Andalusian consul Fernando Carolai walked back and forth with some anxiety, a messenger he had sent to Buhalanser, standing there waiting for his inquiry with a sleepy face.

"It's gone, are you saying no one knows where he went?" Carolai asked the messenger with a gloomy face. "He is an old man, and it is said that his legs can't walk. Where can such a person go?"

"Sir, I've inquired everywhere, no one knows where the Duke is," said the messenger helplessly. "The locals say that he hasn't left his castle for a long time, and even the people in Buhalanthre have disappeared for a long time."

"And then he disappeared inexplicably?" Caroli asked angrily. Although he knew that this could not be blamed on the messenger at all, the news from Don Bavi suddenly disappeared, which made Caroli feel extremely uneasy. He walked back and forth twice and stopped to stare at the messenger. "What else have you found out? Don't tell me you don't know anything."

"There is news that the people of Buhalanse said that a duke who seemed to be from the Vatican had met Duke Don Bavi," the messenger replied immediately, "The duke's name seems to be Duke of Romanesia."

"What?" Carolina's fat face showed a hint of surprise. He also heard of the duke. The queen's personal priest Thomas Tengomada had written to him to tell him about the arrival of this man. Although he felt that this man should have nothing to do with him because he was far away from Seville, Carolina still had an impression of the duke from Rome.

Now I suddenly heard that this person appeared in Buhalanth, which surprised the consul.

"What did he do in Buhalantha?"

"It is said to be for the review of a holy trace incident."

"And then, Don Bavi disappeared?"

Carolai began to feel that things were not that simple. Although he couldn't say why he thought that the duke from Rome was related to Don Bavi's disappearance, he did not think that things would be so coincidental.

Caroli was not a lucky minister, which was different from the fact that kings of previous dynasties always sent their favored confidants to this position.

Those people often rely on the favor of the kings to act as a blessing in those jurisdictions. After being flattered by the local lords and nobles, these fat guys will return to the palace to enjoy their happiness in a few years.

But Caroli was a person who was truly highly expected by Isabella. He knew what his purpose was to come to Andalusia, and he knew more about how important it was to the queen.

If the little nobles he had dealt with through various means before were just a prelude to this drama, then solving Don Bavi’s problem was his ultimate goal in Andalusia.

And this is also the most important task Isabella gave him. From the beginning, his goal was Don Bavi, the most prominent nobleman in Castilla.

Now he suddenly heard that a nobleman from the Vatican appeared, and then Don Bavi disappeared, which made Caroli immediately realize that things might not be that simple. When he thought that Don Bavi might collude with the Vatican, Caroli began to worry.

Although the Vatican now does not have supreme authority and reputation as it was centuries ago, it is still a fearsome behemoth of the entire Christ world. Its transcendent status and the majesty gradually accumulated over the past ten centuries cannot be easily shaken and challenged by anyone.

Although Carolina did not know that only a few decades later, the Western Christ world would face a severe break that had been the worst since the great division of the East and West Church centuries ago, and even almost directly shaken the foundation of Western public churches, at least in Carolina's eyes, intervention from the Vatican is still worrying and uneasy.

"A holy trace?" Carolai seemed to suddenly notice the key to the matter. "Can you know what holy trace it is? Don't all holy traces be reported to the Archdiocese first? The Duke of Romantesia had not been in Valladod before, so why did he suddenly go to Buhalanth?"

The consul's series of questions made the messenger look embarrassed. Looking at the messenger's confused eyes, Carolai, who knew that he could not ask anything, waved his hand and sent him down.

The sudden accident made the consul confused. Carolina never looked down on Don Bavi, and he knew that this old man not only had a great reputation among the nobles, but even the queen himself had a complicated attitude towards the duke.

As far as Carolai knows, Isabella hopes that Don Bavi can give up her territory voluntarily. She even vaguely reveals to Don Bavi that if he can help her realize her wish to take back the territory from the nobles, she can give her supporter the titles of "deputy king" and "kingdom protector".

From this we can see that Isabella, who knows the strength and influence of Don Bavi, hopes to get his help in trying not to undergo severe changes, and thus realize the unity of power in the kingdom.

But now it seems that things are much more troublesome than they think.

The sudden disappearance of Don Bavie gave Carolai a premonition. It seemed that the deep gap that had already appeared between the queen and the important minister of the kingdom she had always relied on was finally about to evolve into an abyss that could not be compensated and could only swallow one of them.

Understanding this, Carolai felt that he had to be careful about this matter. He took out paper and pen to write letters to the queen, because there were too many secret matters involved, and he could not even call the clerk to write for him.

