Chapter 55: The Billy Shirley Incident
The boss of the "Ouveau Wing" Barr watched his sister walk past with a child in her arms, and a smile appeared on his face. He liked the nephew whom his sister gave birth to. Although every time he saw this child, he would involuntarily think of a bastard who is said to be doing well in the Vatican, but seeing that his sister's family is still alright now, he was not so concerned.
Barr saw several soldiers walking along the street, because the "look-off post" was on a stone protruding on the edge of the cliff at the end of the street, so there was no need to think about it and know that these people should be the guests today.
He had no disgust towards these mercenaries Barr. Although he worked for Count Montina, these mercenaries did not owe him money for wine, so he was still very willing to do business with these people.
Those mercenaries were considered regular guests. They first whistled at Barr's sister, but when they saw Barr standing at the door of the tavern, they immediately became more honest.
As a businessman, Bar is still very good at making money with kindness, but this does not mean that he will not lose his temper. Moreover, Barr is very scary every time he gets angry. Even tax collectors who often jump around the streets are a little afraid of this strong man who runs a tavern.
Several mercenaries quickly poured their own large glasses of inferior wine. As they drank more wine, they also started to say more.
Barr listened quietly. His job was very simple. He did not need to ask for anything specifically, because his tavern was often the breeding grounds of rumors of big and small. Sometimes he even had to argue from too ridiculous topics that were true, or that were worth paying attention to.
The topics these soldiers talked about today attracted Barr's attention, and these people were talking about when the royal family might leave Naples.
Although I already know that this is a matter of time, the Naples still hope not to be so hasty. This may not be because of the great expectations for the royal family, but many people think that perhaps the Free Trade Union's Commercial Year will also leave.
This is obviously what people really care about, and it is also what Barr needs to pay attention to. According to Alexander's instructions, all he needs to do is pay attention to the people's reaction to this matter.
Barr didn't understand why he should pay attention to these things. Shouldn't he ask more about who was preparing to conspire for rebellion? But looking at his sister's carefree expression, Barr felt that he would just do as he obediently as the Count's instructions.
Alexander promised Barr, but in addition to the reward he deserved, he also promised him to send his nephew to the Vatican in the future.
Barr thought this was a good thing, and becoming a priest would be a good future for the child, especially if he could meet his hateful father one day in the Vatican, it would be a wish.
Several mercenaries kept complaining, which made Barr's busy work gradually slow down and he listened carefully to what they were saying.
“Where are we going?”
"Who knows this? Do you still remember the crimes he suffered when he fled with King Ferdinand?" A veteran asked his companions, and when he saw several people nodding, he sighed. "I really hope this matter will pass quickly. I hope the king knows what he is doing, but this may be a bit difficult. I heard that the queen has the final say now, and the king will never meet him in a day."
"There is more fresh news. I heard that the queen never went to the king's place, but lived alone in a room in the palace. You must know that they are already married."
"Oh, I heard about this too. This is really strange. Has the queen made any vows, such as keeping a chastity for the Lord?" A soldier asked, but was laughed loudly by his companions next to him.
Barr frowned slightly as he heard the mercenaries say more and more, and he felt that it would be better to tell the count as soon as possible about this matter. Obviously, there are already bad rumors about the king and his wife in the city. Although he thinks that this is actually no big deal, the count seems to care about such things.
Alexander indeed cared about what the Naples were thinking, because according to his plan, the day when the royal family withdrew from Naples was already in front of him.
Many things have started packing, but it is obvious that it is impossible to wait until everything is ready before setting off.
Alfred's mood seemed to have gotten worse, especially after experiencing Alfonso's provocation, he began to become suspicious.
He always woke up from his sleep, and then began to shout loudly to himself, "Someone wants to usurp the throne."
When the servant tries to comfort him, he will doubt whether the people around him were sent by Alfonso to try to murder him.
This made the life of the people who served him sad, because Alfred would always get angry for no reason, and at this time, the only one who could comfort him was Ruosha.
