyes glancing at the Balkan man standing in the hallway.

She found that Alexander seemed to be very fond of calling strangers, as was the Moor, as were the Balkans who could be seen everywhere in the house, and that the little bohemian girl who had been rumored in Rome to run after Barendi in the house with a big sword in her hand was even more vivid.

Thinking of this, Maria de Luna found that she didn't seem so nervous, and she also thought that since these people were willing to invest so much money in her, they should not give up on her easily.

So at least for now, she's safe.

Maria de Luna had come to him in the name of negotiating a partnership with the Trade Federation in Valencia, and although she had known that Alexander must have greater ambitions than expanding the Trade Alliance, she was still stunned by Alexander's plan revealed after the meeting.

"Duke, what are you going to do?!"

Although she knew that her tone was rude, Maria de Luna could not care so much about it, she felt that she had been involved in a great trouble, and considering that Alexander had visited the Pope before, and even Caderon, who had accompanied him later, had been far away, and then the two of them had been talking in the garden for most of the day, Maria De Luna felt that perhaps she could know less.

"Just as you helped us do before, we need you to play a greater role in the court of Zaragoza, so," Alexander glanced at Tiego, "we will give you more money and help, you can go to Zaragoza instead of staying in Valencia, where you can play a greater role, and all you have to do is convince the nobles of Zaragoza that Gonzalo is a threat to the king." ”

Maria de Luna looked at Alexander suspiciously, and she guessed that this was probably the one he had conspired with the Pope, but it was clear that Alexander did not want the Pope to know that she was not only involved, but also working for him.

But Maria de Luna was nervous, this time because Alexandre had asked her to go to Zaragoza.

It's one thing to quietly spread unfavorable statements about Gonzalo in Valencia, and quite another to go straight to Zaragoza to say it.

And she was a little unwilling, although she was forced to cooperate with them before, but Gandino did get a lot of benefits from it, but now that the Pope is here, Alexander obviously thinks that cooperating with the Pope will be more useful, which makes Maria de Luna have a sense of crisis that she may be abandoned.

Maria de Luna knew her father-in-law well, and she knew that Alexander VI valued the family, so it was obvious that the death of both Giovanni and Caesar had dealt a great blow to him, but now the Pope was willing to cooperate with the man who had killed Caesar, so she believed that there must be great irresistible interests and temptations in this.

She doesn't want to be left behind, she wants to fight for the greater good of Gandino.

"Duke, if you want me to do something for you, tell me what I should know, and give me my share that is mine." Maria de Luna became stubborn at this point, and when she realized that she was useful to this person, she felt that she should put forward more conditions, and this was also a way to gain the trust of this person.

Maria De Luna had always feared that she would be betrayed, and although the Pope seemed to have changed little, he knew very well that Caesar's death had obviously dealt a huge blow to Alexander VI, just as Giovanni's death had been, so she was afraid of what kind of revenge the Pope would face if she learned the truth.

"And that Caderon," knowing that this was Alexander's way of threatening her, Maria de Luna still wanted to get out of this trouble, "Do you really want to keep him all the time, or will I take care of this problem?" ”

Listening to Maria de Luna's angry questioning, Tiego's heart tightened slightly, and he gave the woman a look, as if to determine if she was suggesting that she be the last lover he had to get rid of.

"You've got to be careful, Tyago, this woman really can do anything." As Maria de Luna left, Alexander patted his right-hand man on the shoulder and reminded him, "Don't forget that I want you to continue working for me, so take it easy." ”

Tiego smiled reluctantly, just like Maria de Luna, he didn't know how the two of them could get together, maybe it was a very dangerous game for both of them, and now they wanted to see who would lose in this game.

Alexander's visit to the Pope was actually very hasty, because he did not know that the Pope would return to Valencia, so although it was a very unexpected bonus, it was somewhat different from his previous plan.

The wait always feels long, especially when waiting for a decision that is so high-stake.

But Alexander was confident, because he knew that the proposed terms were tempting enough.

