Isabella's unexpected toughness surprised the ministers, and although everyone knows that the queen is determined, it doesn't mean that Isabella is a reckless person.

On the contrary, the queen is not only resolute but also unusually intelligent, and one only needs to think that she was able to overthrow Enrique's rule in one fell swoop in the face of adversity, and then use the great victory of the Reconquista to make her prestige more than ever before.

But now Isabella's almost hasty attitude surprised the ministers, and they looked at each other, not even knowing for a moment how to answer the queen's question.

War with Portugal?

This was obviously the worst possible outcome, and although Isabella had previously revealed that she was going to put pressure on Portugal and even use force if necessary, there was always room for a full deal as long as the situation did not reach that point for a day.

For Portugal, the Castilian mentality was very complicated, and successive kings took various measures against this neighbor, either actively soliciting marriage and courtesy, or showing strength and threatening persecution, but these methods were often resolved in a more moderate way later.

Similarly, successive monarchs have regarded the use of force against Portugal as a serious issue, not least because of Portugal's own power, but also because France in the north has always regarded Portugal as an important bargaining chip to contain Iberian power.

Especially after Juana's marriage to Philippe, both Charles VIII before him and Louis XI now strengthened their ties with Portugal.

Now Isabella reacted so strongly, and although she had been prepared, the ministers were still puzzled by the Queen's stubborn intention to solve the problem by force.

Philippe was also surprised, although it was a good thing for him that Isabella took the initiative to provoke the French, after all, his father was in Italy and Louis XI were pinch each other, and if the French could be contained from the direction of Iberia at this time, it would definitely play a major role in the war situation in Italy.

But in addition to the joy, Philip was somewhat apprehensive about this idea.

Ferdinand had already sent Gonzalo to participate in the war in Italy, although Gonzalo was Isabella's favorite general, but after all, it was Aragon who sent the army.

In other words, at least nominally, Castile was not at war with France, and Ferdinand had little excuse to intervene in Castile, after all, the United Kingdom was still divided between two kings.

But if Isabella were to come into direct conflict with France because of her war with Portugal this time, it would mean that Castile would also be officially involved in the war.

In that case, Ferdinand would have every reason to meddle in the affairs of Castile in the name of war, and this was perfectly justified.

Philip was on the lookout for Ferdinand, but he believed that his father-in-law was clearly on guard against him, and now if there was such a good opportunity, Philip wondered if Ferdinand had any reason not to take advantage of it.

With all these considerations in mind, Philip was not so happy after hearing Isabella's tough decision.

And he also wondered how Isabella could be so eager to clash with France, which was clearly not in line with her character.

The confusion in Philip's heart did not hide from Isabella's eyes, from the fact that he did not react positively to his words, Isabella roughly guessed Philip's thoughts, which made her a little annoyed but helpless.

When she was alone in the room, Isabella walked to the bench and sat down, then leaned slightly back on the high armrest on the side of the bench.

There was a soft knock on the door, and as the door opened and footsteps entered, the chief attendant entered the room.

Tilting her head slightly to look at the dark face of the chief attendant standing silently standing not far from the bench, Isabella let out a helpless wry smile.

"Now it seems that Juana is the only one who doesn't have a heart," Isabella sighed, "and I can even imagine how happy Carlos would be when he heard my decision." ”

"The king is coming back soon." The chief attendant said something that sounded unrelated.

"I know."

Isabella tried to sit up, but suddenly she felt unable to exert her strength, and her body fell backwards, and the back of her head looked like it was about to knock over the wooden edge of the bench.

The attendant next to him quickly grabbed the queen's shoulders with his long hands, and after letting the queen sit down, he silently took two steps back.

"I feel like I'm not in good health," Isabella looked at the chief attendant, "I'm worried that I'm going to fall down one day, and it's terrible if that happens." ”

"Your Majesty, you will always be healthy." The squire said in a deep voice.

"How is it possible, knowing that the people of the Astamara family do not live very long," Isabella smiled disapprovingly at the reassuring squire, "and for me, it seems that there are not many regrets in this world, I have one of the most honorable crowns in all of Europe, I have a strong and rich kingdom, and my daughter has bore me a grandson who may become emperor in the future, all this is enough to make me content." ”

The chief attendant looked at Isabella, who seemed to be full of joy, but could not hide the worry in her heart, and after thinking about it, her lips moved, but in the end she still did not speak.

