Before Charles could leave, another guest arrived to pay his respects.
The visitor was Rodrigo Borgia, an envoy from the Vatican.
He was an important figure in the Borgia Family, and if he was the envoy, that meant—
"Your esteemed Roman Emperor-elect, I bring greetings from the new Pope Callixtus III and apologize for the delayed response." The young Rodrigo, dressed in a pristine white clerical robe, was graceful and well-mannered.
Laszlo thought to himself that it was indeed as he had expected.
No wonder the several letters he had sent to the Pope earlier had sunk like stones with no reply at all.
It turned out that when his letters requesting coronation and excommunication of Iri were received, the old Pope Nicholas V was already gravely ill.
In his dying moments, he was unable to respond to Laszlo's requests.
In mid-April, during the papal election, the "Spaniard" Callixtus III was elected as the new Pope.
He was the first Pope in the history of Spain, though at this time, Spain's birth was still more than a decade away.
The new Pope was an extremely fervent Catholic; as soon as he took office, he vindicated Saint Joan of Arc, declaring her innocent and that the so-called "witch" was merely English slander and trickery!
He then canceled the large construction projects approved by Nicholas V to beautify the Vatican, using all the saved money to build a navy, the so-called "Papal Fleet."
This reverse Empress Dowager Cixi-like operation showed that he truly wanted to clash with the Ottoman.
A Pope dedicated to launching a Crusade, no wonder he would cooperate with Philip to organize that "Feast of the Pheasant"; launching a Crusade to reclaim Constantinople and the Eastern Roman Empire was probably the lifelong pursuit of this Pope.
Rodrigo arrived with Callixtus's reply.
"The Pope believes that Iri of Podebrady has committed no great fault, and therefore refuses to excommunicate him. As for your request for coronation, His Holiness the Pope says that if you are willing to swear before the holy icons in St. Peter's Basilica, with your hand on the Bible, to fully support the upcoming Crusade, he will be very happy to crown you."
"I have already made a promise to the Duke of Burgundy; I will participate in this Crusade!"
Laszlo was a bit annoyed, and his voice involuntarily grew louder.
What kind of thing was this Pope? To actually threaten him with the coronation ceremony?!
He needed to find a way to control the Vatican; he couldn't always let those corrupt parasites in the Vatican ride roughshod over him, the Emperor, could he?
Hmm... His teacher is quite good, well-liked in the Church, with a solid theoretical foundation. If he gives him a push from behind, hmph, there's potential.
Laszlo thought of his teacher, Aeneas, who himself came from the Vatican, having served as a cardinal's secretary in his youth and participated in the famous Council of Basel, which "divided the Church"; one could say his resume was extensive.
Later, Albrecht II extended a warm invitation, and only then did he come to the court. Laszlo had been taught by Aeneas since he was six years old.
Aeneas even wrote a treatise for Laszlo's education, detailing how to cultivate a virtuous and talented heir to the throne.
He would go back and ask him if he was interested in being a Pope for fun.
Charles, seeing the atmosphere was a bit heavy, quickly stepped in to smooth things over.
"I can testify that Emperor just promised to attend the Feast of the Pheasant and will also send troops to join the Crusade."
"Excellent, in that case, the Pope will await Your Majesty's arrival in Rome."
Laszlo reluctantly nodded. Being threatened truly felt unpleasant.
He agreed to join the Crusade for reasons related to his status panel, his own ambition, and the Duke of Burgundy's request, but definitely not because of the Pope's threat!
If this trend continued, wouldn't every Emperor's coronation require them to do a thankless, or even dangerous, task for the Pope for free, like this one?
Being an Emperor wasn't about charity, and this Roman Vatican really thought it was important.
The more Laszlo thought about it, the angrier he got, his face as dark as water; his fear of the Ottoman now transformed into rage against the Vatican.
Seeing that the Emperor was about to explode, Charles quickly pulled Rodrigo away, bidding farewell.
Laszlo, with a dark expression, walked into the Imperial Palace, encountering Empress Leonor, who was on her way to greet the Empress Dowager.
Today, Leonor, contrary to her usual self, was wearing a stylish Italian-style long dress, with a wide neckline that offered a good view of her upper chest and large areas of fair skin, adorned with an amethyst necklace at her bosom, looking incredibly alluring!
