"I don't understand what you mean?" Sir Baptiste, as the city magistrate, said in a dignified tone while receiving guests from Genoa in the noble hall.

Standing on the opposite side, the envoy from Genoa said impatiently: "Do you need me to say it again? I think my meaning has been made very clear. Mr. Andrea is now waiting for my reply at the port. We have nothing to spare.

I won’t waste my patience with you anymore. Please hand over Lord Andrea’s sister, Antonia Doria. This is our only request.”

"This is strange. Your Excellency Andrea's biological sister is not a married woman in Genoa, but she asked me for a wife. Unfortunately, I cannot agree to your request, because there is no such person in Thessaloniki.

." Baptiste, who was pretending to be stupid, smiled. Of course he knew the other party's purpose, but how could he be easily manipulated by the other party? All he needed was to perfunctory the Genoese in front of him.

The Genoese envoy who felt that he had been teased became furious and angrily shouted: "A complete lie, really shameless. If Miss Antonia is not here, please explain that the Genoese smuggling ships have been delivering large quantities of supplies to you at low prices in the past few months.

What’s going on!”

In fact, it was because of this abnormal phenomenon that the Doria family noticed Thessaloniki and a huge deficit appeared out of thin air. When they discovered it, the Genoese were shocked that someone was actually purchasing food, weapons and other goods under Doria's identity.

However, all the money was taken on credit. At this time, the top management was alerted, and the Doria family, who felt deeply pressured, immediately sent people to conduct a thorough investigation, and only then did Antonia's traces be discovered.

But now, when the Doria family came to investigate, it happened to coincide with the Venetian siege of Thessaloniki. Such an embarrassing scene was bound to cause discord between the two countries, and more importantly, the Genoese also vaguely discovered

He had been taken advantage of, and the so-called acting mayor of Thessaloniki in front of him was completely unwilling to cooperate.

Therefore, the envoy from Genoa simply used his trump card and threatened: "Humph, if you have such an attitude, then don't blame us for being rude. Lord Andrea has promised before that as long as you can cooperate with us,

The Doria family is willing to temporarily shelter Thessaloniki for a period of time, and at the same time, it will take care of the supplies in the city.

The supply can continue without interruption. But it seems that you want to refuse our goodwill. In that case, our fleet will leave the harbor soon, and then you will have to deal with the Venetians on your own!" You have already seen it!

The opponent's calculations were in his mind, and the Genoese would certainly not give up this bargaining chip to gain the initiative in negotiations.

At the same time, the Genoese envoy went even further. He glanced meaningfully at Sir Baptiste and said:

"As a Latin, you are able to secure your current position. I heard that you rely on the support of Princess Eudosia. And Her Royal Highness is able to get the support of the Greeks in the city only because they think that those who fill their stomachs

She conjured the bread out of thin air. It's really stupid, but because of this, what will happen once those lazy mediocre people know that the gift from the princess is actually given by a foreigner? Let us wait and see! Please tell me again

Think about it carefully!”

It was called a suggestion, but it was actually a warning. Looking at the other party's proud expression, Sir Baptiste's face turned pale and he replied:

"Thank you for your suggestion, I will consider it carefully."

…

…

…

In the darkness, silence, and the suffocating heavy pressure, Eudosia couldn't breathe. This was not the first time she had been in such a dream. Although she knew that everything she saw and felt were illusions, she couldn't get rid of it. The princess returned again.

When she arrived in Tripolis two years ago, standing among the ruins destroyed by the war, she remembered that the great rebellion started by Leos Grace had swept through most of the Peloponnese.

Daughter Helena escaped the revenge of her past lover by hiding.

But how she got out of trouble, Eudosia found that the memory in her mind was blank. In the last blurry fragment, the princess only remembered Grand Duke Anastasius in a wheelchair telling her to live well. That old man

Eudocia will never forget the look in her eyes when she looked at her. After all, it was indirectly because of her that Archduke Anastasius lost his only son. At the same time, it was this old man who protected her with his own life.

There is her daughter.

She remembered the cyan light emitting from the green matsutake stone, and then swallowed her up like sticky bubbles, and she couldn't remember anything from now on.

After that, an endless feeling of emptiness filled her heart. The breathless depression was so real that Odosia couldn't tell clearly what was a dream and what was reality. There was that feeling around her.

A familiar and sickening cold light surrounded Eudosia. When she struggled to break away, a force pulled her body back violently, and she suddenly felt like the world was spinning——

"Ha-hu-"

Suddenly awakened from the nightmare, Princess Eudocia was breathless and lost her mind. It was the same dream again, and the same depression. The woman's pale face was covered with sweat without a trace of healthy blood.

"You're finally awake!" A girl's voice suddenly rang out from the corner of the bedroom, startling Eudocia as to why there was anyone else in her room.

I saw the other party opened the curtains, letting the bright sunshine outside the house shine in, and Eudosia finally saw the other party's appearance clearly.

"Little Antonia? It turns out it's you!" Although she had been frightened just now, but she saw clearly that the person coming was a Genoese girl, Eudocia felt much more at ease, and the heavy depression in her dream also dissipated for the most part.

Due to her permission, Antonia had unimpeded access to her side, but Eudocia was a little strange today. The girl came on her own initiative instead of being invited by her.

"Why did you come so early today? What happened?" Looking at the other party, Eudocia asked with concern. In the past, Antonia was much more cheerful, but now the girl standing in front of her is like a pearl covered in dust.

, dim and dull.

