Charles VIII, dead!

The first to bring the news was a priest who had arrived in Genoa from France.

The priest was a friend of old Rovere, a Frenchman who was more loyal to him than to the king, so as soon as he got the news, he left the abbey in the Loire Valley and traveled south to the Mediterranean town of Cité, where he boarded a ship bound for Genoa.

The priest knew how important the news he had brought to old Rovere was, so he didn't stop at all after hearing it.

And his devotion to old Rovere was indeed impressive, for when he arrived in Genoa, he had just come ashore and heard that old Rovere was now in Rome, so that he did not even leave the docks and was in a hurry to board a ship that happened to be bound for Naples, and after being willing to pay an extra fee, the priest continued his voyage at sea without stopping.

Then, in the afternoon of the next day, the priest was taken by boat to the pier of the estuary leading to Rome.

Charlie's death reached Rome in this way, but when the news was heard, the elder Rovere was shocked by excessive surprise and did not understand what had happened at first.

It was not until the priest reported to him a second time that old Rovere seemed to hear clearly, and he sat in his chair and looked at the priest standing opposite, and after a long time he whispered, "What about the queen?" ”

Listening to the cardinal's words, the priest shook his head slightly in a daze, he did not understand why the cardinal asked the queen, although it was not surprising that he asked, but he still did not understand what it had to do with the king's death.

Shouldn't it be time to care about who is the heir to the throne?

Charles VIII has no heirs, so who will inherit the throne?

If you think about it, the Duke of Orleans will undoubtedly be the most qualified heir to the throne in France, as a side branch of the Valois royal line.

Shouldn't the cardinal, then, be more concerned with the relationship with the new king at this time?

The priest was a little dazed, but if Alexander was around, he would understand why old Rovere cared first and foremost about the queen.

Charles VIII's wife was the daughter of the Duke of Brittany, and the queen's marriage to Charles VIII was the key to Brittany's allegiance to France.

Now, Charles's death has pushed France to a rather dangerous brink, which could well lead to the division of Brittany and even the Duchy of Burgundy, with which it was close, from the whole of France!

The elder Rovere is a cardinal of the Vatican, a former archbishop of Genoa, and bishop of Saint-Vallière and Mensa in France.

But these are not the most important, the most important thing is that he was a supporter and ally of Charles VIII.

Charles VIII has praised the old Rovere's loyalty to France more than once, and as a veteran leader, the old Rovere regards serving the French as his duty and duty.

In the elder Rovere's view, a strong France was even more important than a strong Genoa, because the governor of Genoa could be a bystander, or even a political enemy of his family, and a strong France would only be his greatest support.

Now that Charles VIII is dead, what will the queen do? And what will happen to the French?

Old Rovere arrived at the unease, and when he finally came to his senses from the unexpected shock, his first thought was to see Alexander.

Old Rovere thought a lot, and even wanted to start the perfume business in France that Alexander promised to the Rovere family.

That business had now brought the Lovelles family to France not only more income, but more importantly, their family closer to the French aristocracy.

It's not that perfume works magically, it's that the French are feeling the influence of civilization and prosperity through perfume.

The elder Rovere had believed that with the support of Charles VIII, he would be able to maintain this intimacy with France.

The French would have a better relationship with the Lauveret family for pursuing this fashionable and luxurious lifestyle, and in return for leading the Parisian court fashion, it would not be difficult to gain greater support from the French.

But now that everything has suddenly changed, what will the Duke of Orleans do? Is he Haneng maintaining the Charlie-era friendship with the Rovere family?

The elder Rovere wanted to see Alexander, but with Charlie's death, his plans to expand the free trade alliance to France had become slim.

It's just that Alexander was not in Rome at this time, he had already left a few days ago.

Because according to the time, Lucrezia's day of labor is approaching.

Although it should be about a month away, Alexandria can't wait.

Although Lucrezia was very fertile in Alexander's memory, and the number of children born in both legitimate and illegitimate numbers seemed to be in the double digits during her rather colorful life, those were legends after all.

Alexander wanted to see the birth of his child, and he wanted the mother and child to be safe.

So even though he knew that Lucrezia had such a terrifying fertility, when the time was approaching, he couldn't help but hurried to Pisa.

Tomneo, Duke of Pisa, was surprisingly enthusiastic about Alexander's arrival, and he personally went to the docks to meet Alexander's procession, and after hearing that Alexander was anxious to see Lucrezia, he didn't care at all that it was actually a very rude move, and took his leave and returned to his ducal palace with understanding.

Alexander was indeed very anxious, he didn't know if other fathers were like him, but he just couldn't suppress the anxiety and excitement in his heart.

The poor midwifery technology of this era made him frightened, although he kept telling himself that this was just the beginning, and this kind of thing would happen for many years to come, so he was used to being born, but this was his first child after all.

