Chapter 128 Heart of the Storm (XVI)

◎The Birth of Dionysus◎

After receiving the gift sent by Julius, Cardinal Lombardi behaved much better. Julius knew that he was just pretending to be more restrained, but he did not pay more attention to him - there were people like him everywhere in Florence. If one Lombardi was taken away, there would be another one. Besides, Cardinal Lombardi himself was very good at superficial work. Civilians in areas such as docks and ports could often see him in the church. Therefore, this cardinal received constant praise from ordinary citizens.

The troubles of the Holy See, including appointments and transfers, must be decided by the Pope after Raphael returns. Julius is currently most concerned about the aristocratic circle of Florence. As a country where religion is supreme, the Papal States is actually a loose federation of thirteen cities. In his early years, Raphael eliminated the Council of Thirteen composed of thirteen city lords, turning the Papal States from a city alliance into a truly integrated country. As a result, the current ecology of the Papal States seems a bit strange.

In countries large and small such as Roman, Calais and even Pompadour, monarchs often rely on the nobles to gain power, so the royal family is both wary of and has to rely on the aristocracy. The nobles obtain wealth, power and land through the monarchs, recruit knights, establish manors, buy and sell serfs, and build small countries belonging to the nobles in the kingdom. For hundreds and thousands of years, every country has operated in this way.

However, this law was invalid in the Papal States.

First of all, there is no doubt that the monarch of the Papal States is the Pope, and Raphael, with his outstanding personal abilities, made the Pope's authority reach the supreme peak. But then, the Holy See, which supported the Pope, replaced the status of the nobility. It is true that most cardinals and bishops came from aristocratic families, but it does not mean that the Holy See is the nobility and has all the say.

This put the nobles in a very awkward situation; they were both at the center of the Papal States and outside the core. The lands, manors and other real estate accumulated here for generations prevented them from leaving the Papal States, but such a complex environment also prevented them from going any further. Compared with the nobles of other countries, most of the nobles of the Papal States were a little psychologically unbalanced.

When the Council of Thirteen was still in existence, such contradictions did not emerge. Independent cities were equivalent to small countries. Except for Florence, the appeal of the Holy See in various cities was restricted by the city lords to that of the nobles. When Raphael cut off the heads of the city lords, the Holy See swallowed up the power that originally belonged to the nobles through the Pope's scepter, and this contradiction that had been ignored was sharply exposed.

After Raphael captured Calais, Julius was called back to the Portia Palace more and more often. Even those who hated Raphael had to admit that they were so afraid of him that they only dared to carry out their conspiracies when he was away.

And Julius... no one knew what he was thinking.

The Portias are not a monolithic group. Who wouldn't want to be the leader of the Portia family, which controls the economic lifeline of Syracuse?

In the past few days, perhaps the impetuous atmosphere in the aristocratic circle infected many people who did not know the reason, and Julius also killed several guys who foolishly provoked him. Since he took over the position of the head of the Portia family, he has not encountered such an experience for several years.

The last idiot who did this was Kane, who conspired secretly with the Council of Thirteen. In order to cover up the scandal of participating in the murder of the Pope, Julius of the Portia family surrendered to Raphael and redeemed Kane back to the Portia Palace, but he did not live long.

Julius touched his finger, which was empty. The ring he had originally worn here had been given to Raphael. It symbolized the ownership of the Portia family's wealth. Julius had worn it for many years and was used to touching it from time to time when he was thinking. Although he had given it away for several years, he could not change this habit.

It was precisely because of this harmless little habit that his thoughts often turned to Raphael.

The deacon put a cloak on Julius as he walked down the stairs, and held up the glass lantern to light the way for Julius. He said casually, “The meeting seems to be getting longer and longer.”

The secret meetings at the Portia Palace were very frequent. Perhaps because it was close to the time for Raphael to return, the duration of the secret meetings began to lengthen, gradually being postponed to midnight. This was just a small complaint from the deacon, but Julius was stunned.

He had never noticed this, probably because there had been so many and complicated things going on recently. Meetings of all sizes were lined up for him to attend, and Lord Portia's schedule was packed. To this extent, he would not care if a meeting lasted too long.

