Eagle’s Glory

After her father spoke, Teresa had to stop her grumbling and sat down at the table.

In order not to affect the mood of others, she also quickly controlled herself, no longer complaining about Beethoven, and turned to other topics.

However, she still remembered her whims just now, and was ready to realize it as soon as possible before the master's life ended.

Time passed slowly in the usual family chat, and soon dinner was over.

Like most families of this era, Henrietta invited Aigron to spend the rest of the day with a game of cards.

"I heard that you played with His Majesty the Emperor and Empress when Teresa was called?" Henrietta asked Agron.

"Yes, ma'am." Agron nodded, "We play whist."

"Then let's imitate the two majesties. If you don't mind, you and Teresa will form a pair again." Henrietta winked at her husband, "By the way, how did you and Teresa cooperate before? ?"

"It's so-so, we're not good at this." Aegron replied half-truth.

"That's right, we're not very good at it." Henrietta said with a smile, "It should be the most fun to play with opponents of comparable strength."

So, Aegron and Teresa teamed up again to fight against another of the most honorable couples in the Empire.

Compared with the trembling last time, Aigron's mood was much more relaxed this time.

He soon discovered that the strength of the Grand Duke and his wife was slightly stronger than the combination of the two His Majesties, but they were still very average, so he and Teresa played cards casually, and the game was quite compact.

"Franz." Henrietta also asked him casually while playing the cards, "You are usually in the palace, do you have many chances to see His Majesty?"

"His Majesty the Emperor has a lot of business to deal with every day, so I don't have much time to see me. I will only go when I want to summon me." Aegron replied.

"Then who do you interact with more in the court?" Henrietta asked curiously, "It stands to reason that if you don't communicate with each other for a long time, your personality will be a little autistic, but I don't think you seem to lack communication. The subject's appearance—it's certainly introverted, but at least not withdrawn."

"I communicate with teachers every day, so there is no shortage of people to communicate with." Aegron replied casually.

"I don't feel like-" Henrietta shook her head, "In order to educate the children, we have also hired teachers, they are either strict supervision or respect for the little master, and the age difference is too much, basically nothing. It's hard to communicate with each other on a common topic."

Then she seemed to think of something, "Could it be that you go a lot with His Royal Highness Carl?"

Now His Majesty the Emperor has only two sons. The Crown Prince is a crazy mentally handicapped person, so he has been automatically ignored. Henrietta directly thinks of the Second Prince Carl.

Are you getting close to the truth so soon... Aegron suddenly became a little nervous.

"I do have a good relationship with him." He could only bite the bullet and answer vaguely.

"Accurately speaking, Franz should have a good relationship with His Royal Highness and his wife." Archduke Karl interjected at this time, "When I entered the palace that day, I saw him chatting with His Royal Highness Sophie very much."

Teresa's hand trembled slightly, and she almost didn't hold the card firmly. She finally returned to normal without letting her parents see the abnormality.

She didn't tell her parents about Sophie, because she knew that it would be counterproductive, and her own problems could only be solved by herself.

"Is that so?" Henrietta looked at Aigron.

"Indeed." Aigron could only nod his head, "Since he came to Austria, His Royal Highness Sophie has taken great care of me and has a very kind attitude. Maybe it is pity for my life experience."

"In that case, she is a good person." Henrietta finally understood, "No wonder, it seems that this is the reason why you have not become withdrawn and autistic."

"Mom, how can you talk like that?" Teresa protested in dissatisfaction.

"Oh, sorry, child, I didn't think of the words for a while, but... I think His Highness will forgive me." Henrietta smiled at Aigron.

"What you said is true." Aegron nodded, "The palace is very big, but friends are hard to find."

"When you go back, say thank you to His Royal Highness Sophie for me, it seems that she has really helped you a lot." Henrietta smiled again, "To be honest, I sympathize with her, and now the whole empire All hope is on her, and I hope she won't be overwhelmed..."

"Okay, don't mention her, play your cards with peace of mind." Duke Karl suddenly interrupted his wife.

This is indeed a very dangerous topic.