"What do you want to say," Isabella looked at the chief squire, and when she saw that he didn't answer, she couldn't help but shake her head in disappointment, "I just want to have a reliable heir, but Juana's current appearance makes me very uncomfortable. ”

"Maybe the Duke can help her." The chief attendant finally said something that he didn't seem to believe much of himself.

Isabella showed a hint of disgust on her face, she stood up and walked back and forth trying to chase away the gloom of her amusement, but it didn't seem to work, and finally she reluctantly sat down and stared out the window: "Do you think Philip can really help her?" ”

The squire's dark face showed helplessness, he knew what the queen was worried about, but it wasn't something he could help.

"All my hopes are in Juana, and if she disappoints me, maybe in the future what awaits this country is civil war."

Hearing Isabella's words, the chief chamberlain's heart couldn't help jumping, this was the first time he had heard the queen talk about the future so seriously.

"But now you're still a queen, aren't you?" The chief attendant thought for a while, and finally said something that I didn't know if it was comfort or something, and looking at the smile on Isabella's face after hearing this, the chief attendant pondered for a moment and said, "Perhaps, you should let Juana meet with the duke, it may not make her mood better, but it should not be worse." ”

The chief attendant's words made Isabella groan, she knew that it was true, although she was disappointed in Juana, but now she had everything on Juana, which made her have no choice at all.

"Let Philip go to her, let him be nice to Juana," said Isabella, with a stern look on her face, "tell him that this is my order." ”

Leaving the palace, Philip hurried out of the city, Vallados was a suffocating place, and he had long been impatient with the narrow streets, the gloomy alleys, and the oppressive-looking churches and monasteries, and it was not until he had left the city that Philip finally breathed a long sigh of relief.

Philip's villa outside the city is not very big, but it is comfortable.

A large house with a high ridge looked very similar to the style of the Lowlands, and the golden light from the windows that were not open but very transparent seemed warm, and Philip couldn't help but smile as he watched the figures flashing in the windows from time to time.

The house was prepared for him by Normezi, and a merchant from the north happily took a large sum of money from Normezi and sold it to him, and the deed to the house soon came to Philip.

Philip, of course, would not have looked at Normezi differently for the mere bribe of such a house, but then the beauties that Lady Olgara had set up for him had made him indulge in it all at once.

Now his house is filled with beauties from Europe, the East and Africa, and even from the new colonies, and the exotic beauties gave Philip a taste of freshness that he had never tasted before, either in Austria or in the lowlands, and he was fascinated and wanted to return for a while.

Philip had been living here for some time, but he was not at all bored, and as for Juana, he did not want to see the mad woman at all, and it was probably the happiest time for him since he came to Iberia.

However, after returning from the palace this time, Philip rarely calmed down and thought about the problem.

Isabella's attitude always puzzled him, and Philip felt somewhat unbelievable that the queen was so stubborn about going to war with Portugal, even at the expense of making France an enemy.

Thinking of some rumors that he had recently heard about the Queen's seemingly unwellness, a thought that had never occurred before suddenly flashed through Philip's mind: "Could it be that the Queen is planning for the future?" ”

Once this thought appeared, it could no longer be dismissed, and for a moment Philip forgot about the beauties, and began to wonder how to deal with the situation if it was really what he thought.

Philips thought of Ferdinand, and also thought that if Isabella really failed, then this might be the critical moment when Juana began to appear in front of the Castilian nobles as regent.

So would Ferdinand tolerate this kind of thing?

Thinking of this, Philip became a little uneasy.

And his joy was also destined to be broken, and with a letter from the queen from an entourage, Philip had to leave the estate and rush to the palace.

When Juana saw Philip, the joy made Philip feel disgusted from the bottom of his heart, if he was indeed attracted by Juana's fiery passion when he first got married, now all he had left was boredom.

But Juana apparently did not realize this, and when she saw her husband return, she danced with joy, and did not even mind that a maid brought Philip a glass.

She talked to Philip and later offered to leave Valladode.

"Let's go back to Flanders, there is no one to get in our way." Juana said in a very urgent tone, her eyes still so enthusiastic that Philip felt suffocated, but this suffocation was completely different from before.

"We must stay here," said Philip coldly, not even bothering to make a fool of himself, "this time is important to you and to me, so don't think about leaving this stupidity." ”

The thought that Isabella's health might be deteriorating gave Philip an irrepressible sense of ambition, and although he didn't know what was going on with the Queen, he thought that maybe he should do more before Ferdinand didn't return.