“Oh… now it seems that’s the case.” Julius said softly, thoughtfully, and he slowed down the speed of tying the cloak. After a while, he turned around, stood at the bottom of the stairs, and glanced at the Portia Palace behind him, which had closed the door after seeing off its master.

This historic palace inherited the large and magnificent features of Roman architecture. In the night, it looked like a crouching ferocious beast. People decorated it with gorgeous gold, silver, silk and flowers. But in the dim night, the palace, which had eliminated all luxurious features, revealed its shocking nature as never before. The extremely high steps seemed like a never-ending road to heaven, leading all the way to the throat of the ferocious beast.

Julius smelled the bloody odor emanating from the palace. For thousands of years, countless people who lived here had used conspiracy, poison, and daggers to harvest the lives of their loved ones and enemies. The smell of blood had long since penetrated the solid marble floors and walls. Even if tons of spices were burned and smoked, or even the palace was overturned, the rotten and stinking smell in the soul could not be erased.

In the dark night, the head of the Portia family stared at the palace that belonged to him for a moment. No one knew what he was thinking.

"Let's go to the theater." Julius got on the carriage.

The deacon was stunned for a moment. According to the schedule, His Excellency should go back to the Papal Palace to deal with the paperwork. The clerks of the City Hall have been waiting for him all afternoon.

But he would not be so foolish as to question what the Excellency said, no matter how strange it sounded.

"Yes." The deacon nodded respectfully and took the reins himself.

"And ask Cardinal Lombardi to come to me."

A quiet command came from the carriage.

"Yes." The deacon answered respectfully as always. He winked, and the other knight following the carriage quickly left the team.

Cardinal Lombardi was called out of his lover's bed in the middle of the night. He was full of anger, put on his clothes hastily, and got into the carriage with a sullen face. The slight bump in the carriage woke him up from his sleepiness. The confusion and anger of being called out in the middle of the night gradually turned into another kind of vague ecstasy. The moment he stepped into the theater door, he had adjusted his expression and revealed his usual gentle and tolerant smile.

"It has such beautiful petals, red like the coagulated blood of God. Only when the love of lovers in the world is burning like a raging fire can they produce such bright red blood. Could it be that this is the careless relic of the God of Love?"

The play "The Birth of Bacchus", which was once performed to thank Julius for his support, has become the finale of the opera house. Everyone knows that the Secretary General of the Papal Palace likes this play very much. As soon as Lombardi entered the door, he heard the actress's gorgeous and long singing. He didn't understand these elegant arts very well, but it didn't prevent him from thinking that the other party sang very beautifully.

He paused on the steps to admire the actress's slender figure and mellow voice for a moment, then, led by the theater manager, he walked to Portia's box. The deacon had been waiting there for a while. He stepped over and knocked on the door twice with his fingers bent: "Sir, Cardinal Lombardi is here."

The door was pushed open and Cardinal Lombardi walked in. The soft carpet swallowed up all the footsteps. A man with long silver-gray hair sat on a dark green satin bench with his hands crossed on his abdomen, listening to the actors' performance with his eyes closed.

The door closed behind the cardinal.

Lombardi walked forward a few steps and sat down on another bench, also looking at the stage below through the half-person-high golden railing.

The gods' argument about the origin of roses has stopped. The sun god, wearing a crown of golden leaves, arrives at the garden in the night in his golden chariot. The tall and slender actor sings:

"The moonlight is so quiet,

Shhh,

Get out of the way of my sister's silver sky carriage,

Look,

Her beautiful laurel bow was hanging on the treetops,

Why am I wandering here?

Like a lover in the mortal world who knocks on the door and then backs off,

Reason dominates my thinking,

Order determines my direction,

Under the sunlight, I can see the truth of how the world works.

But why am I here?

Full of confusion and yet happy for no reason? ”

The god representing fairness, rationality and justice analyzed his own mental journey, while Lord Portia, who was lying there, opened his eyes, sat up slowly, reached out to the oak table beside him, and prepared to pour himself a glass of mead.

The other hand was faster than his. Cardinal Lombardi grabbed the crystal wine jug first, and the amber wine poured into the square-mouthed crystal glass in a straight line. The cardinal gently pushed the glass to where Julius could reach it and smiled.

