Eagle’s Glory

While Prince Metternich was discussing with His Majesty the Emperor, Egron was walking in the long corridor, preparing to return to his bedroom.

Because of the quarrel with Prince Metternich just now, he was in a bad mood, but he didn't show any signs on his face. Over the years, he had already been used to hiding his thoughts in his heart.

Just as he walked outside his room, he suddenly found that there seemed to be an extra person beside him.

This is a woman about twenty years old.

She was wearing a long dress. Although she was not tall, she still looked tall because of her slender figure. Her neck was also quite slender, which made her movements and expressions look quite elegant and smart. Her brown hair was trimmed into curly hair in a fashionable style.

Just looking at him with a half-smile, her rosy face was full of youthful charm, but because she was a first-time wife, she also had the charm of a young woman.

"Aigron! Good morning." When Aigron looked at her, she greeted him with a smile.

"Good morning, Your Highness." Aegron stopped and saluted her.

She is Princess Sophie.

She is the daughter of King Maximilian I of Bavaria. She was born in 1805. In 1824, at the age of 19, she married the youngest son of His Majesty the Emperor, Grand Duke Franz Karl (that is, Aigron's little uncle), From then on, he lived in Schönbrunn Palace, and at the same time, the two of them got acquainted.

Aigron has a pretty good friendship with her, and he also likes her smile when she greets him.

This is not only because of her nice voice, but more importantly, she is the only one in this huge palace who can call herself by this nickname in French at the same time.

In addition, although the princess is his aunt, she is only 6 years older than him. Compared with other people in the court, this newly-acquainted princess has too much in common with him.

It is worth mentioning that her sister, Princess Caroline, born in 1792, married the widowed Austrian emperor in 1816 as a sequel, so she became his nominal "grandmother"-although it was only more than his Only 19 years older.

What's more worth mentioning is that their eldest sister, Princess Augusta born in 1788, married Napoleon's adopted son Eugène de Beauharnay in 1806.

Therefore, according to the strict order of seniority, the three sisters of the princess can be counted as his "sister-in-law", "grandmother", and "aunt".

The chaos of political marriages in the aristocratic world and the efforts of the Napoleon family to integrate into the royal families of various European countries when they came to power can also be seen from this.

From the first day he saw her, Aigron didn't bother about "what to call her". After all, in this luxurious and leisurely palace, these royal family members who were born rich and well-fed, why should they care about the so-called What about the sequence?

From the moment they met, Princess Sophie was very friendly to him, without any prejudice against the Austrians.

After all, the Bavarians did not hate Napoleon. After all, in the era of Emperor Napoleon, that giant single-handedly founded the Rhineland League and promoted the Bavarian Elector to the Kingdom of Bavaria, making it another German power.

In order to thank Emperor Napoleon, the King of Bavaria married his adopted son and followed Napoleon to fight. It was only in 1813 when Napoleon was at the end of his rope that he was forced to abandon him due to the situation.

At the same time, although the empire was destroyed, the king still took in his son-in-law Eugene, who had nowhere to go. Until Eugene died in 1824, he enjoyed a fairly good living treatment.

And Eugene and Princess Augusta are also very affectionate, they can be regarded as a rare loving couple in political marriages.

Princess Sophie, who grew up in such a living environment, naturally did not have any hostility towards the Bonaparte family. After marrying in Austria, it is very normal for her to be friendly and kind to Aigron.

After the two got acquainted, Princess Sophie directly referred to him as you, which shows that she really treats him differently.

"I heard that our dear Prime Minister just found you?" Princess Sophie asked as she approached.

"Your news is really well-informed—" Aigron smiled helplessly.

"It seems that you didn't have a very pleasant chat, did he reprimand you?" the princess asked again.

"It's not a reprimand...it's just a bit embarrassing." Aigron continued to smile wryly.

"This old man is probably thinking of something else." Princess Sophie said with some dissatisfaction.

Aigron didn't answer, after all, this topic is not convenient to talk about in the corridor.

"Hmm... this is not a good place to talk." Princess Sophie squinted at the side, then raised her eyebrows, and there was a hint of charm in her witty eyes. "Come with me--"

After she finished speaking, she turned around and left, leaving the boy with a slim back while her skirt fluttered, and Eggron had to follow behind her.

The two walked out of the grand palace, and then walked down the steps to the fountain at the entrance. Because of the sound of running water, they didn't have to worry about the partition wall having ears.

"Aigron, what did he say?" the princess asked again.

"He said he wanted me to go to military school, and I didn't want to," Aggron replied honestly. "And then we had some arguments."

"Is that so..." Princess Sophie lowered her gaze slightly, and began to think, "He is not someone who will change his mind easily."

"This is where I'm in trouble." Aigron nodded, "I really don't want to go at all, but I don't want to go against his wishes."

"Then reject him forcefully. I think you should still have this bit of freedom." Princess Sophie curled her lips in displeasure. "No matter how powerful he is, he can't dictate all the actions of the royal family members, right?"

