The royal palace of Valladolid is a bit old, and like this cheerful but dull, unrestrained and conservative, opulent and rich but dirty and chaotic city, the royal palace of the Kingdom of Castile is made up of many elements full of extreme contradictions.

Because of the Moorish influence in Iberia for many years, even the royal palace of Valladolid has a rather obvious pagan style, and there are indelible Moorish traces in both the decorative style and the construction structure, perhaps in order to erase these past that represent the Dark Ages, so Queen Isabella did not hesitate to spend a lot of money to rebuild this royal palace after her accession to the throne.

This once led many to think that the queen was greedy for pleasure, and Queen Isabella replied, "I would rather spend this amount of money and drink black bread for ten years in a row than breathe for a minute in a place with a pagan atmosphere." ”

The Queen's determination eventually led her to transform the Valladolid Palace into a "very Christ", at least with the exception of some of the royal walls and main buildings that could not be demolished, and to try not to make people see the unpleasant traces.

Valladolid is not very large, in fact, the queen does not really spend much money on the palace, her money is mainly used for two things.

Forming armies and building churches.

A strong army can give the queen a solid power, and a strong faith can make her rule even more rock-solid.

Normezzi, Count of Giulipe, was only able to see the Queen four days after he had submitted his request for an audience.

As a member of the Sicilian family of the Rastarama family, Normezi had visited Ferdinand II two years earlier, and it is unknown what kind of promises Normezi had received from Ferdinand at that time, but after returning to Naples, Normezi was once considered a representative of the pro-Aragon dynasty.

For the arrival of Normezie, Queen Isabella behaved in a decent manner, neither cold nor overly affectionate attitude proves that she is not so interested in this count, which has something to do with her current status, after all, the rule of the two kings will inevitably cause some unnecessary troubles and conflicts in many cases, and the two countries that have merged because of the union of a pair of men and women, whether it is the court or the people, will inevitably have such and such friction and contradictions, in order to avoid this contradiction from causing a big conflict, Queen Isabella and her husband had an agreement that neither would actively interfere in the internal affairs of the other country's country unless the other party requested it.

Of course, Ferdinand's ambitions for Naples Queen Isabella were well aware, otherwise she would not have sent Gonzalo to lead the Aragonese army on an expedition to Italy, but this was still Aragon's own business, so she would not easily get involved.

Once the rules are broken, it is difficult to recover, and it is precisely because of this mutual promise that the husband and wife have been able to get along so well for many years.

Normezi was no stranger to Valladolid, having spent some time here and at the court of Zaragoza, the capital of Aragon, and had thus met many nobles from both countries.

It's just that his presence this time has aroused some suspicion.

The successive deaths of Frederick's father and son were still very surprising to the Aragonese people, and what they did not expect was that with the death of the two kings, the regency of Naples now fell into the hands of a woman.

Although it was said that it was Alfred's wife, this was obviously unacceptable to the Aragonese, and this idea was evident even in the court of Valladode, and Normezi, as a well-known pro-Aragonese faction, was later reported that he had rebelled and was captured, then quickly pardoned by the queen, and later even heard that he had been involved in the queen's brother's negotiations with the French in Lombardy.

Although the news came relatively slowly, it was still more or less heard by the Iberians, so it is not surprising that when Normezi came, he received a cold reception.

Normezi was clearly prepared for this, and Alexander had warned him before he arrived that he would probably encounter some enemies in Valladode, but Normezi didn't care much about it, or it didn't matter to him anymore.

Queen Isabella is almost 50 years old, and the fact that the Valladolid court is preparing for her upcoming 50th birthday celebration is a big event not only for the court and Valladolid, but for the kingdom as a whole.

The queen is no longer young, or has entered old age, but even if you look closely, you can still faintly detect a trace of the charm of her youth from her already aged appearance.

The queen was undoubtedly a beauty when she was young, which can be seen from the appearance of her daughters, whether it is the two queens of Portugal or Princess Catherine, who is about to marry to England, you can see the shadow of the queen when she was young.

It's just that at this time, the Iberians tend to ignore the queen's appearance, or sometimes forget that she is a woman, and in the minds of the Castilians, Isabella is their wise monarch and even their religious leader.

Standing in front of such a woman, Normezi will inevitably feel nervous, although he knows that the purpose of his coming to Rastila will not be known by the other party, but looking at the queen's expressionless but faintly uneasy brown eyes, Normezi involuntarily lowered his head.

"So you're pardoned, Count?" Isabella casually asked, "I heard you were arrested, but now it seems that you are doing well." ”

"God has blessed me, Your Majesty, but I have to thank Queen Tsuisa of Kosenza for her kindness to me at last."

"I can see that you are very grateful to her," the queen nodded, "I heard that she fought a battle with the French and won it, which is really surprising, considering that the king has sent Gonzalo with 30,000 troops to support Naples, but I didn't expect the queen to win that battle herself." ”

"Your Majesty, in fact it was the Queen's brother, the Duke of Romatesia, who won the battle," Normezi replied cautiously, knowing that even the wrong word in front of this powerful woman might cause him trouble, so he decided to tell the truth, and this was what Alexander had repeatedly told him before he came, "and they sent troops to the Lombardy after winning the battle against the French." ”

"I've heard of this too," the queen nodded, of course Isabella was very concerned about the Italian war, which her in-laws were also deeply involved in, because after all, their interests were also involved, and she also knew that because the Aragonese army had defeated the French army occupying Naples before it had arrived, Ferdinand was very hostile to the brother and sister, and he was also very dissatisfied with Gonzalo's failure to send troops to Naples as soon as possible, but went to the Aegean Sea to serve as a mercenary for the Venetians, which aroused the queen's thoughts. But you're just in time to ask you something about Naples. ”

Normezi immediately stood there honestly, like an obedient child, waiting for the queen's inquiry.

