Alexander soon discovered that Mordillo's advice was prescient.

One mountain does not tolerate two tigers, and although the Duilan Palace is large, it cannot accommodate a wife and a sister.

Whenever Alexander goes to see Josha, Sophia will always follow him closely, and then stare at Josha's obviously tall and pretty figure like a thief, she follows wherever she goes, she listens carefully to what she says, although most of the time Sophia actually doesn't understand what Josha says, but she still stubbornly stands on Alexander's side, and she is not ambiguous.

The result of this is the revenge of Jisha.

Alexander suspected that the maids around him had been bought, or not bought, by the Modillo family.

In short, as long as he finds an excuse to let the others want to be alone with Sophia, it won't be long before there will be a knock on the door, and then Jisha will appear at the door with a smile on her face, as for the reasons for visiting, from caring about his brother's life to knowing his study progress, from the current situation in Kosenza to the future of Agri, in short, it will not stop the two people who just wanted to make out a little.

As a result of this kind of open and secret fighting, Alexander was tirelessly caught in the middle, and he had to constantly resolve all kinds of conflicts that could erupt for them because of trivial matters.

And with the understanding of these two people, Alexander didn't think that it would be a trivial matter once the conflict really started, at least Sophia had already equipped her short crossbow again, and Alexander really didn't dare to take it lightly at the thought that she might use it regardless of the moment of annoyance.

And Jossa did not let him worry, taking advantage of the sudden rise of Naples with a slightly neutral fashion to dress up, Jossa changed into a more simple and generous skirt, she abandoned the various skirt silk linings that looked flashy, and used a popular ancient Greek style to tie the blonde hair tightly on the top of her head with a pearl ring, but these are nothing, but seeing her take out the light bow again and start practicing, Alexander felt a little bad.

Alexander could endure this kind of nonsense between the two people at first, but after a long time, he finally couldn't bear it anymore, and finally had to ask Modillo for the idea of finding a house outside.

George Anne, who was not very fond of Sophia in the first place, thought that the gypsy woman was encouraging her son to move out and live alone, and the woman seemed to be hostile to her daughter, which made the countess hate Sophia even more.

Modillo didn't pay much attention, he just told Alexandria that he had a small cottage on the top of the hill in the bay of Santa Lucia, which was used for summer vacation, and although it was now autumn, the scenery there was not bad. He can move in if he likes, and it doesn't matter how long he stays.

Alexander did not refuse the Count's generosity, knowing that it was the honeymoon period between him and the Count, and that the seemingly good relationship between the two was still stable for the time being.

James's food convoy had been gone for almost a week, and all sorts of news of the war had come from the north, mostly good news, that the Coalition had conquered the fort that had been entrenched by the French, or that some French general had to give up resistance and surrender to the Coalition forces.

The news rejoiced the Neapolitans, and although it was a state mourning, they took to the streets to celebrate as a sign of hatred for the French and respect for the coalition.

And in each of these messages, the name of Gonzalo de Córdoba is mentioned more or less.

The good news of the coalition was not necessarily to Modiglo's liking, and Alexander could see that the Count's mood was not very high when he heard these good news, and it was clear that he was very unhappy that he had not been able to prevent the rout of the French.

Alexander's life was also a little difficult, because he was worried about the possible conflict between him and Gonzalo, the original decision of the House of Lords for his territorial heraldic recognition ceremony was canceled, and he could only go through various formalities alone in the presence of the heraldic officer by a minor minor officer of the Neapolitan House of Nobles, when he took out a triangular lining pattern that was completely different from the shield lining of most other families, the petty officer couldn't help but be stunned, and then looked at the heraldic officer next to him who was speechless.

The heraldic officer was an old man with gray hair, and because of his proximity, he had to use a magnifying glass in his hand to look around at all times, so when Alexander put the heraldic design on the table, the heraldic officer immediately took out his magnifying glass and looked at it as if he were examining a military map.

An equilateral triangle with sharp sharp angles at the top, and in the triangle is a sun erupting in this twisted and steaming flame.

The three corners of the triangle are empty, which seems a little shabby, but this is also an embarrassing reality that some new nobles have to face, although there is no "three generations out of one noble" at this time, but the nouveau riche who have no background and time precipitation are always regarded as nouveau riche without discrimination, but it is inevitable in any era.

Although the heraldic officer wondered why Alexander had made his family coat of arms in a triangular shape other than the most common shield shape, after asking some of the most ordinary questions, he routinely flipped through the heraldic books compiled by the heraldic officers of the Kingdom of Naples, and then announced that the coat of arms was permissible.

