In the following days, Florence was still under the scorching sun, but fortunately, the Totti estate was located by the Arno River, with the main entrance facing the street. From her window, she could see street vendors calling out their wares, lively young people, and women in various colorful dresses passing by. In the distance, dock workers were carrying boxes onto ships bound for other cities.
One can observe the full spectrum of human nature without ever leaving home.
Joya nodded in satisfaction as she sipped the iced grape wine.
Only, to the other people in Totti's mansion, the young lady from the Vatican seemed quite unlike the typical Apennines girl of her age. At first, they suspected her of having a haughty and indifferent personality, just like the other ladies from the Vatican. But later, they discovered that the young lady was quite amiable, and they imagined her to be a gentle soul who had lost her mother at a young age and had to live quietly among her lively and talented siblings.
And this small cabbage, after countless hardships, came to Florence to visit his mother, but was turned away at the door by his mother.
Burdened with such an unfortunate fate, yet still facing the world with a smile.
The three servants of the Totti residence were moved to tears by the story of Joya that they had imagined in their minds, and they did their utmost to make the Joya lady who came from the Vatican feel the warmth of the family.
Joya had no idea about the imagination of these three servants.
She stayed in the Totti estate every day, looking out the window at the city, reading to Marco, climbing to Martina's window at night to look at her, then counting the days on her fingers, waiting for the summer to end, when she would ride in a carriage and feel the bumps of the Apennine mountains again, returning to the Vatican
The three servants who were initially a bit afraid of her, at some point started to hover around her, and after the first invitation to go shopping at the central market, they began to make other strange invitations to her.
For example, Lisa would shyly ask her if she would like to go to the public bathhouse across the street to take a bath; for example, Ciro told her that a very famous noble lady had recently become the chairperson of an artists' association, and if Joya was willing, she could also become the chairperson of an association; and again, Arturo, while preparing to go to the lord's palace to talk to his sweetheart when she went out, also enthusiastically invited Joya to go to the lord's palace to wait for the beauty.
"..."
She one by one rejected, then patted Marco's furry little head, and said: "I'll stay home and keep Marco company."
Marco looked up at her, his blue eyes full of excitement.
Florence had been sunbathing for many days under the summer sun, and after the noodles on the terrace across the river had been sun-dried for several batches, one day when Joya woke up, she no longer saw the faint sunlight through the blinds of her room window.
She changed her clothes, pushed open the bedroom door, and saw the light rain drifting down from the central courtyard, forming ripples on the surface of the courtyard fountain.
Florence, it's raining again.
Ciro and Arturo carried down the noodles they had left on the third-floor terrace the previous day, sighing as they walked down the stairs, "It's drizzling today, and we don't know if the exhibition at the Holy Cross Church will be held as scheduled."
Joya had originally planned to find Marco from the other side of the hallway, but accidentally overheard the two's murmurs, so she stopped in her tracks, turned around, and called out towards their backs: "Is there an exhibition at the Holy Cross Church today?"
The Basilica of Santa Croce is the largest Franciscan church in Florence, designed and construction began in the 13th century, said to have been personally overseen by St. Francis of Assisi, the founder of the Franciscans, with the aim of competing with the new Dominican church of Santa Maria Novella. However, it was not until a few decades ago that the basilica was finally completed and put into use. On both sides of the main sanctuary, there are sixteen smaller chapels, each built and endowed by noble Florentine families, and each containing frescoes painted by Giotto and his students.
Besides some church activities, the Holy Cross Church also hosts some art exhibitions. More than a decade ago, there was an art exhibition of Verrocchio, which was attended by Lorenzo de' Medici, and Uberto, the Gonfalonier of Justice at the time. It was at this exhibition that Ezio, the surviving second son of the Auditore family, draped in a white cloak, assassinated Uberto in the crowded courtyard of the Holy Cross Church.
"This art exhibition was proposed to be held by Mr. de' Medici. When Arturo mentioned the de' Medici family, he smiled brightly, as if all the sunshine in Florence, which had been obscured by the clouds, was now shining on his face. 'You know, Botticelli has always been sponsored by the de' Medici family. He was employed by the de' Medici family and painted many masterpieces, but these works were all collected in the various villas of the de' Medici family. Mr. de' Medici felt that Botticelli's paintings should be seen by more people, so he decided to bring out the family's collection and exhibit them for a day in the Pazzi Chapel on the south side of the Santa Croce Church.'"
Ciro joked beside, "Hearing you praise Botticelli so much, have you forgotten about Monica who refused to marry anyone other than Botticelli?"
"Although I still have some reservations, I have recognized that Mr. Botticelli is indeed very talented through the process of learning to paint." Arturo said straightforwardly, "As a painting enthusiast, I naturally have great admiration for him."
After playfully bantering back and forth, the two exchanged glances and then asked Joya: "Miss Joya, are you interested?"
Joya looked up at the sky and saw a thick layer of dark clouds. This kind of weather was just what she had in mind. After being away for so many days, the Central Market had probably forgotten about the golden-haired girl who could climb walls. So she nodded and said, "I am somewhat interested."
On the one hand, it is because the exhibition is displaying Botticelli's works, and on the other hand, it is because of the exhibition venue.
When Ricardo found out that Joya had finally decided to go out, he smiled with his eyes squinting. He rubbed his hands excitedly and said, "Martina will be happy to know that Joya, you are willing to go out. Do you want me to take you over there and introduce you to the others?"
