Lucretia gently patted Avery on the back, and calmly smiled at the representatives of Spolette and Lepi, who were dressed today in white, draped in a turquoise veil, fastened with gold rings, and whose curls were more dazzling than gold hanging down her shoulders—one of the delegates thought that the statue of the "Christ of the Mourning Lady" in St. Peter's Basilica was said to be carved after this lady, and some thought that this was impossible, because Borgia would not have such a holy and beautiful woman, and he should have come here to see it, This smile made their anxious hearts feel like they were immersed in the spring water of summer, and they were both comforted and calmed.

"Rest assured, everyone." "I will certainly look for a merciful and powerful new master for you," said Luclei. ”

For no apparent reason, the people of Spolette and Leppy believed her, saluted her, and then rushed out. Avery looked up from Luclay's knee: "Who are you talking about?" He asked, "Is it Caesar?" ”

Lucrecia looked down and stroked his face, but did not speak.

——————————

Lucretia had returned to Rome in early June, and when Caesar returned, he couldn't wait to see her, and he longed for Lucrea's comfort, but Lucretia could only give him a response that belonged to his sister, which made Caesar feel pained, and he now knew why Pope Alexander VI had reminded him that he would finally one day suffer from the relinquishment of the authority given to him by the Holy Father. He even panicked, because Lucrecia had never belonged to him, and his hatred of Giulio and Medici multiplied day by day, and he could not help but hate his own uselessness at the same time.

This sentiment lasted until he left Rome with the French army, and Lucrecia stood in her little building and watched them go, as in each previous case, when the French and Borgia had merged, and there were twenty-four thousand, and in just one month these greedy moths almost ate all of Rome, and, both the French and the Italian mercenaries, were like brutal wolves, who fed their horses with their immature crops, plundered the cellars, plundered livestock and poultry, women, If anyone dared to stand in the way, they swung their swords and took the lives of those innocents - Lucres also pleaded with Caesar to restrain the soldiers, but Caesar only said that it was not her business - yesterday they even had a big fight about it, and Luclaycia told Caesar loudly that if this happened to Leppie or Spole, the soldiers would be hanged, and Caesar blurted out that he should not have refused the Father's proposal in the first place!

Lucrecia only knew that at that time her heart was cold all at once, but Caesar. Borgia was still her beloved brother after all, and when he was about to go to war, she would still kneel in front of the statue of the Virgin all night, praying for his safety, but her heart could not help but feel paradoxical pity for the cities that he was about to conquer, because the poor people could not receive Caesar's mercy.

Sometimes, Luracia doesn't understand when Caesar became what he is now. Was it from the point where his dagger pierced Luigi's chest? Or from the time he escaped from Charles VIII's barracks, only to learn that Juan had become commander of the Church Army? Or was it the moment when Juan was finally able to get rid of the priest's vestments after his death? Maybe...... From earlier, could it really be that his suffering, as the Holy Father had said, stemmed from her love for Julio?

At that moment, a fluffy, warm touch came from her ankle, and Lucrecia looked down and laughed, "It's you," she whispered, "Julio." ”

Julio the cat is already in his teens, for a cat it has entered old age and is no longer as lively as it was when it was younger, and while pretending that she had forgotten Julio, Luclecia gave it to the nurse to feed it on her behalf, and since she went to Spolette, she took it back again, but did not let it appear in front of Caesar, after all, she did not know what Caesar would do now. She leaned over and picked up the big cat, it was soft, and all four paws had no strength, and only rubbed affectionately on the owner's arm.

Lucrecia kissed it on the forehead and laid it on her bed, the breeze blew through the veils of the fine gauze, the big cat's snow-white beard fluttered slightly, and the eyes that were still very bright were closed—it slept like a suckling cat, and even the sound of the maid's knock did not wake it—the Holy Father summoned Lucrecia and hoped that she would go as soon as she was fully dressed.

Needless to say, Lucrecia also knew that it was the envoys sent by the Duke of Ferrara of the House of Este who had come to Rome at the behest of the duke, and that she would have been humiliated if she had been Lucres a few years ago, and now she found herself able to confront any malice in stride, and to analyze the implications—these envoys may have more to do than that, and it is quite possible that they have already arrived in Rome, and to see all the truth of the French and the Borgian army, or that they had calculated the amount of money the Father could collect for the whole Holy Year, and thus determined that they should extort from the Father...... This adjective is not wrong at all, how much money is extorted, after all, the Duke of Ferrara has always refused this marriage.

