The 14 flag-bearers marched slowly through the streets, carrying flags from the 14 most prominent families in the history of the Wallachians, and these families were inherited from the original tribes, which were the traditions of the tribal peoples preserved in the early years of Wallachia, which gradually evolved from tribes to nobles who obeyed the Grand Duke, and over time, many tribes either disappeared completely or were annexed by more powerful tribes, and only a few tribes gradually became stronger. He became the ancestor of the 14 great nobles that laid the foundation of the current Principality of Wallachia.

It's just that some of these flags now only represent the glory of the past, these early nobles have also gradually died out with the passage of time, and the never-ending wars in the Balkans have caused some families to rise and some families to disappear without a trace.

Today, the Wallachian aristocracy is still very powerful, but perhaps thanks to the presence of the Ottomans, those nobles who had intertwined ties were also depleted by the decades of war with the Ottomans, so that some families are left with the banner that reminds people of their former glory.

From this point of view, Alexander felt that the Ottomans had also done a good thing, just as the Hundred Years' War had weakened the French royal family and freed the French royal family from the embarrassment of not being able to leave the island of Paris, and the power of the Wallachian nobility was dealt a hard blow with the arrival of the Ottomans.

Behind the banner procession was a long line of clergy, dressed in black robes and solemn expressions, and as they passed through the streets, the people on both sides of the road involuntarily bowed and crossed each other.

The baptism was performed by the Patriarch of Bucharest himself, who had privately asked Alexandria who had baptized his eldest daughter, the Duchess of Pisa Estles, and when he heard that the baptist was a cardinal of the Vatican, the Patriarch decided to conduct the ceremony himself and not someone else.

For the city of Bucharest, Auguste and Catherine were more than princes and princesses, because of the special status of the Diocese of Bucharest, the Patriarch of Bucharest, who was already seeking to become the supreme rector of the East, wanted to establish himself through his relationship with the first family of Wallachia.

And the Patriarch had a strong premonition that Alexander's ambition was not simply to make his woman the Grand Duke of Wallachia, and if so, it might not be a dream that he would one day, perhaps by virtue of the power of both the church and the world.

So the Patriarch himself showed a little more enthusiasm for baptism than Alexander seems to have been.

The nobles, the knights, and some of the squires who followed behind passed by, dressed in their best clothes, and marched through the procession with their heads held high.

Unlike the other people who came to watch the ceremony, these people were all directly subordinate to Sophia's territory, and naturally they were trusted cronies in front of the Grand Duke, including even some small landowners in the grange could also appear in this team, because these granges were all under Sophia's personal name, so it can be said that this is a typical "own person".

This made the nobles, knights, and landowners very excited, and they could feel the envy and perhaps even the jealousy that people looked at them, for it was not known when it began to be rumored in Wallachia that the father of the prince and princess had saved up a great fortune for his children, in order that their children would have food and clothing in the future.

Of course, the money belonged to the private property of the Grand Duke and not to the state treasury, which meant that it was possible to benefit from the money as a direct domain of the Grand Duke, and no one could say exactly how much of this money was.

But one thing is certain, the Grand Duke's family can even live comfortably without relying on taxes.

This made many people envious, but they were not envious of the Grand Duke's family, but the people in the territories under the name of the Grand Duke, because in their minds, the Grand Duke should only make his own territory rich.

The appearance of a group of eye-catching hunting guards caused a commotion in the streets, these Balkan huntsmen in gray uniforms, with soft eccentric hats and a long pheasant feather inlaid on the hats, became the object of attention of the Bucharestans, compared to the previous noble knights of the realm, these hunting guards were not dressed enough to be flamboyant, but in an era when most armies almost completely did not have uniform uniforms, the gray uniforms of the Balkan hunting guards were striking and chic.

Alexander did not lead the Agri huntsmen this time, he was very keenly aware of the mixed feelings of the Wallachians towards him, on the one hand he was the hero who saved Bucharest, and he was also the father of the children of the Grand Duke, which was enough to make them feel good about him, but on the other hand he was a Catholic, but in this place where the Orthodox Church dominated he was an outlier, even in Croatia, which was also a Balkan country, because of the fierce conflicts brewing because of the conflict between the Eastern and Western churches, Helva's father, the Duke of Zagreb, died because of this.