Joya, upon hearing this, immediately stepped back, waved her hand, and laughed awkwardly, saying: "I was just taking a stroll, I don't want to bother you."
She certainly didn't want to be the subject of public scrutiny in Florence again due to her identity as Mrs. Totti's illegitimate daughter.
After Ricardo was rejected, he turned around in the same place, "There will probably be a lot of aristocrats at this exhibition, do you want to dress up? ...How about letting your hair hang down, let Lisa give you a hairstyle?"
Joya took a step back: "No need, it's raining today, I'm cold, wearing this is just fine."
This time she went out, her hair accessories and clothes were completely different from the last time she went to the Central Market. She had always tied her hair with a pearl chain, but this time she simply let her hair down like Lucrezia, only tying a ribbon in her hair.
No matter what, you must distance yourself from the image of running along the eaves and walls of the central market.
After Ricardo's idea of dressing her up well failed, he could only sigh regretfully and then said: "Alright, be careful."
By the time Joya left with the three servants, it was close to noon. The light rain that had fallen since early morning had also stopped, leaving only a thick layer of dark clouds in the sky, which still seemed to be gathering strength. The uneven stone path in Florence was dotted with deep and shallow puddles, and people passing by could see their own reflections on the water's surface.
The Church of the Holy Cross is located in the San Marco district of Florence. To get from the Totti Palace to the Church of the Holy Cross, one must first pass through the Vecchio Bridge, then cross to the opposite bank and walk a good distance along the Arno River to the southeast.
Originally, Ricardo had planned to go to the bank and take Joya along with him. His proposal caused Joya's temple to twitch slightly, as she had no desire to get off the carriage bearing the Totti family crest in the bustling Saint Cross Square. So she politely declined Ricardo's proposal, citing that since she was already out, she might as well take a walk and see the sights of Florence. She bid farewell at the doorway to the somewhat dejected Ricardo, who had been rejected three times, as well as the reluctant Marco, whom Ricardo had planned to take to learn about banking affairs.
Not until Joya actually started using her own two feet to measure Florence did she realize the distance was still a little ways. Fortunately, the three young people from the Totti family kept chatting with Joya along the way, back and forth, each remark making Joya laugh, so that the long journey didn't feel so tedious after all.
The four of them walked slowly to Saint Cross Square, and although the weather was cool, each of them had a slight sweat on their forehead.
The Church of the Holy Cross is one of the few Gothic-style buildings still standing in Florence today. In front of its white facade stands a large rectangular square known as the Piazza di Santa Croce.
The Piazza della Santissima Annunziata in front of the Basilica of the Holy Cross was crowded with people. In addition to the Franciscan priests in their robes preaching and lecturing to the crowds gathered at various corners of the square, there were also groups of well-dressed upper-class individuals passing through the square and heading towards the east side of the church. Even in the alleyway leading to the Pazzi Chapel, there were three or four elegantly dressed prostitutes soliciting customers.
Unlike Joya's interest in architecture and local culture, the three young people in the Totti family were more focused on observing the city's celebrities. They would occasionally nudge Joya and point out, "That's the Baroncelli family," "That's the former standard-bearer of justice," or "That's the young lady from the Peruzzi family."
I've been waiting all the way to the Pazzi Chapel door, Joya has seen all the noble members of Florence, but unlike her ability to remember what she reads, her memory of people's faces has always been blurry, so that she didn't remember even one of these noble Florence nobility members.
When she stepped into the portico between the pillars of the Pazzi Chapel courtyard, she heard Lisa's deliberately lowered voice exclaim: "Miss, look! That's Mr. de' Medici... goodness! Mr. Volturi! That's Mr. Volturi!" By the end of the sentence, she had forgotten to lower her voice, drawing the attention of a few people nearby who were discussing the artists of the present day.
The Volturi family, as Joya heard Lisa and Ciro discussing the day she arrived in Florence, seems to be the current object of admiration for all the lovesick young girls in Florence. She heard the excitement in Lisa's voice, and this piqued her curiosity about this popular heartthrob, so she looked in the direction Lisa had pointed.
Across the courtyard of the Pazzi Chapel, a row of ancient Roman-style exterior columns stood like a slightly austere screen, blocking the view of the crowds slowly moving within the portico, a constant flow of unfamiliar faces. However, two young men standing by one of the columns seemed to shine, standing out from the bustling throng.
One of them was slightly shorter, with black hair and black eyes, dressed in elaborate clothing, leaning forward and talking to a slightly overweight middle-aged man. Standing beside him was a tall, blond young man, who did not seem to be like the other nobles, desperate to display the rarest fabrics and most precious gems on his person. but wore simple clothes, yet with an air of elegance and casualness..
He had originally been listening to the conversation between the young man with black hair and the middle-aged man, his brow slightly furrowed, somewhat impatient. But at this moment, he seemed to have perceived that someone across the way was looking at him, and he turned his head slightly, those deep brown eyes with a hint of coldness and a ruby-like glow, and met Joya's gaze.
Being caught peeping is one of the most embarrassing situations in the world, but Joya did not immediately look away. To be precise, she was so surprised that she forgot to conceal her actions.
Although her attire had changed, she recognized the other person almost at first glance.
That was the vampire hunter who saved her life that day.
