Chapter 12 Misty Rose (XII)
◎Allegiance◎
Julius thought of the child who was only as tall as his waist when they first met, and then looked at the young man who could now stand shoulder to shoulder with him. Even though he was never sad about the passing of time, he couldn't help but feel a little sad about the passage of time.
The child in my memory, who was naturally cold and cunning after being worn down by life for a long time, gradually turned into this gentle person without a single edge. Since Raphael ended his exile and returned to Florence, those sharp, cynical and unscrupulous qualities seemed to be completely stripped away. He put on the politeness, gentleness, elegance, gentlemanly demeanor and dignified smile that the nobles of Florence liked, exactly the same as the oil paintings enshrined in the gallery.
These were all the results of Julius' teaching. The older mentor taught the student step by step how to treat others, how to smile, how to become "one of our own" with the nobles, and how to become a thorough "blue-blooded man" from the inside out. But sometimes, looking at the blond young man shrouded in light, he would feel dazed - was that person really his Raphael?
He had found a perfect student, a perfect spokesman for the Portia family, but he was not as happy as he had imagined.
This is so weird.
Until the meeting after the coronation, he walked down the long staircase of the Riccardi Palace and walked towards the young Pope, who stood in the magnificent hall and looked back at him, calm, proud, and calm, waiting for him to walk towards him - just like waiting for a subject to walk towards his monarch.
At that moment of eye contact, he realized that something had changed.
Uncontrollable and unpredictable changes.
The sharp and cold Raphael, the beggar and thief who crawled out of the slums, the natural hunter who dared to take a knife and murder the head of the Portia family at the age of twelve, the untamed wild wolf - returned with the rage of the flames whose source could not be traced.
After many years, Julius once again felt that thrilling feeling.
This wonderful feeling suddenly made him more tolerant towards Raphael than ever before.
"Raphael," Julius lowered his voice. His voice was already low, and when it was lowered, the melodious waltz almost drowned out his words. Raphael frowned and subconsciously turned his head slightly to look at him. Julius was also looking at him, so Raphael fell into a deep purple quiet lake unexpectedly. "It's not a good idea for you to choose to leave Portia now. You know very well that not only Portia, but the other twelve lords are also eyeing the position of Pope. Don't the cardinals want to ascend the throne of Saint Leah? You have been smart since you were a child. You knew these things when you were thirteen years old."
Raphael looked at him briefly, and was touched by the frank and naked sincerity in his eyes. He quickly turned his head away with a stiff expression.
Julius would never show such a weak expression. For this man who was good at disguising himself and used to being strong, confessing himself was a huge sign of weakness.
Before the death of Saint Vitalian III, in addition to studying with Julius, Raphael spent more time with his biological father. The Pope was at the center of the vortex of power, and he had access to the most authentic information. The Pope was also generous in cultivating this child. Although he was still young, in order to be closer to his father, he studied almost like crazy. Even adults might not have such a firm determination and perseverance.
So even though he was Julius' student, Raphael didn't spend a particularly long time at the Florence Seminary. But perhaps because Julius had seen him at his most miserable and worst, he was always instinctively gentle and intimate in front of Julius.
As a result, Julius will naturally become tougher.
It was not until the death of St. Vitalian III that Raphael's life was turned upside down again and the two of them slowly became close.
But even when they were close, Julius had never shown him such an expression.
The corners of Raphael's mouth tightened, and he began to wonder if this was another disguise of Julius?
Julius did not know what he was thinking, and continued: "I hope - no, I beg you -"
This was the first time he had ever said this unfamiliar word, so he felt a little awkward, but he himself did not expect that he could actually say it fluently.
"I beg you, Rafa, to return to Portia's arms," the head of Portia held the cane he always carried with him in one hand, his knuckles clenched so tightly that they turned white. He himself did not notice this, "or, come back to me. Not only does Portia need you, but you also need Portia."
Raphael was really surprised this time. He looked at Julius meaningfully. Facing the request of this possible murderer, he did not have any other emotions, just a little surprise.
So Julius can also say the word "request"?