Moreover, he was still a foreigner, and Alexander was well aware of the strong family concept and xenophobia of the Balkans, who were very similar to the Sicilians in this respect, and this xenophobia made them attach great importance to the closeness of family and blood, so that they would sometimes give up their interests, and this seemingly impulsive behavior was the strongest especially among the people, so Alexander decided to lead only the Balkan huntsmen to this ceremony after taking into account these reasons.

The decision was clearly correct, and the sight of the huntsmen, with their curly beards typical of the local style, and who were neater and more decently dressed than some of the nobles, burst into cheers from the people in the streets, and some of the women even screamed incessantly, while throwing flowers, handkerchiefs, small puppets, and sun-dried loofahs that were a sign of local favorability at the beautiful soldiers.

Schell rode his horse and stared ahead, unlike the other hunters, his gray garment had a long golden ribbon, and his floppy hat had three tufts of feathers, which made him look more imposing and conspicuous than the other soldiers.

So Scheer was the most "attacked", and when the team finally passed the tightly packed street, Scheer was already covered with all kinds of gadgets.

The team continued to move forward, and Alexander, who was sitting in the carriage, looked at the street with satisfaction, and across from him Sophia was holding Catherine to look left and right, and after putting her daughter down, she picked up her son and looked at her for a while, and then frowned slightly disgusted and put the child into another cradle beside him.

"They're young, they won't grow up that quickly," Alexander knew what Sophia hated, "and I don't want them to grow up so soon." ”

Whether it's Estles, Auguste, or Catherine, Alexander wants his children to have a happy childhood and adolescence, and he wants them to have more quality times without worrying about it, rather than getting to know and participate in the dirt early.

So he has to do more for the children in advance so that they don't face all kinds of difficulties in the future.

However, Alexander did not want to raise his children to be a group of princes and princesses who would only hide in the castle and fantasize all day long, he wanted them to have the eyes and minds to observe the world seriously, because the next hundred years may be the beginning of the most exciting era in human history.

The Bucharest Cathedral has been renovated, and the people on the roadside cheered as the procession passed under the flower gates.

The people of Bucharest are very proud, because they already know that their city is destined to become the new capital of the principality, in fact, this is actually what many nobles want to see, in addition to the comfort of Bucharest's city and strong defense, there is also a very important reason for the Wallachians to choose to acquiesce in Sophia's almost willful decision to move the capital.

That is, Wallachia was too much influenced by the Transylvayan aristocracy, and Transylvania had an ambiguous relationship with Hungary before Vlad III.

The move of the capital was already imperative, as can be seen from the fact that Sophia had not even visited the old capital of Wallachia once after ascending the throne.

The procession stopped in front of the cathedral and was cleared by the hunters, and Alexander and Sophia walked along the sheepskin blanket spread on the ground with a child in their arms towards the towering portico of the cathedral.

The Patriarch, also wearing a tall hat, stood under the porch, his spirit looking much better than before, and even though he could see the tired eyes under his slightly puffy eyelids when he got closer, he still supported himself with a large cross to make himself look straight.

Sophia bowed to the Patriarch as previously arranged, and according to Orthodox law, it was one of the few great ceremonies that a secular monarch had ever given to the head of the Church on earth.

His own baptism, his own marriage, the baptism of his children, and the penance at the end of his life are the respects and etiquette that a monarch should maintain for the Church, and even if a monarch is crowned on the throne, he will only pick up the laurel crown with his own hands, not crowned by the patriarch.

The monarch wears a crown, not pretending to others!

Although the Eastern Romans have perished, this tradition has been deeply imprinted in the hearts of the Roman successors.

The Patriarch was excited, he knew how much Sophia's salute meant to him, and then his eyes turned to Alexander, who was beside him.

"This day is destined to be a glorious day," whispered the Patriarch, "I must admit that you must have thought a lot when you named your son, Auguste, what a great name, and I only hope that one day I will see your wish come true." ”

Alexander chuckled in response, not wanting to explain to the Patriarch that the reason why he named his son August was more because he wanted him to live a comfortable and comfortable life like another monarch of the same name in history.

As for Catherine, Alexander named her because he wanted his daughter to have a good family and a happy marriage in the future, just like the famous Queen Catherine.

Alexander, of course, would not explain this idea that not only the Patriarch, but also no one else would understand at this time, so he just smiled and did not say anything.