Suddenly, the silent Genoese girl walked up to Eudocia who was sitting on the bed, leaned over and lay in the princess's arms.

"Little Antonia?!" Eudocia was really surprised by the girl's move. In her impression, Antonia was like an aloof petrel. She never showed any weakness in front of outsiders, but today

The girl in front of him was like an injured kitten, she just wanted to spend time in a comfortable area with people she was familiar with.

"What's wrong?" she asked cautiously again. During the two days of illness, the princess knew nothing about what was happening in the outside world. But looking at the lonely look on the Genoese girl's face, Eudocia knew that Cesar

Something must have happened in Lonica City.

Eudocia had always treated this girl from Genoa with delicate kindness, and was even more grateful for her help many times, so even if Antonia had nothing else to ask for, she hoped that she could help her somewhere.

But the girl who was buried in the arms of the princess did not answer. She just said lightly: "I'm just a little tired. I want to find a place to relax, so I'll let you lie here for a while. I'll be fine soon."

Seeing the girl's answer, the dumbfounded princess also acquiesced to Antonia's doing so. She gently stroked the messy braids on the girl's head and whispered softly: "Okay, if you think this can make you feel better.

But my grandma told me when I was a child that bad moods are like rotten fruit and cannot be kept there. Maybe you can share some with me."

"You're so verbose, you're not my mother!" The girl in her arms said angrily, raising her head and looking at Eudocia, who was only a few years older than herself, with her lips curled up, but her originally dim eyes.

It was much brighter now than before.

"Although you are just like her, kind and clumsy. Your Highness, you have to know that most such people will not live long."

Although Antonia never admitted it, in the past year of getting along with her, Eudosia, who cared about her very much, had invisibly overlapped with the image of someone in her heart. And that person was Antonia's

She rarely mentioned her mother to others, because it was because of her mother that the Genoese girl resolutely chose to abandon her family.

Looking at Eudosia who always thinks about others first, the Genoese girl would always feel a little disturbed by this, especially now when she saw the haggard look on the face of the princess.

"Rather than caring about me, it's better to care about yourself. Your health has gotten worse recently, and it took two days for this fever to go away. I don't want Helena to be like me at that time, with no support and only being left alone.

He was involved in the family and was swallowed up by the bloody mouth called 'family affection'." Since he was raised by the doctor Christopher Falus, he was slightly

Antonia, who is knowledgeable in medicine, has been responsible for taking care of the strange illness in Princess Eudocia. For a year, she could not find the cause of the disease, but this woman's vitality was constantly withering at a speed visible to the naked eye. When she thought of this, Antonia

Her heart became heavy. She didn't want to believe it, but this woman's life had come to an end.

But the princess who didn't care about this smiled and said: "With your care, I believe that Helena's child will be able to grow up healthily and happily even without me. I have nothing to ask for now, I just hope

It would be nice to spend more time with her every day in the last days."

At this time, Eudosia already knew the condition of her body, and she was already indifferent to life and death. If she had been worried about her daughter before, she no longer had to worry. The only thing she needed to do was to do her best in the last moments of her life.

A strength to protect the one she loves.

"Then you should just count on that bastard Justinian. He clearly said he would be back soon, but there is no news yet. May Saint George bless him and he will be shipwrecked when he leaves the harbor." Antonia said a Genoese slang to express herself

dissatisfaction, but in fact, we can also hear it from her words

Worry about Justinian's situation. The two are both collaborators and have a sympathetic friendship. The chance encounter in Constantinople made Antonia choose to help each other. Now both of them are growing up in adversity.

Get up, she doesn't want Justinian to be in the same desperate situation as she is now.

So, no longer hiding anything from the woman in front of her, Antonia immediately told the princess on the bed everything that happened in Thessaloniki.

"I may not be able to stay here too long, Your Highness, because my brother has come to find me."

Not long ago, the arrival of the Genoese fleet temporarily forced back the Venetian navy. However, those on board did not come as a helping hand to Thessaloniki, but to pick her up. As expected, the people who led this fleet

The man from the Genoese fleet, none other than Andrea Doria, got the news

After that, the other party rushed over almost immediately. This was also expected by Antonia, because it was she who deliberately revealed her identity and lured them here. After all, the Genoese fleet stayed outside the harbor of Thessaloniki for a long time.

One day will give you one day to wait for Justinian's reinforcements from the north.

Of course Antonia would not take the initiative to come out to see them, and her brother Andrea, who knew her well, had already been prepared to deliberately leak the news about her to the whole city, causing an uproar among the nobles and common people.

, the other party is trying to force her to appear in this way.

"Maybe your brother did this because he was worried." After understanding everything, the princess said insincerely after a moment of silence, wanting to comfort the girl in front of her.

But Antonia didn't care at all and said: "You don't have to comfort me, because my brother is a bastard! Rather than worrying about me, he is more worried about himself. After all, in his eyes, I am just a piece of weight."

It's just a heavier bargaining chip. He can sacrifice anything for himself, including our mother, and I can forgive other things, but not that one." The girl's eyes seemed to be able to spit out anger, and the past events came to mind.

As twins, Antonia and Andrea were not actually born in Genoa City. Their mother was a poor woman in Turin who ran a family tavern alone. However, they were killed by a Doria family member on a rainy night.

The nobles were defiled and pregnant. Despite being mentally stimulated, Antonia's mother still brought up the twins with great hardship until the Doria family ruthlessly removed them from her body.

After that, Antonia had her own name and became Doria's property. She never saw her mother again, and when she saw her again, she was already separated from yin and yang. She was like that
Chapter completed!