I Am Louis XIV

Lady Milady knelt before the king, daring not to speak, nor to raise her head.

Louis was not as angry as Mrs. Milady thought—he knew very well that when governing a country as large as France, and even wanting to expand the original territory, the ruler must make a choice, and Gayola Island It is the side that was abandoned——When he conquered Flanders and the Netherlands, except for the wizard of Gayola Island, the king did not think about the matter of Gayola Island. Even the Duke of Colonna, although he was brought by Louis , also because he is the Duke of Colonna, not a wizard in the other world—Louis taught him as if he was teaching the crown prince, and also hoped that he would not be confined to Gayola Island, but could see farther place.

And Marie Mancini's enemies are probably no less than Louis. She is not the kind of woman who is passionate about power—but she is stubborn and violent in nature, so that in the process of conquering Gayola Island, she did a lot of things almost What is irreversible, when Mrs. Milady was still in Gayola, the wizards under Milady's command could take advantage of the number and strength of the wizards of the Mancini family, but at this celebration banquet, Cologne The Duke and Duchess of Colonna, as well as Milady, had to be present to secure their place in people's hearts, so that they could still be the mouthpiece and hands of the King after leaving Paris and Versailles.

The problem is, just a few days of vacancy, Mancini's opponents peeked at the opportunity.

The wizards of those big families were not stupid enough to directly confront the king, they just seized the cornerstone wall that was first controlled by the parliament and later controlled by the Mancini family-Louis still remembered those who were built with the souls of wizards They used the "key"—that is, magic—to change the selection scope of the Cornerstone Wall, narrowing it down to the wizards of the Mancini family and their supporters, even those who are still outside, that is, those who The wizards who served the king couldn't pass through, and the wizards inside couldn't leave. Just like Delong and others said with hatred, there are not many wizards on Gayola Island. They relied on the supplies they had hoarded before. , can stick to five or even ten years.

The problem is that the Duke of Colonna is already twelve years old, and the king will look for someone to marry him in two or three years. Although the king can grant him Flanders or a certain area in the Netherlands, but for Louis's Naples Strategy is useless - in Louis's plan, although the island of Gajola is small, it is very suitable as a stronghold and springboard for Sicily and Naples - given that the kingdom of Sicily and Naples still belongs to Carlos II of Spain...

Just like when France attacked Rome, they actually bribed the Genoese to use Corsica as a transit point. To capture Naples and Sicily at the tip of Italy's boot, France must either go through Switzerland, the Holy Roman Empire, Milan , Tuscany... Either use Sardinia or Sicily as a foothold, so the unknown Gayola Island, which is located in the middle of Sardinia and Sicily, is very important. Louis is ready ——In the past few years, he has been constantly drawing manpower from Gayola Island for this purpose. When there is only an empty shell left in Gayola's inner world, he will start to drive out all those invincible families. His eldest son took his place with the army.

At that time, whether to attack Sicily and Naples directly, or to pose a threat to Sardinia (belonging to the Austrian Grand Duke Leopold I) with a backhand will depend on his wishes.

Louis is even considering buying the Cardinal, or even the Pope, now, in exchange for the Bourbon family's ownership of Naples and Sicily. This is all a few years later, and his demands on Gayola Island are not high, because Louis is also very clear that his efforts on Gayola Island are not even as good as Flanders, and above Flanders is the Netherlands Well, above the Netherlands is France, he has too many things to consider, but—the remnants of those resurgences did cause him a little trouble, and the world of wizards is not just a place in Gayola Island. The practice of the world, some wizards think it is a good time for the revival of witchcraft, just like Merlin assisting King Arthur, they can also assist Louis XIV, or their king; Like the family, they think it is absurd that wizards should bow down to mortals who have no relationship with magic.

Judging from the information collected by Mrs. Milady, Gayola Island has indeed become a place where wizards, monks, and other residents of the other world gather, and they are all quietly waiting for the result.

Therefore, if Gayola Island is locked up again by the wizards, not only will the Naples-Sicily strategy be shelved or even abandoned, but even the inner world, which Louis has almost controlled, will once again escape from the king's hands. The walls between mortals will be rebuilt, wizards' contempt for mortals must reach another peak, and France, or any king, will again begin to tolerate these gifted and extraordinary people-even in the world The court also seems to be a "thing" located in another world, not a courtier, not a subject, or even the same kind.

All of Louis' previous assumptions and plans were all in vain.

"I can't blame you, Lady Milady." said the king, and there was not much in his tone that violated the original intention. Milady stood up at his gesture, "In order to get Holland, I can almost say that I have pledged Half of France, including you, of course you have no time to take care of the affairs of Gayola Island, have I ever paid attention to it, I can only say that these wizards have a great chance to choose, in fact, I have already prepared, Propose to the daughter of the Grand Duke of Tuscany—for my eldest son Luciano, and at the same time do a cleanup of the island of Gaiola," he said lightly, and Madame Milady trembled slightly, she He knows the king's methods very well, and it can even be said that he knows too well.

"It will only take a few days," said Louis, almost childishly, "after I get rid of the eyeliner of Versailles and Paris, I will prepare the Duchess to do this with you, but," the king's finger touched the armrest of the chair. He tapped a few times: "Now I can no longer let Marie Mancini out of my sight."