Many people say that Alexander VI's ambition was only manifested in the greed for wealth, but Alexander did not think so, perhaps his ambition was not so obvious and strong compared to the old Rovere, who was later called the god of war, but whether it was the establishment of the papal meridian or the enthusiasm for the issuance of Ladia gold coins, Alexander saw a more ambitious pope than the old Rovere.

If Rovere the Elder was obsessed with the unification of the Italian peninsula, Alexander VI's ambitions were even stronger, and he clearly wanted to re-establish the papal influence in Christendom through various diplomatic and military means, from his frequent involvement in disputes between the Italian city-states to his attempts to make his son allied with the French and enemies of almost all the Italian city-states, except that the deaths of Giovanni and Caesar ruined his plans.

But now that there is an opportunity not only to return him to the Vatican, but also to extend his influence to the Iberian Peninsula and much of Europe, Alexander is confident that the ambitious pope will not give up easily.

Sure enough, at dusk the next day, the Pope sent Caderon to invite Alexander to the villa again, and this time Caderon brought a message from the Pope: "Maybe you should say something that will impress me even more." ”

Caderon came on horseback, a retinue known for his wit and beauty that was very respectful and cautious in front of Alexander, he kept his jealousy deep in his heart, and his humble and polite manners made even Schell feel that the Balkans he led were a little too vulgar.

Of course, Cadron didn't know that there were several people discussing his life and death not long ago, and looking at Alexander, Cadron was also wondering how to find out how to spy on that Tiego relationship with him, and at the same time he wanted to know what the two Alexanders were plotting about.

So when he returned to the villa, Caderon respectfully retreated, and at the same time tried to get close to the two men as best he could, only to see them talking secretly in the garden pavilion alone, and all around them were closely guarded by the Balkans, which made Caderon secretly anxious.

Alexander had actually been wondering why Alexander VI was holding such a bargaining chip.

When he heard about Cadelon's origins from Lady Connie, he became more aware of Alexander VI's ambitions.

But Alexander VI has not used the card of Caderon for so many years, so while Alexander admires the Pope's prudence, he also thinks that maybe Alexander VI does not want to use the card against the Ottomans, but intends to stir up some waves in Europe one day in the future.

It's just that the Pope obviously didn't expect the sudden accident to disrupt his plans, and now he obviously has such a trump card as Cadron but has no chance to use it, which may be even more difficult for the Pope to accept.

This was one of the reasons why Alexander was sure that he would eventually be able to reach an agreement with the Pope, because he knew that Alexander VI would not be reconciled.

News about Lady Connie was intermittent, and he heard that this lady seemed to be very active in the East, and at the beginning of the year, she not only paid another visit to the little boy who had just inherited the position of sheikh of the Shia Safavid Order, but also provided the self-proclaimed Safavid monarch of Ismayi with flintlock muskets and light field guns that even the Roman Tesian army was only newly equipped with.

Groganin, who was making the deal at the time, did not agree with Alexander's actions.

He was not worried that these powerful weapons might create a new and powerful enemy for Christendom in the hands of a strange pagan country, but that the little boy would not be able to fight the Ottomans at all, and that these weapons would probably become the trophies of the Ottomans, and thus upset the delicate balance of the Mediterranean.

The current situation in the Mediterranean is very strange, the Sultan has been paralyzed in bed for nearly 2 years due to a serious injury in Bucharest, and the power is inevitably divided between his two sons, which leads to internal turmoil in the Ultraman Empire in order to compete for the future Sultan throne, and the situation has changed again and again.

Strangely, while internal chaos continued, the Ottoman navy launched one attack after another on the side of the European continent with the momentum of sweeping across the Mediterranean.

Not only did the Venetians suffer heavy naval losses in the Ottoman war, but what made matters worse was that the war, which seemed likely to last a long time, was depleting Venice's strength little by little.

Venice is like a giant that has been cut with countless knives and keeps bleeding, and is gradually weakening due to excessive blood loss, but the fiasco of Bucharest has made them unable to recover on land for a while.