The petty officials quickly completed all the formalities like registering their trademarks, and when Alexander pressed the entire handprint on the design, which was officially filed with Naples, the Gombray family of Agri was born in this room.

At this point, at least legally, Agri truly became Alexander's domain.

Alexander did not react to such an exciting moment, but did not react when he walked out of the House of Nobles, looking at his men who had been waiting outside for a long time, he just waved them to get on their horses, and then led them towards the lookout post.

The tavern owner had already received the news, so he did not entertain other guests today, and when he saw Alexander and his party coming, he walked over and bent down a little to salute, and then beckoned his wife to serve everyone wine.

"Barr, what do you think of what I said last time," Massimo began to ask eagerly after taking his first sip of wine, "You know a lot of people, who fight and destroy things in your tavern all day long and don't give you money for drinks, can you bear this?" ”

"It's like you gave me money for the wine," the tavern keeper scolded in a low voice, and then he wiped his hands on his apron and sat down, "My lord, I know what you asked Massimo to do with me, but to be honest, no one dares to follow you now. ”

"Oh," Alexander nodded disapprehantly, of course he knew the reason, and this is the result of teaching Gonzalo's nephew, "which means that if I can pass this level, you will still be willing to follow me, right?" ”

"Of course, it's always good to make money," the tavern keeper nodded, but his eyes were full of disbelief and a little puzzled, "but I don't quite understand, don't you already have a group of bohemians under your command, why are you looking for them?" ”

He used to look around, and although there were no other guests today, he couldn't forget the virtues of those regulars.

"I need these people who are familiar with Naples," Alexander did not elaborate, but in fact he was beckoning, and he was very targeted at finding locals who mingled all day long in places like the lookout post, "Marchimo is right, let them do the work for me rather than let them do nothing in your tavern." As for you, I heard that you were a patrol captain in Naples before taking over this tavern? ”

"That was a long time ago." The tavernkeeper glared at Massimo, as if he was a little unhappy that he was talking too much, but the pride in his tone was still captured by Alexander.

"I now have a land," Alexander continued, "so if you do it for me, I can give you the same land, and you can continue to open a tavern in the future, and you can be your landlord at the same time." ”

"The landlord," the tavernkeeper's pimpled face trembled slightly, "sir, do you mean I can have my own harvest every year?" ”

"As long as you pay me your taxes on time," Alexander nodded, "and if you behave well, I can also consider letting your descendants inherit the land, instead of waiting for you to die and take it back to the Gombray family." ”

"That's right." The tavernkeeper's face trembled even more, he couldn't sit still a little, and after a vague greeting, he hurried to the corner to discuss with his wife.

"My lord, you want his children to inherit the land as well?" Massimo looked at Alexander in surprise.

"Don't worry, I'll give it," Alexander said lightly, wiping the remaining ink from his hands, "do you think Agri is our everything?" ”

Massimo opened his mouth slightly, it was the first time he had heard Alexander so clearly reveal his ambitions for the future.

"Massimo, I promised you too, and now you are a guest of the adults in the Neapolitan church," Alexander said, looking at the tavern he was familiar with, "When Ulius and I first arrived in Naples, we were destitute, and we didn't even have a few copper coins except for the clothes on our bodies, but now that I am the lord of Agri, how do you think I created all this?" ”

The monk was stunned, he hadn't thought about this question, but now that Alexander himself brought it up, he suddenly realized that this was indeed a strange thing!

A man who had almost nothing but a servant and clothes on his body became a well-known figure in Naples in a short period of time, and everyone said that this man had endless good luck, but if you look back, you will find that it was really just luck?

Until he walked out of the lookout post, Massimo was pondering this seemingly simple question, but the more he thought about it, the more he couldn't calm down.

On September 22, just 15 days after the death of King Ferdinand of Naples in the Cathedral of the Bishop of Naples, according to canonical rules, the coffin of the king was carried into a carriage and under the guidance of the Archbishopric of Naples, and under the protection of all the nobles, it was escorted by the royal guards around the cathedral, and then placed in a stone coffin niche behind the basilica, which had been prepared.

With the heavy stone door closing, the ephemeral Ferdinand era came to an end.

Now that the question of the future king could finally be discussed openly, many of the nobles who could not wait for the poor former queen to get into the carriage threw her aside and hurried to show their loyalty to Frederick.

The young widow could only stand there and watch as the men went about the uncle of her dead husband.

"Your Majesty," one of the retinues whispered, "there is a nobleman who wishes to see you, and I wonder if you will allow it." ”

The queen, who had recovered from her grief, looked at her attendant in amazement, and then looked far behind him, and saw a young man who was far away from being blocked by several servants.

