Philip, Duke of Vienna, was the beloved son of Emperor Maximian and, if all goes well, he may one day become Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.

In addition to this distinguished status, Philip's nickname has caused many people to misunderstand him somewhat.

"Pretty Philip" is what people call him, and because of this nickname, in the hearts of many people, they actually just regard Philip as a gentleman with a prominent background, and even in Castile, when he accompanied Juana to this land, after seeing the young and handsome duke again, many people directly branded him as a princess who charmed them purely by a face, and a playboy who appeared to be nothing.

Only Alexander did not forget that this prince was clearly not so easy to deal with.

Philip had been appointed governor of the Low Countries in Flanders by his father Maximian a few years earlier.

Speaking of the Lowlands, that place has very unpleasant memories for Maximian, where he had an accident to solve some problems with the local merchants in paying taxes, and some of his words and deeds were besieged by the locals because of the discontent, and he had to take refuge in a merchant's house in order to escape the embarrassment, until his father heard the news and sent troops to rescue him.

Even so, he had to agree to a series of conditions that he considered to be completely unseemly and undignified to the locals before he temporarily quelled the trouble, which was not a riot, but was definitely enough to humiliate it.

Therefore, for the lowlands, although they have always coveted the market driven by the strong commercial atmosphere there, it is not so easy for Maximian to deal with the lowlanders directly.

Philip, on the other hand, did a surprising success in the Low Countries, where he carried out a series of reforms that might not have been liked by the Viennese aristocracy, but were popular there, and even under Philippe's auspices, Flanders passed the first explicitly prescribed commercial law.

This series of actions was enough to make Alexander attach great importance to this beautiful Philip, not to mention that he was also the husband of Juana, the father of the future Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, and these identities alone were enough to make Alexander value him very much.

So before he came, Alexander had told Normezi more than once not to despise the young prince with his beautiful face, and not to be deceived by his angelic appearance, that he was just a playboy who ate with his face and bewitched women.

This duke is not simple.

But Nolmezzie didn't expect to be asked such a difficult question when he first met Philip.

Normezi had never met Groganin, or even known what kind of deal had been between Grogenin and Alexander, but he knew the man, and he knew where he was now, for he had arrived in Iberia on a merchant ship from Grogenin in Sicily.

Although it is unclear how deep the relationship between Grognin and Alexander was, Normezzi knew that the Low Merchant was Alexander's partner, as Grogenen had now fully replaced Alexander's cooperation with the Sicilian Consul Camus after he left Sicily.

During this time, using Sicily as a transit point, Groganin carefully managed his business on the eastern shores of the Mediterranean, including the long lines of communication that had been established with the Mamluks of Egypt and eventually to Persia.

Outwardly, the man was a lucky merchant from the north, but Normezi knew that he was related to Alexander, for on the way to Castile he had already met one of Groganin's men on the ship, who was a sailor, and in the secret letter that the man had brought him he had seen some secret notes known only between him and Alexander, and that Normezi knew that at least the lowland merchant had a good relationship with the duke.

Now that he had suddenly heard Philip ask about Grogenen, he didn't know how to answer, and after a little recollection, Normezi suddenly remembered that he had vaguely heard that there did seem to be some kind of connection between Alexander and the Lowlands, and he didn't know how to respond to Philip more appropriately.

"Which Grognin are you talking about, you know that this surname is very common in some places, such as Flanders, I don't know if the person you are talking about is the same person who knew the Duke of Rometesia, or maybe they just belong to a large family," Normezi replied nonchalantly, seeing that Philip had been staring at him, and just as he was about to say a few more words to try to confuse himself, Juana, who was sitting next to Isabella, suddenly let out an exclamation!

The shout immediately attracted everyone's attention, and Queen Isabella couldn't help but look at her and stood up on the throne, and Philip, who had been waiting for Normezie's answer, turned her head and looked at her wife in surprise.

Juana seemed to stand up in a panic, she first ran forward two steps, and then remembered something, turned around and bowed hurriedly to her mother: "I'm sorry Queen Mother, I suddenly remembered that I haven't nursed Charlie yet, and I have to take care of my son." ”

With that, she trotted through a small door and ran towards a corridor under the surprised gaze of the courtiers around her.

Normezi was a little stunned by Juana's unexpected move, and he stood there embarrassed because he didn't know what was happening, but in his heart he was secretly relieved that Juana had interrupted Philip's cross-examination at this time.

"What can I say about this, probably I can only express my gratification for her love for the child, after all, it may be the future emperor." Queen Isabella excused her daughter with some self-deprecation, and then she looked at Philip who was standing aside, "I think you must have spoiled her in the court of Flanders, and I have always treated her with the strictest education." ”

"I'm sorry Your Majesty, I think it's my responsibility, but because I love my wife so much, I can't bear to restrain her."

Philip was very interested in finding a step for his mother-in-law, but then his inquiry about Normezi was naturally interrupted and could not continue, although he still looked at Normezi with some doubts in his eyes, but then he was attracted by other things that followed.

Normezi's visit, which ended prematurely because of an unexpected act by Juana, and when he withdrew, standing in the open space outside the court, Normezi looked back at the newly renovated palace, apparently after a recent extensive renovation, and could not help but fall into deep thought.

He touched the golden mask he was wearing, and Queen Isabella had asked him with concern what was wrong with his face during the audience, and he replied that he had been wounded by a musket in the previous battle against Queen Regent.

