Entering the Apennines in August is like dry bread placed in an iron pan without oil, beginning to roast. The temperature seems sufficient to extract all moisture, and even the wind is reluctant to linger here. After the arrival of summer, most Rome residents prefer not to go out, except to visit the public baths near their homes. As a result, the usually chaotic public order in Rome improves considerably during this period.
The people of Rome joked that the people lived in peace and contentment not by the grace of the Vatican, but only by the grace of God.
Joya was unable to sleep safely until noon in such a temperature. She struggled to get up during the coolest time in the morning, washed her face, and then sat by the window. However, her sitting posture did not quite conform to the requirements of this era for women. She curled up her legs, placed her feet on the edge of the chair, and her back completely leaned against the chair back, huddling in the chair. Relying on the morning light outside the window, she idly flipped through the theological books placed in her room by her aunt and tutor Adriana the previous night.
She had little interest in the long doctrines of Catholicism, and after just a few minutes, she had already yawned several times. Just as she was about to close the book and go back to bed for a short nap, she heard a hurried sound of footsteps outside the window.
She turned her head and saw a thin, brown-haired man walking along the courtyard corridor, and almost simultaneously, a slight twitch appeared at the corners of her mouth. She then lowered her legs from the chair and adjusted her posture to a slightly more formal one befitting a Roman noblewoman, forcing a somewhat artificial smile on her face as she looked at the man approaching.
"Today is not the weekend, Mr. Brandao." Joya raised her eyebrows at the newcomer.
"It's not the weekend indeed." Brandao, his breathing a little uneven from his brisk walk, approached her window, "This time it's specifically to see you, Father Rodrigo wants to see you, your mother has sent a letter."
Priest, the honorific title for a Catholic cleric, for hundreds of years, only men have been able to hold this position, and they are forbidden from marrying and having children, meaning they devote their entire lives to the great Lord.
Although the doctrine is so, since ancient times, every organization has had people who want to break the rules, and the Vatican is no exception to members who want to experience human suffering. The popes who have kept mistresses and illegitimate children are countless, not to mention other clergy working in the Vatican.
Everyone knows that their role is supposed to be detached from the mundane, so the mistress becomes a "friend", the children become "nephews/nieces", and everyone turns a blind eye, as if nothing has happened.
In her fourth year, believing she had traveled back to a common European household in ancient times, Joya discovered that the tall and burly priest uncle actually visited their home every month, bringing fashionable toys and clothes, and affectionately embracing her and her siblings. This was not out of the Vatican's care for the residents of Rome, but because they were all his illegitimate children. Her beautiful and elegant-mannered mother was this man's most beloved mistress.
And the father she thought she had been with for four years, although not very affectionate, but still relatively harmonious, was actually this priest, who was designated by her mother as her marriage partner in order to hide his tracks.
And it's the second one.
After being shocked for an afternoon, she quietly digested this truth, and finally only raised her thumb and said in her heart:
Oh, that's Italy for you.
Ten years later, she learned from this mother's letter that her birth mother was someone else.
In those days, Vanozza Catane had just become the mistress of Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia, and her sister Martina, at the young age of sixteen, was a beautiful and rebellious girl who had left her hometown of Mantova dissatisfied with the marriage arrangement made by her family, and come to Rome to seek refuge with her sister.
She was only temporarily staying there when she fell head over heels for Rodrigo, hit it off right away, had a brief romance, and a year later gave birth to their daughter Joya. However, Ms. Martina then felt that as a young woman, she should not be limited to the role of "Rodrigo's mistress," so she left her newborn daughter with her just-pregnant sister Vanozza and went in search of her new life.
As the newborn girl in the story who was soon abandoned by her birth mother and given to her aunt, Joya has made some progress this time. She was only shocked for a few minutes, then she gave a thumbs up in her heart:
Indeed, it is truly Italy.
"Suddenly telling you this truth, you may have some difficulty accepting it. Joya, you should know that I was planning to keep it from you for the rest of your life, whether your birth mother is me or Martina, without a doubt, you are Rodrigo Boggie's daughter, you will receive the best court education at Orsini Palace, and you will one day be the wife of a duke or even a king, you will become one of the most famous young ladies in the Papal States."
"But you are still the most intelligent of the children, and one day you will also discover the clues, and moreover, your birth mother Martina has fallen seriously ill, and she sent me a letter the other day, saying that she wants to see you no matter what. This request may be difficult for you, but Martina, although she has not fulfilled her parental responsibilities, has gone through great hardship to give birth to you, and if possible, I hope you can go to Florence to visit Martina on her sickbed..."
