The Masked Man, when he heard the name, the first thing that came to Alexander's mind was the mysterious Masked Man he had met in the town hall and then attacked the Marino Palace in the middle of the night when he was not in Rome!

Masks have always been a prop to cover up the truth, and people are afraid of masks, in fact, because of the fear of the unknown.

Even the most cowardly person can become another demon that no one knows when he puts on a mask, and when a mask blocks a person's face, he will often do things that even he would be afraid of.

Alexander couldn't forget the look in the masked man looking at them when Sophia shot the woman with a short crossbow, the look of hatred and madness, like the vengeful eyes of hell from the whirlpools of hell.

Because of this, Alexander was impressed by the eyes and the mask that stood in his way.

He had a feeling that that person would always reappear.

Now that he heard that it was a masked man, the first thing that came to Alexander's mind was that man.

"Someone saw the man come to their side," Konstantin shook his head at the opposite side, and then looked at Alexander with a meaningful look, "Do you think we should go find that man?" ”

Alexander looked at Konstantin, he knew what this brother-in-law was thinking.

The cooperation with the Borgia family has come to an end, and as the elder Rovere gets closer to the cardinal's position, the conflict between the two families becomes more and more intense.

Alexander VI obviously did not want to see the elder Rovere rise to the rank of cardinal, and for him the addition of Rovere to the Council of Cardinals was not only one more enemy and opponent, but one more person who could pose a great threat to the Borgia family in the future.

Now that the crisis in Romagna has been resolved, the next step is to deal with the former allies.

Giovanni's death disrupted Alexander VI's plans, and if the Rovere family hadn't taken the opportunity to make waves at this time, it wouldn't have been Rovere.

It's just that even if he guessed that Konstantin was so keen on the purpose of catching the murderer, he didn't have any good intentions, but the name of the masked man made Alexander unable to let go.

He still remembered the inexplicable fear when he heard that the man had actually infiltrated the Marino Palace, and he had the feeling that the man had been hiding in some dark place like a snake, and then staring at him and Sophia with cold eyes, waiting for some moment when they were all negligent, and then suddenly burst out and attacked with his terrible fangs!

Alexander looked at Constantine and noticed the strange smile on his face, and he knew that it was the Rovere family who were making trouble for Borgia, but they were not targeting him.

The ambiguity with Lucrezia made his already shaky relationship with the Rovere family seem even more fragile, but Alexander knew that the old Rovere would not be doing anything to him now.

After all, with Caesar's renunciation of the priesthood and the previous violent reaction to the actions of the Venetians, many people have seen Alexander VI's ambitions for Romagna.

And now he is a nail in Romagna.

Alexander walked across the streets where the two sides were facing each other, his gaze peering through the gaps between the soldiers and looking at the streets and houses on either side.

He didn't know if the Masked Man was watching his every move from behind the window of a house at this time.

Or is that person ready to deal with his assassination?

"We're going to search this place," Alexander said to one of the leading soldiers opposite, and without waiting for the man to speak, he continued, "I will explain these things to the Count of Córdoba, but now we must go over, and the murderer of the Duke of Gandino may be somewhere behind you, and the Duke is a loyal servant of Her Majesty." ”

The dirty faces of the soldiers on the other side were a little stunned, and the invincibility of entering Rome had already carried away these soldiers from Aragon.

Consider that even the Pope was reprimanded by his own generals, and the soldiers of Aragon even considered themselves conquerors of the city.

But now Alexander's words reminded the soldier that the dead pope's illegitimate son was still a duke, a nobleman in front of the queen of Castile.

The soldier's lips moved, he didn't want to give way, but Alexander didn't give him a chance, and just when he hesitated a little, Alexander had already walked past him, and then, bewildered by the coalition soldiers, he passed through the blocking line and came into the street.

It doesn't feel good to stand alone in the middle of an empty street, as if completely exposed to the enemy.

Alexander guessed that the masked man was hiding behind a window at this time, and maybe there would be a bowstring or a gunshot.

Alexander was actually nervous at this time, his whole body tensed, and his eyes were fixed on the messy houses in front of him.