However, Ruosha was not with Alfred because the king was not feeling well and was inconvenient to be too excited. It is said that she did this to avoid the young king from hurting his body because of being too addicted to the love of his husband and wife. Although this reason makes people somewhat suspicious, no one dares to publicly question the queen's words.
Alfred twisted and twisted around the bed in a irritable mood. He didn't know why he could never calm down his overly impatient mood, especially during this period when he felt bored and angry when he saw anything, such as the noise from outside the room made him angry.
"What are you doing outside?" Alfred asked the servant standing aside angrily.
"Your Majesty, everyone is packing up, you forgot that we are leaving Naples soon."
"What, you want to leave Naples?" Alfred asked in surprise as if he had heard of it for the first time. He jumped to the ground and then walked towards the door regardless of his eyes.
The servant quickly tried to hold him up, but Alfred pushed him away. When he came to the corridor almost naked, he looked at the people who were busy passing by, and then he couldn't help but look at him curiously. Alfred couldn't help but ask the servant who was chasing him in a daze, "What happened?"
Ruosha walked out of the room when she heard the noise. Following her was a group of Naples ministers. When she saw the naked king standing in the corridor yelling at a Balkan soldier standing in front of him, the ministers couldn't help but look at each other first, and then they each saw something hidden in the eyes of others.
The Aragonese royal family in Naples has always been poor. What's worse is that perhaps because of their innate reasons, the lifespans of several generations of kings did not last long. Among them, the change of monarchs caused by the short lives of Alfonso II and Ferdinand II is still vivid in my mind. Frederick's death seems to illustrate this point, and now Alfred's seemingly unconscious behavior makes the ministers feel that things may be going to get worse.
Ruosha looked at her "husband" without saying a word, and she stopped until Alfred pulled out a long halberd from the weapon stand erected in the corner and was about to stab the Balkan.
She walked over and stood in front of Alfred and reached out to him until he was unwilling to accept it first and then seemed to be unable to bear Ruosha's staring eyes slowly raised the long halberd and handed it to Ruosha's hand.
"You are the king, but I feel embarrassed when you are now." Ruosha whispered. Seeing Alfred's face turned black, she handed the halberd to the person next to her, and then called the servant who was standing aside with a robe and handed the robe to her.
Ruosha put her robe on Alfred, and then she turned around and nodded slightly to the ministers, "People, please give us some time."
"Your Majesty, what we lack now is time," Alexander, who had been standing aside silently, suddenly said, and then he nodded to Earl Modillo. "Since the king is here, I think maybe some things can be solved as soon as possible."
Modilo shook his head helplessly. He knew very well that Alexander did this on purpose. Obviously, he didn't want Ruosha and Alfred to stay alone, even if it was only for a short time.
"I heard we were leaving Naples?" Alfred was very excited. He felt that it was time to fulfill a king's power. "Where are we going? Are we going to learn from Ferdinand? You must know that he disappointed the whole of that Belarus."
"Your cousin decided to escape from Naples because he was worried about losing to the French, and you are facing much more danger now." The seal officer Oufured walked over and helped him into the room as a king's confidant. Then, looking at Alfred, who sat down and rubbed his legs against his robe, Oufured continued, "You may have to face more than the French."
"Who else?"
"It's Aragon. There is news that Ferdinand of Aragon and the French have reached a secret agreement," Ruosha whispered. Seeing Alfred showing a disbelief, Ruosha turned her back and put it in his ear and whispered, "In fact, your mother will escape to Normezi because Aragon sent someone there to contact her."
"Are you saying that my mother and Ferdinand have collusion?" Alfred asked in amazement.
"We don't know why she did this, but Ferdinand's messenger did appear next to Normezi, and your mother went to Normezi in a strange way."
Alfred looked at the other people in the room in disbelief. Seeing that they had not spoken but had obviously defaulted, he lowered his voice to Ruosha with a little anxious voice, "What should I do? You must know that if people know that my mother and Aragon colluded, they would even doubt whether my throne had obtained legality."