"But he can persuade His Majesty to do so..." Aigron shook his head, "If Your Majesty is persuaded by him, maybe it will be difficult for me to refuse."

Princess Sophie was dumbfounded.

Indeed, His Majesty the Emperor is not only the supreme emperor, but also the undisputed patriarch of the Habsburgs. His orders to the members of the royal family are absolutely inviolable. What's more, Aigron still has such a special and embarrassing identity. Difficult to do it.

"If this is the case, then I will also go to Karl and let him intercede for you. His Majesty the Emperor is not a mean and ruthless person. As long as our husband and wife intercede together, there will always be a turning point." Princess Sophie The voice became softer, apparently comforting Eggron.

Aegron fell silent.

Standing by the fountain, His Royal Highness the Prince and Concubine, although the distance between the two of them is very close, but because of the water vapor permeating everywhere, her side seems to be covered with a halo, which looks hazy and real.

"Thank you." After a while, he stammered, "I don't mean to thank you for your help, but... I am very grateful for your kindness. This is really something I should cherish."

"Haha...cute child." Seeing his reaction, Princess Sophie couldn't help laughing, "Don't be so reserved, after all, we are a family now, aren't we? Of course I should do my best to help you. "

"You're not a few years older than me—" Eggron retorted in a low voice.

"But I'm already married, and I'm destined to take on this responsibility. I've already lost the right to continue to be young, but you haven't lost it." Princess Sophie's expression became serious, and then she raised her hand and pointed at the two sides. The grand palace opposite the individual. "Aigron, do you know why I'm so kind to you?"

"To be honest, I am really confused sometimes..." Eggron replied.

Her Royal Highness raised her head, looked at the sculpture on the top of the fountain, and sighed sadly.

"Before I got married, my brother-in-law and your elder brother were dying. When he was seriously ill, he told me that his life was happy enough. He never betrayed anyone. Even if he went to heaven, he would not be ashamed. In his heart, he can face that person uprightly. But he still has a regret that has never been resolved, and that is his younger brother. He is doomed to be unable to save the poor child trapped in the cage, and he can't bear it when he thinks about it. I can't stop suffering, so he begged me to do my best to take care of you after I got here, so that you don't wither early because of despair..."

After saying this, Princess Sophie withdrew her gaze, and then looked seriously at the young man in front of her.

"I don't want him to die with regrets, so I will keep this promise. Aigron, here you can regard me as your own sister, and I will help you grow up safely and happily."

Aegron listened to her words quietly, and suddenly felt a dull pain in his heart.

Obviously this was not his own business, but he somehow felt a sense of sadness.

Both for the late stepbrother Eugene de Beauharnay, and for Princess Sophie in front of her.

The two world lines that had already diverged seemed to have a point of intersection in her body.

Historically, the relationship between the two men has been very close.

After she married into the Austrian court, the King of Rome, who lacked friendship all his life, regarded her as one of the very few close friends in Schönbrunn Palace, and Princess Sophie seemed to have an extraordinary affection for the King of Rome. emotion.

The two often danced together at the ball, and they interacted a lot in normal times. It was because of their mutual affection that they caused a lot of rumors in the court. Some even suspected that Maximilian, the youngest son of Her Majesty the Princess, was married to the King of Rome. illegitimate child.

Of course, there is no basis for such rumors, but when the King of Rome died young in 1832, it is also a fact that the princess was distraught.

Perhaps in the eyes of Princess Sophie at that time, the King of Rome was her real relative in the strange Austrian court.

"I will do my best to protect you, Your Highness." Amidst his emotions, he whispered his promise to the other party.

Suddenly, there was a little more sentimentality between the two of them.

"Aigron, don't be discouraged, these bad days will eventually pass." After a while, Princess Sophie adjusted her emotions and comforted the boy, "I said... one day I will have the final say here , and at that time is the day when you are completely free, no one can bully you anymore, you can do whatever you want...you just have to wait until then, trust me!"

Aigron knew that Her Royal Highness was right.

Although she married the emperor's youngest son, Archduke Karl, it is well known that the emperor's eldest son, Ferdinand, suffered from a serious congenital disease and lost his fertility. To Her Majesty's side.

In history, Ferdinand succeeded to the throne in 1835, and abdicated in 1848 because of a serious illness and was unable to handle state affairs. Princess Sophie's son Franz Joseph succeeded to the throne at the age of 18. Since then, Empress Dowager Sophie has His own willpower dominated the Austrian court, and he truly became a man of one word.

However, that was already 1848, and now it is 1826.

Even if Her Royal Highness Princess Sophie does not change her mind in the future and is really willing to fulfill her promise, it will be at least 20 years before she has the final say in the court.

How many twenty years of life can be wasted here?

He didn't want to wait that long.

He also doesn't have that much time to be patient.

"I believe in you, Your Highness." Aigron closed his eyes very moved, "I will wait for that day."