Chapter 53: The Hostage (II)

Unbeknownst to Duarte, Cardinal Picromini smiled almost at the same time with the same icy smile as Alexander VI, and he stood in front of Lucrecia, his tall figure blocking all light, leaving Lucles as if he were immersed in an abyss of hopelessness, "in fact," Cardinal Picromini said in what can be called a kind tone: "If Alexander VI had entrusted this matter to me and the Medici family, we would have readily agreed, Picomini and Borgia were allies of each other, and the Medici family could be said to be a vassal of Borgia, but he didn't, you say, Lucresia, why is that? ”

Lucrecia shuddered, as she had said before, her father often lamented that she was not a son, but even if she was a girl, her natural intelligence, and her study and reading with the connivance of Julio and Caesar, had greatly broadened her horizons, and her eyes were never limited to needlework and makeup, which is why, as soon as Juan was appointed commander of the Holy Alliance, she realized that Alexander VI had decided to abandon Caesar.

Perhaps under the urging of emotion, she did not realize for a moment what kind of mistake she had made, but under the reminder of Cardinal Picromini, she knew very well what kind of quagmire her rash behavior had put Giulio in, out of reason, she knew that she should leave immediately, pretending never to come, but out of emotion, Giulio. The Medici was the only one she could ask for help now, and she couldn't watch Caesar die without doing anything - she tightened her arms in a daze, and the fat black, gray and white striped big cat suddenly meowed in dissatisfaction.

"What's the name of this cat?" Cardinal Picromini asked suddenly.

"Called...... Giulio. Lucles replied.

Cardinal Picromini glanced at the fat cat with disgust, and thought that this cat had no resemblance to his disciple at all, but he knew that this cat was a gift from Julio to Lucrecia several years ago, and it was said that he had lost it once, but it was found by Giulio at the request of Ezio - he also knew that Giulio was not as indifferent to Luclecia as he appeared, perhaps initially out of a brother's love for his sister, But this sentiment had deteriorated long after their return to Rome.

Luigi of Borgia was the first to be killed by Giulio actively rather than passively, just for Lucrecia. After that, although he rejected Lucrecia's courtship, he kept his eyes on her, especially in places where Lucrea's fallen father and brother did not care - without him, Lucrecia's reputation would not be as good as it is now. Cardinal Picromini did not know what Alexander VI thought, and allowed his mistress to live with his daughter, and asked her to teach his daughter, a noblewoman, and a mistress, even if it was the mistress of the Pope, could be compared to it? If Giulio hadn't stopped him in time, the story that Pope Alexander VI and his daughter had to tell would have been circulated in Rome early on.

The amortis sold by the church, worth ten gold ducats, or ten gold florins, and the aphrons for blind dates with their own mothers or sisters are always in short supply, and the people of the world are always talking about what happened under the Pope's long white underwear, once the rumors spread, even Alexander VI should not expect it to fend for itself - such an affair can be spread from Rome to Ottoman Turkey, Alexander VI's reputation has long been too bad to be bad, but what about Lucrea, she is going to be a human wife, a human mother, Is there a husband and son who can endure such humiliation and greet such a wife and mother with a smile?

"You have to remember what Julio did for you." Cardinal Picromini whispered: "Even if you don't remember, don't forget, someone else will remember it for him." ”

Lucrecia jerked her head up, but Cardinal Picromini had already turned away, and the corner of the crimson robe slapped against her face, but only a moment later she saw Giulio, and after a moment's pause, she pounced on her, hugged Julio and began to cry.

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This is Julio. The reason why the Medici appeared in Naples.

"I used to guess that you and Borgia were enemies." While still in Rome, Giulio looked at Ezio, who was busy checking his equipment, and said, "I still think so, but your actions seem to be contrary to what I think." "In Florence before, Ezio gave Giulio a lot of help, but the Medici family and the Oritore family had a long history of contact, Lorenzo was also saved by Ezio's father, in 1478 Paci's rebellion, Ezio was mixed with Medici's friends, although he did not have time to save Giuliano's life, but Lorenzo and his retinue were able to retreat into the reliquary thanks to Ezio's Hidden Blade and dagger, before Innocent VIII ascended the throne, they officially concluded an alliance, The wealth of the Medici family, while constantly flowing to the Templars, also enriched the barren and vast land of Assasin. If anything, the decline of the Medici was inextricably linked to the two, but Alexander VI never felt that he owed anything to the Medici, and Ezio never let go.

"You guessed that right," said Ezio, clicking open the Hidden Blade to see how flexible it was and how strong the bayonet was, "but one thing, dear Giulio, whether we share a deep hatred or not, we have one thing in common, and that is that Italy is Italian, and the French will only be our common enemy. ”

"But Alexander VI seems to have given up on Caesar."

