Located at the mouth of the Terro River in the southeast of Lisbon, the castle of São Jorge offers an irregular rectangular shape from the southeast corner of the castle that flows into the Atlantic Ocean, which originates in the Pyrenees.

The Visigoths built the castle hundreds of years ago, before it was defeated by the Moors, and for this reason the castle of São Jorge, built in the style of the time, looks like a huge labyrinth of huge stones, with numerous intermittent walls and narrow laneways creating the dizzying interior of the castle.

So much so that legend has always said that when the Moors arrived, a small army of Goths who did not have time to flee was unwilling to give in to the infidels, so they hid in the castle of San Jorge, relying on the labyrinthine terrain of the castle to catch and seek the Moors.

The game was played for a long time, and it is even said that decades later, the Moors had seen the figures or ghosts of Goths who should have died long ago in some of the secret passages or alleys of the castle.

But this is a legend after all, the castle of São Jorge has been built by the Goths, Moors, and the later established Portuguese kingdom over the centuries, except for the façade built by gray boulders has always maintained a unique Gothic style, the architecture of the castle has undergone great changes, especially the new palace built on the original foundation, although the appearance still maintains a lot of Gothic style, but the interior is full of traces left by the previous era, This makes this castle a rather peculiar scenery that combines the different characteristics of the East and the West, where you can fully experience the collision and fusion of civilizations.

Queen Maria actually didn't like the castle of St. Jorge very much, she thought that the place was "too pagan", although Castile was also inevitably full of indelible traces of the Orient because of the centuries-long Moorish occupation, but Queen Isabella spared no effort to try to correct this historical mistake from the beginning of her accession to the throne, so she encouraged "de-paganization" in the country, from food, clothing, housing and transportation to culture and art, Castile is constantly carrying out this profound washing, The Portuguese were apparently much slack by comparison, so much so that the Portuguese did not seem to Mary to be at all devout Christians.

When she became queen, Maria rarely came to the Château de San Jorge because she was not interested in living in the castle, but instead the Palazzo Neuve, located in the west of the city, became her permanent residence.

However, this time, for the sake of the "Count of Agri", Maria offered to hold a grand banquet in the castle of San Jorge.

Of course, because the other party was an anonymous private visit, the banquet could not be held in the name of receiving the earl.

However, it is not difficult to say why, just two days ago, the second fleet sent by Manuel to the East had sent back their first reply, according to which they had passed through Ceuta, an important Portuguese port in Africa, and that they would then sail south to the East along the route previously opened by Vasco da Gama.

This was more or less good news, so Maria suggested that the banquet be held in this name, and at the same time they invited many merchants and foreign guests who came to Lisbon to do business, among them was the "Count of Agri".

When Alexander and James Columbus arrived at the castle, the banquet had already begun, and of course he would not receive any special treatment as an ordinary foreign nobleman who came to do business, so when the two men entered the palace with its obvious Gothic features, they saw either a cheerful conversation or a group of people around the table and the delicious food on the table.

The master of ceremonies standing at the door looked at Alexander and the two, and although he did not move, he glanced at one of the court attendants next to him, who immediately walked forward and whispered Alexander's identity.

"Count Agri, well, let me tell you so." Alexander said with a smile, seeing his entourage turn around and report to the master of ceremonies, he motioned to James next to him to go inside.

As they descended two steps down the stone steps to the recessed hall, they heard the master of ceremonies at the door behind them announce in a characteristic loud voice: "Count Agri, arrive~"

The noise in the palace had been quieted a little, and the people looked to the door, and then quickly went back to their interests, except for a few young women who showed curiosity about the handsome count, who was not very richly dressed, and most of them did not pay much attention to the new young guest.

Mary sat on her throne, uninterested in the dishes on the table in front of her, and bothered to deal with the nobles who seemed to be looking for an opportunity to get close to her, but when Alexander appeared, her eyes suddenly lit up, and she began to wonder how she could quickly talk to the visiting "Chincha" without being obvious.

But before Maria could come up with a reason for the past, Manuel I, who was sitting on the sidelines, couldn't bear it anymore.

Manuel I was always interested in the development of Castile in seafaring, perhaps because of the acumen of rivals, or because of the great efforts of Prince Enrique in his early years to explore seafaring expeditions, which influenced later Portuguese monarchs.

Manuel I, who was both excited about the opening of a new course and annoyed by the fact that it did not belong to him, was at once intrigued by the fact that a man related to Columbus, who had discovered the new course, was in Lisbon.