.
Joya looked up from her reading, glancing at Rodrigo sitting across from her.
"Why haven't you continued reading on? " Rodrigo asked in a casual tone, seemingly not upset that Vanozza had revealed a secret she had hidden for over a decade to her daughter. "That's the general content of this letter." Seeing that her evasive gaze had been caught by Rodrigo, Joya decided to stop pretending and directly raised her head to look at him.
Rodrigo sat behind the desk, with a large floor-to-ceiling window behind him. The brilliant summer sunlight from the Vatican spilled into the room, giving it a slightly chilly feel. The golden glow cast around the tall and imposing figure of Rodrigo exuded an air of authority.
His study was arranged in a peculiar way. Generally speaking, everyone would hope to have the best light source in the room when working at a desk, but he peculiarly liked to sit facing the light. He had a tall and broad-shouldered stature, and when sitting by the window, he almost completely blocked all the light from the window, so that apart from the silhouette of his body illuminated by the sunlight, his face, gaze, and expression were almost all shrouded in darkness, obscure and unclear.
Joya suspected that he did not want anyone to glimpse his emotional changes from the changes in his gaze, but he himself could stand in the darkness and see the person standing opposite him clearly.
However, if it was his children standing in front of him, he would rise from his seat and kiss their faces one by one, softly asking them what they had read and learned that week.
The cardinal, who was known for his ruthless dealings, was extremely doting towards his children.
Rodrigo had brought several of his children from Vanozza to the Vatican's Orsini Palace a few years ago, right across from his bedroom, where they were cared for and educated by his cousin Adriana Orsini. Every weekend, his senior advisor Brandao would bring the children to his bedroom to spend the weekend with him.
Prior to the incumbent Pope Innocent VIII, no clergy had publicly acknowledged their children, and it was likely Innocent Pope who gave Rodrigo the courage, who surpassed his mentor, not only acknowledged his several illegitimate children with his mistress, but also brought the children he had with Vanozza to be raised by him.
At first, Joya would regularly go to Vanozza's residence in the suburbs of Rome to visit her, but as Adriana's courseload became increasingly heavy, the visits became fewer and fewer. Nowadays, if there is an emergency, Vanozza would write a letter and have someone bring it to the Vatican.
Calculating the days, it seems that the last time I went to visit Vanozza was also about two months ago.
I didn't expect this letter to bring such an important message.
Rodrigo stood up from his chair, and as he did so, the sunlight outside eagerly rushed in, causing Joya to instinctively blink her eyes. "I don't think you've been shocked by your background."
No, I am actually quite shocked already.
Joya thought to herself and then said, "As my father once said, a person should not show their emotions on their face."
Rodrigo let out a slight laugh, walked around the desk, and approached Joya's side. He was still wearing the red cloak that symbolized his position as a cardinal, and a smile on his face as he looked into Joya's light brown eyes with a hint of inquiry: "Perhaps, you already knew? Because you have never been particularly close to Vanozza, maybe you have already guessed that she is not your biological mother."
Joya's lips twitched slightly.
With her meager emotional experience, how dare she presumptuously speculate on this big shot's intricate love story from more than a decade ago.
She just turned into a little baby when she came through, but the Vanozza holding her was about the same age as her last life, so she just couldn't bring herself to see the other as her mother.
However, Rodrigo had struggled and fought his way through the complicated environment of the Vatican for decades, and although he doted on his own children, when faced with children slightly older than his own, he could not help but project his own complex experiences and thoughts onto them. The quiet Joya, who lacked a strong desire for attention compared to her other siblings, was understood by him to be precociously silent and undemonstrative in her emotions.
Joya silently accepted this arrangement, and then said: "Perhaps it is so, that between mother and daughter, there is an irreplaceable affection that is deeply rooted."
"Would you choose to visit Martina who is seriously ill?" Rodrigo asked.
Can I choose not to go out on such a hot day? Joya thought very seriously.
"I think it's best if you stay home and read books. Last week, Juan was injured in a horseback riding accident, and Adriana and Julia probably can't handle the care on their own, so they need you to help look after him." Rodrigo suddenly thought of something else and added, "I've heard the weather in Florence has been quite poor lately, with almost a month of continuous rain. This much rain at this time of year is highly unusual." Before he could finish what he was saying, he was interrupted by Joya.
"Father, I've thought it over, and I'll go."
"His gaze shifted slightly downward, meeting Joya's eyes filled with hope: 'Father, please allow me to go see my biological mother, whom I have never met.'"
