"Want to know who killed the prince?"

This sentence alone is enough to entice anyone with the slightest curiosity to explore the secret behind the unsolved case that has just happened.

It's not just cats that are driven by curiosity and ultimately die, but even more so people.

Alexander believed that anyone who saw the letter would be tempted to find out, but he was not included.

After carefully reading the one-sentence letter, which was unsigned or logoless, he confirmed at least three things.

First, the person who wrote the letter was obviously using a hand that he was not used to, so as to ensure that it would not be detected from the handwriting.

The second thing, the letter used in the most ordinary form of stationery and ink, which can be bought anywhere in Lisbon, leaves another clue to the source.

The third, though not the most important, but apparently caught Alexander's attention, was that the little boy who delivered the letter said that the man who had sent him the letter was a man in ordinary clothes with a bald head.

Alexander would not believe that such a cautious man could leave such an obvious clue, so he did not expect to find any clues from the messenger at first, and the child who delivered the letter said that the man was bald, but he seemed to have a slight suspicion.

According to common sense, the deepest impression a person can make on a stranger is often the things that stand out most about him, and it is clear that a bare head is often more attractive than a face that might be described by careful consideration.

And it's easy to lose sight of other things in him, like what the person looks like.

This made Alexander think in his heart, this messenger may have known himself, or at least should have seen it, and the reason why this person appeared with such an obvious feature as a bald head was to make the messenger ignore the rest of his body.

Or could the person just show up and let the child go to an empty house to get the letter, and then just leave the letter and the person no longer appear?

The thought flashed through Alexander's mind before it was immediately denied, knowing that this was a plot that only appeared in stories, after all, the child had to at least be told to go to an empty house.

Or can he wear a mask that is trendy nowadays?

But why didn't this man do it?

Alexander wondered about the possibilities, and then he came up with an answer.

This man, or rather the instigator behind him, seems to be trying to arouse his curiosity.

Alexander decided to ignore the letter.

Since this man has written to him, he will not stop because he ignores him, and I believe that he will come back to him soon.

So Alexander is not in a hurry, he has a lot to do now.

The death of Prince Miguel was a tragic and nation-shaking event for the Kingdom of Portugal, but for Alexander, although it was also a surprise to him, all he could think about was how to use it to advance his plans.

Contacts with the men of Edon Antonio gave Alexander a general idea of how many of the Portuguese nobility were hostile to Maria, some of whom were staunch opponents, some of whom simply did not want her to rely on her maiden family for her own sake, and some of whom were simply dissatisfied with Maria's passivity towards the creation of new colonies.

This complicates her opponents, or at certain times it may not be possible for some of them to turn to Mary.

Similarly, the nobles who supported the queen were not so stalgic, and some of them were likely to change their positions.

And the key to all of this lies in Manuel.

If the king had taken a firm stance, many of Mary's supporters would have chosen to change their choices for their own sake, and at least a significant number of them would have remained neutral.

Alexander's speculation was accurate, both for the Lisbon court and for the mysterious messenger.

The death of Prince Miguel grieved Reece himself, both nobles and commoners were immersed in great grief, and the church in the city has been ringing the death knell for 2 days in a row, and it is said that several bell ringers have been exhausted because of the heavy physical work.

Miguel is Manuel's only son today, and although he can still have children at the king's age and health, and he does have a daughter who does not need to worry too much about the heir, the Lisbon court is embarrassed by rumors that the queen has been caught up in rumors of the murder of her stepson.

The interrogation of the Queen's people continued, and after Dr. Hudoka was taken away, the Queen could no longer protect the people around her, they were taken away one by one, and never returned, and there were more strange faces around Mary.

Many of the nobles who supported Maria sensed the seriousness of the situation, and they kept telling the king and sent news to Castile.

This behavior was already a proper traitor, which naturally aroused Manuel's anger, and he publicly denounced those who had reported Isabella as traitors holding his mother-in-law's big white legs, and then ordered that they should not meet Maria again.

This was in fact a public announcement of the queen's house arrest, and it was only then that people realized Manuel's resolute and unquestionable attitude in this matter.

Maria's request to meet with the king was again denied, and the retinue, who were ostensibly serving but were actually spying on her, refused her without even informing the king of her request, while Manuel summoned Alexander again.

The act of summoning a foreigner twice at such a time interval attracted too much attention, and many people came up with a startling answer when they thought of Alexander's identity: the king seemed to be planning a divorce!

As soon as this statement appeared, everyone could not help but be surprised, and even among those who opposed Mary, in addition to those who were really naysayers, many kept their mouths shut at this time.

People can't imagine what would have happened if Manuel had divorced Maria, and the thought of the outrage that the couple had erupted over made it real.

