Assassin's Creed: Renaissance

Chapter 40

"How do you know I'm not? I promise you, boy, I'm married to God."

"But I don't understand. You're a courtesan, too. Seriously, you keep a whorehouse."

Theodora smiled. “I don’t see any contradiction in that. What I believe in and what I do with my body—those are my choices, and I have the freedom to do so.” She thinks for a moment. "You see," she continued, "like many young women, I was attracted to the church, but gradually I saw through the so-called 'believers' in this city. concept, and there was never a place for God in their hearts and bodies. Ezio, do you know what I understand? A man must learn how to love if he is to be saved. My girls and I will teach customers what Love. Of course, no denomination of the church would agree with me, so I had to choose my own denomination. It may seem unconventional, but it worked: Men's hearts were strengthened under my care."

"I'm afraid it's not just the heart that is firm, I guess."

"You are so cynical, Ezio," she held out her hand to him. "Come back here tomorrow, and we will study the contests. In the meantime, take care of yourself and don't lose your mask. I I know you are reliable, but our enemies will show no mercy."

Ezio wished to make minor adjustments to his new weapon, so on his way back to the headquarters of the Thieves Guild, he stopped by Leonardo's workshop.

"It is a pleasure to see you, Ezio."

"Leonardo, you are right about Sister Theodora. She is a true free thinker."

"The church would have troubled her long ago if she hadn't been so well protected; but some of her admirers are powerful."

"I can imagine." Ezio noticed that Leonardo was disturbed, and looked at him curiously. "What's the matter, Leon?"

"Maybe I shouldn't tell you, but if you happen to find out for yourself, it's probably going to be worse. Listen, Ezio, Cristina Calfozi came to Venice with her husband for the Carnival celebrations. Of course, she Now it's Cristina di Azeta."

"Where is she now?"

"She and Manfred were guests of my employer. That's why I knew about it."

"I have to see her!"

"Ezio - do you really think this is a wise thing to do?"

"I'll get my firearm in the morning. I think I'll use it—I've got other things to attend to now."

"Ezio, I will not go out unarmed."

"I still have my wrist blade."

Ezio walked towards Palazzo Pesaro, heart beating wildly.He paid a scribe to write a short note that read:

My dear Christina:
I must meet you alone outside the master's house at nineteen o'clock tonight.I'll wait for you under the corona in Saint's Square—

He wrote "Manfred" on the back.Then he had the note delivered to Earl's Court, and waited.

It was a long shot, but it worked.She soon emerged, accompanied by a maid, and hurried towards the Dorsoduro district.He follows her.After she appeared at the appointed place, the maid cautiously backed away, while he stepped forward.They both wore carnival masks, but he could tell she was as beautiful as ever.He couldn't help but hugged her into his arms and gave her a long and gentle kiss.

Finally she broke free, took off her mask, and looked at him puzzled.Immediately afterwards, she stretched out her hand and removed his mask, and he didn't even have time to stop it.

"Ezio!"

"Forgive me, Christina, I—" He realized that there was no trace of his necklace around her neck.This is also of course.

"What the hell are you doing here? How dare you kiss me like that?"

"Christina, it's okay..."

"It's okay? I haven't seen you or heard from you for eight years!"

"If you don't have some excuses, I'm afraid you won't come to see me at all."

"You're right - of course I'm not coming! I remember the last time we met, you kissed me in the street and then calmly saved my fiancé's life and asked him to marry me .”

"It was the right choice. He loves you, and I..."

"Who cares what he wants? I love you!"

Ezio didn't know what to say.The whole world seemed to fall apart before him.

"Don't come to me again, Ezio," Cristina said with tears in her eyes, "I can't bear this, and you obviously have a life of your own."

"Christina……"

"At that point, all you have to do is hook your fingers and I'll—" She broke off. "Goodbye, Ezio."

He watched helplessly as she left, returned to the maid, and the two disappeared around the corner together.She didn't look back.

Cursing himself and his fate, Ezio turned and walked towards the Thieves Guild's headquarters.

When he awoke the next day, his mood was gloomy but determined.He retrieved his firearm from Leonardo, thanked him, and took back the ancient book page, hoping that he could bring it back to his uncle Mario along with Emilio's one as soon as possible.He then returned to Theodora's brothel.She led him to St. Paul's Square, where the contest was held.A high platform was erected in the center of the square. Two or three officials sat behind a desk on the high platform and were responsible for recording the names of the contestants.Among the crowd around him, Ezio noticed the sickly figure of Silvio Barbaigne.He was surprised to see that the burly guard Dante was also standing beside Silvio.

"Your opponent will be him," said Theodora. "Do you think you can beat him?"

"If necessary, I will."

Finally, after the names of all the contestants had been recorded (Ezio had given false names), a tall man in a bright red cloak stood on the dais.He is the master of ceremonies for this competition.

There are four games in total.Contestants will compete in pairs, and finally the overall champion will be selected by the jury.Many of the contestants chose to wear masks in a festive spirit, much to Ezio's private satisfaction.

