On the issue of coronation, the Spanish courtiers led by Cardinal Sisneros and the Holy Roman Empire courtiers led by the envoys of Maximilian I were at loggerheads, because the courtiers of the Holy Roman Empire insisted that the Pope should be crowned by the Pope, and in Rome, after all, almost all the emperors of the Holy Roman Empire went to Rome to be crowned by the Pope, and after the death of Frederick III, Maximilian I declared himself the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, because the Wesneys blocked the Austrian road to Rome, Because it could not be done, it was Pope Innocent VIII at the time, who, after asking for a large sum of money, entrusted the Archbishop of Trento to hand over the instrument of authorization on his behalf.

Maximilian I had always regretted this, he always hoped that his children and grandchildren would be crowned by the Pope in Rome, and that, given the deal between the emperor and Julius II, it would not be difficult to have the young pope coronorated Charles the Younger. Moreover, they were adamantly opposed to the coronation of little Charles in the Cathedral of Toledo by Cardinal Cisneros, the Archbishop of Toledo, who hoped that the Spanish courtiers would have wanted.

Of course, the Spanish courtiers could guess the thoughts of these Holy Roman Empire, after all, they also had the same idea - if little Charles was crowned in Toledo, then in the young monarch's initial consciousness, he was a Spanish king, not the Holy Roman Emperor, but at this time Maximilian I was not ready to meet the merciful God so quickly, so he had to let him go to Rome first, and be crowned King of Spain in Rome, so as to eliminate the possible influence of the Spaniards on him.

But just three days later, Cardinal Cisneros was in the Cathedral of Toledo, and he was content to raise the king's crown and gently place it on the head of Crown Prince Charles, who became King of Spain, Charles V, and he would inherit more lands later, but he did not look as good as one might expect—he was at a rather awkward age, not a child anymore, but not an adult either, and almost all boys at this age had a strong sense of vanity and self-esteem— He had seen the coronation of his mother, Juana I, because it was the first monarch of Cutislia and Aragon to become one, so it was extraordinarily grand and splendid.

The coronation of Charles V, on the other hand, was much more hasty and rudimentary, not because the Spaniards and the Holy Roman Empire were deliberately neglecting, but because the current situation did not allow them to spend precious time, manpower and money on a ceremony - Gonzalo. Morality. Córdoba, Duke of Terranova, escaped not only from the Holy Roman Empire and Cardinal Cisneros, but also took with him Ferdinand, the second son of the Queen, who was hiding in the castle of Segovia. With the support of the Council of Catislia, he brazenly rebelled in the name of Queen Juana I, and of course, for them it was a just battle, and the Catislians and some of the Aragonese people thought so, and many lords either turned to Gonzalo and Prince Ferdinand, or simply stood by.

In addition, they also received news that there was a civilian revolt in Rome, and then the French took the opportunity to invade Rome, occupying the Vatican Palace and Castel Sant'Angelo, and Pope Julius II and his clergy fled and disappeared, so that even if Charles went to Rome, no one would crown him, but would become a hostage of the French.

Charles V, who was only nine years old, was not allowed to know the details, and he might have become a wise and strong ruler in the future, but for him now, he did not have the qualifications and wisdom to make the treacherous courtiers and lords obey him, and he was given many classes, and among the teachers, most of the Holy Roman Empire, and so were the guards around him, and he found that, though he became king, he was no freer and more pleasant than before—these people seemed to be trying to win him to one side or the other, Spain, Or the Holy Roman Empire? Charles thinks that he does not need to choose, because he will eventually become the ruler of these two countries, but his priests and bodyguards think that this idea is absolutely undesirable, and they repeatedly guide, persuade and even threaten, which makes Charlie have an extremely strong rebellious mentality.

Or rather, he had seen how his mother, Juana I, had become king, and although it was said that she was a mad woman, when she sat on the throne, even Cardinal Cisneros or the Duke of Tranova did not dare to treat her with the contempt of the priests and guards who now treated her, and her opinions and ideas were not dismissed, and then she would be ashamed to act in a manner that was extremely inconsistent with her status and etiquette—as if to prove that she was indeed a madwoman, but, relatively, They always allowed her to achieve her goals.