And Lucresia, as she has said, she is a dagger in the hands of the Holy Father, to whom he gives her, to whom he wants her to pierce him, such a bride, except for Giulio. No one would gladly accept the Medici - but now, no one is willing to wait for her...... Not anymore......

It wasn't until the maid whispered a reminder that Lucretia realized that tears had overflowed her eyes, rolling down her cheeks and onto her neck and chest.

The envoys of Ferrara, who saw such a beautiful woman in a dark blue silk dress and a long white dress, marveled at her well-deserved beauty, and at the same time comforted her by the modesty and grace of her manners, and bowed to Lucrecia and kissed her hand in turn.

Lucretia only sat for a moment before leaving, after all, she was haggling for her dowry, which would have been embarrassing for her presence.

About dusk, the Holy Father entered her room, looking very tired and a little angry, the people of Ferrara were so greedy! He had given them such a good daughter, but they were still entangled in the dowry, and even talked about the price of a hundred-figure golden florin, and the Holy Father had to negotiate with them, for the messengers of the Duke of Ferrara were already keenly aware of the Borgias' strength, and Caesar's defeat in Florence had almost erased all his previous glorious exploits; In addition, it was Alexander VI who was now anxious to negotiate this marriage, so the people of Ferrara had nothing to fear, and if the marriage did not work out, they would not only not be punished, but might also be praised.

As a result, the Holy Father was to give a dowry of 350,000 gold ducats, including 200,000 gold ducats, and jewels worth 150,000 gold ducats, and the tribute of Ferrara was reduced from 4,500 to a ceremonial hundred, as well as two castles.

As soon as she saw Alexander VI, Lucretia stepped forward and knelt at his feet, with her head on his knees, the almost unbearable stench of the Pope before had disappeared, but Lucles could still smell a smell of decay, and her heart trembled in fear, this was the father who loved her, and although he was so cruel and so ruthless, she still loved him.

Alexander VI's hand was on her hair, perhaps he wanted to caress it gently, but he didn't realize it himself, he was now having a hard time controlling his power, Lucrecia bit her lip and endured - the heavy force led her buried fear out again, but fortunately the Pope only calmed it slightly, and after a few seconds, he withdrew his hand and slapped the chair on the side to let Lucrea sit beside him.

"Your marriage has been negotiated." Alexander VI said cheerfully: "The Duke of Ferrara will send his brother and second son to meet you, around the feast of St. Martin, so that we may have time to prepare the dowry, and you must be ready, my daughter, I have found you a young and illustrious new husband, I have heard that he is also a handsome man, and you may be able to have a child with him this time." ”

"Father......" Lucrecia showed a sad look, she was no longer a little girl who wanted to ask her future husband from her nurse, she knew that the eldest son of the Duke of Ferrara, whose name was also Alfonso, was not a gentle man, he was savage by nature, debauched, and had an infinite love for artillery, and the other thing that interested him was to wander naked in the streets of the night - holding a sharp rappier, no one knew that he was going to kill, Or do something else.

But for the Pope, or most people now, such a hobby is not even a disadvantage, and as a superior person, Lucretia has only met one person so far - not even herself.

"What gift do you want?" Alexander VI lovingly asked—when Lucrecia was willing to be obedient, he might be the best father in the world—and at first, still worried that Luclecia would be overwhelmed by the grief of losing her husband and unwilling to accept the marriage, Lucresia's obedience eased his increasingly tense emotions a lot: "Say, a hat full of diamonds, or a velvet bed?" Or both? ”

"I've grown up," Luclaycia said, "and I'm able to ask my husband for that." ”

Her words made the Holy Father burst into laughter: "You are right," he said, "and you can make every man prostrate at your feet." He laughed for a moment, then asked, "But I still want to give you some reward, my child, tell me, do you have any wishes?" ”

Lucrecia got up from her chair and knelt down again at the Pope's knees, "Then I have a wish," she said, "and when I leave, give Spoleette and Legpi to Avery, not to Caesar." ”

The Pope pondered for a moment and shook his head: "This should have been Caesar's, and Avery has his territory Squeerachi. ”

"But Avery is also a Borgia," begged Lucresia, "Squeiraci is the dowry of his wife Sanxia, not from you, and he has ruled Spoleette and Lepi with me for so long, and if you take it back, he will think that you do not love him." ”

Alexander VI hesitated for a long time, and finally nodded.