Although the current emperor Franz has two sons, the prince is destined to have no future, so the second prince and the Sophie couple carry the heavy responsibility of the continuation of the empire and the Habsburg family.

As for the issue of "continuation of the imperial family", any family in Austria can talk about it, but Archduke Karl's family absolutely cannot talk about it. This is absolutely taboo.

Among the sons left by the late Emperor Leopold, His Majesty Emperor Franz was the eldest, the second child Ferdinand had died in 1824, and Archduke Karl was the third.

In other words, Archduke Karl is already the oldest living brother of His Majesty the Emperor.

If Sophie has been out of nothing, then the imperial line of the throne may spread to the branch on Duke Karl's side.

Because of this, this topic is particularly dangerous. It is definitely not something that can be discussed casually after a meal. His Majesty the Emperor will never allow his brother to have an illegitimate coveting of the throne.

Henrietta quickly reacted, and she herself knew that she had made a taboo.

"It's okay, everyone here is family, what's the problem with us chatting casually?" She smiled reluctantly, trying to maintain the atmosphere.

However, she knew in her heart that His Majesty the Emperor had not been getting along well with her brothers, and that he and Metternich had also arranged spies in the manor, so she quickly changed the subject.

In this way, between the chats, the time slowly came to the middle of the night, and it was time to get ready for bed.

"Okay, let's stop here today, I'm a little sleepy." Archduke Karl took the initiative to end the game, "You guys should rest early too."

"Teresa, we're going to rest, take your Highness to the bedroom." Henrietta instructed her daughter.

Is this...is this okay? Agron was shocked.

"Oh, don't get me wrong, young man—" Perhaps seeing the young man's shock, Henrietta couldn't help laughing. "We're not short of rooms here."

"Mom, stop making such a joke!" Teresa reluctantly protested to her mother.

Then, she took Aegron upstairs, and then along the corridor, came to the door of a room.

She opened the door and walked in with Aegron.

The room was already brightly lit by candles, and the beds and furniture had been tidied up.

"Your Highness, you can rest here tonight." She pointed to the bedside table, "If you can't sleep for a while, you can read a book to pass the time, and if you have any orders, just ring the bell, and someone will come over. "

"Okay, thank you." Aigron nodded, "Your arrangements are very thoughtful, and I am very grateful as a guest."

"Then cherish the days when you are here as a guest." Teresa blinked, "I believe that when you return to the palace, it will be difficult to feel the family atmosphere."

"Family..." Aegron smiled bitterly.

It is true that the family atmosphere here is very strong, and the family is very happy. However, perhaps because he has never had a family life, when he sees all this, even though he has been catering to the surface, he feels very unfamiliar in his heart. - like a bystander.

His heart has become alienated and indifferent, and it is not so easy to be melted by family affection.

It stands to reason that Teresa should say goodbye and leave when she gets here, but she seems to be a little evasive.

"Do you have anything else to order, Teresa?" Agron couldn't help asking.

"His Royal Highness, just now we talked about His Royal Highness Sophie, so I thought about it carefully, but there are still some things that I don't like to say." Teresa hesitated for a moment, but decided to speak.

Agron frowned slightly. "What do you want to say to her?"

"Mom and Dad's words made me understand how important she is to you, and in a sense I do have to thank her for keeping you from becoming an unapproachable cynic." Teresa whispered, "So you sent Get close to her from the heart, as a guide to her soul, like Beatrice in The Divine Comedy."

"I remember you said something similar once before." Aegron replied calmly, "Are you going to perform a psychoanalysis on me again?"

"No, that's not what I meant." Teresa shook her head.

Then, she lowered her head slightly sadly, "I just feel that I am really unlucky to fight against a ghost."

Teresa's grief made Aegron suddenly not know how to reply.

"So I also figured it out. Instead of fighting a desperate battle with the perfect illusion in your heart, it's better for you to understand that ghosts and mortals are not the same thing after all." Teresa smiled bitterly, "It just takes a little time. That's it, I can afford it. In the end, you will find that there is not only one person in the world who will care about you and take care of you, the ghost will dissipate, and you will return to the real world."

