The banquet ended with speculation, speculation and exposition.

Everyone who was qualified to say goodbye to the Count himself had to take a look at Alexander, who was standing not far away, when he came over.

For Miss Cosenza was standing beside her uncle, and she said to Alexandria in a voice that was just right to be heard, "I hope you will stay with me a little while." So Alexander had to stand not far from the Count like a display for everyone who came to see it.

Miss Cosenza seemed to enjoy the sensation of being speculated, and she whispered to her uncle, and from time to time glanced at the young man a few paces away, even if she didn't say a word, but that look had made many people say a lot for her.

But when the last guest had left, the count's face was a little cold, and she didn't even say hello, but walked past Alexander, and was completely like the one she had been before.

Although this is not surprising, Alexander still thinks that this "sister" is really not so cute.

The Count, unimpressed by the flicks and colds of his niece, beckoned Alexander to come with him, and in the room of the Tuylan Palace, which was built by the water, Modillo summoned him again alone.

"I must say that you have surprised me a little," the Count said, standing in the middle of the room with air leaks on all sides, looking at Alexander, "I can see that you are a very intelligent young man, so I don't think I need to remind you about my niece......"

"I have no illusions about Mademoiselle Count," Alexander said, and seeing the Count's nod of satisfaction, he continued, "but what I have said to you at the banquet is true, and I hope that in addition to completing the survey of the boundaries between Sicily and your fiefdom which you wish, I will also gain your friendship for my country, and we may fight against the French together." ”

"Young man, you are very arrogant, do you think you are qualified to discuss this kind of matter with me, to sign such a treaty?"

In saying this, the Count did not show contempt, but calmly and earnestly asked about this fact.

But it's even more hurtful.

Alexander, however, did not have time to lick the wounds of his self-esteem, and he knew that the opportunity to meet the Count again in private was a rare one, which made his impression of Miss Cosenza somewhat better.

"My lord, Naples is facing famine," Alexander decided to tell the truth, he didn't believe that Modillo didn't know what Naples was about to face, since it was better to get to the bottom than to beat around the bush, "Everyone knows that the French almost emptied the city before leaving, and then the coalition army also collected a lot of supplies to fight the French, as well as the nobles who had just returned to Naples, and now Naples looks to have returned to its former glory, but the city has been almost completely hollowed out, Perhaps soon it will be discovered that bread is scarce, and food of all kinds is becoming more and more excessive, first among the commoners and then among the nobility, and that the day will come when even the most generous hosts will have to be careful about entertaining their guests, and the city will be taken over by famine. ”

Mordillo listened silently to the analysis that the others might have changed color, and a pair of deep eyes in his sunken eye sockets looked at the young man in front of him, and after making sure that he had finished speaking, the count nodded thoughtfully: "That's why you went to see the king?" Hope that he can listen to these words and get his attention? ”

Alexander nodded calmly, he knew that he couldn't play tricks in the face of this person, and the best thing to do was to tell the truth.

And he thought it was nothing, and as an emissary, it was normal to meet the king.

The Earl, who had received the answer, apparently did not think so, and shook his head with a little regret, and said, "Young man, you are wrong, very wrong, you should not have gone to the king, but fortunately I went in time, otherwise you might not have stood here so leisurely." ”

Alexander didn't speak, although he didn't know if the count was right, but after meeting Ferdinand, he knew that he had made a mistake, and although he knew that the king should be dying, he really didn't think that he was a madman at all.

"The king is not in good spirits, maybe because he has been in too much of his spirits, so if you tell him that the Neapolitans are going to starve soon, maybe he will listen to you, but most of the time he will probably make decisions that no one can think of." The Count narrowed his eyes as he spoke, "Then what advice did you have to give the king before?" ”

Looking at the Count's appearance, Alexander had the feeling that everything was actually under Modillo's control, and he even vaguely felt that Modillo seemed to be waiting for this kind of thing to happen.

"I will propose to the king that Sicily provide sufficient food," said Alexander carefully, "you know that there are enough fertile fields in Sicily to feed the two Sicilians, and although I have no right to sign such a treaty at once, I am still an envoy of Sicily, and I can be an envoy between the two Sicilies." ”

"Two Sicilies," Modillo sighed softly, "one Sicily is hungry, and the other Sicily has enough food to feed everyone, which seems funny, but it is actually sad." ”

The vague insistence on the unification of Sicily in Modillo's words seemed to confirm Camus's words once again, but Alexander did not say anything, knowing that the Count was not speaking to him.

