"Your Highness, thank you for giving me confidence."
After hearing Aigron's words, Theresa lowered her gaze slightly, feeling a little embarrassed.
"You are so kind. I should thank you."
As she spoke, she bent her knees slightly, "It is indeed a good memory to have a dance partner like you when I face the world for the first time."
After saying that, the two said goodbye for the time being and went to rest.
Aigron walked to the dining table first, took a few cakes and snacks from it and ate them slowly.
He hadn't eaten much for dinner, and he had consumed a lot of energy while dancing, so he was very hungry.
While he was eating his meal indifferently, a middle-aged man in uniform walked up to him.
He subconsciously looked to the side and found that it was his stepfather, Earl Neipeg.
The Earl nodded towards him with a smile of appreciation and relief on his face.
"Your Highness, your performance is better than I expected."
"Really?" Aigron asked calmly, "I thought I was just trying hard not to make a fool of myself."
"You are so humble. Even by adult standards, your performance tonight is still remarkable. What's more, this is your first time to formally attend a similar occasion, which is even more difficult." Naipeg The earl looked at the young man with approval, "You don't have stage fright when encountering big things. Your calm and unhurried demeanor is really commendable."
"You made me feel embarrassed." After eating the cake, Aigron wiped his hands with a napkin. "It's a pity that it's not you who have the power to make the decision, but the father and daughter."
"It's hard to say what happened to Archduke Karl, but Princess Theresa must be quite happy. I have been paying attention to you just now, and Her Royal Highness has laughed several times."
"So what?" Aigron asked. "Everyone knows how to be polite these days."
"Princess Teresa is different from ordinary people. Although she is usually very polite to others, her personality is too indifferent. It is not easy to see her smile." Earl Naiperg shook his head, "So as a bystander, I can see , I think Her Royal Highness the Princess has a very good impression of you, and you two are a perfect match... I advise you to work harder next time, there should be hope."
Aigron didn't feel excited along with him. He had already made up his mind on this matter and didn't need anyone else's guidance.
"Why are you so happy? Logically speaking, what I do has nothing to do with you." He asked calmly.
The middle-aged man was a little surprised by the young man's indifferent attitude. After a moment, he sighed helplessly. "I have said it before, I hope you can reconcile with Her Highness Louisa, and... although you don't think much of me, after all, I think I still can't put you down and ignore you completely, even if we can't bring the empire Give it back to you, but I should at least try to make your life a little more comfortable.”
"So is this pity for me?" Aigron asked.
"If you want to understand it this way, that's fine." The Earl nodded. "What's wrong with pitying a child who has lost so many things like you? Even if his surname is Bonaparte, he is still my stepson."
Looking at the earl's sincere gaze, Aigron nodded slightly.
"Okay, I accept your argument."
Then, he shrugged again, "My grudge against my mother is our own business, and we will resolve it in our own way. Since you are so sincere, I don't mind being more polite to her. But that's it - but even so, I am still very grateful for your thoughts. I wish you a long life together and wish your children can grow up healthily. If I can be of any help in the future, I will. "
"Thank you." The count smiled again.
Aiglon picked up a wine glass from the side, poured wine leisurely, and then poured another wine glass.
"How about we have a drink?"
"It's a great honor." The Earl was a little surprised at first, but soon took the wine glass from his hand happily. "Your Highness, cheers to your glorious future!"
The two clinked their glasses with each other, and then Aigron picked up the glass and took a sip.
The scarlet and bitter wine slowly slides down the tongue into the esophagus, leaving a long aftertaste.
"Your Highness, one sip is enough for you." Just when Aiglon wanted to take another sip, the Earl advised him, "You will have another dance with His Highness later."
"It's okay." Aigron did not listen to the other party, but picked up the wine glass and took another sip, "This little bit won't make me move inconveniently."
The Earl looked at the young man slightly uneasily, "Your Highness, with all due respect, you seem to be too calm today and have no sense of urgency at all... You don't really think that Princess Theresa has only one candidate, do you? Don't forget that there are many people. Happy to be Archduke Karl’s son-in-law.”
"Of course I won't be arrogant to that extent. I didn't even have any hope from the beginning." Aigron shook his head. "I have nothing. Even if I grovel, it won't make me more charming. In this case, why should I be timid? ? What should belong to me will always belong to me; what should not belong to me, even if I pursue it hard, what’s the point? Princess Teresa can make her best choice, but I am not the only one who begs her to favor her. There's a way to go. I just have to be myself, it's up to her whether she likes it or not."
Having said that, Aigron also knew that he only used this planned marriage as a cover to deceive outsiders, so he did not have any eagerness and just showed a calm gesture.
It's natural to restrain yourself for the one you love. If you don't want to, it's just because you don't love enough.
"You...you are too strong." The count wanted to persuade him again, but he didn't know what to say at the moment.