"I think you're thinking too much." Aegron replied embarrassedly.

"I hope I think too much." Teresa nodded lightly, and then said again, "Your Highness, good night."

"Good night, Teresa." Agron also bid her farewell.

"Can you give me a hug before saying goodbye?" Teresa whispered suddenly, then looked at the boy expectantly. "Let me have some confidence in myself."

——Looking at her eyes shining in the candlelight, Aigron raised his hand subconsciously for a moment.

Maybe it's good to hold her like this all the time.

But at this moment, he suddenly woke up.

By no means his plan.

"His Royal Highness, why did you stop?" Teresa looked at him eagerly, her disappointment palpable, "My concern, my father's help, and our sincere reception, can't this be exchanged for this? Could it be... could it be? Do you really hate me so much?"

Her sobbing talk made the young man suddenly feel a throbbing pain.

He thought he could manipulate Teresa with ease, using her father's reputation without making it real, but at this moment he found that he was not so untouched.

Such a lovely Teresa, facing herself with sincerity, how could she be untouched.

"You won't give me any sign of closeness...?" Teresa pressed.

"Enough, shut up!" Agron scolded her, then grabbed her hand and pulled her into his arms.

Unprepared, Teresa bumped into his arms and let out a small exclamation.

But she quickly reacted, stopped her mouth, and buried her head in his arms with a slight smile.

Even the blind have hope of regaining their sight; even the heart can be melted, right?

"Are you satisfied now?" After a while, Aegron let go of his hand, and then asked angrily.

"Yes, I'm satisfied. It's enough to stop here. I'm patient, Your Highness." Teresa's original sad expression had disappeared, replaced by a full smile.

She took two steps back, then bowed slightly to the young man.

"Thank you, Your Highness, now I have the courage... Even against the ghosts, I am full of energy, because... Because I, Teresa, are no worse than anyone else."

Then, she finally turned away contentedly, leaving behind Aegron's stunned expression.

Did she feel something from her heart just now, or was she acting on purpose? He couldn't figure it out for a second.

However, no matter what, he had to admit that Teresa was indeed more charming than he originally imagined.

With a little joy, he fell asleep.

For the next few days, Aigron enjoyed life at the manor accompanied by Teresa as he did on the first day.

Maybe it was because she felt that the trouble was too much that night. In the following time, she never made any outrageous actions. She just accompanied the young man warmly and considerately to help him pass the time, so Aigron fell down Also had a lot of fun.

Good times are always short, and finally it's time for young people to say goodbye.

Just like when he came here, Aigron walked towards the carriage parked in the manor with his suitcase.

And this time, it was Archduke Karl and Teresa who came to see him off together.

"Do you like it here?" Archduke Karl suddenly asked the young man when he reached the front of the carriage.

"It's a very nice place." Aegron replied half politely and half sincerely.

"I have carefully considered Teresa's proposal." Archduke Karl glanced at his daughter, then leaned over and whispered to the young man, "I can consider using a part of this place as Teresa's dowry."

Aegron was stunned for a moment before remembering that this was the idea that Teresa had mentioned before.

He thought it was just a casual statement, but he didn't expect Teresa to actually mention it to his parents.

Embarrassed, he didn't know what to say.

"Don't be embarrassed, little guy, it's good for you to have desires. Everyone in the world thinks talking about money is vulgar and philistine, but who can live without money?" Archduke Karl reached out and patted the young man on the shoulder. " I can give a lot for Teresa, and it's nothing - but I'm not going to let anyone feel sorry for her, understand?"

Aigron could only laugh without answering.

"Okay, see you later, boy."

Archduke Karl put him in the carriage and waved goodbye to him.

And Teresa also looked at the young man reluctantly and watched him leave.

After the carriage left, Archduke Karl looked at his daughter.

"Are you really sure?" he couldn't help asking.

"Dad, I won't change unless God personally comes and orders me." Teresa turned her head and said to her father with a smile.

"Alas..." Father could only sigh, "May God bless you."