So when he heard that the two men had come, Manuel I only hesitated a little before he suddenly stood up and walked directly towards them under the slightest surprised and curious gaze.

He was not very interested in Alexander, Manuel, he had heard of the duke, and he knew that he had defeated Bayezet II in Bucharest, which was perhaps a great feat indeed, and if it had been at other times, the king might have wanted to hear about the duke's heroic deeds, but now he was more interested in the fat man who looked like a man of the sea beside the duke.

Maria originally wanted to stop her husband, after all, this was a bit reckless, and it might make things worse, but seeing Manuel rushing over, Maria had to stop, she knew that if she did that, it would only attract more attention, so she simply stood up and walked casually, seemingly casually, while quietly paying attention to Manuel's movements.

"What are you talking about," said the king, with a self-confessed kind smile on his face, seemingly casually walking up to Alexander, who was chatting with a few nobles under the pillar, first greeting those who recognized him, and then looking at Alexander with the eyes he had just seen...... Looking at some eyes, can anyone help me introduce them? ”

"Count of Agri, George Modillo, salute you, Your Majesty." Alexander bowed.

"Oh, sure enough, it's you, I've heard about you," Manuel nodded, "I heard you're from Rome, are you an earl?" ”

"Yes, Your Majesty, but my fiefdom is in Naples."

"Wait a minute, Modillo?" Manuel looked at Alexander thoughtfully, "I remember that many years ago there was a count of Naples whose surname was Mordillo, and he used to come to Lisbon, but he didn't stay long before he went to Castile, so you and him?" ”

"The Count of Mordillo is my uncle, and my mother is George Anne, Countess of Cosenza." Alexander saluted Manuel again.

"That's right, I really didn't expect that," Manuel looked a little surprised, but after a moment he turned his head to look at James next to him, and said in a deliberately mocking tone, "What about this one, it doesn't happen to be someone I know." ”

The king's humorous quips immediately caused a well-timed burst of laughter all around, and by this time the people had slowly gathered around, as if watching with interest as the king chatted with people.

"Your Majesty, I'm just a businessman, and I don't think I'll have the privilege of hearing of me," James bowed awkwardly, and gave his name at the same time, "James Columbia, willing to serve you, Your Majesty." ”

"What, Columbus?" Manuel used a slightly exaggerated expression of surprise: "This must be God's arrangement, this is too coincidental, I have just heard of this surname, to be precise, I also know a person surnamed Columbus, I don't think he also happens to be someone yours, right?" ”

"Your Majesty, if you're talking about Christopher, that's a coincidence," James said, with a helpless expression, "he's my brother, though I'm very reluctant to hear his name." ”

"That's a coincidence, that's the person I know." As soon as Manuel's words came out, it immediately caused an exaggerated exclamation all around, and people immediately regarded the king's encounter with so many coincidental events as the most interesting topic of the banquet, if it weren't for the fact that there was no such thing as gambling in these years, someone would definitely have coincidentally suggested that Manuel buy a few lottery tickets.

Maria stood impatiently watching her husband's exaggerated performance, ignoring her husband, who immediately found an opportunity to start arguing with James, and kept staring at Alexander so badly that Alexander couldn't pretend not to pay attention to her.

So under the watchful eye of the people, Alexander walked towards Mary, stopping a few paces away from her and saluting: "Your Majesty, I am very honored to receive your invitation, and to be honest I did not expect to receive it, so much so that at first I thought it was a prank. ”

"Count, do you think that my position in Lisbon is so unbearable that I can let others use my name to play pranks?" Mary frowned.

"Of course not, I just thought that it was impossible for me to invite someone of such status as you to attend such a banquet, after all, I was only helping my uncle take care of some business, and even he didn't care much about me."

Alexander's sincere words made Maria a little confused for a while, and for a moment she wondered if Tiego was mistaken, this person was really just a little nobleman with no background.

Although there was such a suspicion in her heart, but thinking that this person had indeed met Juana anyway, this alone made Maria feel that she should still pay attention to this person, and as for his origin, I believe it will soon be clear.

Thinking so, Maria casually turned and walked back to her seat, but Manuel, after deliberately getting involved in sailing, because he found that this Columbus brother also seemed to be quite good at sailing, immediately beckoned James to sit down at a table very close to him and continue talking, but threw Alexander aside.

Looking at James, who was having a good conversation with Manuel, and feeling that although it was far away, it could be detected by looking closely at the gaze of the queen, Alexander paced casually while slowly drinking wine.

