The poor young woman, who had based her last hope an this appeal, then rose from her knees and threw herself sobbing into her husband's arms.

Charles VIII and Ludavico Sforza, took their leave: John Galeazzo was doomed.
Two days after, Charles VIII left for Florence, accompanied by his ally; but scarcely had they reached Parma when a messenger caught them up, and announced to Ludovico that his nephew was just dead: Ludovico at once begged Charles to excuse his leaving him to finish the journey alone; the interests which called him back to Milan were so important, he said, that he could not under the circumstances stay away a single day longer.

As a fact he had to make sure of succeeding the man he had assassinated.
But Charles VIII continued his road not without some uneasiness.

The sight of the young prince on his deathbed had moved him deeply, for at the bottom of his heart he was convinced that Ludovico Sforza was his murderer; and a murderer might very well be a traitor.

He was going forward into an unfamiliar country, with a declared enemy in front of him and a doubtful friend behind: he was now at the entrance to the mountains, and as his army had no store of provisions and only lived from hand to mouth, a forced delay, however short, would mean famine.