Chipes walked down the street with a gloomy expression, listening to the enthusiastic discussion of the troops around him, some of whom were "his people".

This annoyed Tsepes, who did not expect the king to make such a decision suddenly, which left him unprepared, and it was clear that the king had once again taken the initiative with this proposal, so that some of the nobles who had not expressed their attitude towards the contradictions between them were now on the king's side because of this proposal.

Chipes didn't want to see Ladislas II, that would be too naïve for someone like them.

He only wanted to keep his Wallachia, and from the time of his father, Vlad III, their family's rule over Wallachia was not strong, especially after the mysterious death of his father, and Cepes felt that no one was reliable.

If it weren't for the Ottoman invasion, he wouldn't have come to Bucharest, the city where his father lost his life, and although he was the Grand Duke of Wallachia, he really ruled in Transylvania, a mountainous region that was always rainy but beautiful.

But now he can't get rid of it, and he must hold on, whether it's against the Ottomans or against the ill-intentioned king.

"Your Highness, are we going to attack the Ottomans?"

Another voice came from Cepes, who looked up with some annoyance, and saw the Zagreb man named Morko standing in front of him with a look of hope on his face.

"Are you so anxious to go to war, or die?"

Tempes did not hide his antipathy to the king's proposal, and he had previously openly objected to it at the meeting of the nobility, but Ladislas II had clearly grasped the hearts of the people, and it was clear that his long-standing anger and fear of the Ottomans had led people into an irresistible euphoria that would have erupted, and the battle of Montina's army in the Danube Delta had made people look restless at the same time hopeful.

This was evident from the face of the man in front of him, and that eagerness made Chipes not doubt that he might jump on his horse and rush out of the city the next moment he received the order.

This is not right, the king must be planning something, he can't not know that with the current situation in Bucharest, the best thing to do is to stick to it instead of taking the initiative, what is the problem?

Cepes couldn't stop pondering, and he didn't pay attention to what Mourco said on the other side.

Until he suddenly heard the name "Count Montina".

"What do you say, Count Montina, what do you know about him?" Cepes's spirit was immediately concentrated, and he had a feeling that all these changes seemed to have taken place since the arrival of the Earl, and that even the Ottomans, who were still stationed on the other side of the Alger River without attacking, had a relationship with that Earl.

"I just heard from a merchant who was drinking in a tavern," said Morco, seeing that the Grand Duke had finally noticed him, "I heard that the Count and the Emperor, I mean that the Emperor Maximian was very familiar, and perhaps Vienna would send troops to help us, and perhaps even the German nobles, whose knights were said to be very brave." ”

The corners of Cepes's mouth twitched slightly, Morco's words surprised him a little, he didn't know much about the Count of Montina, or had only heard of the things that circulated among people, although the obvious ambiguous relationship between Alexander and Sophia caught his attention, but it was not enough for him to dig into the matter for this purpose.

Although he had feared that his influence on Sophia would be diminished as a result, his fears were unwarranted now, as Ladislas said that it was clearly impossible for the Second to tolerate his constant influence on Sophia, as evidenced by the king's eagerness to publicly announce Sophia's status as a Greek princess and his unwavering support for her.

And Chipes's ambition was not great, he only wanted to keep his Wallachia, since through Sophia not only allowed him to get out of the original rather embarrassing situation, but even formed a lot of influence in Bucharest, so he was not so strongly opposed to the king's eagerness to regain control of Sophia.

But now the king's sudden action made Tzepes worried again, and he always felt that Ladislas II was hiding something, and now he could not help but think in his heart when he heard Morco mention that the Count of Montina seemed to have some kind of relationship with the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.

"You heard from a businessman about this?" Chipes asked suspiciously.

"The merchant whose name is Prato, whom the king has always summoned lately," said Morco affirmed, "is from Rome, and knows a great deal about the Vatican, and about the count." ”

At the mention of Alexander Morko, he was indignant, and he felt that his luck was really bad, and it seemed that he could not get rid of the hateful foreign nobleman wherever he went.

"Prato? The rich merchant who collected bronze everywhere? I've heard of him, but where is he now? ”

"I don't know, the king has looked for him before, but no one knows where he is now." Morko shook his head.