So at this time, of course, he would not agree to leave Castile.

Isabella's toughness towards Portugal shook the Castilian court, and the queen's unyielding attitude in the Azores conflict lifted the spirits of many nobles, who seemed to see the young and beautiful but full of majesty of the queen again.

At the same time, Isabella's unwavering courage to be fearless of French intervention also fueled the fighting spirit of many Castilians.

There seemed to be a strong sense of war in Valladód, and there was talk of when the queen would send troops to Portugal, and according to some credible rumors circulating from the palace, the queen had written to her beloved general Gonzalo to return to Castile as soon as possible.

Isabella's actions certainly uplifted her subjects, but it was clearly not a good thing for Portugal.

Manuel's envoys in Valladód had to ask for an audience with Isabella again and again, and while trying to understand the queen's purpose, the emissary, who was in the same capacity as the ambassador to Lisbon, Count Don Luvigo, had to run tirelessly among the Vallados magnates, hoping to dissuade the queen from the terrible actions that the queen might take.

In this way, Philip became the main target of the emissary's attempt to win him over.

And after receiving the queen's order for Princess Juana to accompany her to listen to the news of state affairs, the envoy decided that he had made the right choice.

"Juana is the crown prince, and her husband will be the future prince of Castile," the Portuguese told his men, "so we must spare no effort to impress and convince the duke, whatever the cost." ”

Philip himself was evident in the change, and although the Castilian nobles still seemed wary of him, their attitudes had begun to change somewhat.

Philip knew it was because of Juana.

After seeing Philip again, her spirits seemed to gradually become normal, and her mood gradually stabilized, and after learning from the doctor that her daughter's condition seemed to be improving, Isabella finally officially ordered Juana and herself to take care of all state affairs.

This day is February 9, 1501.

When Juana rolled a heavy, semicircular bronze seal on a power of attorney allowing a shipowner to collect taxes somewhere in the new colony in the name of the queen, all the nobles who saw it knew what it meant.

Many looked at Juana with a burning gaze, while the few who knew the inside story better were worried.

Others looked at Philip, who stood next to the mother-daughter throne.

Philip could feel their gazes, which were both suspicious and indifferent, but there were also people who were looking at him with expectant eyes, and of course some of them looked more like they were watching a good show.

Soon, the other protagonist of this good drama sent someone to deliver the news.

Ferdinand remained in Aragon after leaving Valladode, but he was well aware of what was happening in Castile, especially when Isabella first showed her toughness towards Portugal, and he had already written a long letter to Isabele.

In the letter, Ferdinand expressed his unreserved support for his wife's decision, and assured Isabella as husband and monarch that Aragon would immediately send an army of 20,000 men to attack the French interior from the north if the war between Castile and Portugal led to French intervention.

This promise obviously carried a lot of weight, and it was because of this that the clamor for war was loud and quiet in Valladot.

Soon, however, Ferdinand's attitude changed when he received another message from Isabella, and he wrote a private letter to Isabella, in which he unabashedly mentioned his dislike for Philip.

"I don't trust the son of the Austrian Archduke, just as I never trusted his father, and the only thing he has is the face that can make Juana swoon, and he has deceived Juana into trusting her.

I doubt what he will do once he becomes the husband of the next Queen of Castile, and for this reason I think you should postpone the participation of Juana in government until I return to Valladode. ”

Ferdinand's unusually harshly worded letter was carefully put away by Isabella, which was also expected by her, but for Ferdinand, Isabella was a little disappointed.

Isabella knew what Ferdinand was thinking, but she knew that Ferdinand's ambitions could not be accepted by the Castilians.

The Castilians could accept their children as their monarchs, but would not tolerate Ferdinand himself wearing the crown, and now Ferdinand was apparently trying to compete with Philip for control of Juana.

This left Isabella worried that what she feared most might happen.

Isabella finally fell ill because of her depression, a week after Juana officially entered politics.

Also on the same day, a letter from Seville, seat of the Andalusian consul, was delivered to Juana's desk in the royal palace of Valladode.

Juana opened the letter curiously, and then she handed it to Philip, who was sitting next to her, and then she was so absorbed that she only wanted to kiss Philip's ears, chin, and bare shoulders.

Philip, who was tired of it, looked at this handwritten letter from the Andalusian consul Fernando Carolet and couldn't help but be stunned.

"Don Bavi, Duke of Buharanse, is it possible to rebel?" Looking at the letter, Philip thought for a moment.