Duarte, the secretary of the Pope, hurried into the signing room of Alexander VI, a solemn and splendid room, the walls are full of frescoes from Pinturicchio, the frescoes are all about Christ, from birth to resurrection, colorful and lifelike, quite rare, Pope Alexander VI only humbly occupies a place in the picture of Christ's resurrection, but one can find several of his sons and only daughter in other pictures, Even the dead Juan and Luigi are no exception, and Lucrecia is depicted as an angel holding a bouquet of flowers.

Pope Alexander VI is nearly seventy years old this year, and the signs of aging are becoming more pronounced on his face, and the wrinkles and black spots brought by alcohol and femininity make him look like a hyena who is always angry; In addition, for the great cause of the Borgia family, he has been sleepless almost day and night for several months, which greatly aggravates his anger, and the doctors, after tasting his urine, unanimously believe that his yellow bile is too thick and the mucus is too little, so that the four fluids in his body are out of balance, and they prescribe him a recipe that includes snails and owls, and perform no less than twenty enemas and bloodletting.

"I don't want to see him," said the Pope, "go ahead and do this, Duarte," he pressed his head, "I trust you, let them do things as they please." ”

"Let him see you," Duarte advised, "and we may save some money." ”

Alexander VI hesitated for a moment and agreed.

Heinrich. Kramer climbed into the signing hall almost on his hands and feet, and when he was four or five paces away from the Pope, he lowered his ugly lips, took the Pope's feet in his arms, and kissed them earnestly, and he wore a black Dominican monk's robe, but on the black robe, in addition to the running hound (the Dominican monk's emblem), he also flatteringly embroidered the Borgia coat of arms, a red bull, and the hound, which ran at the feet of the bull, seemed to serve the bull and not God.

The Pope was well-dressed, but he reclined not in his seat, but on the couch, a posture that would make some proud people angry and feel that they were being despised but Brother Kramer was not that kind of fool, and he felt that this was the Pope's approval and closeness to his past behavior, and he knelt on the ground, hating himself for not growing a tail.

Duarte simply promulgated his decree on behalf of the Pope, and Kramer listened respectfully, tears of emotion in his eyes, and he thanked the Pope again and again, kissed his feet, and vowed to give all his money (those obtained in the witch trials) to the Holy Father, so that he might strengthen the pedestal of St. Peter.

This made the Pope's face, tense from illness, loosen a little, and he graciously reached out and let the monk kiss his ring. (Although later he asked Duarte to wipe him down with spirits for a long time)

Kramer did not break his promise, and when he returned, he paid the Pope nearly 10,000 gold florins, as well as 5,000 gold florins, as well as the tribute he gave to the Pope, jewels and other expensive and rare things, which were almost all extorted and plundered from those who were unfortunate enough to be considered witches and their accomplices.

Then, with what money he had left, he hired a troop of mercenaries, seventy or eighty, who were known for their ferocity and brutality. A prostitute whom he loved was very surprised, for it was a large expense, and she asked Kramer anxiously if there was any danger in it, but Kramer only laughed—and it was only when he lost his vigilance under the double effect of ale and wine that he drunkenly told the amorous lady that he had been appointed by the Pope to be the presiding judge of the Inquisition in Lucca, a position which he had not even painstakingly planned, but which the venerable Father had thought him trustworthy, clever, and talented— At this point, he stopped, and instead promised his lover silk and gold coins from Lucca.

The news was quickly spread to Paula, and from Paula to Ezio, who was next to Giulio Medici, and at the sight of the name they frowned together, and they didn't feel at all that Heinrich. Kramer, a monk who was no different from a demon in the eyes of many, especially women, was sent to Lucca by Pope Alexander VI at this time out of good intentions, a despicable and shameless villain, who was never afraid to bite any innocent person in a frenzy, as long as he could get benefits.

And it was at this time that Constanta. The Medici sent another piece of golden silk, declaring that it was being offered for the upcoming feast of the Immaculate Conception, and when Ezio opened it, he smelled a slight sour smell on it: "What's the matter," he handed the silk to Giulio, "Did she forget to rinse it first?" ”

Giulio took it and sniffed it, and then he was silent for a moment, then stood up, lifted the silver jug, and poured the cold tea inside on the silk, which reacted with lemon juice, and the purple-blue handwriting appeared, "It's a letter from Lucrecia." He said, Eziola straightened the corners of his mouth, "Is it a secret letter?" ”

"I taught." Giulio said.

Ezio made a helpless expression: "So," he said, "what did Borgia say?" ”

Giulio handed the damp silk to Ezio, who read it carefully, and couldn't help but look horrified.