"The Neapolitans don't starve," said Mordillo in a voice so light that he had to listen carefully to make out his voice, and then he laughed, "but you surprise me a little, many people don't even think about it, and even if anyone finds out, they don't think it's serious, and the sea in Naples is enough to feed many people." ”

Alexander nodded silently in response to the earl's appreciation, and at this point he guessed that everything might really be in Modiglo's control, and even that Naples was facing a shortage of food, perhaps caused by Modiglo.

As for why he did this, although Alexander did not know, he still guessed that it was related to his current rather delicate situation.

As a descendant of the Counts of Naples, the relationship between the Modillo family and the royal family was very strange, and it was hard to imagine how a king would feel about his palace being built on someone else's territory, and it would be wonderful if the owner of the territory was a restless lord.

"It is a pleasure to meet you," said the Count, who gave the order without warning, and walked out with his hand around Alexander's shoulder, and said in a heartfelt tone, "if you can meet Jossurnan, please pay homage to him for me." I know that he is an upright man, and although he has many misunderstandings about me, I have great respect for him, and I still hope to be with him to assist our Majesty, so if you see him, please convey my kindness on my behalf. ”

Looking at the sincerity on Modillo's face, Alexander couldn't help but wonder how much sincerity he meant in these words.

Although he also thought that Modillo's opinion of Josurnan was quite pertinent, and that the king's teacher did seem to be a very conscientious man, that did not mean that the two men could get along.

The royal palace of Naples is no more simple than Palermo.

Then he saw Miss Cosenza standing on the other side of the stone bridge.

Although the time was short, Miss Josa Cosenza had already changed her clothes, and she was wearing a long aqua blue dress, and although it was very hot, she still wore a long hat on her head that hung directly down to her back, and the inner brace turned up the ends of the hat to make her look taller than before.

Seeing his niece, the Count went over and hugged Miss Cosenza, then he turned back to Alexander, made a helpless gesture, smiled and turned away.

Alexander didn't move, he knew that the Countess wouldn't have been wandering around to find it.

Sure enough, as soon as the uncle walked away, Miss Cosenza, who seemed to be looking at the river, walked slowly towards him.

"I should thank you for your help, I mean when I was in the garden before," Tsusha thought that her tone might be a little direct, so she tried to be softer, but she soon found it too uncomfortable, so she simply gave up her disguise, "Actually, I didn't mean to hit you, but you did help me get out of a lot of trouble." But I was the only one who helped you, so we're even. ”

Sure enough, Alexander said "hey" to himself, and from the time Miss Cosenza came out for him, and then deliberately seemed so ambiguous, he knew that this innocent-looking little girl did not look like her at all, and now it seemed that in the garden she was also using herself to get rid of the prince Alfred.

"Well, you did repay me."

Alexander doesn't seem to care, but he is actually curious about this "half-sister", or about the current husband of Modillo's sister Giorgio Anne Modillo.

Although Osborne had heard a lot about the Modillo family, and the tailor seemed to have eaten well in Naples, the rumours about Georgio Anne should have been reliable, but they were hearsay.

At least he didn't hear from Osborne that George Anne was later married to the Count of Cosenza.

Maybe Osborne had not yet been married when he left Naples, or perhaps the tailor had been negligent, or had not wanted to speak to him at all.

This made Alexander feel that although the tailor had chosen to gamble on him, he could not fully believe what Osborne had told him.

"I wonder if you're from Sicily?" Miss Cosenza casually asked, as if curious, "But you don't seem to be Sicilian. ”

Mademoiselle's question moved Alexander's heart.

"No, I'm not really a Sicilian," Alexander replied, pretending to be nonchalant, "I've always lived in a monastery, and this is not only the first time I've ever left Sicily, but it's also the first time I've actually left Sicily." ”

"Monastery, that's not a good place, I have an uncle in the monastery, I don't think he'll ever come out for the rest of his life. But I don't think he'd suffered much in there, because every priest I've ever seen looks chubby. ”

Miss Cosenza spoke ill of the Church in a slightly disgusted tone, and she looked innocent, but Alexander believed that this was certainly not her true face.

"I don't think that's the case in my convent," Alexander was sure by this time that the countess had come to him for a purpose, and though he did not know whether it was her own idea or whether it was at the behest of her mother, Alexander felt that he should seize the opportunity. "Saint Sebaron follows strict Dominican rules, and asceticism and piety are the creeds of Saint Sebaron."

