Cosimo Jr. did not fully understand what Pius III meant, but he also knew that something terrible was about to happen soon—he would almost immediately run to his father and hold him tightly so that he would not be afraid of pain.

When Brother John returned to find that Pius III had not yet slept, the father was dressed in a thin white garment looking out of the frosted window.

"What are you doing?" Brother John shouted, quickly picking up the cloak and draping it over Pius III's shoulders, sending him back to the warm bed.

"Are you warm?" The monk asked, busily making the fire in the fireplace burn a little more vigorously. "There's hot milk, I'll bring you a glass."

"If you want coffee, give me some." Pius III said that his cold legs were pressed against a flat brass charcoal stove, which Giulio had made for his teacher by combining previous and subsequent techniques—but the craftsmen at this time had a bad habit of showing off their craftsmanship, and Giulio just wanted a simple shape, but openable, with a thick layer of asbestos above and below, and a charcoal fire in the middle, but they took the energy to make this thing with the strength to make the reliquary, and as a result, it had to be returned three times—yes, No gemstones, no enamels, no figurines; Do not hollow out, do not chain, do not protrude or dent; Don't make windows out of glass or crystal, or simply make them in the shape of animals or saints.

Finally delivered to Pius III was a rounded, unadorned metal box, about the size of two palms together, with buckles and hinges, and it is said that the craftsman who created it refused to admit that it was his work, because it looked so rudimentary and insulted his reputation. But Julio created this object in the first place for Pius III's personal use, and of course he would not allow it to potentially hurt the Father's edges and spikes.

For Pius III, it's more like a heart, held in his arms, hot, round, and lovely. But Brother John would not allow him to sleep with it, as Giulio had repeatedly reminded him to avoid accidents, since the skin of an old man is thinner than that of a young man, and it is easy to get burned.

"No coffee." Brother John said with a straight face, "Do you want to go all night without sleeping?" ”

He took the charcoal stove out and opened it to see that the charcoal fire was still burning slowly.

Pius III shrugged.

"Holy Father...... That's what you say to Cosimo Jr. Brother John placed the charcoal stove far from the bed and the drapery, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "He may have something to say to Julio." ”

"Julio should already know." Brother John said that Brother John's hand trembled and he almost dropped the charcoal stove to the ground.

"What's surprising that Giulio is probably the only one who knows my physical condition best, except for myself," said Pius III calmly, "haven't you noticed that since Lent the year before, he no longer restricts my diet so strictly—except for the damn coffee...... Because we all know that I have ...... "time is running out."

"Maybe he's just annoyed by your complaints." Brother John turned his back and said, "Maybe it's your body that has gotten better—you see, he's always smiling, if...... If you ...... How could he do that...... Calmly? Just today, Cosimo Jr. was fighting with the crown prince of Spain, and he still had the heart to draw them. ”

"Because he knows that I hate the kind of person who cries and cries in his last days and has a sad face." Pius III said: "Isn't it the most beautiful thing to be able to go up to heaven and to see the Lord you love the most, and to sit with the angelic saints?" And you, him, and little Cosimo, will come to see me one day, and this is only a short goodbye, what is there to grieve? ”

"Don't say it, don't say it......" Brother John turned and folded his hands in front of his chest: "O God, how can this be, why you?" You've always been so healthy, and you and Giulio have such excellent medical skills, do you need any special medicine? Or if you need to celebrate a mass or pray, if you can, the people of Rome will also light countless candles for you...... Or we can reconfigure the potion as well, the kind you gave Julio! ”

"If you can," said Pius III sharply, "do you think I can't?" Wouldn't Julio? But I wasn't poisoned or wounded, my disease was planted at a young age, John, people called me a witch because I could use poison to heal my disease, but how did I know and grasp the weight of it? Of course, I could experiment with death row inmates, but in the end, I still had to feel the subtle effects after taking them, and although I had been very careful to use only a few of them, they still accumulated in my liver and my kidneys.