So when Alexander, who had been summoned, came out of the king's chambers after more than an hour of secret conversation with Manuel, the people involuntarily gathered around.

At the same time as Alexander was surrounded by people was the Archbishop of Lisbon, Bruzoon.

However, neither the archbishop nor Alexander was silent about secret conversations with the king, which led to a lot of speculation.

When he returned to his lodgings, the servant sent Alexander a second, unsigned letter, this time from another child who was also unclear.

This time, there was only one address in the letter: "Évora".

Alexander knew about Évora, a city located in the southeast of Lisbon in a hilly valley, about 30 fataris from Lisbon.

Évora is an ancient city that has been a village since Roman times with Roman legions, and over time it has gradually become a small but lively city due to its easy accessibility.

Évora was famous in later generations, but it is common nowadays.

Manuel wanted to become one of the most famous monarchs in Portuguese history, and he believed that to do so, he would need to build a lot of buildings.

Therefore, after his accession to the throne, whether it was Lisbon or other Portuguese cities, the construction of castles and various buildings favored by Manuel became popular, which was popularly known as the Manueline style in later generations, and the generally somewhat rugged but very grand architectural style later became a microcosm of an era.

Nowhere is this style more evident than in the city of Évora, because just about 200 years later, an earthquake that almost destroyed the entire city of Lisbon destroyed the Portuguese capital, but Évora, far from Lisbon, has not been affected by the fact that it has preserved the architecture of this era and the obvious Manueline splendor of the city.

Today, however, Évora is an ancient but inconspicuous city.

Alexander did not know why the man had asked him to go to Évora, but apparently he was impatient with the indifference he had shown when he received the first letter, so he wrote a second letter.

Alexander was probably able to guess that this man should have known himself, or rather knew himself, otherwise he would not have written the letter, but what was his purpose?

Alexander still didn't reply, he wouldn't be stupid enough to run to a place outside of the instant Fari to meet someone who didn't know what was going on with him.

It's too dangerous, and who can guarantee it's not a trap?

Curiosity kills cats, and it kills people.

In addition to not wanting to make a fuss, there is another reason why he cannot leave Lisbon for the time being, and that is the secret talks with Manuel before.

Few people know what they talked about, except for Archbishop Brogon and even Don Antonio.

This has led many to speculate whether the king is really planning to divorce, and what he needs now is for the Duke of Rometesia to clear the Vatican for him.

This speculation made Alexandre the most noticeable person in Lisbon for a while, and it can be said that if he left the city at this time, it would definitely attract more attention.

So Alexander honestly stayed in the city, while waiting for Manuel to summon him again.

Maria was going mad, she didn't know if she could hold on, and she couldn't control her emotions anymore when she heard the rumors from the few people around her that the king might file for divorce.

The things in the room were smashed by her, and the shouts could be heard clearly even through the two doors, and she was completely enraged.

The few loyal retinues she had with tried to appease the queen, but to no avail.

When she heard that Alexander had been ordered to enter the palace again, Maria immediately ordered her retinue to stop the duke.

Then she simply gave up her original reserve and walked out of the door herself, and under the helpless but unusually firm resistance of the guards, she stubbornly stood at the door and refused to leave.

Then when Alexander appeared, she stood in the middle of the hallway, blocking his way, despite the guards' obstruction.

Alexander looked at Maria helplessly, he actually knew in his heart that she was innocent, or at least until now he had not proved that she was the murderer of his stepson and nephew, but it didn't matter anymore.

"Duke, I wish I could talk to you," Mary said to Alexander, turning to look at the captain of the guard who was standing beside him with an ugly face, and seeing the captain staring at her, Maria suddenly asked him, "Am I your prisoner?" ”

The captain showed a somewhat overwhelmed look, he wanted to explain, but he couldn't say a suitable word for a long time, seeing the queen staring at him for a while, the captain finally nodded: "Your Majesty, according to the king's orders, you can't meet anyone alone." ”

"Then we'll talk here," said Mary, turning her head to Alexander, "Duke, I want you to tell me honestly, what does the king want from me?"

Alexander knew what Mary meant, and he thought for a moment before calmly replying, "Your Majesty, all I can say is that things are not as bad as you think. ”

There was a hint of surprise on Maria's face, and she even reached out to grab Alexander's wrist and looked him in the eye and asked, "Duke, you swear to God that what you said is true." ”

"Yes, Your Majesty, I swear to God, at least for now your worries are unwarranted, the truth is that the situation that you feared most did not occur, but forgive me for not having the right to elaborate on it to you."

Maria clenched her hands so hard that her fingers were white and trembling slightly from too much force.