"So we need to leave Naples, not only to avoid the French, but also to avoid the Aragonese," Ruosha asked Alfred, who was a little excited, to sit down again, and then she looked at the ministers. "Now please tell the king the decision."
Earl Modilo took a step forward and greeted Alfred slightly and said, "Your Majesty, we have to leave Naples. This is indeed bad, but it may be dangerous if you continue here."
"But where are we going?" Alfred asked in a daze.
"Go to Billy Shelley." Alexander, standing in the corner, spoke, and walked over to look at Alfred. "Your Majesty, Billy Shelley has a road to the south, and there is a large castle there, which is perfect for the royal family to hide there for a while."
"Bilishelli? Alfonso's territory?" Alfred looked at Alexander unexpectedly. At this time, he no longer cared about the little grudges he had with this "brother-in-law". Speaking of which, he was even a little secretly grateful to Alexander for his help at this time, but he just went to Bilishelli, which made him a little unacceptable.
"There is the best place now," Ruosha whispered to Alfred. "Know that we must plan the worst. If the Aragons really try to annex Naples, we must have a place that can resist invasion and retreat at any time."
"But Alfred..." Alfred was still a little worried. "He shouldn't want to see us, or he would take the opportunity to propose any conditions that we could not accept at all. What if he asked me to give him the crown?"
"Please rest assured that our Majesty, we will not let this happen." Earl Modilo said decisively, "The royal family will arrive at Bilicely safely," and said that the Earl looked at Alexander. "Earl Montina will use his army to ensure people's loyalty to the king and queen. As for Duke Bilicely, we must admit that he is indeed a trouble, but if he refuses to accept all this, we can only use the most direct method."
"Want to go to war with Billy Shelley?" Alfred suddenly seemed a little excited. "Or can I personally command the army to deal with my cousin."
"Your Majesty, I hope you won't get to that point. It all depends on the decision of the duke." Earl Modilo looked at Alexander. "But I believe that if it was true, the Montina army would be able to clear all obstacles for you."
Alfred looked over with some excitement. Seeing Alexander nodding slightly, he immediately waved his hand vigorously, "Then go and do it. Whether it is Billy Shelley or somewhere, we'd better leave Naples as soon as possible."
Listening to Alfred's words, the people in the room couldn't help looking at each other with different expressions. Speaking of which, they decided to move the palace to Billychelle without Alfred's consent before, and now everything is so natural.
"But can we really get the Duke of Alfonso to agree to move the court to Bilishelli?" Oufored asked with some concern. "Bilishelli's castle is very strong. If Alfonso insists on resisting, it will be a problem for us."
Seeing Oufored's worried look, Alexander nodded slightly, he could understand the concerns of the seal officer. After all, if the Naples forces force attack Bilicherley, even if they succeed, they will not only suffer heavy losses, but may also give Aragon or the French the opportunity and excuse to take advantage of the situation.
And because they had never seen the combat effectiveness of the Montina army, it is inevitable that the Naples have some concerns about whether they can successfully enter Bilicheli.
So Alexander thought about it and thought that it was better to reassure Naples.
"My army is ready," Alexander walked to the window and looked outside, a team of Balkan soldiers passing by. "And in fact, I want to tell you that we have received an invitation from Bilishelli, and the local merchants think that it is necessary to request protection from a sufficiently powerful army for their safety at this time."
When the Naples heard Alexander's words, they couldn't help feeling complicated and looked very different.
The subsequent news quickly confirmed Alexander's promise.
Just after an agreement with the Free Trade Zone Alliance was signed, an application for protection requested by the Bilishelli Chamber of Commerce to the Free Trade Zone was submitted after almost everyone signed and agreed.
Then, the Balkans, who had been ordered to gather between Naples and Bilicely, crossed the border into Bilicely in the name of being hired by the Free Trade Zone, were welcomed by the Bilicely merchants in the crosswalk of Bilicely.
And this is only a few hours after the agreement was signed.
Chapter completed!