The Duke of Anjou was already a strong young man, although he looked slender and gentle, but he had martial arts lessons and horseback riding every day, and the tip of his conical sword grazed a jeweled button and pierced into the wool mixed with gold thread, and the sterling silver base of the button was suddenly deformed, and the ruby inside flew out, catapulted on the door frame, and then hit the queen mother's bun in a scream.

Queen Mother Anne took the cracked jewel from her bun in annoyance, looked at it, and threw it on the ground, "You all go out," she said, "and let me be alone with the Duke for a while." ”

The tailors and servants streamed out, and the queen mother's maids withdrew, and the queen sat down on a chair in front of the window with her skirt, and the Duke of Anjou remained on a wooden platform for measuring his body, and under the care of his brother, his height exceeded the standard of French men at that time, and with a high platform of a full foot, he overlooked the queen mother in a condescending manner, but only physically, not psychologically—eighteen years of deliberate indulgence, Doting and restrictive, the Queen Mother was not as silent and obedient in front of Philippe as she was in front of Louis, she stretched out a foot and kicked the clothes on the ground: "What are you dissatisfied with? Philippe?

Philip stared at the Queen Mother: "Brother Wang will be cured soon." ”

"Not now. Queen Mother Anne said coldly, "The messenger from the Lord Protector Charles Cromwell has been waiting in Paris for three days, and how long do you want him to wait......?

"We have nothing to say about this rebellion," said Philip, "and the royal brother has already arranged for Dunkirk, and they just have to do what he says." ”

"They?" said the Queen Mother, "what about you, Your Highness?"

"I would love to help and serve Brother Wang," said Philip, pale, "but the Bishop and you want me to ......."

"Your Highness!"

"Let me take the place of Brother Wang!" said Philip angrily, "Louis is still alive, he is only sick and needs treatment, and he will be back soon!

"If you're worried about ......"

"If Brother Wang really needs me, I will give him my life!" cried the young duke, "but you want to rob me of his trust and love!"

"Louis will understand ......"

"It's not Louis's problem, Mother, it's my problem, I can't believe you would do this, when the royal brother is in danger and life and death are uncertain, you are cheering for the new king!" Speaking of this, Philippe remembered the nobles who suddenly flattered him, and they felt that King Louis XIV was inevitably dead, and that the Duke of Gaston was dying and the Prince of Condé was already subservient to the royal family, and the Duke of Anjou was the only heir to the French throne - Philip scoffed at this despicable and shameless act, but he did not expect his mother and Bishop Mazaran to do the same, where did they put Louis?

Or, for these people, the so-called king is just a pawn on a chessboard, which can be discarded or replaced.

"Philip!" Philip's words pierced Queen Mother Anne's heart deeply, didn't she love her son, of course not, she was even willing to use her instead of Louis to suffer these sufferings, but the news from the world was always intermittent and vague, even if there was a blood relic disguised as a king, it could not exercise power on behalf of the king, England, Spain, the Netherlands...... These countries still surround France, and France must have a king.

Queen Mother Anne knew that she was as indecisive as Bishop Mazarin in this matter, and if it was her mother-in-law, Mary of the Medici family, she might have declared the death of the first king and let Philip succeed her, anyway, they were all her own children, she was still the queen mother, and Cardinal Richelieu would do the same, but ...... She lowered her upright body and lifted a hand to her forehead: "I thought, Philip," the Queen Mother whispered, "you would be glad to accept such an arrangement." ”

This sentence embarrassed Philippe, he stood on the high platform, and felt like a criminal who had been publicly displayed, he was also the son of Louis XIII, a descendant, and had an inalienable power, but unfortunately, he was born two years later than Louis - to say that he had no resentment after he was sensible, that he had not been jealous was a pure lie, and he also knew that the Duke of Gaston was probably his future— For this reason, the Queen Mother Anne and Bishop Mazarin deliberately indulged and even seduced him to the path of sin, just so that the French royal family would no longer have a brotherly wall.

As for Louis, his king and brother were always hesitating, and Philippe knew what he was thinking, but sometimes he was angry and angry at his distrust, but since the king had stabbed Felipe Mancini to death in front of him, he had no longer been hesitant about these little things—even if he still had delusions once in a while, but think about it, if he and Louis were reversed, would he be able to do what his brother had done for him? Louis didn't even have to fall into the trap, he just had to stand by and watch.

"I can't," said Philip, "Mother, please, I can't, don't force me to hurt Louie, I don't want to see him hate me." ”

Shall we be willing?" Queen Mother Anne could hardly hold back her desire to growl, but a strong sense of exhaustion welled up in her heart, "well," she compromised, "I'll go and consult with Mr. Bishop." ”

——————

Mary gently grasped the parchment in her hand, it was thinned to almost transparent, and the words on it were written with a needle, as small as a fairy foot, and could only be read with a magnifying glass.

She burned the parchment roll on the candle and walked lightly to the courtyard where the lecture was held— Almost all wizard children will take classes outdoors, or in a large enough place, because they are not skilled enough in spells, and the fire or lightning may hurt them, and the basilica-like atrium of the Palazzo Colonna is a good place, the statue is silently watching Louis and his mentor, when Marie walks in, he is holding a flame, the flame burns in his hand, illuminates his eyes, and when Marie sees this, her heart melts, but the steel core still makes her say the news that will make Louis sad。

"Philip, Duke of Anjou, in his capacity as Lord Regent, granted Duke Protector Charles Cromwell's request for an audience. ”

Louis listened, did not speak, but silently extinguished the flame in his hand.