He was a strange young nobleman, and although his red hair and angular face looked attractive, the queen had little impression of him.

The queen was a little strange, she was not without a premonition of her current situation.

In fact, she had already thought of this possibility when Ferdinand was seriously ill, but now she didn't have time to think about whether she should leave the sad land of Naples while Frederick had not yet ascended the throne, so as not to make others upset her.

So when she saw this young nobleman who suddenly appeared, the queen couldn't make up her mind because she didn't know his purpose.

The young former queen was well aware of her current awkward status, from being a respected queen to a helpless widow, and because she had not given birth to an heir, it was unlikely that she would even remain in Naples.

Although no one had spoken it out yet, or even hinted at it, the queen could already detect a subtle change in the attitude of the attendants and servants in the palace.

Even the chief of the court, who had previously appeared to be the most faithful, tactfully told her that a particular piece of jewellery she had asked to wear at the funeral was rejected on the grounds that it was "a precious property belonging to the royal family, and it was too gaudy to be used at such a time."

The humiliation almost broke the queen, but the pride she had cultivated over the years was unwilling.

It was only the embarrassment that followed that hit her again.

It was only after Ferdinand's death that she discovered that her husband was not good at managing money during his lifetime.

Even during his escape, Ferdinand's purse was quickly dwarfed, and even after returning to Naples, he still did not have much money.

But that's it, Ferdinand didn't save a little.

So when the queen took care of her husband's property, she found that Ferdinand himself lived almost entirely on debt, except for the crown and the palace, which were destined not to belong to her, so that after his death, he left almost nothing but a mess full of debts.

This forced the queen to think of ways to plan for the future, and even began to consider whether she should sell some of her things to cover her way out of Naples.

Therefore, it was a little too strange for the queen that a nobleman was not going to meet Frederick at this time, but to ask to see her, and she even wondered if it was some kind of trap set by Frederick.

However, she could not help but respond, she knew that Frederick must be trying to find fault with her now, and if she rejected this person out of suspicion, she would probably be accused of being arrogant and rude, and she would be accused of being a queen.

"Who did he say he was?" The queen asked in a low voice.

"He says he is Gombray of Agri, Your Majesty." The waiter whispered back, and then added, "Your Majesty, allow me to report to you that he is the Gombray who brought food to Naples." ”

"Oh, really?" The queen's voice changed slightly, and her gaze swept over the squire's face, intentionally or unintentionally.

Although I don't know how much this squire has received from that Kambray to recommend that man so much, the queen does remember this young man.

But she had in mind not a pleasant thing, but a sordid relationship between this man and Frederick at her husband's funeral.

This made the queen a little curious about the young man.

"Then let him come," the queen instructed her attendant, and then after a moment's pause, she continued, "tell him that there is no need to declare his class." ”

The attendant was slightly surprised, but immediately bowed away.

And Alexander, who heard this order, was also somewhat surprised.

As a new nobleman, Alexander had learned some of the court etiquette that had to be followed from the Neapolitan magistrate.

As a branch of the Aragon royal family, although the Neapolitan royal family at this time had not yet appeared the almost cumbersome and perverted etiquette rules of the later Spanish royal family, it also had a set of etiquette norms that were much more formal than the royal families of other countries.

The self-reporting class is one of them.

Different classes had to follow different rules, and even the distance from the queen was different, and he, the lord of Agri, had a great reputation, but he could only be regarded as the last of the nobles in serious terms.

The queen's instructions can be said to be considerate of his embarrassing status.

Alexander's heart couldn't help but lift slightly.

His decision to visit the queen was deliberate.

The previous conflict had taught Alexander that he was destined to be unable to compromise with Frederick.

And Frederick will soon become king of Naples, which is already a foregone conclusion.

The cold reception he has suffered these days is not so much because of Gonzalo as because of Frederick, but before people had to cover it up, but with Ferdinand's burial, all this was really exposed.

What will happen to the future king if he offends him, you don't need to think about it to guess.

Alexander did not want to use Modillo's power, he knew that Modillo would not refuse his request for help if he spoke, but then it would be increasingly difficult for him to break free from Modillo's control, so he decided to take another shortcut.

In this way, Ferdinand's wife, a former queen of noble birth and now an embarrassing status, caught his attention.

Sending charcoal in the snow at any time is more memorable than icing on the cake.

It's just that he didn't expect that the queen's performance was also not simple.

It wasn't until he stood in front of the former queen of Naples that Alexander was slightly surprised to find that the new widow was much younger than he had imagined.