Lucrezia was visibly nervous too, and her temper had become worse and worse during this time, especially when she began to become frightened at the thought of Alexander's conflict with her father and brother.

She was afraid that one day she would suddenly hear the news that Alexander had been accidentally poisoned or assassinated, but she was also afraid of the bad news of her father and brother.

This makes her more and more moody and suspicious, and even every time someone says something behind her back, she immediately has all kinds of terrible conjectures.

This made life much more difficult for the male and female servants who served her, but despite all her caution, Lucrezia often lost her temper for no apparent reason.

So when they saw Alexander suddenly appearing, the servants were first surprised, and then they couldn't help but cheer.

Lucrezia was annoyed at first when she heard the commotion in the room, and then her expression froze.

She pricked up her ears in some disbelief and listened, and then she looked stunned.

As the footsteps in the hallway outside the door drew closer, Lucrezia began to get agitated.

She stood up a little awkwardly with the help of the maid, her eyes fixed on the door.

The door opened, and Alexander appeared in the doorway.

Although she had already guessed, when she saw Alexander appear in front of her, Lucrezia choked up with excitement.

Then she suddenly pushed away the maid who was holding her, and threw herself at Alexander.

This really frightened Alexander, who almost caught Lucrezia with trembling hands, and then immediately carefully took her in his arms.

"Oh my God, are you going to scare me to death?!"

Alexander huffed and reproached, he didn't know what to say, he just kept stroking Lucrezia's back and whispered, "Don't do this again, you know, you're really going to freak out me." ”

"But you've frightened me," Lucrezia cried as she clung to Alexander's shoulder, "do you know how scared I was when I heard that you went to Rome, I was afraid that I would never see you again, and that while you were in Livorno, I was even more afraid that you would kill Caesar, or that he would kill you." ”

"I'm sorry, I scared you," Alexander kissed Lucrezia's sideburns lightly, and then involuntarily stroked her bulging belly, "I won't let anyone kill me, not even your father and brother, I'm going to watch my child be born, and then I'm going to add some younger siblings to him in the future." ”

Alexander's words made Lucrezia's eyes narrow into two slits, she kissed Alexander's lips sweetly, and then shook her head in remembrance: "I won't allow them to hurt you, but I won't allow you to hurt them, don't forget that they are your family, if I can be kind to them, then I will love you more." ”

Alexander smiled bitterly, he didn't know how to explain it to Lucrezia, but he couldn't help but admit it, even though he knew that it wasn't like that, but at least in the eyes of others, he was really from the Borgia family.

This is also what many people find incredible, because at least in public name, his fiancée is Barentia della Roverre, and even his title of Count of Montina was inherited because of his engagement to Barentia.

However, he became a lover with Lucrezia again, and even fought Lucrezia and Billy Shelly's Alfonso outside the Vatican Basilica for Lucrezia.

Now, Lucrezia will have a child left for him, and that child, male or female, will complicate his relationship with the Borgia family.

"Our children are destined to be different, because they have the most special parents in the world," Alexander whispered as he sat on the soft slump with Lucrezia in his arms, "and they will inherit your beauty, and I can let them teach them knowledge that no one else in this world has ever known, and they are destined to become extraordinary people in the future." ”

Lucrezia listened with her eyes closed, in fact, she didn't understand a lot of Alexander's words, and she didn't bother to figure them out, she only needed her lover to be by her side to be satisfied, as for what Alexander was going to do, she didn't care very much.

"Caesar must hate you," said Lucrezia, who opened her eyes suddenly, "I have heard that you have taken him hostage with the Count of Naples, but it is better that my father will not try to kill you." Then just wait for our child to be born, and by then my father will be my grandfather, and he will probably no longer be your enemy. ”

Alexander shook his head helplessly, he felt that even if Caesar hadn't escaped, Alexander VI might not have spared him if he hadn't proved himself useful.

As for saying that he wouldn't be his enemy when he became a grandfather, Alexander thought it was probably a stupid woman like Lucrezia who would think so.

At least she wouldn't think so, and as for Barendi, Alexander felt that even if she had more children than Lucrezia in the future, she would not easily give up the idea of fighting for the interests of the Rovelle family.

Also, there's Sophia.

The thought of Sophia made Alexander's heart tremble slightly.

How long has it been since I heard from Sophia?

Before, because he didn't know where Sophia was, Alexander had to send several groups of people.

Some of them went to the court in Prague, while others were sent to try their luck in the Balkans, according to the myth about the Greeks that Ashulk had said.

Those people have been gone for months, and they have not been heard from yet.

Alexander shook his head slightly, he felt that he shouldn't think about other women at this time, let alone other girls.

Now all he had to do was stay by Lucrezia's side wholeheartedly, waiting for the birth of their first child.

