Eagle’s Glory

In the dawn of the new day, Aegron completed his morning exercise.

Then, he packed up his luggage and came to the square outside the palace, where a group of people were already waiting for him.

There are still a few carriages here that will take him to a manor in the suburbs.

According to the agreement, he will visit Archduke Karl today, and his teacher and guardian Count Dietrichstein will see him off here.

With a smile on the count's face, his heart was obviously full of longing for the future of the students.

"His Royal Highness, I wish you all the best." He patted the young man on the shoulder, then leaned against his ear, and whispered to him, "I have stayed by your side for so many years, I know that you are very dissatisfied with the current situation, And I, as a guardian, think it's my responsibility to find a way out for you that fits your heart - and that's the best way out we can, and I hope you take this opportunity, remember, this is just the first step in your ascension. step."

"It seems a little early to talk about this now." Aegron replied calmly, "I still tend not to think things too beautifully."

"No, Your Highness, although you are smart, you have lived in the palace since you were a child, and there are no people around you. You may not understand the world..." The count smiled and shook his head, "Grand Duke Karl allows you to stay here. Stepping on your door in this state already means a lot.”

Aegron could only smile and no longer answer.

It's not that he doesn't understand the world, and of course he can see the meaning of this move, but as far as his heart is concerned, he can only pretend to be confused now, hoping to confuse things first.

Maintaining the marriage plan, but not actually making it happen, that's what he wants to do.

"I don't know what you think of Her Royal Highness Theresa. From my point of view, she is humble and kind, well-mannered, and very intelligent. I think she is much better than that... than others." The count seemed to be right His indifference felt a little incomprehensible, "And Your Highness, even if you don't touch her at all, you have to understand that this is an exchange of interests, you only need to pay a trivial price for the future, and the things in return are unimaginable. Dare to think about it."

Aigron knew that the Count was right. If he had no other intentions, he would definitely do it, but... it can only be said that fate dictates.

"Sir, don't worry, I'm not an unrepentant brain, I will act according to my own interests." Aigron nodded and assured his guardian, "I will do my best to let the father Women are happy."

Then, under the Count's gaze, he took his suitcase and got into the carriage.

The carriage started and drove all the way to the southeast.

As the carriage moved on the road, the buildings and pedestrians on both sides became more and more sparse. After about an hour or two, it came to a forest. After passing through the grove, a white mansion appeared in the window of the car. forward.

This mansion occupies a small area, and it is not grand. It looks like a three-story building. The design is exquisite and the lines are quite soft. It is hidden among the trees and is not noticeable at all.

Archduke Carl entrusted his retirement life in this humble and quiet place, which was in line with his character.

As the carriage stopped, Aegron stepped out of the carriage.

Then, the servant who had already been waiting here diligently guided him.

Soon, Aigron followed the door of the mansion, and at this time, a group of people came out to greet him.

The leader was a middle-aged man and woman. The man was naturally Archduke Karl himself. At this time, he was looking at the young man who came to visit with a scrutiny, while the woman nodded to the young man with a smile on her face.

She was dressed fairly simply, just wearing a loose skirt with a bun at the back of her head, and no accessories on her body. Her oval face shape and grey-black hair are also quite similar to Teresa's.

It seems that she should be Teresa's mother, Grand Duchess Henrietta.

And standing behind the couple are several children, who are not very old, and Teresa, as the eldest, is naturally among them.

Aigron just glanced slightly, and then, at the foot of the steps, respectfully saluted the couple.

"Good morning, Archduke and Madame. Thank you both for the privilege of visiting here."

"You're welcome, we're not a palace here, and we don't need to talk about so many frivolous red tapes--His Royal Highness Franz, our whole family welcomes you." Before the Grand Duke could speak, Grand Duchess Henrietta walked down the steps. , and then carefully looked at the boy.

"What a handsome young man! Looking at it makes people feel happy."

Then she turned back and smiled at her husband, while Archduke Karl nodded blankly.

"Okay, please come in."

Then, he turned back and took the lead into the mansion.

Aigron followed behind and walked in together.

Like the plain and unadorned exterior, although the house is spacious, the facilities are not luxurious. The floor is covered with a layer of woolen carpet, and the tables and chairs look old, but they are very shiny. In the center of the living room is a fireplace. There are oil paintings on the surrounding walls, and some hunting prey are also decorated.

"Franz, please allow me to introduce the members of our little family to you." As soon as he entered, Henrietta said to Aigron with a smile, and then pointed to the children next to him, "Trey You already know Sha, and from childhood to adulthood, our eldest son Albrecht, second son Ferdinand, third son Frederick... By the way, there is one more..."

As she said, she pointed to the baby in the cradle by the fireplace. "This is our little girl, Caroline, who has just turned one year old this year. Now, children, you salute to your Highness!"

Under the mother's order, the children obediently paid tribute to Aegron, and Aegron also nodded very friendly to these children.

It can be seen that here, the hostess's words are more calculated.

Of these children, aside from Teresa, the one that caught his attention the most was their eldest son, Albrecht.

The eldest son was determined to be a commander like his father since he was a child, so he joined the army early. Later, he made many military exploits in Austria's future wars, which is a rare bright spot in the bleak history of the late Austrian Empire. Later, he also won the rank of marshal of the three countries of the Austria-Hungary Empire, the Russian Empire, and the German Empire, following in his father's footsteps.

However, right now he is just a 10-year-old hairy head.

Seeing that Aigron was noticing himself, the child was not at all stage fright, but raised his head and looked at him provocatively.

