Barondi sat in the vault, her head resting on the high back of her chair, her hands resting on the armrests of the chair, her gaze slowly sweeping over the vault.

The vault is not large, and it is a little crowded with all kinds of art, books, documents, and a few bulky pieces of furniture.

Fortunately, the roof of the vault was very high, up to the deepest part of the vaulted roof, and it was almost impossible to see because of the dim light.

A large bookshelf leaning against the wall is crammed with maps, manuscripts, important transcripts of orders, and related records.

However, the most important place in this vault is the secret compartment of the device, which contains Alexander's battle instructions and a decoded index of letters exchanged with Barondi.

Barondi was now reading a letter in her hand, which she had interpreted herself, but she seemed to see Alexander's handwriting.

"I never thought I'd leave you for so long, it makes me miss you more than ever, and my desire to have a child with you is so strong now, not only because I want to have a rightful heir, but also because I want to repay you for all you have done for me......"

Reading the contents of the letter, the corners of Barondi's lips curled slightly, and she looked up again at the overcrowded vault, which was so chaotic that there were all kinds of things around the huge desks and the walls on all sides, so that no corner was empty.

However, Valentie liked this room very much, not only because it was not only a small and messy room, but also because it represented the seat of the supreme power of the Duchy of Roman Thesia, but also because it was her and Alexander's love nest.

This is also what Barendi is most proud of.

Of all the women of Alexandria, she was the only one who had the experience of embracing him intimately here, at the feet of the place where she now sits, in front of the blazing fire, on the warm animal skins laid on the ground, and even at Alexander's huge desk, where he had dealt with countless important military affairs, they were frantically affectionate, demanding pleasure from each other again and again.

Only Alexander knew what fascinated him beneath Barondi's ordinary exterior.

In this Duchy of Rome-Thesia, perhaps the seat of supreme power of the future kingdom, enjoying the crazy excitement became a "privilege" that only Barenti had.

Barendi couldn't help but laugh at the thought, but she thought about it for a moment and then sighed softly.

Alexander is right, they have been separated for a long time, and the most important thing is that Alexander's identity is also changing amazingly over time.

"I'm going to be the queen?"

Whenever she thinks about this, Barendi feels like a world away from reality.

Who would have thought that this marriage, which was only concluded to win over the Count of Naples in Naples, has become like this now.

The thought that she would one day become the queen of a powerful kingdom made Barondi nervous because she had many opponents, and none of them were fuel-efficient lamps.

Even the stupid-looking Lucrezia couldn't stop the woman from pleasing a man.

As for the other two women, Barendi didn't want to think about them.

One is a savage woman who has lived and died with Alexander, and is almost more and more courageous, and the other is a sister who can't threaten her status, but she can't do anything about it.

Barendi felt that her opponents were simply born against her.

Fortunately, however, the title of Duchess of Thesia eventually fell to her, and as regent of the Duchy, Barentia thought that she could help Alexander more than any other woman except Josa.

She was not presumptuous, and Alexander's praise of her in his letter pleased her.

"I never thought that you would help me so much, when I decided that you would replace me as regent of the principality, I believed that you could help me stabilize the country during the time I was away from Rome-Thesia, but your intelligence reminded me again and again that I still underestimated you, my wife and queen before."

Seeing this title, Barondi's heart jumped, she clearly felt Alexander's undisguised ambition, and at the same time, she was secretly excited that she could really have such a status one day.

The elder Rovere once hinted that Alexander might be dissatisfied with his marriage if he did wear the crown, after all, at that time he had to think more than the country, and even in terms of having a wife worthy of his status, Barondi was not very suitable to become a queen.

This is also the reason why Barendi has been nervous all this time.

Now seeing the title in Alexander's letter, the dark clouds that had been suppressing her heart instantly dissipated, and Barendi sat in her chair for a while, and even had a sense of prostration that she had become weak because she was too relaxed.

"But before we can wish for the future, we need to minimize the threats to our kingdom, so we think it's necessary for us to make the next plans."

Barendi looked at the letter word for word, she knew that Alexander had a penchant for mixing something into such an important letter that made her blush and her heart skip a beat, but when it came to something serious, it might be the key to everyone's future fate.

"We must make it clear to the Venetians once again that their position in this war must be pragmatic and positive, and not be a destabilizing factor in regional security," Barendi, who saw here, circled the sentence with a quill pen

"I think our army has already started the Po campaign by this time, and if all goes well, we have managed to create a buffer between Venice and Lombardy."

Barondi nodded, and then she realized that Alexander wasn't around.

"We must make it clear to the Venetians that they must accept our arrangements in Lombardy affairs, and I believe that by now everyone should have understood that our goal is Venice, which is why the Po Battle was launched, and we must use strong force to deter Venice, and if necessary, to coerce them to accept the fact that the occupied Veneto region is a permanent buffer zone between the two sides."

Barondi smiled, her face shining with pride at best.

Barondi has always been arrogant, because she has no remarkable beauty, so she has worked tirelessly to prove her talents.

Whether it was for the Rovere family, Montina before and Rome Thesia now, she made everyone understand that she was an indispensable assistant to Alexander.

Over the years, Barondi established herself as the fiancée and duchess of the count, and when Alexander was not in the country, she became not only the regent, but also the implementer of his strategic plans.

The struggle for Lombardy and the coveting of Veneto land at the same time was a plan that even the most daring and crazy man would not have thought of, let alone put into practice.