But the pain that could be felt at the touch of the mask reminded him of what was the cause of his ruined face.

"Your Excellency, you're here." Alonso Beruguete came running briskly from a distance, dressed in a small squire costume that Normezi had sewn for him, and looked like a very lively acolyte: "Are you going back?" ”

"yes, today's mission is done." Normezi glanced in the direction of the court again, and whispered that he had already met the person he wanted to see on this visit to Valladod, but to his surprise, that person did not seem to be so easy to deal with.

Normezi's home in Valladod was on the second floor of Alonso Beruguete's house, and Alonso's parents cleaned up the house before inviting the Count to move in.

Normezzi's reason for coming to Castile was diplomacy, but when he had previously met with some nobles at the court, he had already hinted to them about his awkward situation in Naples, and although he had been pardoned by the Queen Regent, and was soon there, the Queen apparently did not trust him, so she found an excuse to send him to Montina soon after, and the Duke of Rometesia was obviously wary of him, so he simply let him go to Lombardy to deal with the French.

After that, when his errand in Lombardy was finished, perhaps because he had done a good job, he had finally gained a little favor from the duke, who, after keeping him by his side for a while, finally sent him to Castile as if he had been gracious and free.

This is what Normezi said to others about his own experiences, which obviously do not sound lies, but the important thing is that his experiences are indeed true.

In the eyes of the Castilians, Normezi was obviously unlucky, because he was exiled because he was squeezed out of the court coldly, this kind of person actually existed in the Castilian court, and even in their opinion, Normezzi was lucky, at least in Castia, if any minister became a thorn in the side of the two kings, there might not be such luck as Normezi.

Alonso Beruguete originally lived in Liu, but now his room is next door to Normezi, so that he can always listen to the Count.

The Lady was anxious to see if the Count was satisfied, the woman wanted to get more money, and the man hoped that the Count would bring his son to Rome.

Alonso's room was small, just at the edge of the staircase, and it was a mess except for a small bed, and when Normezi passed by and wanted to go back to his room, he saw a large pile of bits and pieces on the floor of the room with the door open.

"Alonso, did you carve these things?" Normezi picked up a half-carved wooden carving and looked at it, although the sword skills may still be a little rusty, but he could still see that it was a horse, and a knight on the horse seemed to have begun to take shape.

Alonso Beruguete showed a hint of panic on his face, and he stood aside and whispered an apology: "Yes, my lord, please forgive me for never carving such a thing again." ”

"No, it looks interesting." Normezi smiled, and he noticed that the pile of wood on the ground was actually a pile of knights and soldiers, but some of the wooden dolls were carved, and some of them were only vague outlines.

"You're a very smart kid, but can you carve something that a younger kid likes, I mean a little girl who is a little girl likes?" Normezi asked.

"I don't know, but I made some of my brother's toys when he was younger, but now they're older." Alonso replied with some confusion.

"That's fine, I mean, you don't have to do anything from now on, just find a way to carve something that a child will like when he sees it, preferably," Normezi thought for a moment and continued, "before my next visit." ”

Alonso Beruguet nodded a little dazedly, he didn't know what the Count wanted such a child's toy for, but it made him happy.

Alonso did like to draw, but he also liked to sculpt things, and now hearing that the Count actually supported him to do these things he liked made Alonso feel indescribably happy.

While Normezi was instructing Alonso Berluguet to carve the little toys, in the palace, Duke Philip of Vienna was listening to a report from his men.

"That's it, the Earl of Normezy now lives in a miller's house, and it is said that he has no dealings with anyone these days except to visit some nobles." A man respectfully reported to Philip, and then asked a little strangely, "But why are you interested in that earl, Your Highness?" ”

"Because he came from the Duke of Rometesia," said Philip, somewhat helplessly, "you know that what happened in Flanders upset my father, and he disapproved of my actions from the beginning, and then the troubles and failures I encountered in Amsterdam became evidence that the nobles of the Viennese court slandered me in front of him, so I need something to prove myself, and that Grogenin is the culprit of it all, and I must find him." ”

"Your Highness, you don't have to worry, and you don't have to be in a hurry, you know that you are the Duke of Vienna, which means that you are destined to become the Grand Duke of Austria in the future, and even the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, and then no one can question what you have done, you need to be just patient now."

Listening to the words of his entourage, Philip, who was short of breath because of his emotional excitement, slowly calmed down, and he took the cup on the table and poured a sip of wine into his mouth.

"But I still want to know where that Grognin is, to know that he has made me lose a lot of people, and that this despicable lowland merchant has not only robbed me of enough gold coins, but has also caused me a lot of trouble, and I want to see him hanged on the docks in Amsterdam."

"But Your Highness, you know, even if you catch him, you have no right to execute him just like that according to the laws of the Low Lands, you can only hand him over to the court," the attendant shook his head helplessly, "but the court is full of their people, and you are indeed a little too merciful to them." ”

"This time it will be different," said Philip indignantly, "I will punish him, and if I catch him, I will be able to get enough evidence, and then the judges of the lowlands will not want to protect him again." ”

Saying that, Philip instructed his entourage: "So keep an eye on that Count Julipe, after all, that Grogenin seems to have a close relationship with Naples, and he is our chance and hope to find that man." ”