While thinking so, Charles V unconsciously walked to the easternmost tower of the castle of Segovia, an old-fashioned defensive tower, the door was nearly five feet above the ground, and it was very difficult to climb it after removing the wooden staircase, especially when there were guards with spears and crossbows above—and there was a small group of knights around, because this tower held his mother, the deposed Juana I, as he looked up, He heard the high-pitched, long, female screams coming from the tower's window.

Charlie looked around, "Bring me the stairs," he said, "I want to see my mother." ”

"Your Majesty." His attendant immediately stepped forward and said warmly, "Please rest assured, although ...... You know, she's gone mad, and crazy people always like to scream, and in fact she's well taken care of, listen, my majesty, there's no pain in her crying, and she's living well here. ”

"I'm going to meet her." Charlie said.

The squire straightened up and exchanged glances with the knight captain: "All right," he said, "but please let us inform Lord Nomeni." ”

Count Nomeni is a lord of the Holy Roman Empire, and also a minister whom Emperor Maximilian I trusted a lot, this time he traveled to Toledo as an envoy, and it can be said that he completed the task assigned by the emperor perfectly, and Charles also maintained interest and favor with him, but now, he only feels ashamed, since when did the king of Spain act in his castle with the permission of the envoy of the Holy Roman Empire? But he had no choice but to stand there and wait stiffly, but fortunately the knight came back quickly, and he was followed by the Count of Nomeni, and when he saw Charles, he bowed deeply, he really didn't have any stupid thoughts about this little majesty, Charles is now the king of Spain, and will be the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire in the future, his master, even if he will not be loyal to him now, but he will not deliberately despise his authority.

It's just that in view of Juana I's increasingly crazy words and deeds, they also have to be careful about the safety of Charles V, after all, Prince Ferdinand has been taken away by Gonzalo, and now he is the only rightful heir in their hands.

"Allow me to accompany you up." The Count of Nomeni said, but he was about to explain the necessity of such an act when he was interrupted by the king.

"Whatever you want." Charles V said gloomily.

The Count of Nomeni sighed inwardly, but fortunately the wooden steps had been brought over, and they went up the steps, through the open bared wooden door, and up the narrow spiraling steps.

Juana was locked up, but her room was still very much in keeping with the status of a noble lady, complete and beautifully furnished, with satin and velvet drapery, the bed piled high with down pillows and warm furs, the fire in the fireplace, the walls covered with heavy tapestries to protect against the cold wind in the cracks, and the gorgeous and soft silk carpets under the feet of the people—Juana wore a well-fitting black velvet coat with gold buttons and pearls, and a wide skirt that dragged from the edge of the chair to the fireplace. A milky white cashmere shawl large enough to envelop her whole body covered her hair and half of her face, and she looked out the window, waiting until the maid announced to her, then turned her head indifferently and glanced at the visitor nonchalantly.

She didn't look like a madman at all, and the hysterical shouting didn't seem to have anything to do with her, Charlie took a deep breath, clenched his fists and calmed down, and sat down in the chair that the squire had moved: "I'm coming to see you, mother." He said, "Do you have a good appetite?" Is it possible to sleep peacefully at night? Or if you need something else, I can always get it for you. ”

Charlie felt that his performance was nothing short of remarkable, and that his tolerance and compassion as a king and victor were evident in his gestures and words—he looked at his mother, and found that she was nothing more than a woman, a petite and fragile creature, even though he was still a minor, but he would soon grow up, and perhaps in a few years he would grow into a great king whom she did not even recognize, and at that time, she would repent, perhaps kneel before him and repent, complained bitterly that he should not belittle and humiliate him like that.