The Pisan people soon learned of Alexander's arrival, first by some officials, then by the Chamber of Commerce, and then by the officers of the Pisa City Defense, who came to visit Alexander, and were not afraid to be known to Tomneo.

In fact, from the moment when the Pisa, mainly the big businessmen of the Chamber of Commerce, almost staged a coup d'état in order to prevent Alexander's departure, many people have been vaguely aware of the possible changes in Pisa in the future.

And some discerning people were aware of Alexander's intention to keep Lucrezia in Pisa early on.

From the public announcement of Alexander as her fiancé by Lucrezia to the fact that Alexander's fully public lover is now waiting to give birth in Pisa, some intelligent pisbians have fully understood the purpose of the young man and woman.

Tomneo was very indifferent to the fact that people were going into the house to visit Alexander, and he did not show the slightest displeasure or anger to anyone, but just looked at it coldly.

The day after his arrival in Pisa, Alexander finally made an official visit to the Ducal Palace to meet Tomneo, Duke of Pisa.

It was a very special and important audience, because the previous afternoon, after Alexander had sent someone to ask for an audience at the Duke's Palace, someone suddenly asked a question that shook everyone.

As the Duke of Pisa, Tomneo naturally has a noble status, but according to the treaty between Pisa and Montina, Alexander is the protector of Pisa.

So how should this audience be held?

When this question was asked, many of those present seemed to feel a vibration from the ground beneath their feet, their eyes sharpened, and their breathing became rapid and restless.

Everyone knows that a moment of truth has finally arrived!

Tomneo listened quietly, and even though the man who had made the suggestion saluted him exaggeratedly and insincerely defended that it was by no means disrespectful to the Duke, he did not show any angry look.

Tomneo just calmly watched as the men continued to argue, and later even blamed each other, until he finally got tired and shouted loudly, and then all eyes were on the Duke of Pisa.

"Tell the Count that he should respect the noble status of the Duke of Pisa, as one of the nobles who has the oldest qualification to be the heir to the Lombard Stick, and this is the treatment I deserve," Tomneo said with a sarcastic smile on his face, and he looked at the nobles and officers whose faces had become a little ugly, and he knew that all of them had visited Alexander the day before, "Please tell the Count, even if it is for his own good, please respect this noble status and position." ”

After a brief stalemate, the nobles finally backed down, bowing their heads and silently retreating under Tomneo's proud gaze.

And after hearing the news, Alexander just smiled lightly.

May 1, after morning prayers.

Alexander, rarely dressed in full armor, accompanied by Busako, the captain of the Chasseurs, left the Cathedral of Pisa, walked under the bell tower, which was not too crooked now, and walked through an open space towards the Ducal Palace opposite the church.

At the entrance to the Duke's Palace, a group of nobles and officers who were already waiting for him lined up to respond, ignoring the gaze of others and showing their loyalty by kissing Alexander's gloved hand.

The Palazzo Dukes of Pisa was not large, so Tomneo, who was already waiting in the main hall, saw this scene through the window.

He didn't get angry, he didn't even make a sound, and under the strange gazes of the people around him, the Duke walked back to his throne and then turned and sat down slowly.

The sound of footsteps and armor grinding against each other came from outside the hall, getting closer and clearer.

The footsteps were chaotic, and it was clearly not a person.

After a while, surrounded by a crowd of people, Alexander appeared at the door of the main hall.

Stepping forward, Alexander walked down the hall to Tomneo's throne under the watchful eye of a large group of complicated eyes.

Everyone held their breath, they were waiting, not knowing what would happen next.

The armor cracked, and Alexander slowly bent his knee and knelt down on one knee.

There was silence in the hall, and people stared at the two men.

Tomneo didn't move, he just looked at Alexander kneeling in silence, and after a while he stood up and slowly moved forward, stretching out his hand.

Alexander took Tomneo's hand and put it to his lips and kissed it softly, and just then he heard Tomneo, who was bent down, whisper in a voice that only two people could hear: "I want you to remember that no matter how long it will be before you, you will never forget that you once knelt before me in public, and even if your children and grandchildren sit on this throne behind me in the future, they must admit that you have bowed to me,"

Listening to Tomneo's voice full of anger, irritability, and hatred, Alexander slowly raised his head and looked at him calmly.

"No, you are wrong," Alexander likewise whispered, "my descendants will only remember the glory and pride I have brought upon them, because, as you say, I respect your high status as one of the heirs to the Lombard Iron Crown." You only have this name, and I have the opportunity to make this inheritance a reality. ”

On May 1, 1498, the Count of Montina formally met with the Duke of Pisa and immediately announced his succession to the Duke of Pisa.

On May 2, news of the death of King Charles VIII of France reached Pisa.

On May 5th, there was a riot in Florence!