So she could dress herself up? Laszlo had always thought Leonor only dressed like an ascetic nun.
Laszlo, as if possessed by an "O-cup alien," took two steps at a time to hug the Empress, burying his face in her embrace and rubbing against her a few times.
"Your... Your Majesty, mm~ that tickles... What's wrong? You look so upset, did someone inconsiderate make you angry?" Leonor gently stroked Laszlo's hair, asking softly.
Laszlo didn't reply, simply nuzzling in the arms of the gentle and beautiful elder sister for a moment, and his expression immediately returned to normal—fully recovered!
Indeed, physical intimacy was a good remedy for worries.
"It's nothing major, I just wanted to tell you to prepare for a long journey."
Leonor was a bit surprised: "Are we going to Hungary so soon?"
"Going to Hungary isn't a long journey. We're going to Rome for the coronation. I am the Emperor, and you, my lovely, dear Leonor, you are my Empress! We will go to Rome together to receive the coronation from that old geezer... that new Pope."
"Pfft~ How can you say His Holiness the Pope is... You shouldn't say that, Your Majesty—"
"Call me Laszlo, alright? Of course, if you're willing to call me your dear husband, I'd be even happier."
"Alright, Laszlo, you're really quite glib."
"Is there a problem?"
"You're not even as tall as me, I really don't know who taught you these witty remarks..."
Laszlo's smile stiffened for a moment but immediately returned to normal.
"How rude, my dear Leonor, but I forgive you. Anyway, I'll grow taller later..."
Laszlo was only 15, still growing, and Leonor liked to tease him about his height.
Speaking of which, although Leonor was slender, she was also delicate and tall, significantly above average height. It felt like if she ate a bit more, she would definitely be a healthy and strong woman.
While a slender waist and beautiful legs were indeed attractive, for the health of future offspring, and for Leonor's own health, Laszlo decided he needed to make her eat more from now on.
Only by being a bit healthier could she give birth to plump, fair-skinned boys.
"I feel like you're thinking something impolite... Laszlo?"
"I'm thinking about when you'll give me a son," Laszlo said with a serious expression, speaking his mind.
Leonor's pretty face instantly turned crimson, and she shyly turned her head, somewhat daring not to meet Laszlo's burning gaze.
"I'm serious, Leonor, children are the treasures of this world, and the hope for the future of the dynasty."
If the dynasty could even continue...
"I understand, Your Majesty." Leonor no longer avoided Laszlo's gaze, looking at him and nodding seriously in reply.
"Let's go, let's go see Mother. Her maid was waiting at the door this morning, wanting to know how our battle went last night. I need to explain to her properly about my drunken sleep all night..." Laszlo led Leonor, walking further and further away.
In the corner, a figure slowly emerged; it was Matthias.
His usually expressionless face actually had a smile on it at this moment. Seeing the Emperor and Empress so affectionate, he felt relieved.
Pushing aside the wild thoughts in his mind, Matthias turned and walked towards the Hofburg Palace library.
He had noticed this place when he first arrived at the Imperial Palace in Vienna—but Laszlo had never been there.
There were a great many books here, even the newest and most precious printed books. A printed page of the Bible particularly impressed him; his teacher said it was obtained through connections from Mainz and was made by a craftsman named Gutenberg.
Normally, Aeneas was responsible for collecting and organizing these books. Although the imperial allocation was not much, Aeneas still found many ways to expand the collection.
For Matthias, this place was simply heaven; here he could find all the books he wanted to read.
So whenever he had free time, he would come here to read.
After Matthias saw the Emperor's library, an uncontrollable thought immediately arose in his heart—he must build a library much larger than this one, larger than all the libraries and book collections in all of Europe!
It would be best to build his ideal library in Budapest, because that was the true center of the Empire. As for the name, it would be called the Bibliotheca Corviniana!
This way, future Hungarians, and even Austrians, would forever remember that there was once a great Hunyadi Family, not only because of the great general Janos Hunyadi, but also because of the great educator and writer Matthias Hunyadi!
If Laszlo were to look at Matthias's status panel at this moment, he would be surprised to find that under his "careful" guidance, Little Matthias's attributes had actually changed.
[Abilities: Administration 5, Diplomacy 5, Military 5]