I Am Louis XIV

  Chapter 79 Cats and Skunks (Sanjiang recommends plus more)

The king looked at the Prince of Vandrao seriously, and saw that he changed the stick that never left his body from his right hand to his left, then reached into the pocket of his coat and felt it - took out a soft, round thing, Put it in front of Louis, spread his fingers, and Louis saw a sleeping kitten.

  Prince Vandro saw the king raised his head and looked at him with an indescribable expression.

   "Ahem, please take it, Your Majesty." Prince Fandra said, "This is me... a part of me."

"A part of you?" repeated the king, he did know and saw vampires turn into a swarm of bats and fly away, but he never imagined that a swarm of bats could make out a kitten—he couldn't control the ground Looking down at Prince Vanderbilt, wanting to see what part of him was missing - Theoderic was so uncomfortable with this subtle look, he raised his hand and showed Louis to his left hand, where a ring finger was missing. , it must be the part of the incarnation of the cat.

   "Although it should be a bat, it is clear that the catboy is more suitable for appearing in front of the crowd than the bat."

There is a question about cats and bats, from the eleventh century or earlier, compared to the lofty position that cats held in ancient Rome, after the whole of Europa was ruled by God, cats and lizards, bats and Toads are regarded as animals only kept by witches, perhaps because they are too agile and elusive, people associate them with evil omens, they say: cats will ride on brooms with witches and fly over The sky came to find poisonous herbs, and it was said that witches would transform into cats and enter homes to attack babies, or that cats jumped over the dead and turned the dead into zombies.

But compared to the bat, which has never been recognized by people, after the catastrophe (for cats) in the thirteenth century - the Pope ordered people to burn all cats - and after the resurgence of the Black Death in 1347, people gradually became aware of it. Until cats can curb the proliferation of mice, and the proliferation of rats can be contained, which means that the plague can be eliminated, but at that time cats will still be vigilant and feared by people - to say when cats are truly accepted by people again, Probably the people of Europa entered the era of great voyages. In order to eliminate rodents, there were one or more cats on each ship, and they gradually became a symbol of good luck, especially those who survived the shipwreck. cat.

  Now in some villages and towns you can also see people raising cats, and people don't make a fuss when they see cats, except for pure black cats.

   "Will this not hinder your actions?" Louis asked: "I thought you would give me a descendant."

   "I have no descendants," said Theoderic.

   "Where are your servants?"

Theoderic shook his head, but Louis did not continue to ask questions. After all, even in the inner world, vampires are the most mysterious and selfish race, and as a mortal, Louis was not sure whether Theoderic's thoughts could be used by him. Understand, so why bother?

   "What can it do?"

"You can think of it as a little me," Theoderic said. "It can do most of the things I can do, except for spells that require the help of foreign objects or enough magic power, it can take on your behalf. It's like an all-out blow from Amon's level."

  Louis squeezed the little kitten.

   "And," said Theoderic, "because it's also me, so if there's anything you don't want people to know about, it's best not to take it with you."

"I will," Louis said, and Theoderic's voice was that he could lend his power to keep the king safe, but he didn't want the king to peek at things he shouldn't have known. things, even stepping into danger that should not be touched by him.

"Will it be detected?" the king asked. He was surrounded by priests of the Inquisition. Although the Grand Inquisitor Elarius didn't seem to care about what was around the king, he at least made sure that Theoderic's If some of them stay with me, will there be any troublesome problems.

   "As long as you don't use force, don't expose yourself to direct sunlight—it'll be debilitating," Theoderic said. "Then it's just a normal cat."

   "Does it need to eat?"

   "It needs a small amount of fresh blood if you will."

  Louis nodded.

Theodoric glanced at the king, sighed sadly, lifted the cloak behind him, and when the cloak fell, he disappeared, and a wisp of gray smoke came out of the gap in the window, and the wind blew it, It quickly disappeared from the king's sight.

The king grabbed the cat and left the room. When he saw Bontang, he took the cat's paw and put it in Bontang's hand. At first, Bontang couldn't find out what it was, when he realized When it was a kitten, he couldn't help petting it: "Where did it come from?"