"I need Portia?" Raphael repeated, raising the corners of his mouth, whispering, "The Thirteen City-States refuse to pay tribute to Florence, and the tax revenue received by the Pope's Palace will be pitifully small. You must know this, so you came to me that night and wanted to help me solve the problem of the Florence Security Patrol, but you didn't tell me anything."
Raphael looked Julius in the eyes. "You didn't tell me anything at the time. The Thirteen City-States refused to pledge allegiance to me. What agreement did you reach in private? And you...you wanted to force me to be tied to Portia by solving the problem for me. You gave me honey wrapped in poison, and you waited for me to eat it and become the 'Pope of Portia', just like my father who died early, right?"
His speech became faster and slower, until it was like a sharp gust of wind blowing across his eardrums, and Julius' heart began to tremble.
But Raphael continued speaking.
"The premise of cooperation is the honesty of both parties. You have never been honest with me, teacher. It's been twice." The young pope's lavender eyes were as cold as ice knives. "The first time, you went to the Riccardi Palace. The second time, you tricked me into standing on Portia's ship without knowing it - is this the third time?"
Julius pursed his lips suddenly, and looked at Raphael with misty deep purple eyes behind his lenses.
Teacher, this title that had disappeared for many years suddenly appeared, making Julius dazed.
Raphael's young and tender face and trusting eyes appeared again, along with those past memories, but it was only a brief moment before Julius pulled his emotions out. He realized that although Raphael's tone was firm, it was not hopeless.
The young pope was taught by Julius himself. No matter how unwilling he was, fate had destined him to bear the indelible marks of Julius. All of Raphael's rhetoric was taught by Julius. The cunning and wise patriarch of Portia taught him how to choose the most clever word and how to mobilize the other party's emotions in the shortest time.
One of the most useful tricks is to change the name.
Raphael used the term from the past, representing their harmonious past, which meant that his refusal left ample room for leniency.
Julius heard it, and Raphael knew that Julius could hear it.
They were fully aware of each other's tactics.
"Portia failed to win me over, which means that all thirteen lords have a chance to gain my support. As long as I can survive this period of testing, they will rush to offer me olive branches of good will. By then, Portia will be the one who will be anxious, right?"
The people who were spinning on the dance floor suddenly noticed that the blond Pope at the edge of the dance floor had no idea what he was thinking about and smiled a charming smile. This smile concealed most of his overly holy and inviolable temperament. The seductive masculine charm was exuded like never before, causing at least two pairs of dancers to mess up their dance steps.
Seeing this scene, the young Pope smiled even more happily and extended his golden cup to them in greeting.
"So now, are you anxious, Julius?"
Julius sighed deeply, and couldn't tell what he felt in his heart. Perhaps it was a mixture of vigilance, murderous intent, and admiration. Looking at the student he had brought up, the head of Portia lowered his eyes, stroking the sea monster totem carved on his cane with his thumb, and his usual noble smile returned to his face: "... You are so smart. You figured it out so quickly. You are so decisive. You are worthy of being Rafa. So, were you pretending to be gentle and tolerant before?"
When Raphael heard this, he blinked quickly to hide the anger that was leaking out.
camouflage? He once tried so hard to fit in with them, watching and imitating clumsily, washing the beggar covered in mud into a well-dressed Pope, learning to smooth out his sharp soul, learning to be tolerant. He thought he succeeded, but what did he get in the end? He died suddenly in his bedroom! He suffered inhuman torture before his death and his heart was pierced.
He is tolerant to others, he has mercy on all sufferings, and he grants them justice, but what about the tolerance he deserves? What about the mercy he deserves? Where was the righteousness he needed? !
Now he has to face such questioning - is he pretending? !
Raphael felt as if all the bones in his body were creaking, and he used up almost all his self-control not to show an inappropriate expression.
The resentment he had felt since his resurrection had been hidden in his heart, and he could not let it go. Neither could anyone who was treated like this. All his efforts were denied. He struggled to free himself from the mud, covered in blood, only to be kicked back by fate.