"Oh yes, you're doing a good job," Cepes nodded to Morko, and he was still impressed by the Zagreb envoy who almost ran into trouble on the first day he entered the city, "Are you now serving in the city guard?" ”

"Yes," Moorco straightened his back, looking at the coat embroidered with the emblem of Bucharest, "In my previous role under Lord Helva, I am now a squad leader in the city guard. ”

"That's good, I wish you a bright future." Chipes said perfunctorily and walked forward.

At this time, his mind was echoing the new news that Morco had just told him.

The king also apparently knew that the Count of Montina seemed to have some relationship with Emperor Maximian, so was Ladislas II really willing to give the power to command the coalition of nobles to that Duke Gombray?

If not, what does the king want to do?

What Ladislas II was going to do, Cepes couldn't guess, but what Sophia was going to do, Alexander hardly had to think about it.

Looking at Sophia, who was standing opposite him with a two-handed sword facing him, Alexander suddenly felt as if it had been two years ago, and they had never been separated. 、

This is Sofia's boudoir in the castle, or her own little kingdom, this small house is separated by a small but strong parapet, and behind the house is a large stone terrace, which stands perpendicular to the steep slope outside the castle, and in the distance you can faintly see the rough waters of the Danube, and the wide surging waves of the Dembvica River that pass through the city in the near distance make the city of Bucharest like a crystal clear scarf. In the evening, you can see the golden water of the river reflecting the rose-red color that permeates the city.

It's just that Alexander now doesn't have the heart to appreciate this intoxicating beauty, a "broad mind" in front of him that keeps rising and falling because of anger is enough to attract all his attention, not to mention that the other party has a long sword in his hand that can't shake it, and from the dazzling glossy edge of the sword, he can be sure that this sword is not used to decorate the façade, but a real guy who will see blood when the blade is opened.

"It's a bit complicated, you should listen to me." Alexander tried to keep her voice as calm as possible, although the cultivation in the Prague court seemed to have made Sophia restrain her wildness a lot, but when she heard the origin of the title Count Montina, Sophia, who was irascible and liked to use knives and guns, seemed to return at once.

"Ah~"

"No, no, no, it's not what you think, in fact, the one between me and Barondi, that's the one you know......"

"Ahh

"Oh, why are you so stubborn, things are not as bad as you think, I mean since you left, Barendi and I haven't been engaged right away, and we're not married!"

"Ah......h

"Yes, yes, that's much better, you listen to me quietly, this Count Montina is my inheritance, I have explained this before, and finally why this relationship is a little complicated, you also know that we used to have business dealings with the Levilet family, I remember going with you to visit the bishop, of course, he is now a cardinal, just because of these our relationship has become a little complicated, not to mention that you also know that there is also my uncle Count Mordillo......"

"Ahh

"Don't be impulsive Sophia, I know you don't like my uncle and you don't like Jisha, but here's the thing...... Oh, why don't you listen to people's explanations! ”

Finally, Alexander lost patience and stepped forward to try to disarm the enemy with strong means, but Sophia immediately and unceremoniously counterattacked, the long sword in her hand first slashed at the previous false move, and when Alexander paused for a moment, her lower wrist suddenly flipped the long sword and slashed horizontally at Alexander's waist by inertia.

Alexander was taken aback, in his impression Sophia likes to rely more on her natural strength to rampage, so it is not difficult to deal with her, as long as you see the right time to fight close to the body, she can lose the advantage of strength, but this kind of flexible technique has not even taught Nashan, which once made Nashan regret, thinking that Sophia did not have the spirituality to be a good knife hand.

Now looking at the sword that slashed horizontally, Alexander wanted to say to Nashan: "Your wish for your daughter to be a good swordsman has finally come true, but it was in exchange for your son-in-law's life." ”

With a "snap", the spine of the sword slammed into Alexander's waist, and the heavy impact made his body involuntarily fall to the side.

Sophia panted slightly with both hands on the hilt of her sword, even though she had the strength to surprise others, but the constant swing of a two-handed sword made her feel stuffy in her chest and panting.