   "From the room just now," said Louie, "I think I might have disturbed his sleep."

   "Are you going to let it go?"

   "Find a bird cage and put it up," Louie said, "and hang it in my room."

The next day, everyone in the court knew that the king kept a cat, and a fluffy whirlwind blew among the dignitaries. The king was happy to see it. After all, cats are more important than mice. Much cute and safe.

   It was Marie Mancini who first came to visit the kitten, but it's hard to tell whether she came to see the kitten or the king. The king only remembered when he saw her, he didn't seem to have seen a cat beside Mancini.

"It's all in Lazio." Marie sat lazily at the King's feet, her head resting on his knees, the cat fell asleep in her skirt, belly up and down, Bontang gave him one in the morning The fresh quail, which it devoured and seemed quite satisfied, reassured Louis--in brightly lit places, the cat was blue-gray fur, with amber eyes, and a body with The head is just two spheres, which are completely inconsistent with its body in appearance.

   "I also have a few lizards," said Mary, "but my father won't allow me to bring them."

"The maids will yell when they see the lizards," Louis said. The place where he was leaning against Mary was warm. The king reached out and touched Mary's curly hair. She purred softly like a cat. When he got up, Louis's eyes also softened. He knew that he should reject Mary. It was easy for him, but he had to admit that he was also attracted to Mary.

   "But I asked Felipe to bring it to me, I mean my cat," Mary said. "It is said that many people in the court are keeping cats now, so my uncle agreed to me."

   "What kind of cat are you?"

"Angora, from Turkey," Mary said. "You're just a Charlotte blue cat." She raised the cat to look at it, and gave the king an answer in its uneasy meow: "There's a bell, sir. of."

The king thought it was for sure, he grabbed the cat by the neck and pulled it out of Mary's hand, hoping that the connection between Prince Vandra and it would not be too close - he put the cat in the drawer, in order to transfer Mary. Leigh's attention, he asked, "Who is Felipe?"

   "My brother," said Mary, "the one I hate the most."

   "Then it's also a Mancini," said Louis, who seemed to have heard the name mentioned by the bishop, who was said to be seeking a dukeship for him. "Why is it the most annoying?"

   "Have you ever seen a skunk?" said Mary. "Multiply by ten."

  ———

Felipe Jules Mancini is actually not as nasty as Marie said. The Mancini family has beautiful women, Marie is like this, and so is Marie's sister Ann, who is about to marry Prince Conti. Lipe is no exception. Compared with Mary, he is already an adult. He has dark gray eyes and long tan hair. Kind of, his lips are rosy and fuller than any other noble woman, and if there is anything really disgusting, it is also his eyes, those eyes that are always shimmering, when they are on a woman, they deserve pity , when in a man is - at least for Louie - uncomfortable.

His attire is no less than that of the Duke of Anjou and his younger brother Philippe. His Italian flair and domineering are undoubtedly revealed in him. He exudes a rich and strong aroma, like a rose in its prime. Red velvet and satin against pearls and diamonds made him sparkle from fingers to toes.

It is undeniable that Felipe is loved by the vast majority of noble ladies, and the Queen Mother even allows him to pour wine for himself at dinner. For a young man without a title, this is obviously an honor. His temperament It's not as bad as Mary said, and it's the same for praise and swearing - not for being big-hearted, but for not caring. He is indeed frivolous by nature and good at making things happen. Within a few months of coming to Paris, he has several sweet nests in and outside the court, even the Count of D'Artagnan, who has no less than three noble ladies, is difficult to match. compared to.

But apart from these people, it can only be said to be useless. After the king saw him a few times, he completely put him on hold. He could indeed give him the title of a duke, but even if it was to praise the bishop of Mazarin, he did not want to. In doing so, he didn't want those he recognized to think that an incompetent **** could be on a par with them. Maybe, after the situation was completely settled down, he would deal with it otherwise, but now, no.

Felipe realized that he was not favored by the king after several unsuccessful requests for an audience. Later, Louis often saw him beside the queen mother. It's Mr. Bishop's way, and Felipe is really blessed with women.

   (end of this chapter)