A long chant emanated from the cathedral, and a choir of clergy rather than Catholic children's choirs, which always made the bishops erroneous, began to sing hymns in a broad voice.

The melody is distant and deep, and the chanting from behind the draperies hanging from the dome echoes and hovers over the deep cathedral.

In this sacred atmosphere, even Sophia couldn't help but look much more solemn.

Everyone's eyes were on them, and those eyes had different meanings, among which Aloxia's gaze was very complicated, alternating between hesitation and apprehension in her eyes, so that Omo next to her also noticed her strange appearance.

Alocia's eyes kept searching the crowd, she didn't know what Morko was going to do, and although Morko promised her that he wouldn't do anything stupid, she always felt that his words were a little unreliable.

It's just that now Aloxia has no way out, and if it is known that she met with Morco but not only did not report him, but also helped him infiltrate the city, then it would be too late for her.

To make matters worse, she didn't know what she was thinking about Morco or Omo, which made Aloxia distressed and frightened, and she felt as if she was haunted by the devil, so much so that she prayed every night for the rest of her mind.

The chorus was louder, and even the curtains seemed to be trembling slightly by the waves, and Auguste, who was held in Alexander's arms, became busy, and he tried to twist his head hard, but his body, which had no strength at all, just moved down.

At this moment, the Patriarch began to chant the scriptures in a deep tone that did not correspond to his emaciated body.

Plumes of green smoke rose from the silverware containing the anointing oil, and the Patriarch held a large woodcut Bible high above his head.

The weight of the Bible was as oppressive as a heavy stone hanging overhead, and the patriarch looked unusually solemn at this time.

When the patriarch motioned for Alexander to put August into the marble baptismal font filled with clear water, Sophia, who was standing on the side, was a little nervous, watching her son's body being slowly immersed in the pool, and her hand holding her daughter couldn't help but exert a slight force, which made Catherine in her arms immediately twist her body because of discomfort, and then her mouth began to cry.

The cry immediately affected August, who was soaked in the holy water, but seemed to be uneasy because he was quite comfortable, and his brother, who was originally quiet, immediately joined the ranks of this crying, so two loud and deafening cries resounded through the cathedral in an instant.

Seeing that Sophia had a posture of wanting to rush up to take back her child, Alexander had no choice but to fish his son out of the water, holding Auguste, who was dripping all over the place, Alexander asked the nanny who had been prepared next to him to wipe him, and motioned to Sophia.

Sophia hesitated a little, looking at her daughter who was crying incessantly, her heart that she didn't care much about suddenly became a little uncomfortable, she was worried that the old man would accidentally choke on her daughter's mouth, or hurt her daughter's delicate skin.

However, at the urging of Alexander's gaze, she still walked over with Catherine in her arms, and when she gently lowered her writhing and crying daughter into the water, a faint light suddenly flashed in the corner of her eye.

The heredity inherited from Nashan's natural acumen played a role at this moment, and almost without thinking about it, Sophia, who was holding her daughter, suddenly slammed into the marble holy water pool in front of her!

The pool tumbled, and the marble pillar supporting the basin-shaped baptismal font was thrown at the patriarch standing opposite, and with a cry of pain, the patriarch who had been hit by the stone pillar fell backwards.

Before everyone could understand what was happening, a dull loud noise rang out in the cathedral, accompanied by a cloud of smoke rising from the vicinity of the baptistery, and the cathedral was in chaos in an instant.

People ran wildly, the screams of women mixed with the shouts of men, and no one could hear anyone else.

Standing a little farther away, Schell was the first to react, drawing his saber and rushing forward.

At the same time, the hunters who were standing around began to pour in from all directions, and they violently slammed into those who stood in front of them, and some simply jumped over those who fell to the ground.

They had only one purpose, to protect the Duke's family.

Schell slammed his shoulder into one of the women in front of him, and rushed to Sophia, who had fallen to the ground because of too much force, and dragged her up, while he heard Alexander's cry not far away: "Catch that man!" ”

Alexander's shout caught the attention of the hunters, who saw the Duke holding August in one hand and pointing to the messy group of bewildered choirs behind the drapery with the other.