"Your Majesty," Mrs. Milady couldn't help saying, "this may be a conspiracy."

"Whatever it is," said the king, still calmly, "I cannot let the man who hurt my child get away with it, no matter what it is, especially, little Luciano may be punished again because she is his mother." Curse, Lady Milady, it's not a 'fluke' thing, my boy almost died, under his mother's wand - he could have died in battle, or died of old sickness, Even if it's because of a duel, I will never allow such a thing to happen again. I don't want others to mention him and say that he was a son killed by his mother. This is a great shame and a great sorrow. "

"So," continued the king, "next, I will give you the island of Gajola and the Duke of Colonna."

"I can know the Duchess of Colonna..."

"Can I still let Luciano watch his father kill his mother? No madam, we have a funeral for the Duchess of Colonna in a few days, but Marie Mancini will be forever imprisoned."

—————

Mary Mancini cried, yelled, and cursed, but after the king came in person and talked with her for a while, she finally calmed down, "I am willing to accept any punishment," said Mrs. Milady When I went to see her, she said, "I hurt the two people I love and love me, and," she showed a bitter smile: "This is not the first time, nor will it be the last time."

"Do you believe her? Your Majesty." Eralio, who was standing in another room, but could clearly hear the sound from the next room because of the buried copper pipes, asked.

"I don't believe it," said Louie, "and neither does she."

"You are always so ruthless." Eralio said with admiration. He used to have a face that was not easy to raise guard against. As time went by, there were fine lines at the corners of his eyes, but he seemed more amiable. Only The monks and priests around him knew how crazy and insidious this grand judge was—he was a sharp knife hidden under the cloak of the king, and he did bad things for His Majesty, no more than Count d'Artagnan or Millais. Mrs. Di is less.

Louis glanced at him reproachfully, "Are you ready?" he asked, and the Marquis of Loise bowed deeply, because it was about the Duke of Colonna, and there were few people present, and he personally presented a copy to the king. The document, this document stated that there was a distinguished criminal who was going to be transferred from the prison on St. Arrived, "These can be confused..." He didn't know what to call the prisoner inside, so he said vaguely: "The identity of the person."

"You are doing well," said the king, not only the date of imprisonment has changed, but also the gender.

"Then let's begin," said Eralius.

Mary Mancini is a witch, and a powerful witch with combat experience. She has experienced more things than ordinary women, so being imprisoned as a man is more suitable for her. Anyway, People always have a contemptuous and pitiful attitude towards women—Eraio took a box from the monk behind him and opened it in front of the king, "What is this?" Louis asked.

"Fool's mask." Eralius said: "I thought I would not be able to use it in your court." He introduced in detail that this silver-plated helmet-like mask was used by the Inquisition against those who committed great crimes. It is prepared by witches or wizards who have performed extremely evil witchcraft, but because of their surname and title, they cannot be executed. There are spells engraved inside it, which can be used to limit that evil power—once Imprisoned wizards will have a splitting headache if they try to use magic to escape, or to harm others.

"Do you know who was the last one to use this? Your Majesty, it was the Countess Nadasdi of Budapest, Hungary. At least six hundred and fifty girls were victims of her witchcraft, but she was only sentenced to eternal life imprisonment, In her castle," said Eralius, "is there nothing else?" asked the king.

"This is the best." Eralius said, "No face, no gender."

Lu Yi held it up in his hands, only to realize that it was as light as a velvet mask, and the touch was the same. He glanced at Elliott. "Aristocrat." Eralio said, "It can even allow food, sunlight and water to pass through without obstructing vision. The wearer is not hindered except a little ugly."

————

At the request of the Duchess of Colonna, the King accompanied her through this painful rite—she must have been terrified at the transformation from a sorcerer to a mortal—by this time she had changed into a man's attire, and Eralio With the help of the two monks, they gently put the mask of the fool on Mary's head. Just as Eralius said, there is nothing to hinder except the ugly point. Mary can talk, listen to music, take water and food, and breathe smoothly. —this is what the king felt when he put his hand on the mask.

The Bastille was originally a military fortress, and it was also used as a palace. Just like the Tower of London, it can also have a comfortable place like a suite. The king watched Mary walk around in the small drawing room, bedroom and study Go, look at this place where you may spend the rest of your life, "Except for leaving here, there is little Luciano, any of your requirements will be satisfied." He said: "I will also send you a pair of his every year portrait."

Mary paused, and when Louis was about to turn around to leave, she rushed up and hugged him tightly from behind, but before Louis could react, she let go of her hand and backed away until Under the window, as soon as she spoke, the king noticed that her voice had changed, and now she sounded like a calm man.

"If you pass under this window," said the strange voice, "please remember to look up, and don't let her think that you have forgotten her."

"I will never forget you." Louis said, this is not lying, he will always remember Marie Mancini.

Everyone left, and the door of the cell was closed tightly—the layout of this cell was not inferior to Mary’s room in Versailles. She smiled first, and then shed tears—she never thought that she would end up like this, but When it came, compared with pain and sorrow, her heart was more peaceful.

Louis made a decision, and she could finally say goodbye to the things that had tortured her for twelve years—whether it was love or unwillingness.

————

When the Duke of Colonna woke up and didn't see his mother, he had a somewhat ominous premonition. When Louis came to him and held his hand without saying a word, the young Duke finally couldn't help it. began to cry.