The first match was a race, which Ezio won easily, much to the chagrin of Silvio and Dante.The second contest was more complex and involved the use of strategy: The organizers gave each contestant a flag, but they had to capture the other's flag to win.

Ezio was also victorious in this contest, but was a little disturbed by the expressions on Dante's and Silvio's faces.

"The third match," announced the master of ceremonies, "will combine elements from the first two and add new content. This time, you must use speed and skill, as well as your charisma!" He stretched his arms and pointed Several well-dressed women in the square responded with charming laughter to his words. "Several ladies have volunteered to help us with this race," continued the master of ceremonies, "and some of them are right here in the square. Others are wandering the streets nearby. You'll even see them on the gondolas. You also see It's time for the ribbons in the hair of these ladies. Glorious contestants, it's your job to gather as many ribbons as possible before my hourglass runs out of sand. We'll announce the race with church bells Over, but I can suffice to say that whether your luck is good or bad, this will be the most enjoyable contest of the day! Whoever brings back the most ribbons wins and gets closer to winning the golden mask One step. But remember, if there is no clear winner in these few contests, it will be up to the jury to decide who will be at the party! Now—the contest begins!"

As promised by the master of ceremonies, the time was short and pleasant.The bells of St. Paul's Cathedral rang at his command, the last grain of sand had fallen, and the contestants returned to the square to hand the ribbons to the judges, some smiling, others looking ashamed.Only Dante remained expressionless, although he flushed with rage when the master of ceremonies raised Ezio's arm high once again after the counting was over.

"Oh, mysterious young man, you are lucky today," said the master of ceremonies, "and I hope your good fortune will not desert you at the last moment." He turned to face the audience around him, as the servants moved After removing the debris on the high platform and tying ropes around it, it looks like a boxing ring. "Ladies and gentlemen, the final contest will be head-to-head. It will also be a test of sheer strength. Competitors will pit each other until only two are left. The final contest will be marked by one losing consciousness. It's over. And then the moment you've been waiting for will come! We will announce the real winner of the Golden Mask, so be careful when placing your bets—the final outcome is still unknown!"

Brute force is what Dante is best at, but Ezio, with his versatile skills and quick feet, managed to advance to the final showdown.He threw a series of heavy punches at Ezio, but Ezio deftly avoided the really hard blows, and returned some rather powerful left uppercuts and right uppercuts.

There was no break in this final bout, and after a while, Ezio saw Dante's fatigue.But he also noticed out of the corner of his eye that Silvio Babaig was eagerly talking to the master of ceremonies and the jury under the awning not far away.He thought he watched a bulging wallet change hands and the master of ceremonies quickly pocketed it.But he couldn't be sure.Ezio turned his attention back to Dante, finding him rushing towards him, flailing his arms angrily.Ezio crouched down and threw two punches at Dante's jaw and body, and the burly man finally fell.Ezio stood in front of him, while Dante looked up angrily. "It's not over yet." He growled, but found that he didn't have the strength to get up.

Ezio looked at the master of ceremonies and raised his arm, but the other's face was expressionless. "Are we sure that all contestants have lost?" the emcee shouted. "Is there anyone left? We can't announce the final winner until we are sure!"

People started whispering when two grim-looking men stepped out of the crowd and into the ring.Ezio looked at the judges, but they avoided his gaze.The two men approached, and Ezio saw that they each held a barely visible dagger in their hands.

"Not going to talk about rules, are we?" he said to them. "That's it."

He dodges to avoid Dante's grabbing hand towards his ankle, then leaps into the air, kicking one of his opponents in the face.The man spat out a few teeth and staggered back.Ezio stomped on the other man's left foot as he fell, crushing his bones.Ezio then punched the man hard in the stomach, and when the man bent over, he knocked his knee on the jaw.The guy fell down screaming in pain.He bit his tongue, and blood gushed from between his lips.

Without looking back, Ezio emerged from the ring, facing the master of ceremonies and the embarrassed-looking judges.The crowd behind him cheered.

"I think the winner has been revealed," Ezio told the master of ceremonies.The man exchanged a few glances with the jury and Silvio Babaig beside him.The master of ceremonies climbed onto the boxing ring, avoided the blood on the ground as much as possible, and said loudly to the crowd.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" he announced, clearing his throat nervously, "I think you'll all agree that we enjoyed a vigorous but fair contest today."

The crowd cheered.

"Because of this, it is very difficult for us to choose a real champion..."

People looked confused.Ezio and Theodora, who was standing at the edge of the crowd, exchanged glances.

"It was not easy for the jury and me," said the master of ceremonies, wiping the sweat from his brow, "but we had to choose a champion, so after discussing it, we made a choice." At this point, he bent down and forced Dante to sit up. "Ladies and gentlemen—this is the winner of the golden mask—Mr. Dante Molo!"

There was booing and accusations, and the emcee and jury had to scurry away to dodge the trash thrown at them by the audience.Ezio hurried to Theodora's side, and the two watched as Silvio - with a twisted smile on his livid face - lifted Dante up on the dais, and then helped him into the down an alley.

(End of this chapter)