"Abbot!" Teresa saw her brother was so arrogant and rude, so she scolded her brother, "You are more respectful to our guests."

"He looks weak and can't fight at all." The little boy replied unceremoniously, "Sister, I'm afraid you are seeing the wrong person."

"Abbot!" The Grand Duchess couldn't hold her face anymore. She grabbed her son and pinched his ear, "Who taught you to speak like that?"

Then, she looked at the young man apologetically, "I'm sorry, Your Highness... I don't know what this little guy is crazy about today."

"It's okay, ma'am." Agron shook his head. "Your son is very good. I think he will have great achievements in the future."

"You are really over the top, what can you see on the first day you meet? It's nothing more than a casual compliment, it's unnecessary... Although it is natural for a mother to hope that her child will achieve success in the future, please don't flatter him too much, the child is easy Seriously, it's harmful to his growth." Henrietta smiled and shook his head, "Don't worry, even if you don't try to please every member of our family, we will welcome you very much, Albert is just a character Just a little stubborn."

Of course, it was impossible for the Grand Duchess to understand what he really meant, but it was just that Aigron was saying some polite words in accordance with social etiquette, and did not take it seriously.

"I heard that your swordsmanship is very good." The child still didn't flinch, he raised his head and asked Aegron. "Is it true? I don't quite believe it."

"Since my teacher said so, then it's true." Aegron nodded lightly, "Of course I don't have much chance to verify it."

"You are Your Highness, and the teacher will definitely say something nice." Abbott shook his head with a look of disbelief, "How about we two demonstrate?"

The challenging look in the boy's eyes made Aegron a little surprised, but he soon felt a little funny.

"I didn't learn swordsmanship from the teacher to bully children, so I won't fight with you now." Aigron stretched out his hand and squeezed his red face, "However, little guy, if you definitely want to fight me Make gestures, then when you grow up, I can give you a chance."

"Are you afraid of me?" Albert still looked at him, looking like he wanted to challenge.

"What are you talking about!" Teresa finally couldn't help it, and pulled him behind her, "You want to make everyone unhappy, right?"

Then, Teresa pulled Aegron aside, "Don't mind, Aegron."

"He seems to be a little hostile to me." Agron shrugged. "But don't worry, I won't fight with children."

"This little bastard, he is jealous of you." Teresa looked back at her brother with some dissatisfaction, "Because your parents have mentioned you a lot recently, he feels a little uncomfortable, and he has to challenge you... He always felt like the darling of the family and then got left out because of you lately."

"Oh, that's it, then I can understand it." Aigron suddenly realized, and then he couldn't help laughing. "Children are really easy to understand."

"So you don't need to know him in general." Teresa looked at him a little worriedly, "Don't affect your mood because of him."

"That's natural, I'm not bored enough to fight with a ten-year-old boy." Aegron replied with a smile.

"Okay, Teresa?" A slow voice suddenly came to mind, "Should we return His Highness to us?"

Although these words sounded fine, they always seemed to carry a little ridicule, and Teresa couldn't help but blush a little.

"It's alright Mom!" Then, she blinked at Aegron, then stepped aside.

Then, Aigron walked back to the side of the Grand Duchess.

"Please sit." The Grand Duchess motioned for Aegron to sit on the sofa, and then sat next to him.

Then, the Grand Duchess took a closer look.

"Ah, sometimes I really feel the mystery of fate." After a while, Henrietta sighed suddenly, "How interesting!"

Then, she pointed to Archduke Karl who was standing in the middle of the living room, "My husband, on behalf of Napoleon who could not come to Vienna to attend the wedding, stood in front of the altar of the Augustine Church in Vienna and held the wedding for your mother. It's hard to imagine the scene at that time without marrying to Austria, but...the atmosphere shouldn't be too good?"

It must not be too good. At that time, Austria was repeatedly defeated by Napoleon, and was forced to send Princess Louisa to "kiss" - and it was Metternich's initiative to propose to Napoleon, thinking that those nobles would feel ashamed.

"At the time, the news shook the whole of Europe, and of course I heard about it in Nassau, and I was surprised and relieved, because I thought maybe it meant the end of the endless war... It's like that!" Henrietta smiled again, "In the end, you and I both came to Austria, and after more than ten years, now his son came to me, ah, who can guess God's will Through!"

Then, she smiled and winked at Aegron, "But I think, this time, maybe the atmosphere will be much better, at least my husband will be in a different mood at that time, maybe this is God's compensation for him ?"

... Aegron didn't know how to answer, so he could only smile awkwardly.

He could hear that Henrietta's words seemed to represent some kind of approval.

"Do you like country life, Franz?" asked the Grand Duchess again.

"I'm not too used to it, but I also yearn for it." Aigron replied. "After all, I haven't had much chance to get close to the countryside since I was a child."

"Then you can enjoy the real country life--" Henrietta blinked, "and Teresa, will be a good guide. Well, I'm going to prepare lunch for you, you You can go for a walk with Teresa first and relax."

Just as Aigron was about to leave, Grand Duchess Henrietta suddenly said something else,

"My husband, because one of his aunts had no children with the previous Duke of Chesyn, at their request, became the adopted son of Albert, Duke of Cheschen, after the old man's death in 1822, his estate All inherited by my husband, including the Albertina Palace in Vienna, after we inherited it, it was renovated according to the latest fashion, if you like luxury, there is also for you. Every winter we will be in Live there, so we'll be there soon--sir, come and spend Christmas with us if you like, we'd be more than welcome..."