Then he saw Tiego standing in front of him.

"My lord," Tygo saluted Alexander, naturally, he didn't care about the suspicion that might be aroused by his discovery, he was a merchant, and it was normal for him to know some dignitaries after many years of traveling to and from those cities in the Mediterranean, and after greeting him, his voice lowered slightly, "Then the queen......

"Apparently the Queen doesn't want to get to know me so quickly."

Alexander smiled, he could guess Maria's thoughts, but he was not in a hurry, the daughter of Queen Isabella was obviously infatuated with and admired her mother, so she tried to imitate Queen Isabella no matter what she did, but it was obvious that she had not learned all her skills, at least until now, she had not noticed that there was a powerful force in Portugal secretly opposing her, and she could know that the young queen's skills were a little bad.

"Maybe I can help you ......"

"No," Alexander resisted Tiego's suggestion, "that might make her suspicious, wait, she'll probably come to you, and then I think she'll be in contact with me soon." ”

Although Tiego was a little puzzled how Alexander could be so confident, he still obediently chatted a few more words and left, with his knowledge of the duke's past affairs, he knew that Alexander should be sure, as for when Maria will take the bait, then he does not know.

The banquet was so great that a few of the nobles, too excited, dragged their fellows out of the hall and made a gesture, and a clanging fight ended with one of the unlucky men slipping and his thigh pierced by a fireplace hanging beside him.

The man was immediately carried down, but the blood on the ground did not discourage the guests, and it was not until a short time later that someone came back to report that the hapless man had died of excessive bleeding, and Manuel I declared the feast over.

James returned to Alexandria in high spirits, and on the way back to his lodgings he told Manuel that he was interested in his sailing experience, and even offered to finance an adventure like his brother had done to find a new route west across the Atlantic, as his brother had done.

"If that's the case, I'd advise you to prepare now, because if you're going to follow the route in your brother's nautical diary, you may have to go a long way south before you get the rewards." Alexander said casually, seeing James with a thoughtful look when he heard this, Alexander didn't pay attention to it, but looked at the street outside the car.

He expected nothing to gain from this first meeting with Maria, and of all the children of Queen Isabella, Maria of Aragon was the one who most resembled her mother in terms of her conviction but suspicion, and her sisters and brothers were far from her in character, not to mention the famous infatuated Juana, whose youngest sister, Catherine of Aragon, who later became Queen of England, was not so deliberate in imitating their mother.

There are many reasons why Maria didn't immediately show much desire to meet, and Alexander believes that one of them should be that his previous visit to Juana made her suspicious, but this is obviously unavoidable, if Alexander wants to continue to contact Juana in the future, it will be impossible not to be discovered by Maria's people after a long time, rather than find a way to remedy it at that time, it is better to let her know from the beginning.

As for why he was in contact with Juana, Alexander not only had already thought of a reason, but he also believed that once Maria heard about it, she might break the current deadlock and come to him on her own initiative.

Just as Alexander had guessed, Maria, who had returned to the Palazzo Nuova, immediately sent someone to find Tiego again.

Although it was getting late, the queen was in good spirits, and her husband, King Manuel, was in good spirits.

So after meeting the two Majesties, Tiego was immediately entangled in all kinds of questions.

"Is that man really the Duke of Rometesia?" The queen asked directly.

"Can that James Columbus lead a fleet like his brother, I mean a bigger fleet?" The king asked urgently.

"He went to see Juana, did the woman make a statement to the Vatican?"

"He's with the duke, is he already receiving the duke's funding? In that case, can you find out what the Duke of Rometesia promised him on his terms? ”

Tyego was almost overwhelmed by a series of questions, but in the end one of his words caught Maria's attention: "It is said that the Duke of Rometesia was commissioned by his good friend Cardinal Massimo to meet Princess Juana, and I know this because I heard from Palermo when I was doing business in Sicily, it is said that Cardinal Massimo went to Sicily to inspect the diocese, and there he met the Aragonese army under the command of General Gonzalo, and then he heard something about the current situation of Princess Juana, The cardinal seemed to be touched by the princess's piety, so he asked the duke to pay a visit to Princess Juana when he came to examine the miracles......"

"What? Sicily, Gonzalo? ”

Looking at Maria, whose expression changed instantly, Tiego couldn't help but wonder in his heart: "The duke's words are going to be fulfilled." ”

Nine Heavenly God Emperors