Grogenen did not care whether the Ottomans would attack Europe or not, he feared that if the Ismaili I failed, those sophisticated weapons would become the spoils of the Selim in Asia Minor, which would probably make the already strong Selim even more powerful, and if so, the internal Ottoman unrest would probably end quickly, and the situation in the Mediterranean would be changed by then.

Groganin hoped that the way he was going would continue, and that it would be in his best interest.

Today, Grogenen has not only established himself in Sicily, but has almost monopolized most of the maritime trade routes from Sicily to Africa with his keen mind and the strength of his trade alliances.

Grogenen was immersed in the bliss of exploding wealth due to the exclusive trade opportunities, and because he wanted this situation to continue, he feared that his support for the Safavid Order might indirectly strengthen Salim, who had already gained the upper hand in the civil strife.

Because of this, Groganin argued with Alexander's correspondence for a long time, and although he was finally reluctantly convinced, he insisted that if the situation was not right, he would immediately cut off support for the Safavid Order.

Alexander also knew that it would be difficult to convince Groganin completely, because he really couldn't tell Groganin what kind of miracle the little kid he was so optimistic about would do.

Looking at Caderon, Alexander felt that since he was still with him, it showed that the Pope had not given up his ambitions.

As long as a person has ambition, it is easy to discuss, and the rest only depends on what kind of conditions can be presented.

There weren't many things that could impress a pope, but Alexander had exactly that kind of leverage in his hands.

"Your Majesty, there is news that Princess Juana's husband is terminally ill, and the princess herself is not doing very well," Alexander looked at the Pope, "so if at this time suddenly someone discovers that Castile still has a legitimate heir......"

Alexander VI's hand holding the glass trembled slightly, and he looked at Alexander, his eyes flashing with bewilderment.

"What are you doing so hard for," the Pope asked, puzzled, "I believe that this will cause unrest in Castile and even in Aragon, and that will benefit the Queen of Naples, but I still find it hard to imagine that you would do this for her, you should know that right now, your Rome-Thescia is facing a war that will determine the fate of your principality, and you may be here now, which makes me wonder that there is something more important to you here, in Castile or Aragon." ”

Alexander looked at the Pope quietly, he knew that with the shrewdness of Alexander VI, he would sooner or later find out what was wrong, but it didn't matter, he believed that the Pope was really just weighing whether his proposal had enough weight.

"Your Majesty, believing in a Castilian queen supported by you is certainly of great importance to you, and if all goes well, this could even be the beginning of your return to the Vatican."

Alexander VI groaned, knowing what this decision meant to him, not only that he had to let go of his grudge against Alexander, but that he would even have to work with him to complete this crazy plan, which was indeed difficult, but if successful, it would reap unimaginably huge rewards.

"How long do you think Don Bavi will last?" The Pope asked.

"If Gonzalo is in command of the royal army, it will probably last for another month at most."

Seeing the Pope's cheeks twitch at the sight of the name, Alexander smiled lightly, knowing that Alexander VI could not have forgotten Gonzalo's public insult to him.

Alexander VI, however, heard something else implicit in the words.

"What if?"

"Yes, if Gonzalo is able to leave Andalusia, maybe the situation will change."

"But what does this need to do?" The Pope glanced at Alexander, "We all know him, he is Isabella's favorite, and no one can shake her trust in him." ”

"Maybe no one else, but Ferdinand could, and don't you think Gonzalo is a good excuse to get into conflict between the couple?"

The Pope was slightly lost in thought for a moment, although he had already made a decision, he still needed to think about it, the temptation was too great for him to feel a little unbelievable, and then he asked in a low voice, "Then what is the benefit of this, if you can't make me understand this, I won't cooperate with you." ”

Looking at the Pope's indifferent expression, Alexander nodded, he knew that everything had finally reached the most critical moment.

It was this time that he had been waiting for, and it may have been an extravagant hope to "tell the truth" in front of a pope, but now it seems to be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

"Your Majesty, have you ever thought that maybe one day your descendants can become kings?"

Alexander's question made the Pope stunned for a moment.