Juana's disappearance was unexpected by everyone, according to the people in the castle, the princess suddenly became much quieter during this time, she no longer lost her temper easily, and her mood improved, although Philip's illness still worried her, but as if there was a sudden hope, Juana became less crazy.

This was a good thing, and it should have been reported to the king and his wife a long time ago, but because she was moody, her subordinates did not dare to tell Isabella and his wife about her change, after all, if the queen was full of hope that the rude and manic daughter she saw at this time, it would probably make Isabella trouble with them out of disappointment and anger.

Therefore, the people in charge of taking care of the distressed couple in the castle still only carefully guarded them, and they had only one purpose, that is, not to let the princess do anything out of the ordinary, and at the same time to keep an eye on Philip's situation.

When the news of the queen's serious illness came, the people who were guarding the castle in the high ground did notice something unusual, and they found that the princess's mood had suddenly become unstable at these times, and they had thought that Juana was worried about her mother's health, but no one expected that the next morning, shortly after the first delivery team to deliver to the castle had left, they found that Juana and his wife had suddenly disappeared.

They searched the whole castle, and when they were sure that they were not there, the men looked at each other in fear.

They knew that they were about to be in trouble, and that they would be punished harshly by the king, so they fled from the castle in a hurry, except for the two castle officials who could not escape.

Before the two apprehensive officials could make up their minds to report to the king that Ferdinand's men had arrived at the castle in the Highlands, the astonishing news quickly spread throughout the Barriarides.

When Ferdinand heard of Juana's disappearance, he was at first surprised, then momentarily happy, and then overshadowed by great anxiety.

His mood changed so quickly that no one noticed that the king had so many thoughts in a moment, but Ferdinand himself knew that this time he was in trouble.

He immediately ordered a large number of men to be sent to find the whereabouts of Juana and his wife, while waiting for the storm that would appear in front of him at any time,

Sure enough, the uproar caused by Juana's disappearance almost drowned out Barriaridot on Mussel Street, and all kinds of speculations and speculations that sounded plausible but were mostly just random speculations flew through the city for a while.

However, in all the speculations, almost all eyes were on Ferdinand, and it was agreed that it was actually a trick played by the king, especially for some nobles who knew better about Ferdinand's covetion of the throne of Castile.

It is speculated that the princess and his wife may have fallen into the hands of Ferdinand, and that he imprisoned them in some secret place, and that if he controlled Princess Juana at this time, he would also control the Kingdom of Castile.

Ferdinand was apparently aware of such speculation, so he was anxious to find his daughter to prove his "innocence", but Juana and his wife were like drops falling into the sea.

When the officials sent to investigate the princess's whereabouts finally traced the people who delivered to the castle in the Highlands every time, they found that several of them had disappeared on the day of Juana's disappearance.

Obviously, whether they wanted to or not, Juana and his wife should have been smuggled away by these people, but they learned from the people who stayed behind that it seemed that Juana did have some kind of connection with these people.

Because Juana, who had always been indifferent to people outside, seemed to be quite interested in those who came to deliver the goods every few days, she often inquired from them for news, which made the people who guarded them originally thought that the princess had been in the castle for too long and wanted to know what was going on outside, but now it seems that things are not like that, and those people are likely to contact Juana secretly, although they don't know what they promised, but it was enough for Juana to leave the castle with them willingly, He even brought a seriously ill Philip with him.

"Philip?"

Ferdinand, who was listening to the report, suddenly realized something, he knew his daughter well, Juana's paranoia made them both extremely troubled, Isabella was thinking about her daughter, and Ferdinand was worried that Philip's great influence might make Juana turn against him one day.

Now that Juana was leaving the castle in the Highlands with the seriously ill Philip, Ferdinand immediately thought that it might have something to do with Philip, because nothing in this world was more important to Juana than Philip.

"But she can't go far with a sick person, and those who helped him escape must have someone who knows them, go and check! Whatever means are used, I need to know who sent them. ”

Ferdinand gave the order in a rage, and it led to a bloody storm in the city of Barriaride.

Ferdinand's men began to arrest those who might have been involved in the disappearance of Juana and his wife, and no one who knew the suspicious people was spared, and they were imprisoned in castles and dungeons, where they were forced to confess all the useful and useless things they knew, and then the officials began a new round of arrests based on their confessions.

For a while, the people of Barriaridud City panicked, no one knew if they were inexplicably involved in this terrible matter, and as more and more people were implicated, the arrest operation that was originally only among the commoners finally developed towards the nobles.

This caused an even greater uproar, and many nobles accused Ferdinand of taking the opportunity to eradicate his enemies, but because it involved Juana's whereabouts, and now Isabella is seriously ill in bed, so even if they are angry and uneasy, but in the face of this situation, the nobles are helpless for a while.

It was at this time that Gonzalo returned to the Barriaride.

