immortal person

Lorenzo's hand was steady.The dagger was only an inch away from Giovanni's throat, and the silver light flowed on the blade.Giovanni knelt in front of him on one knee, and a drop of cold sweat slowly fell from his hair.

The fact that the remains of the chapel had been laid under the stone bricks at their feet did not seem to hinder Lorenzo's movements.The Duke stood on the sacred stone of the altar, looking down at him, and the sunlight cast a heavy shadow in front of him.

The boy was silent.The point of Lorenzo's knife raised his jaw.

"Give me an explanation," he said.

A moment ago, he was still in front of his grandfather's coffin, recounting the recent turmoil to the deceased: a spy who lived by his side as a jester finally showed his feet because he knew too many secrets.But his confession was not over yet, but strange movements appeared in this church that should have been absolutely quiet.He had confirmed in advance that there should be no one in the chapel at this moment, and asked the priest in charge to guard the door for him after he entered... This made the appearance of any "other" seem strange and doubtful—especially Yes, under the circumstances that he just revealed a secret.

Giovanni had to look up at him.There was no heat in Lorenzo's eyes.

"I..." He moved his lips.

Under Lorenzo's stern gaze, calming his heart became an unimaginably difficult task.Giovanni clearly understood how he was under suspicion, which made him feel like he was being burned in a lake of fire every second he thought about the countermeasures: "I'm just copying a painting, Your Highness."

The drawing paper and charcoal scattered on the ground are his strong evidence.Lorenzo obviously noticed these details long ago, and he didn't look back: "I need you to fully recount the details of the whole thing for me."

Giovanni complied.

Bertoldo often said that he has a calm heart and can often remain calm in the face of mistakes and setbacks.But this quality always took a lot of work to get back when he faced Lorenzo.Giovanni recovered his breath and started from the very beginning: last month he heard about the existence of the Annunciation from a painter apprentice friend, and after that he wanted to come here to see it for himself; The method of paying equal attention to bribes won the favor of the priest, allowing him to sneak in to paint for a while when no one was around in the afternoon... He gradually calmed down and apologized to Lorenzo: "Please punish me for my recklessness. Please believe me, too. It is definitely not intended to pry into the family's secrets."

The young man's narration was clear and meticulous. While making the statement, he kept looking up at Lorenzo with a candid expression, and he did not look away because of the Duke's stern gaze.Lorenzo believed that his account stood up enough, since it would be easy to check with witnesses; unless the people he mentioned were all his accomplices.

Giovanni stopped, and made no further excuses.The situation changed in an instant, and it was Lorenzo himself who felt troubled.

It cannot be denied that he had always had a fondness for Giovanni.From the first time he saw his carving, he believed that the silent apprentice was a young genius with precious qualities, and he personally issued the order to recruit.More importantly, he still remembered that it was this Buonarrotti who sat in the same carriage with himself suffering from headaches not long ago. If he had evil intentions, he could have killed himself at that time.

He looked at the person in front of him.Although he was still at the age of a teenager, he already had a slender and straight physique like a young man, and his arms were covered with a layer of thin but powerful muscles.Obviously more suitable to be an assassin than a spy.

Of course, the reason why Giovanni didn't act at that time may have nothing to do with loyalty, but just to win the Duke's further trust-which he did.

"Perhaps you can give me a reason to trust you," said Lorenzo.

This vaguely seemed to be a concession, but Giovanni did not find signs of loosening in his eyes: "Father Quercia can testify for me. And, before I came here, I had a relationship with another apprentice named Piero. Bringing this up, you can-"

"What about other than that?"

Lorenzo interrupted him.He looked down at Giovanni condescendingly: "How do I know that this is not what you have thought up long ago? How can I prove that they are not deceived by your actions?"

Giovanni was taken aback for a moment - he had told Lorenzo everything he knew, but the Duke was still asking for more, which was close to unreasonable persecution.He became anxious: "I swear on my father's name, I will never tell you half a lie——"

"—Not enough!" Lorenzo interrupted him again, "Your father, Ludovico di Leonardo Buonarotti? A small landlord in Japan, who has never had a formal job, but has seven children, and the family is now living only on the salary I gave you. Excuse me, I do not accept such a promise."

He uttered his father's full name so fluently and accurately, and was very clear about the current state of his family.Giovanni felt a sudden tremor in his heart, and he realized a fact that he had never thought about: the family would conduct a detailed investigation on the details of all the disciples who entered the Medici Palace.As people in the market say, the pope cannot escape the surveillance of the "little red ball" in his sleep.The family spies wove a huge net over Tuscany, binding every stakeholder in it.He is no exception, he is also a flying insect planted on this net.

Lorenzo had always had the reputation of being a great learner, and he had no doubt that the duke even remembered the names of his grandfather and uncle, and knew his family's tenants and estates well.This incident woke him up like a basin of cold water. The extravagant life in the palace was dazzling, and the duke was always unbelievably kind. Renzo's humbleness and insignificance.

He didn't even feel the grievance of accepting the blame for nothing, he only felt a momentary heartache.Lorenzo was still waiting for his answer.There was a long silence.

"Believe me," whispered Giovanni at last, "that I will never deceive you, neither in the past, nor in the present, nor in the future."

He had no choice but to cut his heart out, hoping that Lorenzo would see that it was a faithful, sincere heart: "I swear by my faith, my allegiance to the Lord. It was an accident, I Wish it hadn't happened as much as you do. I will never say a word of what I heard today to anyone until I die."

Lorenzo was taken aback.

"I have longed for you," he said, suppressing the pain in his voice, "longing and admiring. I want you to believe...that I am as loyal to you as I am to God."

— He raised his head, awaiting Lorenzo's sentence.

The dagger fell to the ground with a soft "snap".

Lorenzo knelt down and embraced him.He put his arms around Giovanni's back, and felt the boy in his arms trembling slightly.This is a solid and warm body, with the purest and most sincere heart he has ever seen buried deep inside.

"I also want to ask for your forgiveness." Lorenzo closed his eyes and pressed his forehead lightly on his shoulder: "My God, God knows that I don't want to be such an unreasonable villain... There have been a lot of things happening recently. I have to be more careful when so many people's interests and lives are at stake. I apologize for the outrageous accusations leveled at you."

Giovanni nodded silently in his arms.

"You asked for my confidence just now," said the duke, "and now you have it all. I hope I haven't lost yours. . . From this moment I shall call you 'my friend.'"

He raised his head and kissed Giovanni on the brow.

Giovanni opened his eyes and saw a ray of sunlight falling on Lorenzo's hair.Then he saw Lorenzo's golden lashes against his soft, bright blue eyes.Suddenly, the Duke looked like the angel in the painting again.