It's just that just as Isabella was about to speak, an abrupt voice that sounded quite good, but seemed indescribable at this time, suddenly interjected: "That Duke of Rometesia, did he really win against that terrible Bayezette?" ”

Normezi turned to look at the voice in surprise, he wondered how anyone could dare to interrupt the queen at such a time, and then he saw a young woman who made him lose his mind.

When Normezi came to Valladolid two years ago, she did not see Juana, she was in the Low Countries, but even if it was only the first time she saw her, Normezi knew immediately that the young woman in front of her, with inky black hair, slightly thick but rather attractive lips, and a pair of eyes that seemed to be unfamiliar at all times, was who she was.

"Really, he really defeated that Sultan?"

Looking at the curious eyes of the young lady in front of him, Normezi bowed his head and saluted, he did this because of politeness, but also to hide the trance of that moment.

This young woman was none other than Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand's daughter, Juana.

Isabella was the third of all her children, and she was now the most at ease compared to her other sisters, because they either married far away and never saw each other again, or they were not far away but could not return to their homeland for various reasons.

Juana was living in Valladolid with her husband, Philip, Duke of Vienna, son of Emperor Maximian, and it was her happiest time.

At this time, Juana was indeed happy, because she was by her parents' side, and more importantly, she was accompanied by her husband, the person she thought she would love for the rest of her life after seeing it at first sight.

"That's rude, Juana, and you're ashamed of your recklessness."

The queen scolded her daughter a little angrily, after all, she was summoning the ministers, and at this time she rashly stood up to interrupt the queen, which was indeed very disrespectful in the strict and conservative Castilian court, but somehow, Normezzi did not hear too much dissatisfaction from the queen's tone, on the contrary, there seemed to be a little doting.

"But Mother, I mean the Queen Mother, isn't it legendary, just like the great Cid, the Duke who defeated the King of the Infidel."

Unfazed by the Queen's rebuke, Juana passed by Normezi, who bowed her head, to the Queen's throne, and when the servant next to her moved a chair, she sat down and took Queen Isabella's hand, and continued, "I know it's not appropriate to compare him to Cid, but they do the same thing, don't they?" ”

The queen looked at her daughter with a look of helplessness as if she urgently needed her consent, she never knew why this daughter was not so different from other children, whether it was her unfortunate sons Juan and Isabella, or Maria and Catherine, these children's personalities were either like her or their fathers, but Juana was completely different, her personality was so unrestrained and enthusiastic that sometimes Isabella felt worried, It seems that God planted in her heart a soul that burns with fire when he molded her body.

"Cid is a saint, I don't think that duke seems to have achieved his level of greatness, you must know that it is very inappropriate to use the great Cid as a metaphor for a living nobleman, you know?" Isabella patiently enlightened her daughter, she knew that she couldn't argue with her at this time, otherwise she might be pestered by her all day.

"It's not as great as Cid, but it's still surprising, isn't it, Philip?"

Juana suddenly looked up into the distance, and at the same time her eyes became hot, and at that moment Normézi felt as if she had forgotten what she had said before, and all her spirits, her thoughts, were focused on the last name as the heat revealed in her eyes.

The concentration was so obvious that Normezi forgot the etiquette and followed her gaze towards a corner door that led to the side hallway.

A young nobleman happened to walk in, dressed in a fuchsia robe with gold lace, and a jeweled sword hanging from a belt of wheat ears gently patted the outside of his thigh as he walked, and when he reached the light, Normezi saw his face clearly.

It was an unusually beautiful face, the kind of beauty that would make the ladies tear the silk brocade in the middle of the night because they missed him, and when he stood in the sun, he looked like a beautiful boy from Greek mythology, and with just one look at him, Normezi understood why Juana was said to be so obsessed with the young man.

Pretty Philip, son of Emperor Maximian, husband of Juana.

Philip's arrival apparently made Juana forget all the things she had asked, and she hurried over to her husband, and then pulled him back to her mother and sat down, her eyes never taking her eyes off Philip's face, and then she began to talk to Philip despite the fact that everyone else was present.

Isabella looked at her daughter helplessly, Juana's behavior made her feel a little annoyed but helpless.

She knew that the audience would not go any further, and just as she was about to get Normezzie to retreat, Philip suddenly stood up and bowed to Isabella, and then said, "Your Majesty, allow me to ask the Count a few things. ”

Isabella was a little surprised, but nodded her head in agreement.

Philip looked at Normezie, he didn't speak immediately, as if he was thinking about how to ask, and then, after thinking about it, he asked: "Count, do you know of a lowland man named Grogenin, who I know is familiar with the Duke of Rometesia." ”

Hearing Philip's inquiry, and then looking at the staring eyes of the Duke of Vienna and the Governor of the Lowlands, Normezi suddenly felt that perhaps this errand was not as easy to handle as he thought.

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