Visiting a Venice eager for military services support, the "French king" chooses her from among the the famed courtesans of that town because he notices her reluctance putting a blade at her neck, he tells Veronica that the "rumours" about him are legitimate (that "the king is a pervert"), and the implication is designed that Veronica pleases him enormously by 1st accurately guessing at and then indulging his fetish for BDSM domination.