But perhaps it was after listening to Alexander's words that her heart suddenly relaxed, and her hand was suddenly released, and immediately a handkerchief with a hook flower fell to the ground.

Alexander immediately squatted down and picked up the handkerchief on the ground and handed it to Maria: "Your Majesty, this is yours. ”

"Thank you, Duke."

There was a strange look in Maria's eyes, and as she slowly took the handkerchief from Alexander's hand, her movements were a little slow, or rather more like a little unraveling.

Under the gaze of many people, Alexander bowed to Mary and said goodbye, his movements respectfully and politely, without the slightest hint of neglect because of Mary's current situation.

It's just that when he turned to leave, the respectful smile on his face faded away.

"It's not that bad," Alexander said to himself, thinking of his explanation to Mary, "because there's worse things to come." ”

The place where Manuel summoned Alexander again was his office.

This was the first time since Prince Miguel's death that he had left the prince's room.

Looking at the haggard King, Alexander greeted Don Antonio, who was already waiting next to him, and then walked over to the chair across from the King's desk and sat down.

"And how sure are you, Duke, of your promise?" Manuel looked a little tired, but his eyes flashed with excitement: "Duke, I know the relationship between you and the Pope, it's not a secret, just like the relationship between the Pope and the French, but this doesn't mean that you and the French can get along well enough, as far as I know, you have made Louis suffer a lot, so how can you guarantee that you can build a relationship between me and the French?" ”

Manuel stared at Alexander, even if Don Antonio on the side was slightly bowed due to the accident, he still stared at Alexander's face with blazing eyes.

It was this incident that Alexander was summoned to the castle of San Jorge late that night and left alone to have a secret conversation with Manuel.

No one thought that Alexander would make a proposal to Manuel to "cooperate with the French".

It must be admitted that even if it can compete with Castile in the maritime dispute, Portugal will not be able to fight against two powerful countries at the same time in terms of overall national strength, and it is for this reason that Manuel still has many concerns when making the final decision.

It was in response to this that Alexander proposed to him an alliance with the French.

This may seem like an abrupt suggestion, but one has to think about the close ties between Porto's wine merchants and the French, and who is behind them, to know that there will always be people who will make this suggestion to Manuel.

Only now, Manuel is facing Alexander.

"Believe me, Your Majesty, the French must be willing to cooperate with you," said Alexander calmly, "and you should know very well that this will be beneficial to both Portugal and France, for Louis was equally unhappy with the ambitions of Ferdinand of Aragon. ”

Manuel looked at Alexander silently, his face was not calm, but his heart was not calm.

Manuel knew that Alexander was right, but the thought of what would happen next if he agreed to his suggestion made Manuel feel a little nervous.

"Can the French support me against Isabella?"

"It depends on what you can offer them."

"Even if it's just sending troops?"

"It depends on what you and Louis come up with."

"So what do you think the King of France will ask me?" Manuel finally asked the question he was most concerned about.

Alexander pondered that many of the French kings he remembered were interested in the future throne of Spain, including Louis, the self-proclaimed Sun King, and a French emperor who was not French.

Today, the French, although they also have ambitions for the Iberian Peninsula, can still restrain themselves.

"Your Majesty, I think you should have made a condition to Louis," Alexander said to a stunned Manuel, "and you are helping him curb Ferdinand's ambitions in Rome, and that alone is enough for Louis to pay you." ”

Manuel listened attentively, and he could not help but admit that the young duke had a magical ability to deceive the mind, and as Alexander described it, he himself thought it was helping the French.

"If a dispute at sea leads to the sending of troops from Castile, then the support of the French is necessary, so whether Your Majesty cooperates with the French or not is a matter of the future of your kingdom, not just one or two colonies."

Alexander's last words became the key to Manuel's decision, and after another anxious silence, Manuel finally pushed a letter that had already been prepared in front of Alexander: "Take it, and I will reward you if you can help me do this." ”

"Thank you, Your Majesty, it is my pleasure," Alexander put away the order that Manuel had given him, which would allow him to negotiate with the French in his capacity as an emissary to the King of Portugal, "then according to the arrangement of Archbishop Bruo, I will leave Lisbon in the name of building a cemetery for Prince Miguel, and then ......"

"Actually, Duke, I don't want to know who you're going to see next," Manuel interrupted Alexander, "and if your mission fails or leaks, I won't admit that I once gave you such authorization, so what you should do now, Duke, is to pray for yourself." ”

Looking at Manuel, whose face was gloomy, Alexander groaned slightly, then smiled.

On 19 November, Alexander left Lisbon.

The destination is the city of Évora, 30 miles away.