Alexander pressed his aching waist in pain, and although Sophia still regained some strength at the last moment, the feeling of the heavy two-handed sword smashing on his body still made him feel as if he had just been hit by a donkey.

"You should be obedient!" Alexander shouted to Sophia with some annoyance, but seeing that the anger gradually faded but showed an aggrieved expression, he couldn't say what he said below.

Alexander simply sat on the ground helplessly and beckoned to Sophia.

"Come here, let me tell you what happened, and tell me why you left me in the first place."

Sophia hesitated, looked at the sword in her hand, and then looked at the big bad wolf who tempted Little Red Riding Hood on the other side, and after thinking about it, she walked over with her sword.

Alexander watched a little apprehensively as Sophia sat in his arms with her sword away from him, hugging the girl's already grown body, and Alexander's heart slowly calmed down.

The silky chestnut skin trembled slightly at the caress of Alexander's fingers, and the green girl's heart was burning hot.

Perhaps because of her precocious maturity, Sophia's original plump figure has not changed much, except for the cheeks and jaws that still have some baby fat, and the only change in Alexander's opinion is that her waist seems to be a little more slender than before, but this slenderness is exchanged for the "beautiful view" on her chest is more beautiful.

Alexander wrapped his arms around Sophia's waist from behind, rested his chin lightly on her shoulder, and whispered with his cheek against the cold blade of the sword, "Do you know how I felt when I knew you were gone, when I saw Barendi and not you that day, I felt like the whole world had betrayed me at that moment......"

"Betrayal is like poison, once you eat it, you will never forget the taste, or others don't want you to forget," Busako muttered as he bowed his head and drank in a tavern not far from the castle, "I betrayed her, no, I should say that all of us betrayed her, me, Uliou, Queen Joanna, and even Nashan were all of us who took Sophia away from her adults, and without our acquiescence and encouragement, she could not even have left Marino Palace." ”

"Isn't that princess a descendant of a Roman emperor?"

Busako smiled at Gompati, who was sitting across from him with a puzzled expression: "Yes, she is now a noble Greek princess, but at that time she was just a little girl named Sophia. She can't speak, but she always stubbornly tells others that she is the wife of an adult, and she is angry with all the women who approach her, as if they are her enemies," Busako couldn't help but smile at this, but then the smile on his face faded away, "But this is not a good thing for all of us, at that time, the uncle, Count Mordillo, had already found a good family for the adult, yes, it was Miss Barendi, whether it was born or the help she could bring to the adult, Everyone thinks that Miss Barondy is more suitable to be an adult's wife, and that is good for all of us. ”

"So you drove her away from the adults?" Gompati asked tentatively.

"It wasn't decided by one person or a few people, everyone thought it was the best thing to do, and even Nashan was involved."

"Nashan? Is it the bohemian who raised Princess Sophia as the people in the city say, her adoptive father? ”

"Maybe it's my adoptive father, who knows now," Busako shook his head with a smile, looked in the direction of the castle outside the door, shook his head lightly, and said faintly, "Sometimes you make a decision, whether it's right or wrong, there will always be a result, we have all seen everything now, and we don't know what will happen in the future." ”

Listening to Busako's words, Gompati pursed his lips and tilted his head to take a sip of Balkan licorice with a strange bitter taste.

At this time, after some hard work, Alexander has understood one thing, that is, a person's speech and behavior may change with the environment, and even the appearance and characteristics will change with the passage of time, but it is very difficult to change the personality, if the person's personality has an unshakable stubbornness, then trying to change is really wishful thinking.

Sophia is irritable, and has a stubbornness and stubbornness that most girls of her age can hardly match, which is her natural character as a bohemian.

When she is angry, she is often desperate, and when she falls in love with someone, she sees everything about that person as belonging to only herself and no one else.

So now she was grumpy and pressed the hilt of her sword against Alexander's forehead, trying to stop his lips from resting on her earlobe, because that would make her feel very uncomfortable, maybe she didn't feel much when Alexander did it before, but now she suddenly felt that it made her very uncomfortable, as if the whole person had been thrown into the furnace and suffered, and her whole body was hot.