"Of course, I don't want to ruin your highness's wonderful night." Aigron showed a smile again and raised the glass again, "So, sir, let's take another sip. I've drank until here, are you satisfied now? ?”
"Okay!" The Earl finally breathed a sigh of relief, and the crisp sound of the glasses clashing sounded again.
==============================================
For many it was a good night, or at least a pleasant night, but for some it was a nightmare.
As a member of the royal family, Her Royal Highness Princess Sophie also attended the dinner dressed up today.
On weekdays, she is often the core figure at such banquets, enjoying everyone's attention and envy, but today the protagonist is not her.
At this moment, she was sitting in the corner of the hall, allowing herself to be ignored and forgotten.
She was wearing a luxurious dress and holding a fan in her hand. The small and exquisite ivory folding fan would usually be played with lightly by its owner, but at this moment it was undergoing terrible damage - Her Royal Highness the Princess's slender fingers squeezed it tightly. The folding fan in his hand, and the already white back of his hand, now looked even more pale as paper, revealing the owner's distraught state.
Her eyes had been watching the steps of the dancers on the dance floor, and it wasn't until the dance came to an end that she seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.
She felt a little dry, so she picked up the wine glass and took a sip, but the wine from Italy made her feel so bad that she wanted to vomit.
She once again missed the white wine produced in her hometown.
"Your Highness, what's wrong with you? Are you feeling uncomfortable?" asked the female attendant next to her.
"Don't worry about me, I'm fine." Sophie replied coldly,
Of course the female officer felt unhappy at being treated so coldly by Her Highness the Princess, but she actually guessed why Her Highness the Princess was so upset.
So, she secretly applauded Princess Teresa in her heart, hoping that she would keep up her efforts tonight, and it would be best to make this difficult His Highness mad.
"Teresa dances so well..." Princess Sophie had just regained her composure when she heard a sigh from the side. "Sophie, what do you think?"
Princess Sophie was immediately furious. She turned her gaze away, and then realized that the person talking to her was Aiglon's mother, her aunt Louisa, the Grand Duchess.
Even if she was angry in her heart, she couldn't express it in front of her face. Sophie could only suppress her anger and nodded lightly, "Well, you are indeed a pretty good dancer, Your Highness. For a girl who is new to society. , it’s not easy to be so calm.”
"Yes, it is not easy to have such a calm attitude at such a young age." Grand Duchess Louisa nodded, "However, I feel that this is also because of having a good dance partner - I feel that Franz The performance is pretty good, what do you think? I hope it’s not my imagination.”
"He just did what he should have done, there is nothing to praise." Princess Sophie replied calmly, without showing any joy or anger. "After all, you have high hopes for him, right?"
"Yes, I do hope that he will be lucky enough to be Teresa's husband -" Louisa nodded again, "And after I saw it, I really think they are a good match. Sophie, what do you think? "
This question completely angered Sophie, and she realized the other party's intention.
"What do you mean by asking me this?" she asked coldly, "I didn't know my feelings were so important."
"Of course it's important." Louisa nodded, "After all, most people here know that you mean a lot to Franz, and he should listen to your opinions."
"So, what do you want me to say?" Princess Sophie asked bluntly.
"Sophie, don't look at me like this, I have no hostility towards you." Louisa shook her head slightly, "I think you know that I have indeed been working hard to facilitate tonight... I hope Franz has a A glorious future, if you have the same expectations for him, you should know what to do. I have no problem with you, I just hope everyone is better..."
Sophie opened the folding fan gently, and then squeezed it hard.
A crisp sound of "pop" interrupted Louisa's words.
"Better? For whom is it better? Has anyone asked you for advice?" She looked at Grand Duchess Louisa coldly. "We know how to handle the matter between Aiglon and I, we don't need anyone to give us advice!"
When she said this, she became even more angry, "Besides, after so many years of being alone and without a single smile, it was only after I came that he became more cheerful! When I took care of him, Teresa was not here. It seems like you were not there; when I was relaxing with him, you were not there; when he was injured, you forgot about it, but I still found a way to take care of him! Now what qualifications do you have to pretend to be a loving mother?!"
Being scolded like this by her, Louisa lost her smile for a moment.
"So what do you think?"
"We will resolve our matters ourselves. Just take care of yourself, Your Highness." After Sophie finished speaking, she stood up and walked away.
[The deformed chin inherited from Clam Castle seems to be a male-line genetic disease. Women seem to have basically no similar facial disorders, and children born to women outside marriage basically have no similar problems (such as the queen of French King Louis XIII and the queen of Louis XVI). They are all from the Habsburg family, but the heirs they gave birth to have no obvious facial deformities), and even male heirs are not like this.
So stop talking about the chin, Archduke Karl is in great health and so is Theresa! 】
