Eagle’s Glory

"Dearest Mother:

Presumably after I left, you have been thinking about my safety, and you have not written to you until this moment. It is true that I have committed another crime of unfilial piety... But please forgive me a little, because of various concerns, I cannot write to you, my heart is as anxious as yours, because I miss you and my father no less than you miss me.

Fortunately, now that all worries have been lifted, I can finally write to you without any worries, tell you about my current situation, and share my happiness.

Before I left, I told you that I was going to Greece, and now I am writing to you from Greece - and what you don't know is that before I came to Greece, I quietly ran to a deserted island , spent some time with His Royal Highness... I assure you, this will be a time I will never forget!

Because it is off topic, there is no need for me to tell you the name and location of this island. What I want to tell you is that from the moment I came there, I have been respected by His Royal Highness and everyone around him. Some The way people treat me with respect even makes me feel embarrassed...

Obviously, this respect is definitely not from my identity. They must have been instructed by His Highness. It was His Highness who ordered them to treat me with such an attitude. He kept his promise and regarded me as an equal partner.

After I got there, it only took a short time for His Royal Highness and I to dissolve the last bit of estrangement between us. Now we are very close. He not only revealed to me his most important secrets, but also Take the initiative to seek my advice and help, I am also very happy to do my best to give him advice and solve problems for him, I think only in this way, our life can truly be regarded as one... I secretly prayed to God to give me more Wisdom, so I can help him more.

I have no time to describe to you every bit of the relationship between Your Highness and me, but for me, almost every day is a new experience and the most exciting adventure.

I bid farewell to the dull and suffocating air in Vienna, and bid farewell to all the barriers that annoy me and anger me. From now on, every second of my life will be a brand new unknown, and it will be determined by my own actions— - This is the life I have dreamed of! Not to mention, I'm still going hand in hand with the people I love...what can I complain about? All this is appropriate, I can't describe in words how happy and happy I am at the moment, everything I have dreamed about has been fulfilled by fate!

I don’t need to say more, you also know how severe the challenges we will face next. His Highness is working hard for his own destiny, although he is so calm in front of everyone, as if everything was expected, never said He said a word that was discouraging, but I, who get along with him every day, can of course see his nervousness and walking on thin ice.

I will not laugh at his cowardice, because I know that he is like a boat in a storm, and can only move forward tremblingly in the roaring sea of ​​anger... The greatest courage of a person is to know how much pain and fear there is in front of him, but still welcome In spite of the difficulty, His Highness once again proved how correct my choice was with his bearing.

Now, I am also on the boat, and I will ride the wind and waves with him. If we overcome the storm, we will witness the glory of the sunrise together. If the storm overturns the boat, I will sink with him! I have the determination and the courage.

Although I am stubborn and self-willed, I have repeatedly stabbed you and your father's hearts, but I ask you to bless our destiny and our just cause for the sake of us facing such a difficult situation. His Highness is too lacking to be able to recognize him positively and you must be one of them. I don't think you have ever seen a child as good as him, have you?

Every step we take is to open up a world that has never been seen before, maybe the next step I will fall into hell, maybe the next step I will be able to go straight to heaven, but it is the same for me because I am with Your Highness will face the storms and the unpredictable fate together... I promise you, my father, and even God, no matter what the outcome is, I will keep moving forward and bear all my due obligations. I live up to the name and expectations you and my father gave me! I will never betray the trust and courage that His Highness has bestowed on me!

Before I left, I said that I hope you can keep the land in the manor that was reserved as my dowry. I wonder if you have disposed of it according to my wishes?

His Highness also told me that he would be happy to come back to you and apologize to you one day, even if he was beaten with a horsewhip by his father. Of course, I would never allow my father to do this. made.

In short, we will come back one day to visit you in the names of your daughters and sons-in-law, and I firmly believe that as long as we work hard, this day is definitely not far away.

Please take care of yourselves and wait for the day we arrive!

Always love your daughter. "

"This silly child..." After reading the letter written by her daughter, Grand Duchess Henrietta's face showed a smile that was mixed with distress and relief, sweet and sour, and then let out a sigh.

From her daughter's graceful and smooth handwriting, she can feel the happiness that overflows between the lines and the bright hope for the future.

To be honest, since her daughter left, she has often been sleepless at night, worried, always worried about what terrible disaster will happen to this silly child. Now that she has received this letter of safety, she is finally relieved.

No matter how many doubts and dissatisfaction there are with Teresa's decision, but seeing her so happy, the mother can't say how many complaints.

A person's life can only be lived by himself, and others cannot be replaced. Since the daughter feels happy, she can only admit it all.

She raised her head and glanced at her husband who was standing beside her.

At this time, Archduke Karl still had a serious and indifferent expression on his face, as if he had received a letter from his daughter that had been sent for a long time, but it was just a trivial matter.

"Why don't you take a look too?" She put away the stationery and asked her husband.

"There's nothing to see, and it's not written for me." Archduke Karl frowned, "I'm afraid she's still angry with me now."

"I didn't see that." The lady shook her head. "On the contrary, she said in the letter that she has been thinking of you all the time, and hoped that you would take care."

The Grand Duke pursed his lips, but said nothing.

Obviously, he is still angry at his daughter's reckless behavior.

"Okay, it's already this time, what else do you have to do with vindictiveness? Are you planning to deny her for the rest of your life?" The lady complained softly, and then forced the letter into her husband's hand, "Anyway, she still Our daughter, don't you still care about her life and future?"

