Under the starry sky in late autumn, the cold is deep.

Barendi was on a jutting balcony, looking up at the starry night sky overhead.

Such a quiet night, and the deep darkness overhead seems to swallow everything in the world, which makes people can't help but feel an inexplicable awe of the night sky, and perhaps this is also the feeling shared by countless people who have looked up at the sky for thousands of years.

There was a sound of soft footsteps behind her, and Lucrezia walked onto the balcony, and then she looked up at the sky like Barendi, and then shivered involuntarily and hugged her shoulders.

"I'm going to Vallaride," Barondi glanced back at Lucrezia next to her, "I think Alexander will come to see you soon." ”

Hearing Barondi's words, Lucrezia's face showed a hint of loneliness, she had missed him since Alexander left, and sometimes she even wondered if Alexander had forgotten her.

"I really envy you," Barendi said softly, glancing into the room when she saw Lucrezia's puzzled look, "You have two lovely children, and trust me that's enough to secure your position." ”

Barendi said and couldn't help but look down at her lower abdomen, her only worry now is that she can't have children, if that happens, her position is likely to be unstable, after all, having a legitimate heir is now not just Alexander's business, his subordinates can't allow an illegitimate child to inherit the throne, so whether they can give birth to a child has become a key.

"I don't want any status, I just want Alexander to love me." Lucrezia seemed to be a little angry, she was unhappy that Barondi saw his love affair with Alexander so sophisticated, although she knew that this might annoy Barendi, but she couldn't help but correct, "When I fell in love with him, he was just a little lord, wasn't he." ”

Barenti quietly looked at the puffed Lucrezia, and she couldn't help but admit that she now probably knew why Alexander was so obsessed with Lucrezia, and even tolerated Caesar's provocations and offenses again and again for her sake.

This is a very pure woman, she believes in love and devotes herself to love, and Alexander is probably attracted to her "purity".

"I think it's hard for us to see each other again in the future," Barenti smiled at Lucrezia, if she had been jealous of this woman before, now she suddenly felt that the conflict between herself and Lucrezia had become insignificant, "but I don't think your life will be so leisurely in the future." ”

"What?"

Lucrezia asked puzzled, she felt that she and Barondi really had almost nothing in common, when Barendi suddenly visited Pisa, she thought that this woman had come to ask for guilt, but Barendi unexpectedly revealed to her rumors about little Giovanni's background.

At that time, Lucrezia was trembling with anger, she was angry that Jeffrey had hurt her so badly, and she was even more worried about the misunderstanding that these rumors would cause to Alexander, but then Barendi comforted her and said that Alexander would never misunderstand her because of this, which made her feel good about Barendi at once.

Unlike Sofia, who was very hostile to Barendi, Lucrezia did not covet the name of Alexander's wife, as long as love was enough for her, and she did not care much about whether she wanted to become the mother of the "King of Rome".

So when Barendi said this, Lucrezia was puzzled.

"I mean, your children will be masters of the land," Barondi waved her hand out of the balcony, "and then you won't be able to just relax in the palace. ”

"Isn't Estelles already the Duchess of Pisa," Lucrezia said, a little puzzled, and then she thought for a moment and continued, "As for Giovanni, my father wants him to be a cardinal. ”

Looking at Lucrezia's stupid appearance, Barendi sighed secretly, and she suddenly felt that she had discovered another reason why Alexander liked this stupid woman, that is, she was very easy to be with her.

Barenti ignored Lucrezia, who was still trying to explain, and continued to look at the dark sky in the distance.

It's a pity that I can't be like her, she's very happy like this, but for me I can only be happy by standing by Alexander's side and becoming queen of Castile.

A meteor flashed, and Barundi thought to herself as she looked at the tail of light that swept across the night sky.

Ferdinand was summoned to Ulliu in the village chapel.

He did not express any anger at Alexander's sending the Moors to negotiate, but was faintly glad to have it.

If Alexander had brought a Castilian or Sicilian nobleman into his hands, many things might not have been able to be discussed.

If Ferdinand was unlikely to make any concessions, not only because of his dignity as king of Aragon, but also because of the possibility of the future throne, then many inhumane transactions would have to be done by certain people.

None of the treaties are truly public, and behind the seemingly fair or friendship-filled covenants are often the exchange of naked bargaining chips, which is nothing in the first place, but people always want to cover up the truth with a glossy package.

Ulliu was Alexander's courtier, court governor, messenger, servant, and pimp, but most importantly, he was Alexander's absolute confidant.

"Tell me what your master wants?" Ferdinand didn't say a single superfluous word, he looked at the Moors who had just walked in and asked, "I can also organize an army, and I can even go into exile if necessary, so if your master covets my throne, there is nothing to talk about." ”

Ulius looked at Ferdinand, he didn't speak immediately, he was still wondering how much of the man in front of him was pretending to be lustful.

If he was forced to relinquish the throne, it did seem unlikely, and Ferdinand could not have allowed this to happen, even if he did shed his last drop of blood and had to carry the crown, which was clear to both Alexander and Ulliu.

"Your Majesty, my lord has asked me to convey to you that you may retain your throne, but you must publicly promise that after your future death the throne will pass to Her Majesty the Queen of Sicily."

Equally simple and straightforward, Ulliu spelled out Alexander's conditions.

Ferdinand's face was instantly palpable, but instead of getting angry, he stood up and turned to walk towards the altar.

