Giulio, the Medici originally thought that they could at least rest for a long time, but on the third day, Lucrecia came to the gate of Picomini's house with Julio the big cat in one hand and his brother Caesar in the other, the girl's face was full of relaxed smiles, and Caesar also tried his best to make himself less gloomy and depressed, this time they had a formal mission, which was to invite Cardinal Picromini to the Silver Lake to participate in the last hunting tournament of the year.

According to the doctrine, hunting was not something that the clergy were keen to do, and because people were required to wear boots when hunting, the Pope could not show his instep and could not be kissed by pious people, which was also quite criticized, and his secretary Duarte tactfully reminded of this, but Alexander VI only laughed and said that if they did not wear boots, the hounds and wild boars would bite off their feet, so that people really had no one to kiss. Of course, the external theory is that Pope Alexander VI did this on the advice of a doctor, and that hunting would reduce his bile, make his blood less scorching, and strengthen his kidneys and liver, and in some respects, this diagnosis could not be said to be entirely wrong, after all, every hunt made Alexander VI's heavy mood happy, and fat prey could satisfy his demonic appetite.

This hunting ground is carved out at the foot of the Apennines, between the silver lake and the forest, where you can see the emissaries of Venice, Milan, Florence and the Holy Roman Empire, as well as hundreds of court ladies, equal in quantity and quality, both men and women, who were dressed and decorated in the utmost luxury.

Pope Alexander VI even stood up from his seat when he saw Cardinal Picromini, who intimately called Cardinal Picromini my best friend, and allowed the young men around him to kiss his ring instead of the Holy Foot, a treatment that often belonged only to kings or archdukes. The Medici's name is passed down from mouth to mouth, but most people believe that the black-haired young man was honored only because he was a disciple and adopted son of Cardinal Picromini, after all, everyone knows that Alexander VI had been fighting hard for the Picrominian family, which had a long history, was powerful and extraordinarily wealthy.

Only Caesar, Lucracia, and Jem (yes, he was also here), knew that Alexander VI's forgiveness was more due to the fact that he had saved Caesar - no one could have imagined what this would mean for a desperate old father. Although he sacrificed Caesar for his own ambition, this is not to say that he would not be grieved by Caesar's death.

Even this hunting tournament was held to appease Caesar, Alexander VI knew that Caesar preferred to appear on the battlefield with the French with a bow and arrows on his back, with a broadsword and a spear, but he specified from the beginning the path they were going to take, yes, Juan was inferior to Caesar in many places, but it was precisely because he valued Caesar and cherished the talent that this son of his hoped that he would inherit his crown and become the next pope. In comparison, Juan, who was reckless, impulsive, and even a little stupid, it was precisely because of his lack of deep thought, keen perception and talent for political struggle that Alexander had no choice but to make him the commander of the army, and he admitted that he may have a preference for the second son, but what could he do, smart children are always owed something.

At dawn the next day, after a short morning prayer, Giulio and Caesar walked out of the tent together, they were dressed in soft leather coats, leather trousers, and boots, Caesar was draped in a black fur cloak, and Giulio was draped in a white fur cloak, and the gems shimmered among the fluffy and shiny furs, and their mounts were all Arabian horses, and they could see far away from them, and this was the first time Julio had seen the hunting ground depicted in books and words, it was as big as a hunting ground owned by a king, Because of the Apennines behind him, there was a lot of prey, and a few days earlier there were people throwing bloody pieces of flesh here and there to attract carnivores, and even earlier, servants knocked down stakes around the hunting grounds, and pulled up canvases between the stakes so that the prey would not escape—unlike the hunting grounds of the Far East, where the prey was unfed and wild, and the men were more keen to hunt wild boars, wolves, stags, or dangerous or tall beasts—before the Pope, his children, and the guests set out, Their hunters have gone into the forest and driven out all the beasts within.