Raphael admitted that in addition to the reasons mentioned above, another reason he rejected Portia was that he could not forgive Julius, even though he had no evidence to prove that it was Julius who did it, but... he just couldn't accept it.
“You can think so.” Raphael had too much anger to vent, but facing Julius who knew nothing, he just said this lightly in the end.
"Okay, I admit that Portia needs Sistine I." Julius caught the fleeting abnormality in Raphael, but before he could investigate further, the abnormality disappeared, so he changed his tone and said gently, "But you have to admit that with Portia's help, you will be able to sit more steadily on the throne of Saint Leah. As for the confession you want-"
Julius paused and observed Raphael's expression for a moment. Not finding anything unusual, he continued, "I will tell you everything you want to know, without hiding anything - without harming Portia's interests."
Conditions with reservations are more real and credible.
How rare, Raphael thought with a bit of irony. In his previous life, he trusted Julius too much, so he had never heard Julius speak honestly to him.
"As a token of my sincerity, I will tell you the reason for my visit to the Riccardi Palace. It has something to do with your father." Julius exchanged a golden cup filled with wine from the tray of a waiter passing by, and waited until the waiter walked away before continuing, "Saint Vitalian III was murdered, you know that."
Of course Raphael knew.
It's a bit funny that a father and son pope were both murdered in the end.
However, one thing that made St. Vitalian III better than him was that the cause of his death was not covered up. The Papal Palace acknowledged the Pope's death. He died on his way to a tour and his throat was cut by a pagan with a dagger. This incident caused a frenzy among all believers on the continent. The campaign to eliminate pagans at that time reached its peak, and tens of thousands of pagans died in the aftermath of this disaster.
"There are doubts about his death. I suspected that Dondoler might know something, so I went to ask him. But the old man was very tight-lipped, and I really didn't get anything out of him. That's why I brought Redrick with me. He's more suitable to meet Dondoler than you."
Julius' words were very tactful, but Raphael understood them instantly, because he was the illegitimate son of Saint Vitalian III who was not publicly acknowledged, while Rederick was that man's legitimate son.
Raphael sneered. He didn't feel anything about this matter, nor did he feel any inferiority complex as an illegitimate child. Maybe he had felt that way before, but it was gone soon. It seemed that the only ones who cared about this from beginning to end were the Redrick brothers.
Upon hearing this, Raphael immediately lost all interest: "Is that all you want to say? You came to me so urgently, are you afraid that I will be lured by some lord? Or..."
The young pope thought for two seconds, and suddenly smiled strangely. The cunning and coldness from long ago crept out from under his skin. He looked at Julius almost mockingly: "Those lords can't sit still? Do they want to deal with Portia through me?"
Only for this reason could the head of Portia be so eager to approach him at this farewell party.
Julius's quiet smile was a sign of agreement.
"This is also good for the Papal Palace, isn't it? You don't have to go through them to get the taxes of the Papal States, and no one will call the shots in the Papal States that belong to you. Portia is your backer, your pillar, and the flowers beside your throne - we are loyal to you."
The head with long iron-gray hair bowed toward the young Pope.
He was right. The lords who had divided up most of the land of the Papal States were thorns in the eyes of successive popes. It would naturally be a great thing if these big trees entrenched in the Papal States could be eradicated. ╩
From then on, Raphael's papal bulls could be circulated smoothly in the Papal States, taxes and land were collected by the Papal Palace, and Portia became the only papal agent.
This is a win-win situation for both parties.
Raphael had no reason to refuse.
The blond, purple-eyed Pope slowly stretched out his left hand, and the ring on his thumb that symbolized the Pope's authority was shining brightly.
The patriarch of Portia lifted up the hand, gently kissed the ring, and offered Portia's loyalty.
This scene happened openly and everyone witnessed it. They immediately realized what it meant and were shocked.
Portia declared her allegiance to Sistine I? !
The author has something to say:
In fact, Raphael himself has a somewhat bad character, but he has been packaging himself as a "saint" in the eyes of the world. This change does not happen overnight, and his past experiences will be slowly revealed. However, after he dies once... he will take off this disguise and become even worse, crazy, and bad.
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