This made her even more annoyed, especially when she thought that Alexander must have been so close to Barendia or other women.

Sophia stared at Alexander angrily, and suddenly gestured to him quickly.

Although he didn't understand it very well, Alexander finally understood what she meant by one movement.

A finger slashed across her neck, and Sophia stared at Alexander with a vicious look, which made Alexander feel a chill run down his back.

"You don't want me to kill Barendi, do you," Alexander asked with a reluctant smile, seeing Sophia nodding seriously immediately, Alexander couldn't help but smile bitterly, "Sophia, you have to listen to me, a lot has happened since you left." Yes, some of them have to do with Barendi, some have nothing to do with her, but I'm here to take you away. ”

Speaking of this, Alexander lowered his voice and whispered in Sophia's ear: "Listen carefully Sophia, you are not safe here, the nobles here have their own plans, even the king and queen who are good to you are not reliable, so you have to leave here with me, I will take you away as long as I have the opportunity, but before that, I want you not to lose your temper again, we have to find a way to deal with these troubles in front of us." ”

Sophia, who was originally struggling with indignation, stopped and looked at Alexander in confusion.

"It's dangerous for us here, the people out there are no more merciful, or even more terrible, than the Ottomans," Alexander whispered around Sophia's waist, "so I need you to help me Sophia, I know it's not going to be easy, but we have to get through it." ”

Sophia listened in confusion, although she still felt that Alexander seemed to be deliberately diverting the topic, but looking at the worry on his face, Sophia couldn't help but worry.

She gestured, and when Alexander seemed to understand, she continued.

"You mean Nashan, I was about to tell you about him, I had already sent a message to him to come as soon as possible, and the only person we could trust at this time was your father," Alexander nodded approvingly, but then frowned, "Who do you say you can trust?" Is it that Chipes, Sophia, I warn you that you can't trust anyone but me, especially that Chipes. ”

Looking at Alexander's righteous reprimand, Sophia's originally excited face collapsed, she tilted her head and stared at Alexander's face for a while, until she saw that Alexander was a little uncomfortable, then she raised her hand and stretched out her index finger, and gently scratched her neck with her pointed fingertips, and made a "hum" sound in her nose that made Alexander's liver tremble.

"Why haven't you forgotten this stubble?" Looking at Sophia's murderous appearance, and thinking about it, if she knew that she and Lucrezia had even given birth to a daughter, Alexander felt that he didn't know what would happen to her.

Thinking about it this way, Alexander thought for the first time that maybe it would not be a good idea to bring Sophia back to Italy.

It's just that Alexander never expected that this worry of his would soon become a reality.

And it was none other than Prato, the art master agent and international master who was very favored by him.

Speaking of Prato, this time is really good, from a poor man who was almost destitute because of speculative copper prices to become a guest of the king, although Prato's life is not perfect, but it is no longer a dream when he left his hometown.

And his business gradually became bigger, and as he often went in and out of Ladislas II's side, he knew more dignitaries and dignitaries, and the more nobles he knew, the business naturally became easier.

However, Prato remembered Alexander's instructions to him, so although he knew many people, he was very careful to buy bronze objects locally, and then sent them to the port by shipping on the Danube in batches, and then sent them back to Alexander's territory in Agri, Naples.

As for the safety of the Europeans' merchant ships in the Mediterranean, this is not something he needs to care about, but judging by these months, this concern is clearly unnecessary.

Prato did not know what role the famous Ashulk in Rome played in this, but he only knew that the result of such caution was that while he was wandering around the countryside of Banrkand, someone in Rome had deposited a very large sum of money in a bank run by Jews, and this amount of money made Prato even venture into Ottoman-controlled territory.

Then he ran headlong into the snare of an Ottoman security army that was putting down the rebellion of Balkan farmers.

This day is April 11th.

It was also on this day that in the palatial Château de Langes in the Loire Valley of France, the new king of France, Louis of Orleans, promulgated the Edict of Succession of France in the presence of the Pope's representatives, and as the king of the entire Kingdom of France, Louis XII officially ascended the throne of France.

。 Nine Heavenly God Emperors