"But we didn't give up." Ezio smiled, "You don't want to see your Lucretia heartbroken, do you?" ”

Giulio wanted to say that Lucrecia was not his, but finally sighed and went with Ezio, who still seemed reliable when he was a child, and still is, but how did he always feel a little ...... Of course, he didn't know that Ezio already had a beloved girl at his age, and ...... Well, there had been many trysts in the attic, and if it weren't for the great misfortune that had befallen the Orditore family, Ezio's idol would have been his handsome, elegant, personable father, who was favored by all Italian women, Giuliano. Medici.

As for Lucrecia, Ezio must say that there was nothing to criticize other than that she was a Borgia, and that her affection for Giulio was so hot and pure that even he could hardly stand between her and Giulio.

The two Assassins set out immediately, almost entering Romagna with Charles VIII, but not too late, and that night Giulio met Paula, also an Assassin who was also an Assassin and used as a prostitute to cover up a very modest brothel outside the city of Rome. In this day and age, the army would be followed by many people, including: wine merchants, bakers, butchers, blacksmiths, carpenters, cobblers, bards, clowns, ...... The most are prostitutes, there are official prostitutes in the army, they receive the same money as the soldiers, and there are vast wild prostitutes and those who come to the brothels, like the army of Charles VIII, he has 25,000 soldiers, but behind them there are 7,000 prostitutes, it is not difficult to get involved, Paula even has a very good name, because she can always find satisfactory ladies for knights and lords, and she is also a rare stunner, She was friendly with many officers, but speaking of Caesar, she must admit that she was also very difficult to approach, and he had even more bodyguards around him than Charles VIII.

Fortunately, Caesar, there is another hostage, Jem, as a man, there are always some urgent desires that need to be satisfied, and Charles VIII is also very tolerant of this, they are not allowed to leave the tent, the high-ranking prostitutes will come to them for them to choose, they can also make requests, Paula has also asked if it is necessary to let a credible prostitute go and "say hello" to Caesar first, but Giulio and Ezio think that this kind of thing, the sooner it is, the fewer people know about it, Caesar. Borgia wasn't a babbling idiot, as long as he was allowed to see Giulio. Medici, he will know what to do right away.

But how can he meet Julio. What about the Medici?

Can be unimpeded, all the way to Caesar, in addition to Charles VIII and his henchmen, there are only prostitutes, Ezio and Paula can finally be eye-opened, although Giulio only knows the makeup techniques of later generations, but to be precise, as long as there is a little foundation in painting, for makeup, another way of painting can always touch the same - use light colors to brighten and light, use dark colors to highlight the outline, use eyeliner, eye shadow to change the size and shape of the eyes, shave off the eyebrows, re-paint the eyebrows to soften the edges and corners, Cut out bangs to trim the shape of the face, tighten the waist to highlight the breasts and buttocks that were originally nothing, and the most fortunate thing is that Giulio's Adam's apple is not yet obvious, and the voice change period has not yet arrived, and the voice is especially bright as a teenager, and it is not a problem to disguise himself as a young woman worthy of adulthood.

During the whole process, Paula kept glancing at it, as if to see from Ezio the possibility of him posing as a woman, she and Giulio had not had much contact, Ezio was his teacher, if it wasn't for Ezio's teaching, how could a boy be so skillful and natural to disguise himself as a woman? But she could not have imagined what it would be like for Ezio, who was 6'1" and weighed 150 pounds, to dress up as a woman.

Ezio was stranded among the leathermen and blacksmiths as a menace, Paula led Julio through the crowds of soldiers, Julio's eyes hidden in a deep hood, he saw two and four wheeled carriages crowded together, siege towers covered with cowhides, cannons, and some bows and crossbows, soldiers wearing leather shoes, shirts, and leggings, and officers wearing leather boots and gorgeous coats, and they all wore soft hats with wide brimming, white feathers pinned to them, and short soldiers, The officers were spacious, and used to distinguish friend from foe on the battlefield, and he also saw the Swiss mercenaries, who were in groups of three or five, armed with spears and halberds, and a few of them carried arquebuses and chest armor; But what caught Giulio's attention the most was the prestigious knights of the Imperial Decree, who walked up and down the camp with their heads held high and in the company of the knights (knights who fought with them on the battlefield, relatively lightly armoured), their silk coats glittering in the sun, their servants trimming their suits for them, the armor from the head to the fingertips, the silver polished surface, their horses dressed in colorful horse coats, the same servants served, and the horse archers who followed them on the battlefield were busy arranging their bows and arrows. Or use herbs to nourish important eyes.

If a male peeps at them like this, he will be captured by these proud and strong knights, and he will be detained for at least a while, but if it is a beautiful girl, of course, she can look at whatever she likes, and the young knights will wink at Giulio, smile, and show the necklace around his neck and the ring on his hand. Julio heard Paula snickering all the time, but there was nothing he could do.

But just a few dozen feet from Caesar's tent, they were stopped.

Giuliano. Della. Lovere, along with a few knights of the Edict, stood behind them, "Turn around." The cardinal said, "Pull down the hood and let me see your faces." ”