After angrily scolding his daughter, Archduke Karl finally chose to obey his daughter's wish "again". According to the list provided in her letter, he selected the corresponding collection of art from his Albertina Palace, and then carefully
Collected them and gave them to the messenger sent by Teresa.
Of course, he was extremely unwilling to do so.
If it was true that it was given to his grandson to play with when he was a child, as his daughter said, he might not have cared so much about it, but the thought of giving it to Talleyrand made him feel as uncomfortable as eating a fly.
——Just like Theresa, Archduke Charles himself hated Talleyrand very much and hated this shameless and despicable man.
And, more importantly, when Napoleon's empire was at its peak, he defeated Austria many times, and the Austrians were forced to sue Napoleon for peace several times and sign a humiliating treaty of ceding territory and paying compensation - and at that time Napoleon was the one who negotiated peace.
The person who signed the diplomatic treaty happened to be Prince Talleyrand himself.
What is particularly humiliating is that, in order to save the precarious situation, the Austrians secretly gave Prince Talleyrand another bribe, lest the foreign minister was unhappy and deliberately obstructed the Austrian government.
The situation became worse.
It was precisely because of these festivals that Archduke Charles was even more disgusted with Talleyrand.
For Napoleon, everyone saw the truth on the battlefield, and there was honor regardless of victory or defeat, and there was no talk of love or hate; but how could he think highly of this greedy villain who took advantage of the situation?
I wanted to give him gifts back then, but now that Napoleon is finished, I still have to give him gifts? Then I can’t do it...
Every time he thought about this, he felt as uncomfortable as eating a fly.
But what can I do? Who told my precious daughter to plead with me? No matter how uncomfortable she is, she still has to agree.
The only thing that could give him some comfort was that Theresa had promised him that as long as Talleyrand died, she would take back all the works of art on the list from his treasure house and return them to herself.
He didn't know if Teresa's promise could be taken seriously, but he could only believe it for the time being.
So I have to live well and live longer than Talleyrand...
Of course, he was confident in this. After all, Talleyrand was much older than him and was a disabled person. After all, he had been in the army for half his life, and his body was much stronger. Maybe he would be able to carry everything in a few years.
came back.
In short, with the reluctance to give up his love and the expectation for his daughter, the Grand Duke sorted out these treasures at a very fast speed while cursing, and then called Captain Foresty in front of him.
Because he was in a bad mood, he didn't bother to talk nonsense to the other party and got directly to the topic.
"I have prepared all the things Theresa wants. These things are very valuable and mean a lot to her and me, so I will let the people who escorted Francois last time go together again this time.
When I accompany you there, you must guard them properly and don't let them suffer any damage."
"Yes, Your Highness!" The captain immediately stood at attention and agreed loudly, "Don't worry, as long as I am around, they will be delivered to Her Royal Highness intact."
The Grand Duke nodded slightly, but his face remained as serious as ever, "Also, bring me a few more words."
The captain quickly acted as if he was all ears.
"Tell Theresa that it is a good thing that she is dedicated to her husband's family's career, and only in this way can she be respected by the people of the Bonaparte family; but at the same time, she must remember that she cannot be a pure devotee.
Or, everything I give is for her. She should also let herself hold on to everything in her hands and not be carried away by love... Although my son-in-law is very talented, he is also quite ruthless.
If you give him everything, you will end up with nothing."
Although the Grand Duke spoke in a cryptic manner, the Captain certainly understood what he meant.
There was no one else here, so he simply let go and talked.
"Don't worry, Her Royal Highness the Princess has always been very clear about this." He replied in a low voice, "She has been working hard to win people's hearts and cultivate her own power. At least so far, she is doing quite well. People around her
They all admire her; as for His Highness Franz, he also knows how to behave appropriately and has never forced her to do anything."
Then, he looked embarrassed again, "It's just..."
"Just what?" The Grand Duke felt something was wrong, so he frowned.
The captain hesitated, but finally decided to tell the truth.
"As far as I can see, His Highness Franz is talented and has the demeanor to achieve great things. He has almost no shortcomings; if there is any, it is that after all, he still has a young mind and likes elegance..."
"Like to mess around with women?" The Grand Duke immediately understood what he meant. "What's wrong?"
"Actually...actually...it's not too serious, it's just a bit of frivolous behavior. The French are all like that after all..." The captain smiled awkwardly and said good things to the Grand Duke.
By doing so, he told the Grand Duke what he saw around Theresa - that is, what happened to Chanel and Agnes. In particular, he vividly told the story of Theresa's public appearance at the ball not long ago.
Deeds that developed temperament.
According to his character, he was originally unwilling to be a "snitch", but after all, he was one of the few Austrians around Theresa, and he was entrusted by the Archduke to look after Theresa.
He felt that he should tell the truth to his father, both emotionally and logically.
While he was telling the story, Archduke Karl did not speak. He listened quietly to the captain's report, but his brows furrowed more and more tightly.
The captain's report did not surprise him. After all, he had known about Aiglon and Sophie's "criminal record" for a long time, so it was not surprising at all.
He even didn't know how to accuse Agron - the matter with the maid was nothing in the first place, Teresa herself didn't take it seriously; as for Miss Agnes, they didn't seem to really care.
How can I be blamed for crossing the thunder pool?
Moreover, to take it a step further, he himself did not find it any surprise that members of the royal family would do something like this.
As far as he is concerned, he is loyal to his wife and does not engage in extramarital affairs, and his family is happy. However, he cannot stop other members of the royal family from having romantic affairs. From what he has seen since childhood, how many people are not like this? Relatively speaking,
Apart from Sophie, there seems to be nothing to be angry about with Aigron's deeds.
Since I have already forgiven Sophie, what does this matter?