"Dear Your Majesty, please allow me to report to you that something is happening in Andalusia has made me worried..."

Just as Carolai was writing to his queen, Isabella was also facing something that made her extremely annoyed and angry.

The Portuguese are increasingly active in the Atlantic Ocean, which makes Isabella feel threatened, but this is not the worst. The news from Lisbon is what makes Isabella angry.

Although I have heard before that there seemed to be a deep conflict between Manuel and Maria, Isabella didn't care much. She would think so, of course she didn't think that the couple had a strong relationship. In fact, even if it was a combination between her and Ferdinand, if it was said that it was because of love, Isabella herself would sneer.

She would think so just because behind Maria was a powerful United Kingdom and a tough-minded king. She thought that Manuel knew what to choose in the end, so she didn't have to worry about the matter in Portugal at all.

But it seemed to be just to mock her, Isabella just received an urgent letter sent by the ambassador to Portugal, and the content of the letter surprised Isabella.

"The queen has been sent to a convent in Lisbon. Please allow me to tell you that Princess Juana is also in this convent, which makes me very worried."

Isabella was surprised by the letter from the ambassador. She had known from Maria that Manuel had allowed Juana to move to the supposedly remote convent. Although this did attract Isabella's attention at the beginning, she no longer cared so much when she thought of having a daughter in Portugal.

After all, Enrique has been dead for a long time, and Juanna ended up betraying her relatives after failing to fight for the throne. She saw that she would not have the chance to turn around in her life. Since this way, she didn't seem to have to be too distracted for a doomed loser.

But now this letter made Isabella realize that something unexpected changed suddenly.

The conflict between husband and wife before turned into a war, and then Manuel's action, which seemed to be disregarding the attitude of the United Kingdom, became an introduction to the situation that might turn into a real conflict.

The act of sending Mary into the convent can be regarded as a provocation to the two kings, and the choice is even more intriguing.

What will Manuel do next? Why not just release Juana from the monastery?

If so, what this means is self-evident.

When did the Portuguese be so brave?

This thought flashed through Isabella's mind, and she felt that something must have happened in it, otherwise how could so many things happen suddenly?

"Maybe Carlos should be brought back." This thought flashed across Isabella's heart. The trust in her husband when she encountered various difficulties and obstacles over the years made her think of Ferdinand the first thing she thought of was Ferdinand, but the thought only flashed slightly and disappeared immediately.

Isabella knew that Ferdinand was not easy in Aragon. Although the two countries were becoming unified, there have been many oppositions.

Although the opposition has been reduced a lot as the power of the two kings gradually stabilizes, this does not mean that everything goes well.

Opponents just hid themselves, but they never stopped destroying the reunification of the two countries, but their actions became more secretive.

Isabella felt that her body was no longer as good as before, which made her a little frightened.

She is not afraid of death. Sometimes when she recalls her previous life, she is surprised that she can survive and achieve such a great achievement. She even accomplished a feat that the ancestors of the Rastamara family have not been able to achieve, and took a key step to complete unification!

Thinking of this, Isabella felt that she should be satisfied in her life, but when she thought of death, she was worried about her descendants.

She still remembered her son Juan's helplessness when she was terminally ill a few years ago, and she could never forget the pain of losing her son and the anxiety and panic caused by the subsequent vacant position of the crown prince.

Isabella's concerns are not without reason. Among her daughters, Maria or Catherine, they became the current or future queens because of their marriage to Portugal and England respectively. However, such status also means that they must give up the throne of the future United Kingdom, otherwise future Spain will be in danger of annexation.

This is something Isabella absolutely doesn't want to see.

So in comparison, the only one that meets the conditions for inheriting the throne is Juana.

But Juana's situation is so worrying now. According to the diagnosis of court doctors, Juana's spirit has sometimes reached the point where she cannot control herself, and she even doesn't know what she has done.

Juana's bad situation made Isabella unable to feel at all.

What worried her even more was another Juana.

Isabella could not imagine what kind of uproar would cause if Juana had an accident. After all, at that time, Juana, who was far away in Lisbon, could have made a legitimate request for the throne.

The nobles of Castile would never allow Maria, Catherine or their children to become their queens.

By that time, it seemed that Enrique's daughter had become the only choice to continue the Castile royal family.

As long as Isabella thinks that her current situation is on thin ice, she even considers whether to write to the master in Portugal, allowing him to completely solve the huge hidden danger of Juana. However, when I think of the trouble that this may bring in this period when the relationship with Portugal is quite sensitive, Isabella can't help but hesitate.

A gentle knock on the door sounded, and a servant walked into the room with a box quickly. After checking that the wax seal was intact, Isabella opened the box and took out a secret letter from it.