For a cardinal second only to the Pope, his actions were a little too attentive and humble, not to mention that Julius was about the same age as his son.

many.

The secretary general lowered his eyelids, staring at the glass of wine with his deep purple eyes, but his hand on the table slightly withdrew.

"I am somewhat flattered by your kindness."

Lord Portia, who was privately known as the epitome of power and wealth, said something in a flat tone that no one believed. He said "I'm flattered", but the expression on his face was completely different. Even if the person pouring wine for him was a king, this arrogant man probably wouldn't feel flattered.

"I should be the one who is flattered. It is an honor to be chosen by you," said Cardinal Lombardi with unprecedented humility.

"What did I choose you for?"

Julius laughed.

"We all know it," Cardinal Lombardi said quietly.

The internal struggles among the cardinals of the Vatican have never stopped. According to ancient tradition, the next Pope will only be born from among the cardinals. Just as Julius emptied half of the assets of the Portia Bank for Raphael and "bought" the crown of St. Lea for him, the support of the Portia family has always been the focus of competition among the cardinals.

Absolutely fair elections are people's fantasies. In fact, every papal election is an exchange and adjustment of interests. Cardinal Lombardi was willing to give everything to get that chair. His previous marriage with John Portia was also for this reason.

Just as the nobles hoped to bring down Raphael to gain greater benefits, the Vatican also needed a new Pope after Raphael's absence.

Many cardinals had contact with Julius openly or secretly, but the head of the Portia family was notoriously slippery, and no one could catch him. Cardinal Lombardi tried several times, but could not find any loopholes in him, so he had to turn to John Portia.

But how could John Portia compare to Julius Portia, who truly controlled the Portia family?

Smart people often don't need to be too straightforward when speaking. This private meeting has already explained a lot of things.

Cardinal Lombardi was implicitly expressing his attitude to Julius by pouring wine, and Julius—

The deep purple eyes stared at Lombardi for a moment. The cardinal, who was over fifty years old, did not look old at all. He had strong limbs and paid attention to exercise. He was almost no different from a young man. Even some young nobles who were overly addicted to alcohol and sex were no match for him. The tiger lowered his head slightly under Julius' gaze.

The gloved hand grasped the crystal wine glass.

"You can get my support, but only if you listen to me on how to prevent Emperor Sistine I from ever returning to Florence."

Lord Portia raised the wine glass. The cup body with an exquisitely carved square cross-section reflected a colorful halo. The light cast a blurry shadow on his fair face. The dazzling halo enveloped his deep eye sockets and high nose bridge in light and shadow that was difficult to look directly at, like a bizarre myth.

Cardinal Lombardi hesitated for a moment. He did not want to put all the chips on Julius alone, especially when there were other people from the Portia family who contacted him. But when Julius slowly raised his eyelids from behind the cup and looked at him, he shuddered all over.

“Diversifying risks is a smart choice, but sometimes fools also think so.” Julius’ voice was flat and without any emotion. “Your Excellency, are you a smart person or a fool?”

Cardinal Lombardi immediately exhaled and discarded all thoughts: "I understand."

Julius smiled briefly, a smile that disappeared very quickly, as if only the corners of his mouth had risen slightly. He raised his glass, gestured to Cardinal Lombardi, and said calmly: "Bless you, sir."

The drama on the stage has reached its final act. The eternally rational sun god is obsessed with his love for the rose. He passionately entrusts his soul to it and tears apart the godhood that represents reason and justice. The actor wearing a gold leaf crown changes his makeup. His neatly draped robe opens messily, revealing a large area of ​​skin on his chest. He shouts wildly and sings loudly.

"Ah—my silent love!

Cunning, clever soul!

I give you my all,

The radiance of reason and the aura of justice—

If it is an obstacle to loving you,

Then the devil of hell will be destroyed!

A new soul is born from my bones,

Born to drink the crazy and disorderly love,

The master of daydreams, the crazy body!

My rose!

I give you a spell called love! ”

The actors who played the gods ran around in panic, singing together: "Alas! The death of the sun god was so sudden. I accord you to the gods of heaven and earth that the god of wine, the prisoner of love and death, was born in this way!"