Before the procession, the standard-bearers carried the flag of the Borgia family, and the flag of the Pope, and after that, the guests, the servants blew their trumpets and beat leather drums, and with the sound of a beep knock, the men rushed into the hunting grounds, while the women gathered on a high platform, and they had no interest or need to participate in the barbarism of the men, but sat here and waited to see that the hunter could highlight their beauty with his bravery— Lucrecia sat in the first row of the high platform as the princess of Borgia, in the center of the platform, and on the left was one of her sisters-in-law, Maria, the sister of King Alfonso of Naples, who originally belonged to Luigi like Gandhia (Crete). Borgia, because Luigi died suddenly in the alleys of the prostitution, his domain, the title was inherited by Juan along with his wife, and to the right of Lucrecia was Sanxia, the daughter of King Alfonso of Naples, who was the wife of Alexander VI's son Avery - Alfonso thought that his daughter and her rich dowry could get the support of Alexander VI, but he probably did not expect that Alexander VI did not want Charles VIII to get his hands on Naples, But it was never thought of him to remain on the throne of the King of Naples.

The hunt lasted from dawn until noon, and after rest and meals, it continued into the evening.

"What did you hunt today?" Lucrecia asked.

"A stag with very beautiful horns." Giulio replied that he had been lying on the slope of the lake, with the starlight enveloping him and the lake at the same time, and that Luracia was like an elf coming through the moonlight.

"You should dedicate it to me." Lucrecia said.

"Don't be so greedy." Julio's voice was soft and reproachful, "Your father has offered you a wild boar, and your brother has offered you a gray wolf. ”

"But I only like stags." Lucrecia said, lying down beside him, as if she had been a toddler many years ago, and Giulio was just a child, their hands clasped together once more.

Then none of them spoke, they just lay side by side, it was cold by the lake, but their hearts were warm, and after a while, Lucrecia's little finger gently hooked in Giulio's palm: "I'll take you somewhere." She said, "I have a gift for you." ”

"I've gotten enough in return from your father and brother." Giulio said.

"Their interest is theirs, and mine's mine." Lucrecia said, she stood up, then pulled up Giulio, and they walked along the glowing silver lake, meeting no one else along the way, "Do you know that after this war is over, the Pope will make one of his sons king of Naples?" ”

"Juan?"

"I hate him," Lucrecia said, "he's stupid and ugly." ”

"He's your brother."

"So I'm so unlucky. It was Caesar who I wanted to be king of Naples. ”

"But a bishop can't be a king."

"Then don't be a bishop."

"The Holy Father will be disappointed."

"Juan will disappoint him even more, he's just a coward – I don't think he'll be able to snatch the crown from the Venetians and the Milanese, and if that's the case, everything we've done will be useless."

"It is not your brother who is in awe, even if the person who is now the commander is not Juan but Caesar, and the only one who can make them bow their heads is ...... The sir. ”

"And he favored Juan, Caesar complained to me more than once, he didn't want to be a bishop at all, he wanted a normal life, and his children could call him father in the open."

I want to too, Giulio said in his heart.

"Also, my father hinted at me." Lucrecia said: "He will dismiss me and Giovanni as soon as possible. Sforza's marriage engagement. ”

"He hurt you?"

"No," Lucracia denied, "but worse than that, he hurt my father." He has been instigating Ludovico. Sforza's relationship with Bolgias, and even the invasion of Naples by King Charles VIII of France, he also had an inescapable responsibility, the Holy Father had warned him, but he didn't seem to care at all, and I heard that in the army of the Holy Alliance, he also gave Juan a bad look on more than one occasion, and although I didn't like Juan, he was directed against Bolgia. ”

"Why would he do that?"

"Perhaps he thinks that his marriage to me is a humiliation to him, that he loves his deceased wife so much that Ludovico doesn't even give him time to mourn," said Lucrecia, "and he has a few rapping monks around him, who think that we will go to hell sooner or later, and that he fears that we will use this marriage to encroach on his territory Pesaro." ”

"He was wrong."

"yes, we've got Milan at the very least."

"But before Milan, Caesar's most important thing to conquer should be Perugia."

Lucrecia couldn't agree more, and the mission to Perugia was the first mission their father received when he became pope, Caesar, and who knew that Fort Paulina almost became his burial place? It was Alexander VI who was busy dealing with more intractable enemies inside and outside the Holy See, or Atalante and her illegitimate son would have been punished long ago, but as they had guessed, Caesar preferred to lead his army to Perugia himself.

Lucrecia was about to tell Giulio that he would be appointed by Caesar as his deputy on the expedition to Perugia, when he saw Giulio smile indescribably.