"Well," Merfa said understandingly, "Looks like this is the end of our lesson for today, Mary, come with me," he deliberately pretended not to see the little witch's defiant eyes: "It's better to leave him alone at this time," he stretched out his arm, and Mary had to reach out and hold it, "Let's see where your homework is......"

The conversation between the two faded away, and Louis returned to his room, his heart full of sorrow and some vague anger, but not on Philip, but on Mary.

Marie thought that he was semi-imprisoned in the Palazzo Colonna, and that he could only rely on her and the Mancini family behind her in this strange inner world, which was very wrong, wherever power and wealth go hand in hand, Bishop Mazarin can be said to have poured out his power in the inner world, just to ensure the safety and freedom of Louis in the inner world- Colonna Palace was not built overnight, Luca and even Tuno and others, although nominally recruited, their loyalty and obedience to Louis were not unfounded, and Melfa also had a gift from Mr. Bishop - the older wizard was obviously much sharper and more tactful than his students.

It can also be seen from some small details that Bishop Mazarin also made two preparations, one is that Louis will return to the world safely after recovery, and the other is that Louis may really become a wizard and stay in the inner world, which is also the wish of Marie Mancini.

But Marie Mancini had been with the king for so long, and he should not have thought that Louis would be at the mercy of others like a dazed and ignorant child.

Philip, then, received Richard Cromwell's envoy in his capacity as Duke of Anjou. Louie said.

"Yes, she lied to you. "The blue-gray kitten said that it had never spoken in front of Mary, or had shown human-like intelligence, so the little witch did not take it to heart, and when Louis entered the inner world, it got into Louis's pocket, and magical creatures were very common in the inner world, and it followed Louie, or walked anywhere else, without attracting the attention of others, but as a part of Prince Van Zhuo, it was able to easily get the correct information from Theoderic, that is, when it spoke, it inevitably had a little accent— Maybe it's because cats' vocal organs are still different from humans or blood clans after all.

"What are you going to do next?" asked the kitten, "As far as I know, the Mancini family is preparing a blood oath marriage, and they dare not kill you, but they want to keep you in the inner world forever, which is equivalent to erasing your existence in the surface world." ”

"I think I need to know a little bit about the Blood Vows first. ”

————

"Blood-sworn marriage?" said Merfa, "indeed, this is the Mancini," he said. Although they have always denied it, it is said that they have intermarried with the devil when they were still in the world, so that from generation to generation both men and women have been beautiful, and sometimes there are atavists, like my poor little Varro's wife, and they want to find her because she can get any wizard who is favored by the Mancini family to enter into a blood oath marriage with her, so that as long as they can control her, they can also control the wizard who is too powerful to threaten them. ”

"But she's now married to a mortal. ”

"It's all the same that the Mancini family needs. "Merfa said:" If you are betrothed to Marie Mancini, they will kill three birds with one stone, you know, first of all you will no longer be allowed to be king, but you will be replaced by your gentle, to be precise, a little cowardly, and then your brother will be a hindrance to him even if he becomes king, as long as your affection is still deep, and finally the blood of the Mancini family is mixed in the blood of Bourbon, although there is a strong gap between the world and the world, but who knows, maybe one day in the future, just like the Medici family, no one would have imagined that a wool merchant would become the Grand Duke of Tuscany, their daughters will become queens and queen mothers. ”

"They're thinking really long-term. The king said, touching the kitten's back.

"They have cast a great net," said Merfa, "and you are the biggest fish they have ever caught, and now you have to make a decision, Your Majesty." ”

"Decided?"

"I am your mentor," Merfa's expression suddenly became solemn, "In magic, I must say that you have an extremely outstanding talent, and in time, a Mancini family will not be able to suppress you, and you may even be a rebel, after all, Mary is also a descendant, and you should also be able to obtain the title of a duke - of course, you can also choose to give up being a wizard and leave as a mortal, which will be a little difficult, but it is not impossible, but even if I don't think that wizards are superior, I would also say, Your Majesty, you can make a difference in the world......"

"I see what you mean," Louis interrupted him gently, "Monsieur Merfa, but I have been a mortal for twenty years before, and my education, my revered doctrines, and the laws I obey, are all teaching me how to be a king, not a wizard, and the wizarding world amazes me, and perhaps some nostalgia, but like a traveler, I always have to go home." ”

Merfa couldn't tell if it was regret, but he sighed with relief: "A friend of mine is very interested in blood oath marriages, Your Majesty, I will go and meet him." ”

——————

What Merfa didn't know was that the king was also a great lord, and his thirst for territory was never endless, Louis didn't know if the previous kings had a desire for the inner world, but he was held back by fear of faith or cowering from ignorance, but since he came here, he has not stopped thinking about it for a moment, except for the various outputs here, In addition to ore and manpower, there is also their geographical location, and it is said that wizards can walk around the world at will, so even if mortals cannot cross the cornerstone on a large scale, as long as they can control the wizards here, they can launch surprise attacks on other countries - and they can't even find the location of the army or the location of the battle...... That was enough for Louis to take the risk.