If I could, I would like to live longer. Pius III looked out the window, though it had been lowered and draped out: "I still have so much to do...... I had hoped that Rome would be as pure as snow and that it would be in the hands of my most beloved children—but now that I could do nothing about it—Ezio questioned why I had indulged the Lovers so much, not knowing that I had no time to pull out the last spikes from Giulio, and that I had to make this rather dangerous decision, like driving a wolf to devour a tiger, which might hurt both sides, but also might come to an agreement and devour my most beloved child.

But what if you don't?

Even if there were any interests, the relationship between the Picromini family and Giulio must have become more and more estranged with my departure, and Giulio's family had not even regained its foothold in Florence, and Cadiz was still a young new city, and his enemies were either the ancient families entrenched in Rome, like the Orsini and the Colonna, or the cardinals who were as greedy and shameless as wild boars, or the kings and dukes behind them. “

"Giulio also has his protectors."

"You're talking about Anne of Brittany, Queen of France and Queen Juana I of Spain? Ha, I'm not prejudiced because they're women, John, the point is, they're not just women, they're also rulers, look at Juana, she's willing to worship Giulio and see him as a living saint, but that doesn't mean she's going to obey him — this time she came to see me, asked for my support, but didn't go to Giulio first — no, it's not that she thinks Giulio can't have an impact on the matter, she can only say that she knows very well that Giulio will affect her in the first place, so before the audience, She didn't leave her residence even a single step.

Kings are monsters, John, male and female.

If, John, I mean, if things had taken the worst step, she would have at best saved Julio's life and allowed him to live a life of abundance and solitude in a convent. Pius III shook his head: "But you see, the Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller Adam is different, as soon as he arrived in Rome, he first went to see Giulio, why, because Giulio and his family bear nearly half of the expenses and income of the two thousand people of Rhodes."

Power and duty are equal, and his protector won't give him much until Julio is able to give them back. Or rather, it's the same for everyone, including my family, and his family. Pius III's eyes reflected the glow of the fireplace: "But I don't think that my child will not be able to withstand such a test!" He said loudly.

"He's spiritual! It's steadfast! Be wise!

If it weren't for him, who else could have become a saint who, like St. Francis, would have rebuilt the temple for my Lord? Borgia? Lovere? Or the cardinals who indulge in lust and money? It's a pity that I can't see the last splendor anymore, John, you have to remember, you have to take my place, when he puts on the white garment of Christ, you have to stand beside him, and when you also come to heaven, you have to tell me, tell me in detail, every scene, every expression, every detail. ”

"God!" Brother John was visibly shaken, and he quickly knelt down: "I swear," he said, "I swear, I will watch your child fulfill your long-cherished wish!" ”

"Since you also said that Giulio is my child." Pius III shook his hand: "Then are you willing to give him everything I have?" ”

Brother John hesitated for only a moment, then nodded in agreement.

Pius III breathed a sigh of relief.

As Pope, it can be said that nominally he owns the entire Holy Treasury, as well as all the religious income of the diocese that he owns, as well as the money donated by organizations and individuals in respect, and he also has a part of the profits from the Sainte's Bank and other transactions, as well as bribes and settlements—but these, even if he had written his will, could not have fallen into Giulio's hands in their entirety, and might even have led to his death.

But if John, who was not so clever but the third son of the Picromini family, mediated and concealed it, then at least his secret private property could be handed over to Giulio in its entirety, rather than taken away by his family. At the same time, if Brother John can continue to stay with Giulio, the contract between the Picromini family and the Medici family may be able to continue—after all, there is no one in the Picromini family who can ascend to the papal throne, although Giulio is not surnamed Picromini, but he is very affectionate, everyone knows this, if he can reach the top, the Picromini family may not have a chance to revive again.

Not many people know about this conversation.

It was only a few days later that Pius III met with an emissary from Pineza, and they spoke again. The Medici sent to baptize a baby, the youngest grandson of the Picomini family.