Every era has its own traces.

Alexander did not know what kind of mark he would leave in history.

Careerist?

Changemakers?

The promoters of history or the cruel and tyrannical feudal monarchs?

These titles could be poured into his head, but none of them were right.

This is a time when the darkness is about to fade and the dawn is coming, and Alexander is fortunate and unfortunate to see and touch the pulse of this era, and even make this pulse beat more strongly.

The moment when religion imprisoned the minds of the people has passed, and people have begun to look at the long dark night of the past, first from art, and then gradually from their hearts.

The whole of Europe seems to be in turmoil, and almost all the people of insight are constantly reflecting on the existence of the Church and the legitimacy of the dogmas that have bound people's minds for many years.

It was a time that frightened the church, excited the feudal monarchs, and bewildered the common people.

An era of wars and turmoil, and everyone is in danger.

This kind of turmoil will continue for a long time, and there will be many people who will not enjoy peace and stability for the rest of their lives.

It is unfortunate for all beings to be born in such an era, but it is a paradise for those who have great ambitions and the strength to realize them.

Alexander had time to think about these things because he was in a slow-moving carriage.

As the carriage swayed along the road, his head bobbed with it, making it easy to fall into a half-asleep trance.

It was in such an environment that he had time to think about these things that he had rarely thought of before.

Not far in front of you is the cathedral of the city of Toledo, and it can be seen from the strange atmosphere in the city after entering the city, what kind of significance their arrival has for Toledo.

The Toledos didn't know who was coming, but they noticed something strange from the soldiers who were hurrying by, and many of them opened their windows and looked down the street, trying to find something, but to their disappointment, they didn't see any big people appear.

Little did they know that while they were still speculating, an inconspicuous carriage had passed by them, through the narrow winding streets, and the pack horses pulling the cart were struggling to make their strides towards the cathedral on the hillside, little by little.

Toledo is a hill town, and although the city is not located in a high location, the streets are also high and sometimes uneven because of the mountainous terrain and complex terrain.

The carriage finally stopped at a stretch of stairs leading up to the top, and from here it was necessary to walk until you reached the square in front of the cathedral.

This is also a deliberate design when the cathedral was built, and no matter who you are, you have to walk to the cathedral, which invisibly creates a sense of awe for this place.

Remembering that the Pope had to climb these seemingly never-ending steps on foot, Alexander suddenly understood why Toledo was once considered one of the pilgrimage sites by the Iberians.

These steps here are a metaphor for the Way of the Cross like Jerusalem.

Obviously, Isabella's habit of creating auspicious things in her own country seems to have been inherited from others.

With this in mind, Alexander began to walk up the steps, beside him Schell staring warily at the houses on either side of the road.

Schell actually disapproved of Alexander coming to Toledo alone, he was the duke's chief attendant, and he was responsible for protecting the duke's safety, but Alexander's audacity and stubbornness made him feel helpless.

"Actually, you don't need to be so nervous at all," Alexander comforted Schel, who was staring around, "The only reason to kill someone is to do it for their own benefit, at least I can't think of any benefit to the Toledos in killing me, so why would they do it?" ”

Shelmer was silent, just staring around, he knew that there was not much point in doing this, if the Toledos really wanted to be against the Duke, with the only few people they were now following with the Duke, in the event of an accident, it would only be a little delay.

Thinking of this, Hill reluctantly collapsed his tense shoulders.

Despite the scorching sun overhead, there were several people standing in front of the Cathedral of Toledo, looking at the horizon at the end of the square.

According to the assignment of duties of the Church of Choice, the cathedral of Toledo is in fact the seat of the real Church of Castile.

The bishopric, not just the archbishop, was the highest ecclesiastical authority in the whole of Castiaria, which was why for many years Toledo enjoyed a high position until Isabella and his wife moved to the capital.

It's just that everything changed with the relocation of Isabella and her husband.

The Castilian Church actually had an invisible split after the capital was moved.

Similarly, the Council of Elders of the Nobles was also severely weakened, and the new nobility did not have a minimum of respect for the Council of Elders, an aristocratic system that had been established by ancient Iberian customs and was facing great challenges with the strength of the royal family.

That's why this meeting was not a secret.

There was a great deal of disagreement among the Toledomen as to how to receive the duke, who had come from afar.

Many people thought that secrecy should be kept as much as possible, after all, too blatant dealings with the duke were likely to anger Ferdinand completely.

Andalusia was far from Toledo, but Ferdinand's was close.

The distance from Madrid to Toledo is less than 40 franca, which is not very close, but it is not far enough to make Toledo's people forget.

A few shaky black dots appeared on the horizon leading to the long staircase under the square, and then several figures slowly rose into the eyes of the people waiting.

"And all the people followed his ways, and became his servants and friends."

The Archbishop of the Order suddenly let out an exclamatory prayer, and several members of the Order in robes couldn't help but glance at him.

"The way that is being walked is the way that has been guided, and now, folks, we are walking according to God's will." The archbishop looked at the others, and he noticed that there were still people who seemed unmoved, but many more people looked at the figure with blank eyes.

"It's time for us to meet the Duke," said the archbishop, who didn't go far, but took two steps forward to the edge of a black marble.

On the marble, there is a small wooden couch with a purple blanket.

But the archbishop's action made many people's expressions become wrong, and everyone was quiet at this time, waiting for that moment to come.

Alexander walked slowly across the square, his gaze wandering over the bishops of the Order who were waiting for him, and a playful look on his face as his eyes fell on the purple velvet couch in front of the archbishop.

When he was still a dozen steps away from the bishops of the Order, Alexander stopped.

His gaze swept over everyone in front of him, pausing slightly at each sight of a face, as if to scrutinize them, before he finally took a step forward.

Everyone seemed to hear their hearts "thump" at this moment.