Juana's gaze shifted from a dove perched on the windowsill, to the flame in the fireplace, and from the flame to the portrait of the saint on the wall, and finally she looked at her eldest son, and smiled: "Why," she said softly and gently, "at last you find that everything is as it has always been?" Her tongue was soaked with the venom of a pit viper: "No, wait, it should be said that before you only had to obey me, and now, there are too many people you need to obey, how does it feel, my son, this is the reward you paid for betraying your queen and mother." ”

Charlie's cheeks suddenly lost their blood, he was ready to be insulted and beaten, and he also thought about how to fight back to further show his majesty and strength - he was no longer a child, he had come to look down on his enemies so that he could be comforted, but the fortress he thought was immensely strong was shattered in an instant by Juana's sharp words.

"You have transgressed, Your Highness." Seeing that the situation was not good, the Count of Nomeni immediately stepped forward and said loudly, but Juana did not look at him at all, and turned his gaze back to the portrait of the saint.

"I'm fine," she said, "especially after seeing you're bad, Charlie, so," she leaned lazily back on her chair arm, "and you can go." ”

Charles stood up, turned and rushed out of the room where he was suffocated and miserable, while Count Nomeni saluted Juana angrily and hurried out.

This brief conversation was soon reported to Cardinal Sisneros, who approached him that night and vowed to poison or hang the mad Catislian woman.

And Cardinal Cisneros looked at him with a complex look that looked at a fool and a wise man at the same time, of course, with the madness and viciousness of Juana I, since he had betrayed her, of course he hoped that she could return to the arms of God as soon as possible, but the problem is, she is still the mother of Charlie and Ferdinand after all, even if Charlie is tormented by her moodiness, but who knows if there is still a trace of mother-son love between them, even if Charlie is very willing to have someone solve this trouble for him now, But perhaps after some time, he remembered his mother, or for the sake of his reputation, decided to execute the man who dared to assassinate the king's mother?

It is said that anyone who dares to assassinate the king, queen and queen mother will be punished by more than three punishments - hanging half to death, cutting open the stomach and intestines, roasting it on the fire, and finally tying up hands and feet, pulling four horses to the east, east and west until it is torn apart, and after death being buried in different places, destined to never rest in peace.

Cisneros doesn't want to try it anyway, he still has a lot of good times to squander. He also knew why this chaotic Count Nomeni had come back to him and told him of his intentions, because then he would have to become an accomplice in the Holy Roman Empire, and who knew if people, and most importantly, Charles V would have believed that he had nothing to do with it?

"I don't think that's a good idea." The cardinal said dryly.

"She still has a lot of influence over our king." Count Nomeni said, "And the traitors are attacking us in her name—the situation on the battlefield is not good." ”

"What about the army you promised?" Don't mention it, forget it, the mention of this Cardinal Cisneros almost turned into a second Juana: "You promised, your emperor promised!" ”

"Indeed," said the Count of Nomeni helplessly, "but we cannot leave all of Italy to the French." ”

"Hah!" Cardinal Cisneros laughed angrily: "What about Spain? You don't need Spain anymore? ”

"So we have to let Juana die, Charlie is the eldest son, Ferdinand is the second son, if Juana dies, Gonzalo will lose his greatest support, and Charles, as Juana's first heir, the king of Spain, can ask him to swear allegiance to himself, if he doesn't want to, then he is a rebel."

"No, no, she is still His Majesty's mother after all."

"But what kind of thing a madman would do, no one can guess." Count Nomeni said coldly, "Perhaps tonight, she will jump from the tower." ”

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It was a very dark night, with no moon or stars, only a chaotic and gloomy sky, which left a glimmer of light and hope for the people.

Juana bent her knees on a low kneeling stool, her eyes closed, and she murmured prayers to God, to the Holy Spirit, to her saints.

She had only one of her closest maids, and after the prayers she would serve Juana to bed, and although she was praying, she was always a little absent-minded compared to her energetic master.

The door was opened.

The maid let out a short cry, followed by the sound of a heavy body falling to the ground.

Juana jerked at the small sword hidden in her forearm.

She slowly stood up, then turned away.