I Am Louis XIV

   Chapter 148 Three years later (2)

   "Who is Lasuke II?" asked Lucy.

"Oh, I forgot," said Milady, "you haven't learned this yet," the Duke of Colonna the Younger's studies began with the ancestors of France: "He is the son of Philip IV of Spain, and The only surviving son, he was born in the same year as you, but with a smaller number of months, and his mother is Maria Ana of Spain, the daughter of his father's sister, his niece."

The title of Philip IV confuses Lucy, because there is also a Philip IV in the genealogy he has read before, and Milady explains to him, "That is Philip IV of France, and also your ancestor. , Philip, the handsome man of the Capetian dynasty, who is far greater than Philip IV of Spain."

   "So does Carlos II also have a brother?" Lucy asked.

"Yes, but unfortunately, they were called by the Lord very early." Milady and Lucy walked slowly in the courtyard covered by the light golden morning light. The magic of the wizards guaranteed that no matter when, The air here is clean, warm and humid. The roughness and erosion of the sea breeze will never affect the trees in the courtyard and the walls of the buildings, as well as countless sculptures and fountains. Beside the drinking pool, the clear water was sprinkled, the feathers were arranged, and the singing was tactfully. In the mist, the unicorn, which was almost the same color as the morning light, walked slowly from one acacia tree to another golden tree. At the side of the acacia tree, he dragged the flowers that looked like fluffy yellow **** on them to eat, and startled the fairies like stars in the flowers. As soon as they flew up, the air was filled with sparkling pollen.

Sometimes, Milady is not surprised why the wizards always feel that they are superior to the mortals. In the inner world, the nobles of the wizards obviously have greater rights than the kings or dukes of the mortal world. A more noble position, and those ordinary wizards are also more comfortable than the craftsmen or businessmen of the world, at least they must have a room of their own, with the water system inherited from the Roman Empire, if not the world The ability to bear has reached the limit, presumably these wizards will continue to be closed and conservative.

   "Tell me," Milady said briskly, as if he were only asking casually: "Why do you want to ask about the brother of your majesty?"

"Because someone told me I have a brother." Lucy frowned. He was still very young, and his eyebrows were also very pale, like the fluff that a duckling grows after it was born. Milady looked at it calmly. He glanced at him. Compared with Queen Teresa and the king's eldest son, Louis, Lucy was more like a king. He had very beautiful blonde hair and blue eyes. Little Louis inherited Habsburg's dark hair and was born with Tan, I think when they grow up, it will turn into a color like the night, but the brothers have very similar eyes.

   "Do I have one?" Lucy asked.

"Yes." Milady said, perhaps those people would not have thought that as early as the moment when little Louis was born, the king decided how to deal with these two sons. He once loved Mary, and he also respected the special Reza, he also loved these two children deeply, but out of the cold heart that a king must have, he had already made arrangements for these two children. So from the beginning, Milady has received orders from the king, she will not hide anything about the king and the Duchess of Colonna, Marie Mancini - Lucy is a smart child, don't think he is small You can deceive at will. Once he finds out that you are lying to him, no matter who you are, he will never believe you again. In this way, Milady finally won the education right from the Mancini family. It's nothing; besides, if they don't say it, others will say it, and it is better for them to tell the truth than to let the little Duke of Colonna hear the twisted and stigmatized things going on from others.

Milady pulled the hand of the little duke. Four years of company and care finally came into play at this time. Although he was so nervous that his palms were wet, Lucy tried his best to calm down and sit with Milady. In the back of a luxuriant rosebush, it is almost impossible to see them unless someone is looking for them.

"It's a bit complicated," Milady said, "I don't deny that your father had two wives, but in some ways your mother, and Princess Teresa of Spain, were Legally, the difference is that they are in two worlds." So Milady simply said something after the Dunkirk assassination: "It can be said," she said, "your father Marriage to your mother is recognized by the laws of the inner world. In the inner world, your father is the Duke of Colonna, so your mother is also the Duchess of Colonna. After becoming the Duke of Colonna, she should be called the old lady, but I don’t think she will forgive anyone who dares to call her that.”

This sentence made the little duke grin. He was not familiar enough with his mother... Ever since she felt the threat of Madame Lavalier and the werewolf tribe to her and the Mancini family, Marie Mancini had been too violent and violent. His character is even better - the Mancini family can now stand at the top of the power in the inner world, in addition to the support of the king, Mary's madness also has a role that cannot be ignored - now the wizards in the inner world are saying She is "Black Mary" - after she made the cornerstone of one hundred and ninety-three wizards who dared to rebel against the Mancini family.

It is precisely because of this that although Lucy also loves and respects his mother very much, when it comes to intimacy, Mary cannot be compared with Milady, and when it comes to admiration and longing, under Milady's guidance Now, Louis has to beat Mary and even the Mancini family by a lot. After all, he is the ruler of a huge country, and no matter how powerful the Mancini family is on Gayola Island, Gayola is just an island. .

But this is all in the future. "And your father is in the world, the king of France. As a king, he must marry a princess of another country as a wife, and this candidate finally fell on the head of the daughter of Philip IV. Queen Teresa." Milady gently held the little duke's shoulder: "She and your mother are two sides of the mirror, inside and outside the mirror, showing the world, the inner world will not admit it, the inner world, The world will not admit that you and your brother, one is destined to be the Duke of Colonna, the other is destined to be the king of France, you are two arms on the same body, and neither can occupy the other's. location, but together you can destroy any enemy, no matter where he comes from."