Then the bishops' faces showed a sense of relief.

The Archbishop of the Order also secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and he clutched the cross at his side hard, imagining what kind of attitude he should use to treat the Duke next.

It should be kind and not too excessive, otherwise it will cause him to be dissatisfied, and then it will not be easy to get along in the future.

No, it is better to be more dignified, the people of the Astamara family have been too arrogant in the past, and he must know that in Castile it is still the church that has the final say.

The archbishop pondered, but still had a smile on his face.

Only his smile lasted only a short moment, and then Alexander's action made the bishops of the Order completely stunned.

Stretching out his hand and pointing to the ground in front of his toes without hesitation, Alexander silently looked at the people opposite.

The archbishop looked at the young man across from him in disbelief.

The sun overhead was scorching, and the trees in the distance were chirping, and the whole square seemed to be on fire.

But none of this can be compared with the mood of the bishops of the Order.

The bishops' hearts seemed to be roasted on a fire, and some of them had sweat running down their necks and into their collars, and some of them stiffened uncomfortably because their clothes were soaked and completely attached to their bodies.

But even so, no one moved.

Everyone looked at Alexander's right hand and then their eyes fell on the archbishop, who seemed to be in a daze.

The archbishop's gaze rested firmly on Alexander's fingertips, then descended an invisible extension and landed on the ground in front of him.

It is no different from the ground in front of the archbishop, it is also gray marble, but everyone knows that two different places have completely different meanings.

The archbishop's gaze at the ground finally retracted, and he raised his head and stared at Alexander with an angry gaze, as if to see from his face whether the arrogance he now displayed was sincere, or if it was just a bluff.

Unfortunately, the archbishop soon discovered that such speculation was completely useless in this young nobleman.

Alexander's expression was calm, and when the archbishop stared at him, he did not look away at all, but only looked back quietly.

There was a dead silence in the square, and no one made a sound except for the rhythmic flapping of wings.

The archbishop's face began to turn red, he did not expect that what he thought would be a perfect demonstration of the authority of the Church would become what it was now.

What should he do?

End this meeting immediately because of anger?

Or do you simply have this Ferdinand's rival captured and sent to Valariedot?

That might mend the relationship with Ferdinand?

Such thoughts flashed through the archbishop's mind, and the order to capture the man in front of him almost blurted out.

But the archbishop did not open his mouth in the end.

He paused lightly on the cross, and the head of the bronze-covered staff made a muffled sound on the ground.

One of the clergymen immediately took a few steps forward, paused briefly at the archbishop's side to listen to the command, and then hurried through the steaming open space of the square to Alexander.

"Your Highness, according to ......"

The priest who had just opened his mouth was stopped by Alexander's raised hand.

"I, the son of King Enrique, am the sole heir to the throne of the House of Astamira of Castile, given that Isabella's children have lost their right to inherit the throne of Castile, and that my sister Juana has renounced her right to the throne because she has become queen of Portugal."

Alexander was speaking to the priest, but his eyes were fixed on the man opposite.

"So in light of that, I have to be treated with the respect I deserve."

The priest listened in amazement, trying to memorize every word of the duke, and his head was sweating, and at this moment it felt as if everyone's eyes were poking at him like arrows.

"But your Highness, you know that it is an obligation as a Castilian monarch to pay homage to the archbishop, the will of God who rules the world of Christ, and the Church which is the bride of Christ."

The priest felt that he had never spoken so dryly about what he had been proud of, and when his eyes made contact with Alexander, he could not help but jump in fear that the other party might suddenly draw his sword and pierce his throat, and the priest could not help but take a step back.

After all, the Astamara family has indeed had tyrants who killed the priests in history.

"Priest, please go and tell the archbishop that he now has two choices, one is to continue to support Juana, who inherited Ferdinand's bloodline, and who may end up dishonoring all of Castile, and the other is to prove to me now his loyalty to Castile."

Speaking of this, Alexander moved his neck slightly to look at the sweaty priest in front of him.

"In addition, please tell the Archbishop that His Majesty the Pope has asked me to convey to him that His Majesty believes that since he has left the Vatican, it is necessary to rejoin a cardinal belonging to his diocese in the Cardinal Order, so that the Gospel of Jesus Christ can be better spread."

The priest was stunned, he looked at Alexander with some uncertainty, as if trying to figure out whether he understood what he meant, and after receiving Alexander's signal of "just what you think", the priest immediately suppressed the excitement in his heart and hurried back to the archbishop.

No one knew what the priest had said in the archbishop's ear, but it was clear that the archbishop, who had been stubbornly confronting the Duke of Rome, had suddenly become impatient.

He seemed hesitant but a little unwilling, but after such a tangled stalemate for a while, under the gaze of many pairs of eyes, the archbishop finally took his first step.

There was a small commotion among the bishops of the Order behind him, but then the people immediately fell silent.

Everyone's eyes were fixed on the Archbishop of Alexandria, who slowly walked towards him.

With each step, the sound of his footsteps seemed to strike at the hearts of the bishops of the Order.

Finally, the main engine passed the distance of a dozen paces and came to a stop beyond Alexandria.

Looking at the old man opposite, Alexander stretched out his hand again, which made the archbishop's heart suddenly lift.

He stared nervously at Alexander's right hand, and when he saw his finger point to the ground in front of him again, the archbishop's face was already angry.

"Please come to the Archbishop, please accept my request for mercy from you." Alexander said calmly.

After struggling for a moment, the archbishop finally took his steps again.

Under the gaze of all, Alexander bowed to the archbishop who came before him to receive blessings and prayers, while holding the pendant from his cross staff and kissing it gently.

Only everyone present knew that although Alexander finally bowed his head, there was no doubt that from this moment on, the last dignity of the church in Toledo was gone.