When he heard that Gonzalo had returned, Ferdinand, who had been hoping to bring him back, was not happy that he had finally returned, because the timing of his return was so bad.

On the contrary, the nobles of the Barriaridudes rejoiced at Gonzalo's return, even more intensely and enthusiastically than the Pope's presence.

Ignoring the danger of angering Ferdinand, they rushed out of the city, and then welcomed Gonzalo into the city like a triumphant hero.

Gonzalo Córdoba was indeed a hero, he had a great record in the Reconquista, and a few years earlier in the Italian War he taught the arrogant King Charles VIII of France a harsh lesson, even in the battle between Crete and the Ottomans, although he eventually had to withdraw from Crete due to the frequent defeats of the Venetian navy, but if it is only in terms of land wars, he still fought remarkably.

This succession of victories brought great profits and spoils to Castile and Aragon, as the art treasures taken from Naples filled the rooms of the royal palace of Zaragoza, and the large quantities of sugar brought back from Crete made Iberia an important market for merchants.

Now the general hurried back from the south, and this time he brought not wealth, but an opportunity that might change the situation in Castile,

It was precisely because of this that the Castilian nobles had great expectations for Gonzalo's return, and they were terrified of Ferdinand's rule, and the thought that they might remain under the shadow of this man in the future filled the Castilian people with despair.

Now that Gonzalo had returned, they had pinned all their hopes on the queen's beloved general, who dared to openly rebuke the Pope and was not afraid of Ferdinand.

Gonzalo went straight to the palace after entering the city, and the various rumors he heard along the way made his heart tremble, and on the way he even wondered if the queen had been unfortunately called, even after entering the city, he was not at ease until he saw the queen in person, so he led a large number of Castilian nobles to flock to the palace.

This immediately alarmed Ferdinand, who immediately mobilized the palace guard to guard the gates, and at the same time decided to send Isabella's treasurer to negotiate with the nobles who were almost outside the palace.

Don Makrosbein accepted the mission, and he squeezed his way through the gap in the slightly open gate of the palace alone, and then stood in the open space under the gate and watched the Bararidots who had come from far and wide to gather in the square in front of the palace.

At the front of these men, a group of nobles gathered around Gonzalo and walked towards him, and after seeing the faint swaying figures and the reflection of weapons on the walls of the palace, Gonzalo raised his right arm in the air.

The crowd slowly stopped, whispering to each other while standing on tiptoe to look ahead as far as possible.

Don Makrosbein frowned slightly when he saw someone jumping on the roof of the house not far away, and then smiled bitterly at Gonzalo who came out of the crowd with some helplessness.

Gonzalo opened his arms, and as he exchanged hugs with the treasurer, he took the opportunity to whisper, "For God's sake, tell me the truth about how the queen is?" ”

"Not good, really not good," Don Makrosbyne sighed, he looked at the dusty soldier in front of him, and saw his tattered clothes and two awkward legs that looked like they were split on both sides, and the treasurer could imagine how hard he had to rush back along the way. ”

Gonzalo nodded silently, he had heard the news of the disappearance of Juana and his wife, and his first thought at that time was that it was Ferdinand's trick, although he still thought so, but he was too smart to say it.

However, Don Macrosbein had already guessed what he was thinking from Gonzalo's expression, which made the treasurer secretly worried.

As Isabella's most trusted minister, Mark Rosbein was well aware of the conflicts between the two kings, and because he had been by the side of the seriously ill queen during this time, he knew the situation better than anyone else.

If Isabella's illness becomes too serious to continue in charge or may even be in danger, Juana will be the key to it all.

She will be officially declared regent of the kingdom, and in the unfortunate event that the queen is called, she will be the next queen of Castilla.

Juana's identity suddenly became extremely important.

But at this time, she disappeared, which was a huge blow to the Castilians as much as Isabella's illness.

"Is it Ferdinand?" Gonzalo almost did not hesitate to suspect the King of Aragon, and Don Makrosbai, though he did not answer, showed that he had the same idea on his face.

"I'm going to see the Queen." Gonzalo lowered his voice, he looked back at the dark crowd behind him, and whispered to Marc Rosbein, "I want to know how the Queen is doing." ”

The treasurer nodded silently, he knew that it was useless to dissuade Gonzalo at this time, and that the queen's situation was so dangerous that it might indeed be time to make the necessary decisions.

"The Pope is ready."

Don Macrosbyne's words made Gonzalo secretly frightened, and he knew that the treasurer was hinting that he might need to make a deathbed confession, which made him finally realize that maybe Isabella might really be called at any time.

Gonzalo turned and raised his hands high to the crowd, and after seeing the crowd calm a little because of his movements, Gonzalo said to the nobles who accompanied him, "Wait here, I will now go to the Queen." ”

The nobles immediately became agitated, and since the bad news that Isabella was seriously ill, except for some important ministers, Ferdinand forbade them to see Isabella on the grounds that the queen needed medical treatment, which made these small and medium-sized nobles even more uneasy.