"Don't do that, Ezio," Giulio crossed his arms over his chest, "we all know that Borgia is already an enemy, and the reason why I haven't been mortally struck is because the Holy Father is now busy with his work to unify Italy. ”

"Almost," said Ezio, "rather, more abominable than any other, more than poison and assassins...... He allowed such a vicious villain to slander you, judge you, and even execute you, and he was openly proclaiming that he was more likely to be more vassal than Heinrich. Kramer, a mad dog of Borgia, your status is even more lowly, insignificant, and not worth mentioning.

On a deeper level, if you confess your sins, it may also affect your mentor, Cardinal Picromini, whose most beloved disciple and heir you know. ”

"That's probably it." Julio said calmly, rolling up the wet silk and throwing it into the fireplace, where the flames soon engulfed it after a few puffs of smoke had been raised.

"What do you think we should do?" Ezio asked, "Do you want to advance your plans – or do you want to pre-master the Inquisition in Lucca?" ”

"Not necessarily," said Giulio, "just a minor nuisance." ”

——————————————

Heinrich. Sitting on a stout donkey, Kramer made his way slowly towards the city of Lucca, surrounded by mercenaries - as the presiding judge of the Inquisition (even if he had not yet performed his duties), he had the power to recruit mercenaries to protect himself and carry out his orders, and it was for this reason that these outlaws were willing to leave Rome with a deposit and follow him to Lucca.

They had also heard of Kramer's name, of course, he was a devil, but the mercenaries never cared if their employers were noble and pure, or rather, on the contrary, they were most willing to see, after all, with a saint, they could eat bread at most, and if they followed a villain, they would have more to enjoy - like this Kramer, who had already arranged for everyone in Lucca, who had already arranged the ...... that had to be paid Tributes, taxes, the various expenses of indulgences, and the proportions of confiscated property, etc., of course, will have their share, and they will be quite rich, after all, they are always indispensable when the use of force is necessary.

And Master Kramer had promised that if they could catch the poor archbishop, who had been unfortunate enough to be tempted by the devil, he would open the reliquary of the Cathedral of San Marino and let them choose a trophy from it at will, oh, the thugs at the head were almost impatient, and they had heard of the archbishop, and even if they hadn't heard of it, wouldn't a young priest be easier to deal with than a fat rabbit in their minds? They were not afraid at all, and before they arrived in Lucca, they began to think about what good things they should take from the reliquary of the Cathedral of San Marino...... A gold reliquary is good, of course, but a silver sacrificial vessel is easier to sell, but if it is easy to carry, a ring with precious stones or a collar with a gold ring is more suitable......

The procession dragged along the Boulevard Franzines, and at dusk a column of monks greeted them, and the mercenaries narrowed their eyes and looked at each other—they had no shoes, barefoot, unkempt hair, full beards, nothing but a ragged and dirty gray cloak, and together with Kramer, the mercenaries could not help but sigh in unison, this was obviously a group of poor little brothers, Franciscan friars, who had nothing to fish.

The leader of the mercenaries looked at the sky, it was probably the most desolate stretch of the Strip Franzizina, and if they had not had an employer, he would not have minded taking all these monks, who were not so old in terms of countenance, and sent them to the Ottoman Turks to preach the gospel, but for now...... With the rich Luca in front of him, he doesn't care so much about a few golden florins, but he can't help but have some regrets.

Just as he was thinking, the two teams were already staggered together.

Before the leader of the mercenaries could withdraw his gaze from the sky, he heard the thunder, which at first he was confused about, and then he heard the wails of the soldiers, which sounded so soft, as if they had come from a long distance. He lifted his hand and touched it, only to find that his ear was bleeding.

He turned and saw a monk lift his cloak and draw his dagger.

It was the enemy, he wanted to shout, but he couldn't make a sound, his hand moved down, only to find that it was bleeding, in addition to his ears, but also his throat.

————————

"You don't have to come in person." Ralph said: "It's still a little dangerous. ”

"There's one person I have to deal with with myself." Giulio said.

He walked to Heinrich. In front of Kramer, he was not mortally injured, but was crushed by the fallen donkey, he was much fatter than he was a dozen years ago, and there was no way to get up at all, and the ugly lips were as impressive as ever.

"Do you remember Foligno's in 1484?" Giulio asked.

There was a blank look in Kramer's eyes.

"You presided over a trial there where four witches were sentenced to be burned at the stake, but one of them was ...... The one of the infidel daughters, whose father gave her a box of jewels in exchange for the one she burned after she was strangled? Do you remember? ”

Kramer still didn't remember.

"The youngest and most beautiful...... What about the one? ”

Ah, Kramer remembered, the one he and Sbranger had enjoyed so many times, and they had emptied her father's purse through this girl, but in the end they had not let her out of prison alive, how could she, an infidel, be out there talking nonsense about the behavior of the priests, of course not.

"You remember," said Giulio, "then, are you ready to meet her?" ”

Kramer wanted to speak, he wanted to ask for mercy, he wanted to repent—at least let him repent! He's not a heretic, he's a monk! He is......

Giulio cut his neck right away.