I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 417 Flowers of Vienna
Joseph walked through the neatly maintained courtyard and saw the gate of the villa being pushed open from the inside. A young girl in a white dress trotted out. Because she was in such a hurry, her long, slightly curly golden hair swayed slightly behind her like waves.

The girl kept her head down so nervously that she almost bumped into Ksod.

"Please forgive me, I really didn't mean it."

She knelt hurriedly to apologize to the captain of the guard. After receiving his forgiveness, she carefully glanced at the crowd and suddenly remembered something. She straightened her back and walked evenly to the handsome young man in the sapphire blue coat. She knelt and saluted with the standard court etiquette:
"It's an honor to have you here, Your Highness the Crown Prince." She was not very fluent in French and had a German accent. After a pause, she seemed to react, "Ah, I'm Camelia Ermini Delvaux. It's an honor to have you here..."

Joseph then saw the girl's face. She was about sixteen or seventeen years old, with a soft face and delicate skin as white as a baby's. Her big violet eyes were full of nervousness and anxiety, and her lips were slightly moving as if she wanted to say something else, which made people want to protect her.

Joseph had seen all kinds of beauties in the Palace of Versailles, but he was still surprised by Camelia's appearance and was stunned for a moment.

"Ahem," he quickly covered up his embarrassment with a dry cough, nodded to the girl in return, and asked, "I'm here to visit Mrs. Delvaux. Is she feeling better?"

Camelia's expression suddenly dimmed when she heard this, and she whispered:
"Grandma...she's not in good condition. Oh, please come in."

In the sunny bedroom on the second floor of the villa, an old woman with silver hair was lying on the bed with her eyes closed and her breathing so light that it was almost imperceptible.

As soon as Joseph entered the room, a maid from the Delvaux family hurried to the bed and whispered something in the old lady's ear.

The wrinkled eyelids slowly opened, the old man tried to turn his head, and a muffled sound came out of his throat:

"Yes... the Crown Prince... His Royal Highness?"

"Yes, ma'am."

The old lady immediately opened her eyes with all her strength, grabbed the maid with her skinny arms, and struggled to sit up, with a line of turbid tears about to flow out of her eyes:
"Your Majesty the Queen...she...is still thinking about...me..."

Joseph rushed forward to support her and said, "Please lie down quickly. Mother wants to visit you very much, but she can't leave Paris, so she asked me to convey her most sincere blessings to you."

"Wow..." Madame Delvaux burst into tears suddenly, "I, I also... miss... Her Majesty the Queen very much..."

After crying for a while, she looked at Joseph and struggled to salute:
"You see... I am... really... old... and confused. Your Excellency... the Dauphin..."

"You don't have to be so polite. Just take care of yourself." Joseph helped her lean against the pillow, but found that the old lady was so tired that she couldn't even open her eyes because of the ordeal just now.

He turned to look at Camelia:
"What did the doctor say?"

The girl whispered, "Dr. Richter just bled grandma this morning and said that if there's no improvement, she might have to induce vomiting this afternoon."

Joseph's face was immediately filled with black lines. The old lady was already in such a state, and the quack doctor actually wanted to bleed her...

Forget it, in this era even President Washington cannot escape the "blood loss debuff", let alone an ordinary aristocratic old lady in Vienna.

Mrs. Delvaux rested for a while, and smiled as she talked about some things about Queen Marie's childhood. Joseph couldn't bear to interrupt the old lady's beautiful memories, so he sat by the bed and listened quietly. At noon, Dr. Richter came. After examining the old lady, he looked at the young man next to him who was obviously of extraordinary status, and then whispered to Camelia:

"Alas...Mrs. Delvaux's condition...she probably doesn't need emetic treatment. What she needs is a priest. May God have mercy on her."

After the doctor left, Camelia could no longer hold back her tears, but Madame Delvaux smiled and comforted her:
"Grandma... is fine. Oh, no need for that... damn... vomiting... how nice. Go get... Father Koch... come."

She seemed to suddenly remember something, looked at the French Crown Prince and was about to stand up again.

Joseph had no choice but to help her lie back on the bed:
"Is there something you want to tell me?"

The old lady nodded weakly:

"Your Highness... there is a devil named... Walter... He..."

Joseph finally understood what happened in Madame Delvaux's intermittent narration. Baron Walter had detained and raped many women in Spain, causing the death of two of them, which angered the important minister Campos. He had no choice but to flee to Tuscany seven years ago to seek refuge with his cousin Ludovica. Later, he followed her to Austria.

Walter continued to flirt with other girls in Vienna until he saw Camelia at a ball one day. He was immediately attracted by her beauty and threatened to marry her.

After hearing about this guy's bad character, Madame Delvaux flatly refused the marriage, and was then constantly harassed by him.

Camelia was so frightened that she hardly dared to go out during this year. Fortunately, Mrs. Delvaux still had some reputation, so Walter didn't dare to come and rob her.

"When I... go to see... God," Madame Delvaux continued with difficulty, "that... bastard... will no longer... have any scruples."

Joseph could not help but frown. He had already inquired about the Delvaux family, and they had few relatives in Vienna. After the old lady died, Camelia, a little girl, would most likely not escape Walter's clutches.

Madame Delvaux motioned her granddaughter to come over, held her hand, and then carefully pulled Joseph's sleeve, put her granddaughter's hand in his hand, and begged:

"Crown Prince... Your Highness... Please... For the sake of Her Majesty the Queen, you must take... Camelia away from Vienna and keep her away from... that devil!"

Joseph looked at the old lady's pale face, immediately held Camelia's slender and cold hand, and nodded:
"Please rest assured, I promise that no one will dare to harm your granddaughter. She will live well in Paris."

"Thank you so much, Your Highness. May God bless you." Madame Delvaux said, and started crying again, but her expression seemed relieved.

Soon, the old man fell asleep tiredly.

After comforting Camellia, Joseph agreed to visit the old lady again tomorrow and then left the manor.

(End of this chapter)