This is the gateway to the poorest eastern part of Rome, and from here you descend the hill into the largest civilian area of the city.

This is where the criminals are hiding, and where all kinds of conspiracies are actually carried out.

If the wine of intrigue brewed in the luxurious palaces of Rome, then the eastern part of Rome is the place where the wine ferments.

Poverty makes the people here despicable, and sometimes it can cost a single life for just a few copper coins, and the eastern part of Rome is the darkest part of the city in the glory of the glittering capital of Christ.

Alexander held his breath for a moment, then slowly raised his hand and gestured back.

Konstantin had already crossed the coalition forces that had silently retreated, and he walked up to Alexander, looked at the street in front of him, and asked in a low voice as if he was afraid of disturbing someone: "What have you found?" ”

"What can you find?"

Alexander smiled bitterly, he couldn't have that kind of keen observation, and he didn't even know if the masked man had really arrived in the area east of the city.

Or, it's just a trick of the Rovere family.

"Aren't you going to search?" Konstantin asked.

"Is it here?" Alexander glanced at Konstantin, "Believe me, if we dare to enter this house, then we will not have a chance to see the sun tomorrow." ”

The corners of Konstantin's mouth moved slightly, and he seemed to be smiling like that.

"Or maybe we should turn around and go back, it's a bit of a shame to stay here." Konstantin said, turning over and jumping on horseback with the help of his entourage, "Or you should report this to the Pope, who should know what to do." ”

Is that what you're for?

Alexander looked at Konstantin silently.

He knew that Borgia's brief alliance with Rovere had collapsed.

"A masked man?"

Alexander VI slowly walked along the table, his gaze fell on Alexander from time to time, and after a while he stopped and asked: "Then do you believe the words of that Constantine, a man who has no name or even knows what he looks like, and then you clashed with Gonzalo's army at his instigation, is this a little too naïve?" ”

"Your Majesty, what you want is to be able to track down the murderer of the Duke of Gandino," Alexander said quietly, and when he saw the lightly twitching cheeks on the Pope's face, he stepped forward, "This man is probably the one who murdered the Duke." ”

The look on the Pope's face became even more gloomy, his gaze fixed on Alexander, and then finally nodded slowly.

"Go ahead, find the man, unmask him and let me see his face," said Alexander VI, who took two steps forward and stretched out his already slightly shriveled hand to grasp Alexander's clothes tightly, "Remember, he killed my son." ”

Looking at Alexander's back as he turned to leave, Alexander VI slowly sat back in his chair with a gloomy expression.

Alexander walked along the long corridor until he saw Caesar standing at the end of the corridor.

Even in such a hot weather, Caesar still wore a long black coat.

Alexander walked up to Caesar and stood still, making eye contact with him.

The surroundings seemed to become a lot quieter, in fact, when they saw the two of them, many people who were supposed to pass by looked for places to hide, and the whole corridor suddenly became empty.

"I heard you found the murderer?"

"No, just a suspect." Alexander shook his head slightly.

"Maybe that's the murderer," Caesar lowered his voice, "if I were you, I'd keep tracking him down and find him and hand him over to my father." ”

"And then let the real murderer get away with the punishment he deserves?"

As Alexander stared at Caesar's face, no one knew whether Giovanni's death was Caesar's fault, and it was a mystery that seemed destined to be solved, both in the future and in the present.

"What do you want to do!" Caesar's tone became intense, and he tried to keep his voice as low as possible, but because of his excitement, he still couldn't help but let out a low roar, "Do you want to frame me, or do you want to blackmail me, so what do you want to say to my father, did I kill Giovanni?" Do you think my father would believe this nonsense, or do you think he allowed you to ruin the reputation of his only son so casually? ”

"You're not the only one, and Jeffrey." Alexander reminded.

"Geoffrey, do you think he can inherit everything from my father, or do you think you can benefit from him?" Caesar scoffed, "No one has ever pinned their hopes on him, for as my father said, he was a fool and a coward." ”

"But maybe he doesn't think so," Alexander moved aside slightly, and his voice rang in Caesar's ears as he staggered past Caesar, "maybe he could do something that would surprise everyone." ”

Caesar's neck stiffened slightly, and he slowly turned to look at Alexander's back, and couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

The Masked Man, who has never seen his real face, Caesar, and Jeffrey, who is the real murderer of Giovanni, or is it that they colluded with each other, or that the murderer was not them in the first place?