"Oh, is that abbey of yours called Saint Sebaron?" Miss Cosenza asked casually, her eyes flashing with an inquiring look, as if she was genuinely curious about Alexander's experience, "So you are a monk?" ”

"It was, maybe God was going to test me, and now I've left the monastery."

Alexander was deliberately vague, he didn't know what the countess meant, so he didn't want to confide too much so early, but he believed that as long as George Anne wasn't completely blinded by her brother, she should know what Sebaron meant to her.

If it was indeed George Anne Mordillo who had asked her daughter to test him, then it was certain that the lady would have known the possible whereabouts of her son, or at least where her brother had sent him.

For someone like Modiglo, there is no guilt in arranging for his sister to be someone else's mistress and using her newborn child as a bargaining chip for future returns.

And what will happen to George Anne as a mother, Alexander does not know.

Although George Anne gave birth to a son as Enrique's mistress, she is now the Countess of Cosenza.

Speculation about how much affection the bastard child had since she was born, or simply more utilitarian thoughts like her brother, made Alexander wary.

And Alexander was worried that once George Anne began to doubt his identity, she would immediately tell Modillo the news, and if that did, he would inevitably be passive for him who was not ready.

Because of this, Alexander felt that it was better not to be too exposed for the time being.

"It seems that your life is much more exciting now than in the convent, at least these two duels are enough to make you a celebrity in Naples."

Josa Cosenza put her hands behind her back, so that her breasts, which were round but not very prominent, stood out with a perfect curve, and with her dazzling blonde hair and lake-blue eyes, the countess was as charming as a delicate elf.

Alexander secretly reminded not to be fooled by the appearance of the elf in front of him, and from the bits and pieces that had just happened, he did not suspect at all that there was a not-so-lovely heart hidden in this innocent body.

"If you mean a duel with Prince Alfred, I think it was completely forced to do so," Alexander said, "and I think I was innocent of the whole thing, and because I offended a Neapolitan prince, maybe my life will soon be difficult." As for the Florentine, I don't think it's an honour to fight him, it's my duty. ”

"You mean I put you in an awkward position?"

The Countess stared at Alexander unhappily, and then she shook her head vigorously and turned to walk the way she came.

But after a few steps she stopped, looked back at Alexander's face carefully, and said in a rather strange tone: "If you think you are in trouble, you can come to the Tuylan Palace often, or you can come to my territory for a while, and I am sure that it will soon be over." ”

With that, Miss Cosenza smiled at Alexander, and walked without looking back towards her mother's palace.

Is this an invitation?

Alexander wondered in his heart whether this invitation was of his own initiative or had been prepared by his "sister", but he knew that it would not be difficult for him to come to Modillo's Tuylan Palace regularly, but it would be impossible for him to follow the Countess and her daughter to their territory in Cosenza.

Considering that it was already July, and in two months, Naples was going to undergo a country-shaking upheaval, and he could not leave the city.

Alexander was the last guest to leave the Tuylan Palace, and when he stepped out of the two bronze gates, which were to be open all night tonight, he saw Massimo and Uliu, standing in the street.

At the sight of his master, the Moorish man first hurried over, and diligently took off his saber and the short sheath that he wore on the outside, though these things were obviously very offensive in this season.

Then he handed Alexander another glass of water that he had prepared.

Massimo walked over slowly, looking at Alexander curiously, as if to find something different.

After a while, seeing that Alexander's brows were about to froze together, he sighed and said, "My friend, although I would like to tell you that you have become famous tonight, and that I can eat and drink anywhere I want, just because I know you, but you are indeed in great trouble this time." ”

"I know, Prince Alfred." Alexander was a little helpless, but he didn't care so much, "Probably because of this, there should be no friendship between me and Duke Frederick." ”

"Yes, no one would have a friendship with someone who beat his only son," Massimo sighed, but then he laughed, "but it's something to brag about, and just think that you have defeated a prince makes the whole world seem to come alive." ”

Seeing Mashimo's excitement, Alexander could only shake his head and ignore him, defeating a prince made him a Neapolitan celebrity, but then his troubles might come.

"Let's go home."

Alexander decided to return to the lookout post before he got into more trouble, and he didn't believe he could be so unlucky that something bad would happen three times in a row in one day.

Unfortunately, his wish was obviously frustrated, and as soon as he entered the tavern, he saw two men in black robes.

This is the patrolman of Naples.

"Excuse me, are you Master Gombray from Sicily?" When the city patrol officer received the answer, he said in a deep voice, "There is unfortunate news that Lord Gundoza of Wallash has just been assassinated. ”