Looking up at Jesus Christ on the high cross, Ferdinand slowly turned to look at Ulliu: "Tell me, what is your master going to do if I refuse this condition?" ”

"I'm sorry Your Majesty, but the master didn't say this to me," Uliuu shook his head, "In fact, just before I left, he was telling General Gonzalo that even if he attacks here, you must be kept safe, and no offense against you will be allowed." ”

Ferdinand listened silently, he looked back at the cross again, then tapped the edge of the wooden altar with the fingers of one hand, and raised the other hand to point to the top of the bare head: "Since I succeeded to the throne at the age of 27, I have never thought that one day I would give up the crown to someone else, and even if I died, I should wear the crown and be buried in the tomb. ”

"You can still keep the crown until the end of your life," Ulliu's voice lowered slightly, as if to hint something to Ferdinand, "but at that time my master will still support the Queen of Sicily to become King of Aragon." ”

"And what about my grandchildren and granddaughters?" Ferdinand was noncommittal to Uliu's words, but asked curiously, "I think you might be planning to send them to their grandfather, right?" ”

Ulius smiled instead of answering directly, but it was enough to let Ferdinand know that he was right.

"You are only doing this to prolong the war for the throne of Aragon, knowing that my grandson is the future Emperor, do you think he will accept such a fate?"

"Who knows what will come in the future," Ulius shrugged indifferently, unlike with the other nobles, in this small chapel of only two people, the Moors faced the king of Aragon with a gesture of complete equality, "Your Majesty, you should think about your grandson, maybe you still have the hope of trying to turn defeat into victory, but do you think this is possible?" ”

Even though the Moors had uttered these words so rudely, Ferdinand was calm, a calm man, as he had been in most of the past, even at the end of his rope, but still maintaining his dignity as a king.

"Tell me, when did it all start?" Ferdinand sat down and looked at Ulliu with a look of amusement: "I know that you have signed a Treaty of Po, and I am surprised that there are so many countries that support you in your quest for the throne of Aragon, and these countries are all enemies of Maximian, don't tell me it's a coincidence." ”

Met Ferdinand's inquiring gaze, Ulius thought for a moment and replied, "Your Majesty, I don't know exactly when it all began, it's all been carefully planned by my master, so if you still think there's still a chance, then you can refuse these conditions." ”

"Isn't it funny that I have an enemy I never knew about who has been coveting my throne, and I don't know anything about it, and even now I don't know exactly how he did it?"

Ferdinand smiled a little lonely, he thought it was really funny, who would have thought that a young man who had never heard of it before had set his sights on one of the most illustrious crowns in Europe.

Incredibly, now it seems that he has actually come to the point where he is within reach of that crown.

"Let me be alone for a while," Ferdinand said slowly, before adding "you can stay here, and they will arrange a place for you." ”

Uliuu bowed silently, and then quietly retreated.

Hearing the sound of the door closing, Ferdinand raised his head and stared at the cross.

"I am the God-chosen King of Aragon, and I have the purest royal blood in this kingdom," Ferdinand said, shaking his head self-deprecatingly, "I can give everything I have to you, so tell me that you will help me?" ”

Jesus Christ on the cross looked silently at the king of Aragon below, and the heavy calm in the chapel seemed to weigh on Ferdinand like an invisible burden.

"You can't do anything, you can't even punish that despicable Alexander VI."

Ferdinand stood up and walked to the altar, where he reached out and stroked the wine and bread that were placed on the altar as symbols of the flesh and blood of Jesus Christ, and then suddenly waved his arms and swept everything on the altar to the ground!

The loud noise attracted the guards outside the door, and the panicked soldiers looked at each other as they looked at the mess on the ground, and for a moment did not know what to do.

"Get out," Ferdinand waved at the guards, he was still so calm, as if he wasn't the one who had just made that reckless move, "let me be quiet, I need to be quiet at this time." ”

The chamberlain immediately waved to the others for them to leave, and before closing the door, he thought of the lonely figure of the king standing under the cross and took a deep look.

Since the Treaty of the Po River had been brought back, the chamberlain had not seen the king sleep soundly, and his temper had become worse and worse, and now he had even destroyed the altar in the church.

The two wooden doors closed, and the attendant sighed in his heart at the same time.

Night gradually covered the ordinary village on the left bank of the Ebro River, which for many years was unknown and nameless, because there was a small hill near the village, which was always misty at this season.

But now the village suddenly became the focus of attention for the whole of Aragon and the whole of the Villa Peninsula.

Ferdinand knew that there should have been many people waiting for his reply, perhaps Gonzalo had already been impatient to accept Alexander's terms, and Zaragoza also had a group of people waiting for the result.

What about the others?

What are those Aragonese nobles doing?

Ferdinand was so puzzled at this time that he was no longer angry, but he couldn't think of what made so many people choose to betray or remain silent.

As the night wore on, Ferdinand tightened his robe, and it dawned on him that after so many days of suffering, he might be able to sleep well today, for he had nothing more to lose.

Night envelops the small villages on the banks of the Ebro River, as well as over the Bay of the Moon in Valencia.

Outside the bay, a fleet of ships was slowly approaching, and James Columbus stood on the deck of the flagship and watched the natural military port.

"Dangerous, this is a real dangerous place for both sides of the world," James sighed at the topography of the port, and then ordered his men to his men, "Go and prepare, and let the Aragonese lords see what we have brought them." ”

Saying that, James glanced at the sailors who were busy and muttered, "That lord is really generous," and he pouted slightly, "But then again, it's worth it compared to the crown." ”

After speaking, he habitually looked up at the starry sky above his head and looked for the location of the constellation Ursa Minor.

Although he had never been there, James knew from the messengers sent by Alexander that there was a fierce war going on under the stars far away in that direction.

And this battlefield is likely to affect the future of the whole of Europe, and even the world.