Now Gonzalo was their only hope, and for a moment all he looked at the queen's favorite general with expectant eyes.

"Dear Córdoba, this may be the most difficult moment we have to face," Don Makrosbeine said to Gonzalo in a low voice as he walked, walking in the palace, "We must be prepared for the worst, the disappearance of Juana has made us all passive, and there may even be riots, we must try to ensure that this does not happen." ”

Gonzalo shook his head when he heard this, and he said with the same worry: "But if Juana's disappearance has something to do with Ferdinand, then not only will there be a riot, but perhaps a war will break out." ”

"So we must stop this kind of thing," said Don Makrosbein in a vicious tone, "and now this situation is simply the eve of the end of the world, and if we don't find Juana as soon as possible, maybe what awaits us may really be a disaster." ”

"So what do you want to do?" Gonzalo asked in a low voice, he could sense that the treasurer seemed to have some plans, but it was clear that he needed someone to support him now.

"I'm thinking of a worse possibility," Don Makrosbein said with a cloudy look on his face, as if he was considering whether to make it clearer, "what do you think should be done if you can't find Juana in time, or if something happens to the princess?" ”

Gonzalo, who was walking forward, suddenly stopped, looked at Don Macrosbein with a gloomy expression, and after a while asked slowly, "Then what do you think you should do, treasurer?" ”

Although he heard the sarcasm in Gonzalo's tone, Don Makrosbein did not show any displeasure in his expression, he took a step closer to Gonzalo and whispered in his ear: "Believe me, if you knew what had happened in the court during this time, you would understand what I meant by these words. ”

With that, he walked forward alone.

Because news of the Queen's serious illness has spread and there is no need to keep it a secret, Isabella is now housed in her living room.

Ferdinand's anger was uncontrollable in the large room occupied by a group of doctors, where people whispered and quarreled, and almost everyone was expressing their opinions about the Queen's condition, but none of them could convince anyone.

The men he sent out to find Juana had almost turned the city of Barriaridud upside down, but the young couple was still nowhere to be found, and Ferdinand suspected that Juana was probably no longer there, but he could not think of who had helped or kidnapped them out of the castle in the Highlands.

The figure that appeared at the door attracted the attention of the doctors in the room, and the doctors who had thought it was a new colleague and showed defiant eyes immediately fell silent when they saw Gonzalo, most of them did not know the queen's favorite general, but they knew that the people who could appear in this room must be high-ranking people.

Sure enough, they saw that the king, who had been sitting in the corner without saying a word, suddenly stood up, and the man who had just come in walked through the room without squinting and walked up to Ferdinand.

"I want to see Your Majesty."

Gonzalo's unceremonious attitude annoyed Ferdinand, but he knew that this was not the time to get angry, and the shouts of the large crowd gathered outside could be heard from time to time, which made Ferdinand know that if he continued to obstruct it, it would probably cause a storm.

"Not too long," said Ferdinand, adding with a gloomy face, "don't tell her the things that bother her, for what she needs now is healing and quiet recuperation." ”

Gonzalo's protruding chin lifted forward slightly, as if he was provoking Ferdinand in front of him, and asked, "I want to ask what you mean by the troubles, is Princess Juana's whereabouts unknown now?" ”

Ferdinand's face turned blue in an instant, and he stepped forward and grabbed Gonzalo's arm hard, his fingers almost completely sinking into the gap between Gonzalo's wide sleeves, while he roared angrily in a voice that only two people could hear: "For God's sake, don't make this worse, do it so that she is at least better for now, and if you must go against me in this matter, then wait until this is over." ”

Gonzalo stared at Ferdinand for a moment, he could feel that Ferdinand was indeed worried about the situation in front of him, and he couldn't help but wonder if Juana's matter really had nothing to do with Ferdinand.

But he also knew that Ferdinand was right, and that Isabella should not suffer from such troubles anymore.

Gonzalo finally gave in and bowed slightly to Ferdinand, and he walked down the hallway to the Queen's bedroom.

It was a corridor, but it was actually a long hallway room, and behind the door at the end of the room was Isabella's bedroom, and now the bedroom door was ajar, and the queen's chamberlain stood in front of the half-hidden door.

Before crossing the hallway, though, Gonzalo saw two acquaintances.

He saw the contrasting expressions on their faces when they saw him, nodded to them, and then walked to the door of the room, accompanied by a female officer who greeted him.

The tall Moorish squire glanced at him and stepped aside.

Looking at Gonzalo's back who disappeared through the door, the gloom and resentment on Pope Alexander VI's face faded slightly.

"Gonzalo is back."

Alexander, who was beside the pope, whispered to himself, and when he saw the pope looking at him, Alexander continued to whisper to the pope with a solemn expression: "Who do you think kidnapped Juana?" ”