Several of the nearby hunters immediately rushed at the frightened priests as if they were crazy, they did not pay any attention to the distinguishing of the priests, and some brandished their sabers and slashed directly at those who tried to resist, and even those who did not resist were hit with the heavy hilts of their swords, and they fell to the ground screaming in pain.

In the midst of the confusion of the clergy, a clergyman standing not far from a small door behind him was desperately rushing out of the door, and the hunters could only watch him escape from the sight of the clergy because they were blocked by the clergy of the choir.

Looking at the man's back, Sophia was accustomed to raising her arm, but then she realized that the crossbow was not by her side, and in her unwilling shout, the figure of the man had disappeared outside the door.

It all happened so suddenly, and it wasn't until the figure of the man disappeared that many panicked people finally understood what had happened.

Sher had already led the men to chase after the small door from which the man had fled, and the hunters around him had quickly surrounded Alexander and Sophia, all of their weapons facing outward, and even the Greeks were rudely driven away.

People looked at each other in horror, and when they found that they were surrounded by hunters, some Wallachian nobles changed their expressions suddenly, and some impulsively tried to touch their weapons, but they were immediately stopped by their companions, who sat down slowly under the comfort of their companions, while they stared warily at the fierce hunters around them.

The accident that happened in the cathedral had apparently spread outside, and for a while there was a chaotic sound outside the church.

"Go outside," Alexander said softly coaxing his frightened son, "everyone go outside." ”

As he spoke, he handed August to the pale-faced nanny beside him, and walked through the huntsmen to the patriarch, who was half-seated on the ground supported by several men.

The patriarch looked in a bad condition, and the pillar of the baptismal font struck him in the ribs, and his face was covered with sweat and his whole body was shaking.

"Can you move now?" Alexander asked in a low voice, and when he saw that the rector seemed to want to say something, he crouched down and whispered, "You know that if we don't go out at this time, it will arouse the suspicion of the people, and if someone takes the opportunity to spread rumors, maybe another Chipes incident will happen again." ”

The Patriarch's face twitched momentarily because of the pain or because of Alexander's words, he knew that Alexander was reminding him that he was also one of those who had declared Chipes guilty in the first place, and that his only option at this time was to stand with Alexander and pacify the people.

"I hope this accident doesn't make you think that the Wallachians are hostile to you or to Your Highness Sophia, and I can assure you that this is just the move of a handful of conspirators." The Patriarch waited for Alexander's reply with pain, and he was genuinely worried that Alexander would take the opportunity to use the excuse of a bloodbath against the Wallachian nobles.

After all, the brutal reign of Vlad III was still fresh in his mind, and the Patriarch shuddered at the thought that Wallachia might face that terrible situation again.

"Don't worry, Sophia is not Vlad III, and I am not Nero," Alexander whispered, and then he motioned to the people next to him to carefully support the Patriarch up, "Just a moment, believe me, things will soon pass." ”

After Alexander finished speaking, he walked to the nobles again, looking at their nervous expressions, Alexander nodded to the Greeks led by Bodpaed: "Follow me, everything is under my orders." ”

Bodped only paused before nodding in agreement, while he whispered to the others to be careful.

"As for you," Alexander said, looking at the Wallachian nobles with uncertain expressions, "I will not consider any of you to be my enemies until the conspirators have been caught and confessed, so I want you to go outside with me to pacify the people, unless anyone wants to refuse." ”

Alexander's words caused the Wallachians to look at each other, and they saw suspicion in each other's gazes, and at this time it seemed that everyone had become suspects who might have planned and participated in this sudden conspiracy.

"Then let's go." Alexander walked up to Sophia and looked at the children who had finally stopped crying, and he smiled at Sophia, "Trust me, you'll be fine with me." ”

Sophia looked at Alexander with a gloomy face, and everyone could see that she was in a bad mood, and just as Alexander was about to say something more, Sophia suddenly snatched August from the nanny's hand, and walked towards the open cathedral door with two children in her arms.

The hunters and the Greek guards swarmed to clear the way in front, and when they reached the porch, listening to the shouts that were instantly raised at the sight of her figure outside, Sophia stopped and turned to look at Alexander, and then she suddenly made a gesture that surprised everyone.

Sophia held the two children in her left hand, and with her free right hand, she slashed horizontally across her throat, signaling to cut her throat!

Looking at her expressionless face, Alexander knew that Sophia was really angry.