However, even though he was telling himself this in his heart, the old father could not help but feel the blood boiling in his heart.
Your thing is really not a big deal. If my daughter and you are just an ordinary aristocratic marriage, of course it doesn't matter; but... how much did she pay for you? How did she treat you? How could you let it happen?
Is she sad and angry?
He had watched Teresa grow up, so of course he understood his daughter's character. How could such a quiet and reserved person make trouble in front of everyone if she wasn't extremely angry?
When he thought of this, the Grand Duke's anger rushed straight to his forehead, and he almost slapped the table and roared.
"Your Highness, please don't be angry... Your Highness Teresa definitely doesn't want to see you like this." Seeing the Grand Duke like this, the captain hurriedly comforted him, "Please allow me to explain that as a couple, how can we not quarrel?"
What about the quarrel? Relatively speaking, the two Highnesses are the most well-matched couple I have ever seen. From what I have seen and heard, the two Highnesses live a very happy life. The princess is very happy. Have you ever seen that kind of happiness?
You can never pretend to be someone who has passed...Except for a few minor flaws that are common to everyone, there is nothing wrong with the princess, in my opinion, anyway."
Then, he shrugged regretfully, "French people always have problems like this, so what's there to blame?"
After the captain tried his best to intercede, the Archduke's severe expression finally softened a lot.
Indeed, he could feel the happiness of finally being married that filled his daughter.
The last time my daughter came to visit the manor, she ran back to her husband after Christmas and didn't even want to celebrate the New Year. This shows how much she loves her life.
And now they have another son.
No matter how you look at it, Teresa is happy now.
So, what position do you have to get angry?
"Humph... the French..." In the end, the Grand Duke could only spit out this word through gritted teeth, "They are always good at lying to women! Who made my daughter possessed!"
After sighing, the Grand Duke finally relaxed his brows.
"Who is Miss Agnes? It seems that my son-in-law is quite interested in her?"
"She is a young lady from Duke Nordlyen's family." The captain replied in a low voice, "That's not a big deal, but more importantly, her swordsmanship is very good... So because of this, she is really dazzling and unique.
Guangcai, I think it's normal for His Highness to be interested in this. At least for now, this is just a slight fondness in his heart, and it's not a big deal."
The captain stayed by Teresa's side and was ready to be dispatched at any time. Naturally, his vision was the same as Teresa's or even narrower, and he could not see the whole incident. Therefore, for him, the only "negative news" around Agron was Agron.
Miss Nice's incident was nothing more than an "attempted crime", so he didn't think the problem was serious - after all, compared to other princes and grandsons, Aigron was more restrained.
Since the captain has said so, the archduke naturally can't say anything more.
"Unique...heh, could it be that my daughter is more precious?" he said with a sneer.
"Of course not." The captain replied quickly, "Her Royal Highness the Princess is a royal noble, and there is no need to compare her with ordinary people. She was born a princess and will be a queen in the future. Compared with anyone else, she has lowered her status.
"
"That's pretty much it." Although this kind of flattery was rather blunt, the Grand Duke found it more useful at this time, so he nodded.
Then, he pondered for a moment, "So, do you think you can win her if you do it?"
The captain fell into silence.
He remembered that Princess Teresa had asked him this question intentionally or unintentionally when she was in Greece before.
This question seemed ordinary, but there seemed to be some terrible seeds hidden behind it. Of course, he was not willing to think about it in depth.
With his dignity and pride, of course he was unwilling to admit that his skills were inferior to others, but he was also unwilling to violate his honor and choose to lie, so in the end he decided to tell the truth just like he told the princess last time.
"I've seen her move, and it's really impressive. If I hadn't been injured at the beginning, of course I would have been confident that I could win... But now I'm not sure."
When Aigron escaped on Christmas Eve, the two had a big fight in the snowy night. Aigron stabbed his teacher through the abdomen with his hidden killing move, leaving him unconscious in the snow. Although
The captain was rescued later, but the injury also caused serious damage to the captain's body, and he has never been as good as before.
"Are you not sure?" The Grand Duke was a little surprised, "It seems that the young lady does have two hands... interesting, I would like to see it with my own eyes."
The captain didn't know how to answer the question, so he simply chose silence.
All in all, what he fears most is that he will make the Grand Duke furious because he reported the truth, which will affect the relationship between the Aigrons. Now as long as the Grand Duke calms down, he will no longer worry about anything.
The Grand Duke fell into deep thought again, and it was not until a moment later that he spoke again.
"Okay, since you said that, let me pretend that I haven't heard anything for now. But - from now on, please pay attention to me and tell me if anything happens. My daughter is so affectionate, and for
That bastard has paid so much, I can't allow her to be wronged——"
"I understand, Your Highness." The captain replied quickly, "Don't worry, I always keep in mind the tasks you gave me, and I will do everything to protect Her Royal Highness, even if it costs my life."
"I'm very happy that you have this awareness." The Grand Duke nodded, "Well, it's not good for you to stay here all the time. Just grab your things and leave quickly. Be careful on the road."
"Yes!" the captain responded immediately.
Then, he bowed and said goodbye to the Grand Duke, then turned and left the study.
After the captain left, the archduke still sat in his chair and was deep in thought.
The sudden news made him a little overwhelmed, but it seemed to be expected.
As the captain said just now - the French will always have this problem.
Especially this young man...
Because he was used to seeing this kind of thing, he didn't know how to evaluate it.
He knew even more deeply that since Teresa chose everything herself, she could only bear the consequences of her choices.
But as a father, he couldn't really leave everything behind.
"Sigh... I hope you can start from the beginning and end all the way." After much deliberation, he could only sigh helplessly. "I can't help you with anything, kid."