Being forcibly stuffed with the letter, the Grand Duke could only pick it up and take a look.

When he saw the familiar handwriting, he couldn't help but read it. The words full of passion made him have mixed feelings for a moment.

"This silly girl." After reading the letter, he could only sigh like his wife.

"At least she's very happy now, that's enough." Madam replied in a low voice, "It can be seen that His Royal Highness treats her very well, so I think her actions are not so bad now... From seeing His Highness's first I liked him very much from the beginning, at least he is better than too many of his peers, isn't he?"

Archduke Karl sighed again.

Although he refused to admit it on the surface, he was naturally a little relieved in his heart to see Teresa looking so happy.

He was still furious at the bastard, but he finally felt better.

Besides, everything has been irreversible now, and he will really become a father-in-law soon after seeing it, what else can he say? It can only be so.

"Whatever they are, I can't control anything now." He shrugged reluctantly, "Anyway, we've done what we can do."

"I think we still have something to do for them." Madame Henrietta shook her head.

"What do you want to do?" Grand Duke Karl's eyes widened, he clearly felt that Madam meant something.

"To support the cause of Greek independence from the government and the people, and to publicize His Highness's righteous deeds." Madam said, taking back her daughter's letter from her husband, then folded it and carefully stored it in the desk. "God's people are in trouble, and we should encourage every righteous deed to help them, shouldn't we?"

"Don't be ridiculous!" Archduke Karl immediately gave a negative answer, "The empire has its own policies, and we can't and shouldn't talk too much to interfere with the government's policies."

"The government has official opinions, but can't we personally have personal opinions?" Madam asked, "Besides, is there any problem with what I said?"

"It's not a question of right or wrong." Archduke Karl shook his head again. "Metternich has his own plans and judgments about the empire's diplomatic strategy. Not only can we not change our position, it will only make things more troublesome."

"What can Metternich do to us? You are His Majesty's younger brother, and you are a commander with outstanding military achievements... What do you need to care about his opinion?" Madam still insisted, "Even if you want to deal with the Prime Minister of the Empire To show respect, don't you even have the right to express your personal opinions?"

"Because I am His Majesty's younger brother, I should be more cautious in my words and deeds!" Archduke Karl replied angrily, "As I am, every word I say, even if I reiterate it countless times, is my personal opinion. , but who would believe it? At least in the eyes of others, either I am speaking on behalf of His Majesty and Austria, or I am offending His Majesty’s authority, and either way, it means that I am interfering with the policies of the Empire.”

"Sir, do you still think that we can stay out of the way by hiding? No, trouble will always come to you, and you can't hide." The wife was not overwhelmed by her husband, but rather mixed up rarely. The mouth came, "The matter of Teresa's trip to Greece with His Royal Highness, although it is kept secret for the time being, can you expect this secret to be hidden from everyone? In my opinion, I am afraid that it will not be hidden for three months! In other words, use Before long, almost everyone will know that your daughter ran to His Highness's side, and they will even suspect that everything was instigated by you secretly, so what is the use of what you said then?"

Archduke Karl was at a loss for words.

He knew that things would turn out like this, but he was unwilling to admit it because of his anger.

But when his wife told him everything, he had to face the truth.

The little **** ran away, and Teresa ran with him, but the trouble was still there, and he still had to face endless trouble.

God knows why he was so fascinated that day and listened to Luisa's bewitchment!

"So you know that, right? Now it's clear that Teresa is in a difficult situation and needs help, and we can indeed provide her with some help. If that's the case, why don't we do it?" After a pause, Mrs. He asked his husband, "Since we can't escape no matter what, why can't we follow our heart? Your Highness may have done too many things wrong, but at least in this matter, I don't think he is at fault, so we praise a few. What's the matter? Can anyone blame us for that?"

Archduke Karl paced the study restlessly—and he had done so much more frequently this year.

He felt like he was stuck in some kind of quagmire that he couldn't get out of, and every time he struggled, he only got himself deeper and deeper.

He doesn't know when all this will end, but he knows that, at least now, he can't end it all.

He recalled the letter from Teresa he had just read, and between the lines, what a bright flame of hope was throbbing.

Should it really be turned off?

The daughter's happy smile and sad cry, the two faces lingered in his mind at the same time.

If he had to choose, which face would he choose?

Self-explanatory.

"Hey... what else is there to say?" Finally, he sighed, "You can express whatever opinion you like. I can't even restrain my daughter, so how can I restrain you? It's just that , Under such circumstances, it is really inappropriate for me to express any attitude, it will only make me anger Your Majesty, I have to wait and see how the situation develops."

"Of course it's up to you to decide." Madam finally smiled.

Then, she smiled and comforted her husband, "Don't worry, I don't know why, I have a hunch that I believe everything will get better, and this letter is the best sign."

"I hope so!" The Grand Duke responded with only a long sigh. "Ah, what a disaster to be a parent!"

The passage of time has brought him too much powerlessness, and he really admits that he is old.

He just wants all this storm to end soon - and ideally, preferably.

"Okay, let's continue what we should do today." The lady ended the crucial conversation between them, and then looked at the grass and woods outside the window. "We have to find a way to renovate this place and build a small building over there..."

"Why?" the Archduke asked.

"Prepare some small gifts for our future guests." Madam replied as a matter of course.

Then, she smiled narrowly again, "It's better to make it more spacious, maybe the next time we meet, it's not two people who come to us."