The letter was written by the naval commander sent by Isabella to the new colony. The urgent mood of the writer can be seen from the very sloppy handwriting.

"Dear Your Majesty, allow me to report to you that a fleet of our fleet in Azores was attacked by the Portuguese..."

Seeing this beginning only, Isabella's face changed instantly.

Azores is an archipelago located in the Atlantic Ocean and is the only way to the new colony.

This vast archipelago was first discovered by the Portuguese decades ago. Although it did cause a sensation at that time, no one truly realized the significance of this archipelago in the future.

With the discovery of the new colony, people gradually realized that the Azores would be the hub connecting the old and new worlds. Especially with several Columbus' adventures, the huge wealth contained in the new colony made the Castiles, led by Isabella, realize the important geographical and military value of this archipelago deep in the Atlantic Ocean.

So Isabella sent her fleet and generals to start infiltration into the Azores.

Of course Isabella knew that such actions could easily cause intense reactions from the Portuguese, so she was always careful. Without angering the Portuguese, Isabella hoped to gradually turn the Arthur Islands into an important maritime transportation hub in Spain on the Atlantic Ocean.

Isabella obviously had extraordinary vision and unattainable vision, and the Portuguese responded a little slower in this regard. They paid too much attention to the new route in the East that they turned all their attention there.

The Pope's Meridians drawn by Alexander VI made them devote all their energy to finding a maritime road to the East through Africa. Therefore, although they were wary of Isabella's various actions in the Azores, they were unable to respond quickly.

Because of this, when Isabella received a report sent back by her naval general, she quickly realized the seriousness of the situation.

Thinking of Maria's situation in Portugal during this period, Isabella suddenly felt anxious and uneasy from the bottom of her heart.

She hadn't had this feeling for a long time. The last time she did this, I heard about Ferdinand and an Aragonian heiress had an illegitimate child.

Now, Isabella felt the feeling that made her nervous again. She quickly issued an order to summon the minister. At the same time, after hesitating for a moment, she still ordered someone to summon Philip.

Isabella is not satisfied with Philip's, but she is not dissatisfied. The only thing she is worried about now is that once she dies one day, perhaps there may be an inevitable huge conflict between Philip and Ferdinand.

Isabella believed that this was not just a random thought. She could see her husband's ambitions and Philip's plans very clearly.

But she also knew clearly that the Castile nobles certainly could not accept being crowned by a Portuguese or England heir, but also could not accept Ferdinand as their king. In this way, Juana became the only hope, and Philip would inevitably get involved in Castile's rule.

Isabella felt a headache. It was precisely because her health was obviously ineffective in the past two years that she felt more worried about the future. Now the Portuguese's unexpected actions have made her feel even more in a strong sense of crisis. She felt that she had to make the best arrangements for the future when she could still grasp all this.

Philip was a little surprised by Isabella's summons. Since he came to Valladot, his status has become awkward. He is Juana's husband, but he has no other identity here except this identity. Although everyone also flattered him because of his identity, he always felt that he was an outsider.

In addition, he was also very wary of his father-in-law, because whether it was a warning from his father or his own feelings, Philip felt that Ferdinand seemed to regard him as an obstacle to rule Castilla. Therefore, in order to eliminate Ferdinand's wariness, he did nothing but found a woman every day, but Juana's unrest and unhappy troubles made him tirelessly.

So when he heard that Isabella summoned him to participate in the State Council, Philip was also cautious while excited.

What Philip did not expect was that what Isabella wanted to discuss was actually about the relationship with Portugal.

"I must respond strongly. As Queen Castilla, letting this happen is an insult to me." Isabella told the ministers standing in front of her that although she was no longer young, she still stood up straight as before. Even if this made her feel uncomfortable, she refused to bend down.

"But your Majesty, this may lead to a change in our relationship with Portugal," said one minister with a little concern. "We heard that Manuel seemed to be in frequent contact with the French, which must not help us to act with caution."

"French?" Isabella's eyes swept across the faces of the ministers and finally fell on Philip's face. "Louis is now fighting the emperor with Rome. Do you think the French have the extra power to intervene in the dispute between us and Portugal at this time?"

Isabella's questions made the ministers turn their eyes to Philip.

Faced with those questionable eyes, Philip finally spoke after hesitating for a moment: "Your Majesty, please rest assured. I believe that the emperor's army will never give Louis any chance to breathe."

"So that's the case, let's prepare for the worst," Isabella's eyes swept across everyone's faces. "Believe me, I have a premonition that Manuel may become my enemy, so are we going to declare war on this next?"
Chapter completed!