However, Alexander had been hatching this plan when Louis XII first invaded Lombardy.

For this reason, he spent nearly two years making various preparations.

He built various fortifications on the border between Montina and Venice, built a network of simple roads, and immediately after the slightest sign of victory in the war, he proposed the "Genoa-Parma-Po line".

The purpose of all this was not for Lombardy, but ultimately for Veneto.

This project is huge, complex and long, from 1500 years to the present, not many people know the true intention of this plan, and it is Barendi and he who have gradually turned this plan from a fantasy on paper into a reality.

Alexander's real goal was never Lombardy!

At least in the present situation, it was in his best interest to keep the French and Austrians firmly in northern Italy with Lombardy.

Although it was tempting to play the unification of Italy almost three centuries earlier, Alexander was well aware that it was unrealistic today.

Both Caesar and later Rovere the Elder dreamed of unifying Italy.

Caesar eventually lost his life inexplicably, and old Rovere seemed so close to realizing this ambition, but in the end he did not see the unity of Italy until he went to God.

This is not to say that these two men are incapable of achieving unity, but that their opponents are so powerful that even Alexander now must be cautious.

Neither France nor Austria could tolerate the presence of a united Italian kingdom.

For this, the feud can even temporarily unite together against the enemy who wants to challenge them.

Especially now, although it is not as good as it used to be, the majesty of the Vatican is still there, so a fully unified Italian kingdom with the Vatican Holy See is too much for all parties to bear.

So Alexander was even considering whether he should let the Great Schism come as soon as possible, although Martin Luther was no longer there, but it was not difficult for him.

But now his goal is Veneto.

After attacking Venice, invading Veneto, and having occupied a territory adjacent to Rome-Thesia, and quickly establishing a buffer zone there that was nominally intended to cut off the Venetians from the Lombards, but in fact had been occupied for a long time, the Duchy of Rome-Thecia could begin the next step of its operation.

In this way, the fortifications and roads that Montina had built earlier between him and Venice really came into play.

When the eastern and western armies launched an attack on Venice at the same time, the materials that had been mobilized to the border areas of the northeast to defend against a possible invasion by the Venetians began to play an important role at this time.

Whether it was food, money, weapons or medicine tents, these materials, which were originally considered purely for defense by the Venetians, instantly became the guarantee of the invasion.

Behind the continuous flow of convoys to the front line is meticulous planning and huge financial support.

And it was Barendi who made all of this a reality.

"Crazy Alexander."

Barendi muttered softly to herself, and she felt that it was rude to say that about her husband, but it was very apt, because it was the only word that was most appropriate.

Madness isn't all about being irrational, it's about doing things that seem almost impossible for others to succeed.

But if it succeeds, the benefits are large enough to be dizzying.

Or maybe it's because the benefit is too great to eat for a while.

At least that's what Barendi is facing.

This time the action of Rome Thescia was so bold and sudden that it completely exceeded the expectations of the Venetians, so that they not only captured Padua, but their advance even reached Mestre, the land entrance of Venice!

If it weren't for the fact that Venice was located on an island surrounded by water, perhaps the siege artillery of the Roman Thesians would have begun to speak by now.

Such a result probably stunned the whole of Europe.

Thinking of this, Barendi couldn't help but smile proudly.

It's just that the Roman-Thesian army occupied too many places and too quickly, so that their foothold in those Veneto lands was not secure.

Barondi held Alexander's letter in one hand and her cheek in the other, her eyes fixed on a map on the table.

Then she tapped her finger at a place on the map called Rovigo, and then drew a circle around the place.

Barendi knew about Rovigo because Constantine had boasted to her a few years earlier that he had defeated a famous swordsman of the Venetian Sword School in that place.

Apart from this, her only impression of Rovigo was that it was an important port inland on the Adige River.

Once occupied, the entire delta in the lower reaches of the fertile Po River Plain was completely under the control of the Roman-Thesians.

"I don't want much, the Po Delta is enough to stop me."

These were the exact words of Alexander's letter, which Barentine copied in a letter to Leonardo Lorlet, the governor of Venice.

On the border originally along the Po River, the Roman army of Thessia defeated the Venetian army commanded by Babareg the Younger through successive attacks, and then advanced into the city of Venice at one point.

Later, the Duchess of Thesia, in the name of regent of the Duchy, appealed to the Venetians for an armistice.

However, Barenti made it clear in her mind that the conditions for the withdrawal of troops and peace were that the Venetians must cede all the territories north of the Po River to the south of the Adige River.

These include three cities and ports, including the city of Rovigo on the Adige River.

When the letter was delivered to Venice, the city was in an uproar.

Alexander's true intentions were finally revealed to the public.

And on the same day that Barentia's letter arrived in Venice, in the castle of the Loire Valley, Louis XII ordered the summoning of the Moor, who was already famous at his court,

"I don't care why you have to stay here, don't go and tell your master that I have ordered the occupation of Milan."

The King of Law, who was busy with the work at hand, barely raised his head and said a word, and sent Ulliu out.

But the Moors were not at all angry at Louis for his arrogance.

As soon as he left the king's chamber, he could not wait to return to his lodgings to pack his things.

Then, completely ignoring the maids who looked at him with resentful eyes, he whistled and mounted a mule, and left the French court, where he had been in the same day, for half a year.