The little duke clenched his fists involuntarily. Although he still didn't quite understand some words, it was obvious that Milady was telling him that it was not a bad thing that he had such a brother. Strange thoughts, the... malice of the people who came to tell him about it. There is nothing wrong with his origin, and he was also born out of the love of his father and mother. His father also has expectations for him. He and the brothers who have never met will not be enemies. On the contrary, they can be very good. Friends... Father has already arranged the road for them, they just need to go on at ease...

   "Can I see him?" Lucy asked, "I haven't seen him yet. What does he look like? Is he like me? Rongke's youngest son is like his brother."

It's really not very similar, Milady said in his heart, and Rongke's youngest son is a twin, "I can't answer you, you and your brother are very young, you see, I'm rarely even allowed to bring You leave Colonna Palace, and so does your brother, who is now being raised by the Queen Mother Anne, and your father rarely sees him—but I guess I can ask." Any relationship needs to be nurtured, says To be honest, if someone hadn't deliberately provoked, there was nothing between the brothers that would have caused a disaster, unless little Louis would be a wizard, or the little Duke of Colonna was not a wizard - Milady bowed his head, Seeing that Lucy was playing with a goblin, the little vortex formed by the magic power in the air made the poor goblin dizzy. It seems that the latter is impossible. As for the former, even if it is possible, she The king would also make it impossible.

   That majesty may seem gentle, but in some places, he is so stubborn that even the devil and the angel can't pull it back.

   "But I think," said Milady, "that you can exchange gifts with each other."

   "Oh." The little duke raised his head, his eyes brightened as Milady expected, "I have a lot of interesting toys here!"

   "Very well, I think you can pick them today, and when you see His Majesty the King, you can ask him to bring them to your brother."

   "Okay… um, wait, maybe not today."

"why?"

   "I have grammar and alchemy classes later."

"It doesn't really matter if you miss a day of class." Milady waved his hand like a doting parent, and said generously. The little duke giggled, but still declined her kindness: "No, Milady. Leddy, I can put things in order before going to bed, but I can't skip class."

   "Even your father started to study after the age of six. Your Highness, you are only four years old. You have been able to play carefree in your long life, maybe only these few years."

This terrible idea made the little duke's face stiff for a while, and after thinking for a long time, he decided painfully to go to class: "I hope to take over my mother's job as soon as possible," he said: "It was originally my responsibility, Madam, it is quite inadvisable to impose it on a vulnerable woman."

Milady thought with her toes, and knew that someone was talking nonsense in the ear of the little duke - indeed, the wizards of the inner world were more prejudiced against women than the outer world - for example, the husband could Outside looking for flowers and willows, doing reckless acts, but the wife has to guarantee her chastity. Except for those wizards who are raised by the big family and have signed a blood oath, they have to abide by the agreement, the private lives of those big family members are almost very chaotic.

Mary is a wise and powerful wizard, but in the inner world, she is still the Duchess of Colonna and must act in the name of the Duke of Colonna, but at least she is still an adult, one who has gradually matured through conspiracy and tricks. As for the little duke, Milady admits that he is really smart and lovely, but he will grow up to be able to handle government affairs independently, at least ten years later, during this time, if Mary Manche If Ni was forced to back down, Duke Colonna's power would inevitably appear hollow, so whether it was intentional to gain power or other families would have a chance.

It is also possible that the wise man among the wizards saw the king's intention - the infiltration and encroachment of the inner world are carried out simultaneously, while constantly plundering the human resources of the inner world, while using various means to eliminate the different things in the inner world. Voice, when all the power is concentrated in the Mancini family, or in the hands of the Duke of Colonna, then Gayola is just an unknown province in France.

   And this province, between Sardinia and Sicily, faces Naples.

   If it wasn't for this, why did the king have to spend thousands of days here in the past three years? While the French treasury was still empty, the wheat, pork and potatoes made the unfortunate Monsieur Colbert grey.

   Fortunately, Mary will be back tonight, and Milady casually crushed a rosebud. It seems that there will be several more cornerstones in that long line of defense.

  ————

  Colbert sneezed, just as the king said, a group of ministers and relatives, half-jokingly, half-seriously sang in unison: "May God bless you!"

The Lord Financial Auditor had to stand up and bowed to everyone in the room. Among these princes and dukes, even speaking of his origin would make these people feel humiliated, but the king's favor on him , and his indefatigable work over the years, heroically keeping the king's books... at least no deficit - some may not understand the concept, but it is clear to everyone in this room that the king's insistence is not Under the premise of raising taxes, the army, warships and the continuous war caused the royal family's expenditure and income to continue to be out of balance. It was so good twice, for weeks in a row, people could see the lights in Colbert's room day and night. Incessantly, a roar like a beast could be heard from time to time.

People said that Colbert was about to be driven mad by the king, but he persevered, neither he nor France's finances collapsed...and there seems to be room for the resistance of both to strengthen, even if the king said that The thirty Calais ships that Princess Henrietta was dowry were covered with iron plates, and M. Colbert also stood firmly in place, and did not faint immediately.

- Don't say it, this must be the king joking, the whole body is covered with iron plates, the ship will definitely sink, even if it does not sink, I am afraid that the already precarious speed pass line will completely fall all the way. At that time, do they want to enjoy these warships in the new dock in Dunkirk as a landscape?

   (end of this chapter)