In the morning, Augustus stood by a bookshelf in the palace, holding a book about the Medici Family and reading it.
Just then, a servant ran up to him and stopped, breathlessly reporting, "Your Holiness, there's a visitor at the door. She claims to be Marie de' Medici, the current Queen of France."
Augustus was first stunned, then overjoyed: This is great!
Who is Marie de' Medici? She is the current Queen of France, wife of Henry IV, the biological mother of Louis XIII, the next King of France, and also the regent of France for six years after Henry IV's death! She is the future benefactor, rival, and stepping stone for Richelieu.
In Europe today, the three most prominent people of the Medici Family, besides himself and Ferdinand I, are Marie.
If one were to discuss her influence on history, even the Pope and the Grand Duke of Tuscany from the same period in the Medici Family could not compare to her.
It is worth mentioning that the world-famous Champs-Élysées, in later generations, was originally expanded by her in 1616.
Although Henry IV owed Marie's father, the former Grand Duke of Tuscany, Francesco de' Medici, a debt of up to 1,174,000 écus, and the primary purpose of marrying Marie was to repay this debt, followed by procreation and bearing an heir, Marie's own status did not, in fact, diminish Henry IV.
Her grandfather, Cosimo I de' Medici, was the grandson of Lucrezia de' Medici, the daughter of Lorenzo de' Medici.
Her mother, Juana, was also a direct descendant of Philip I, King of Castile, and Juana, Queen of Castile.
In other words, Marie was not only a member of the Medici Family but also half Habsburg; if some extremely special circumstances occurred, she could even claim many thrones.
It's just a pity that, historically, due to her own lack of ability and a series of other reasons, her half-Habsburg bloodline not only failed to become her asset but also influenced her foreign policy, going against national conditions and international situations, which both harmed France and ended her own reign.
The person Augustus most hoped to see at this banquet, besides Ferdinand I, was her!
Although, based on her historical performance, she could basically be called incompetent, now the future is in his hands, and how it develops is entirely up to him.
As long as he builds a bridge of communication with her, the things she can do just by virtue of her identity are far too many! What does it matter if she is a bit foolish? If she were too brilliant, it would be harder for him to use her.
It would be beneath his dignity to seek her out; now that she has come to him, what could be better than this?
"Didn't she announce her identity? Then why are you asking me? Hurry and invite her in! Can't you make a judgment yourself? Alright, I'll go with you." Saying this, Augustus put down his book and walked quickly towards the door.
The attendant silently followed, muttering to himself: Everyone who comes to see you is of noble status; with so many people, how am I supposed to know who you want to see and who you don't? It's easy for you to say, but if I were to take it upon myself to let in someone who shouldn't be let in, wouldn't I be the one to suffer?
Opening the door, he saw a richly dressed young woman standing prominently at the entrance, surrounded by a group of servants, presenting quite a grand display.
"Welcome…" Augustus uttered a word without hesitation, then stopped abruptly, wondering how to address her. Sister? Not that intimate. Call her by her name? Wouldn't that be too distant?
"Your esteemed Queen of France, my beloved cousin, Marie de' Medici!" This should be fine, Augustus thought to himself.
Perhaps not expecting Augustus to use such an unusual address, Marie couldn't help but let out a soft laugh, not forgetting to cover her face with her hand.
Augustus discreetly observed Marie: regular features, a broad forehead, light brown curly hair, honey-brown eyes, a slightly raised nose bridge, slightly prominent cheekbones, and fair skin.
If not for the bulky and cumbersome dress symbolizing power and status, and her strange hairstyle, Marie could indeed be considered a beauty.
Recalling the comparison between Marie's portraits from her youth and old age that he had seen before, he could only sigh: Time is a butcher's knife.
At this time, Marie, at 33 years old, was no longer young, but not too old either.
While Augustus was observing Marie, Marie was also observing Augustus.
"After so many years, I almost didn't recognize you. I remember the last time I saw you, you had just learned to walk, and I was still a carefree young girl. In the blink of an eye, I'm married and a mother, and you've become the Pope. Time really flies!" Marie exclaimed.
It's best if you don't recognize me; anyway, I don't know what you look like. Augustus secretly grumbled.
"Please come in first. After so long, we should sit down and chat for a while!" Augustus already had a good idea; this person wasn't actually very familiar with him, and her initiative visit clearly meant she had something to discuss.
Only when one is useful to others can others be used by oneself. Augustus firmly believed this statement. Fortunately, he was now useful to many people.
This time, Augustus did not have the servant serve bitter tea, but instead a very common coffee. Given Marie's personality, one sip of tea might lead to a big gaffe, and then nothing could be discussed.
As soon as Marie sat down, she eagerly began to chat: "You are truly amazing! To become Pope at such a young age, it's unprecedented! Can you tell me how you did it?"
Augustus remembered Ferdinand I's words; although he didn't think Marie was genuinely trying to probe for inside information, he still remained cautious.
So he spread his hands and said, "Frankly, I don't know how I was elected. I just clearly remember that during the election days, the two most promising candidates before me successively passed away, and then I was elected in a daze. Perhaps this truly is God's will."
"That's truly miraculous! Do you think those two died of natural causes?" Marie blurted out, and Augustus nearly spat out his coffee.
Not natural causes, then was it murder? Are you implying I killed them? Even if I thought that, I couldn't ask it to her face. Even if I did kill them, I couldn't say so, let alone I didn't kill them. At that time, I was in a daze myself; I couldn't have killed anyone but myself, alright.
"No? I don't know anything. Do you know something I don't?" Marie acted curious, and Augustus acted even more curious than her.
Augustus had indeed suspected that their deaths were suspicious, but Marie wouldn't go so far as to say that the French did it to claim credit for Henry IV, would she? That would be truly awkward. Thank him? Condemn him? Neither seemed right.
Fortunately, Marie replied with a surprised look, "How would I know? I was just curious and asked casually."
"Then you've asked the wrong person," Augustus replied with a forced smile, then took a sip of coffee to calm his nerves.