"What good news did the angels bring?" Lucrecia immediately asked, "Can you tell me?" ”

It was hard for Giulio to tell Lucrecia that he had just discovered that there was nothing to do with love in their conversation, only dirty politics, brutal wars and despicable conspiracies, and that when he was in another world, he had also fantasized about walking in the moonlight with his beloved, saying gentle and sweet words, and who knew that when it actually happened, it would be exactly the opposite of what he had imagined. But if he was going to be with Lucretia if he was going to be with him, it would probably be like that for the rest of his life, right? Giulio thought he would have palpitations and hesitate, but he looked straight inside and saw only a warm, furry, pink patch......

He knew that he was on the wrong path, that the feud between the Medici and Borgia would remain hazy, that the efforts of his mentor, Bishop Picromini, would be in vain, that the old man would be disappointed or angry, and that his path would be full of thorns - but Giulio did not think that he could only be cowardly at the mercy of fate, he had already given up once, feeling the pain that could not be shaken off. Now, he would fight for himself and Lucretia, and he might be banished, abandoned, punished or killed, but that was his choice.

He's ready.

When Julio lowered his head and tried to answer Lucresia's question, she suddenly stopped and pointed to a small cabin hidden in a large area of darkness, which Julio didn't even know was a house with ivy on its roof and walls, like a tree without branches in the darkness. Lucrecia took Giulio's hand and walked towards it with a light foot, her heart pounding, and her father would be furious if her father knew about the decision she had made, after all, a Medici was not the first man to share a bed with her. But even if it is not for the constraints of morality and law, she is unwilling to submit to her father's wishes, which has nothing to do with blood and interests, only love.

"Only Caesar and I know here." Lucrecia said, her hands trembling slightly in Giulio's.

They walked to the hut in silence, but before Lucles could open the door, a light suddenly appeared between the walls of the hut and the wooden window, and Lucles was startled, but Julio held her face down in time, wrapped his arms around her waist, and led her to a corner that the eyes of the people in the house could not capture, and almost the next moment, a woman opened the wooden window and looked around.

"Close the window." Caesar said, "Are you going to invite a few spectators?" ”

"I thought you would be willing to let more people see how you humiliated Juan." The woman said that although she immediately closed the wooden window, both Lucrecia and Giulio saw her face, that she was Juan's wife, Maria, sister of King Alfonso of Naples, and niece of King Ferdinand of Spain.

Caesar had lit the fireplace, dragged furs out of the wooden box, and there was dust everywhere, but on closer inspection, there were few faults except that it was a little smaller, and in any case, it was once the secret lair of Caesar and Luclayia, and even their father, nay, he probably knew, but pretended not to know, and in any case the house, even if it had not been used for a long time, had not been broken or collapsed, and even the metal hinges did not creak when the wooden doors and windows were opened.

Bathed in the warm air, Maria took off her clothes at will, she was plump, her skin was smooth, she had all the virtues of a mature woman, she had been dissatisfied with her husband Juan for a long time, in addition to her ugly face, Juan had no respect for her, she beat and scolded at every turn, and lacked perseverance and warmth when she had sex with her, Caesar was the most handsome and strong man she had ever come into contact with, she put her finger on his bishop's robe, the rows of bright red buttons, the same color trim and belt, All of them were driving her crazier, but Caesar was not interested in dwelling with her too much, so he picked her up, made her ride on his powerful thighs, and pressed her against the thin wooden wall......

On the other side of the wooden wall are Giulio and Lucrea, who are extremely embarrassed.

Heavy gasps mingled with pleasant screams, and Giulio felt nothing but numbness in his cheeks and stiffness, while Lucretia in his arms was soft and hot, and in such dim light he should not have seen her face, but even if he closed his eyes, he could feel how the tiny fuzz in Lucrecia's ears fluttered gently with her increasingly rapid breathing.

A few years ago, Lucrecia had thrown himself into his arms in despair and fear, but at that time Giulio had only anger in his heart, and now they were well-dressed, and his desires had been completely freed from the shackles of reason...... Lucrecia kissed him on the lips, he lowered his head, his fingers embedded in the petite body, and Lucrecia's arm, almost became another belt around his waist, they hugged and kissed tightly, nothing in the world could stop them at this moment.