Alexander's mind was a little confused, he knew what the situation would change in the future with Giovanni's death, but how many people would be implicated in this change, he could not tell.

In fact, Alexander VI did not give him more time.

July 25 is St. James' Day.

As a martyr among the apostles, St. James is seen as a model of self-dedication for Jesus Christ in spreading His holy will on earth.

So every year in July, the city of Rome holds a grand ceremony.

Legend has it that the beheaded anvil of St. James has become an immortal relic, preserved in the Vatican's underground warehouse filled with various precious relics.

From the first day of July each year, the chopping board, stained with the blood of St. James, is carried by the clergy from the Vatican on a platform decorated with gold, silver and pine branches, and then around the city of Rome and back to the Vatican.

From this day until July 25, the whole month will be St. James' Day of Remembrance.

Sacrifice, dedication, and bravery.

Coincidentally, Caesar's sword also has such an inscription.

Probably because of this, half a month after Giovanni's death, on the first day of July, the Vatican suddenly issued a public statement in the name of the synod of bishops.

Caesar Borgia was innocent, and any rumors accusing and implying that he had anything to do with the death of his brother Giovanni would be regarded as wanton slander and persecution of an innocent person, and would be punished with the severest punishment.

When Alexander VI signed this statement, three men stood in front of him.

Caesar, Nomerlo, and Alexander.

The Pope's face was gloomy, his hand paused at the end of the document before signing his name, watching the Keeper of the Seals next to him carefully stamp the Pope's personal triple cross seal, Alexander VI's gaze slowly swept over the faces of several people in front of him.

Finally his eyes stopped at Alexander.

"You promised me that I would find the murderer," the Pope said, and then he raised his hand to stop Alexander, who was about to speak, "but I don't have time, I want this matter to end as soon as possible." ”

Alexander listened silently, he knew what the Pope meant when he said there was no time.

Giovanni's death did disrupt so much that for Alexander VI, the chances he had had been given by the threat from the Ottomans had suddenly become slim because of the death of his son.

The short-lived Romagna War was the most obvious result of this opportunity, as the Venetians were forced to withdraw from Romagna after signing an unusually harsh treaty due to threats from the East.

This result was clearly a taste for Alexander VI, who immediately showed his unusually tough attitude towards the Ottoman Empire, and at the same time, as the spiritual leader of Christendom, he called on all Christian nations to unite again against the infidels from the invasion.

All this seemed to be going very well, and even if it continued like this, even if it did not show the glory of the original Urban II, the whole of Christendom might still have to be forced to stand under the banner of Alexander VI because of the greater threat it faced.

This made Alexander VI even sometimes have to thank the pagans for giving him such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

But suddenly, Giovanni died.

The ensuing rumors about the killer not only put Caesar and the entire Borgia family under suspicion, but even Alexander VI himself was in trouble.

It doesn't matter who is the murderer or who isn't, what the Pope needs is to get out of his current predicament.

But first he had to help his son wash away the filth from his body, even if it didn't wash it away at all.

"Don't forget your duty," the Pope stopped Alexander as he was about to leave, "I still need you to find the murderer, even as a father, I don't want my son to die in vain." ”

Alexander nodded silently, he could sense the Pope's loneliness and sadness at that moment, but he knew that this temporary weakness was only an illusion, and the person in front of him was always the Borgia known for his intrigue and cunning.

Giovanni's death probably really was, as Alexander VI said, just "a murderer was needed".

When Alexander returned to Marino Palace, he heard a rather unexpected news.

It was Uliu who inquired about this.

As Massimo said, the shrewd Moors heard more from the servants who were fond of slandering all day long than one might think.

And this time, the news he inquired about was indeed unexpected by Alexander.

Giovanni's widow, Maria de Luna, became pregnant.

As a young married woman, this is nothing new.

But thinking about Giovanni's completely ruined body because of syphilis, Alexander can't help but admit that this is a little strange.