"Sir, if you are willing, you can come and spend Christmas with us then. We are most welcome..."
Of course Aigron understands the meaning of Christmas. So Henrietta's words seemed to imply that Agron could have a family reunion at that time - that is, be officially recognized as a member of the family?
Although I am not surprised by this result, the speed is too fast... I have only met her once, and she seems to have already approved of me?
Aigron was a little surprised and didn't know how to answer for a moment.
It is estimated that she may have heard a lot of good things from her husband and daughter, so she only needs to look at it briefly to agree.
"Mom, please stop talking, you're scaring everyone." Perhaps sensing his hesitation, Teresa couldn't help complaining to her mother in a low voice, "It's too early to talk about Christmas..."
"Oh, I don't want you to waste your time in vain. Wouldn't it be better to be more direct sometimes?" The Grand Duchess smiled and winked at her daughter, "You are just stupid from reading so many books and thinking so crookedly all day long. After going around and around, in the end you can only find trouble for yourself... Since His Majesty thinks it is good, we think it is good, and everyone else thinks it is good, then why bother to find trouble for yourself?"
"Mom!" Teresa really couldn't stand it anymore. She protested loudly to her mother, then took Aigron's hand and walked out, "Your Highness, let me take you out for a walk."
Eggron was eager for someone to take him out of this embarrassing atmosphere, so he immediately followed her out, and behind them, Henrietta laughed.
"Don't forget the time, otherwise we won't wait for your lunch!"
Without saying a word, Teresa took Aigron out of the mansion and walked forward until they came to the garden.
There are endless rose bushes everywhere in the garden, but it is late autumn now, and the flowering period of roses has already passed, so they can only be used as green landscaping.
But even so, people can still feel the poetic beauty in this beautiful garden.
The rose oil that Theresa gave to serving Chanel was probably extracted from here.
In the center of the garden, there is a huge pond, and in the pond there is a Chinese-style pavilion, open on all sides, with a dome on top, and the pavilion itself is supported by columns. There are reliefs below the columns, and a marble table in the middle. chair.
In addition, there are some painting tools placed here, which should be things Theresa usually uses - after all, judging from their age, her younger siblings are not yet old enough to have this interest.
Unknowingly, a picture emerged in Aigron's mind - a girl sitting in a pavilion under the golden sunset, carefully looking at the blooming flowers not far away, and painted it stroke by stroke.
While Aigron was still thinking, Teresa finally stopped and sat down with the young man.
"Aigron, you don't mind what my mother said just now, do you? I'm sorry... Sometimes she speaks very casually and likes to tease me." Teresa apologized to him sheepishly.
"It's nothing, I'm just a little ashamed." Aigron replied softly. "However, to see her recognizing me so much, I feel quite honored to be honest."
"...That's natural. After all, if she wants to pick and choose, she won't be able to find anyone." Teresa replied blurtly.
After a moment, she suddenly felt something was wrong, so she smiled sheepishly. "Then what do you think of her invitation? I think - anyway, you are celebrating the festival like attending a ceremony in the palace, so why not come to our place to have a more family atmosphere, so that your heart can feel warmer."
Teresa's invitation again left Aigron at a loss for what to do. He knew that if he really participated, it would mean a lot, but now if he didn't agree, the consequences would be even worse.
"I - I have indeed never experienced the feeling of family. Maybe it would be good to find an opportunity to experience it one day." After a moment, he answered.
"You speak so tactfully and like to use hypothetical and uncertain sentence patterns - Your Highness, you are really a self-taught politician." Teresa couldn't help laughing sarcastically, "However, I’ll take it as your promise, don’t let me down.”
"Okay..." Aigron could only nod helplessly. "But, Teresa, can you answer me a question?"
Teresa was a little surprised, then nodded. "Excuse me."
"——We broke up on bad terms last time, and you made His Majesty angry. How did you explain it to your parents after you came back? Why do I think they are not affected at all and are still so enthusiastic?" Aigron Asked his doubts.
"You really want to know?" Teresa avoided looking away, seeming a little guilty.
"I want to know, please satisfy my curiosity." Aigron insisted.
"Okay, then let me tell you...please don't be angry." The corners of Teresa's mouth rose and she smiled slyly. "I told my father and mother that you are very kind to me, but you are afraid that you will drag me down. You cried and told me that you are in a difficult situation now and don't know whether you can achieve anything in the future, so please let me think about it carefully and don't put it down. Entrusting your future to a down-and-out prince who has neither money nor fame..."
"..." Aigron suddenly laughed dryly, "...Isn't this too much? I won't cry."
I see.
He finally understood why the Grand Duke and his wife regarded him so differently.
After Teresa added some embarrassment and added a "pity Teresa" persona to him, the couple who loved their daughter were naturally extremely satisfied.
No wonder Archduke Karl immediately took him to participate in the event, probably because he wanted to dispel his "concerns".
If you think about it this way, you are really favored by their family - at least so far, they have only given me goodwill.
So, is your performance a bit ungrateful?
When he thought of this, he glanced at Theresa guiltily.
"Isn't this bad? No one will be harmed by this." Teresa stopped her smile and looked at the boy seriously, "Your Highness, you said you should think about it carefully that day. It doesn't matter. We can all think about it. But after thinking about it, my parents and I The result is not something you can control, right?"
"That's true." Aigron could only nod, "I can only be grateful to you now."
"Don't think of what I did as a threat, Your Highness." Perhaps guessing what Aigron was thinking, Teresa explained gently, "In fact, no matter what the outcome between us, I hope that my father will use his Influence helps you to stand out. On the one hand, this is to pay what our country owes you; on the other hand, I also hope to see you use your talents to help our poor country...it is too lacking in talents. A good person cannot tolerate any waste."
"Thank you for having such confidence in me." Aigron smiled.
"Of course I have confidence in you, because what you have shown me so far is what I expect to see." Teresa replied seriously, "It can be said that I have always expected to see the combination of Austria and France. , it is perfectly reflected in you...Ah, you happen to have the same bloodline, it really makes people feel God's will..."
Seeing Teresa's slightly excited expression, Aigron was secretly surprised. He didn't expect that he suddenly had a fan.
Maybe I was moved by what I wrote.
"Your Highness, can you fish?" While he was still thinking, Theresa suddenly changed the subject.
"Fishing?" Aigron shook his head in confusion, "I don't know how."
"Then I can teach you." Teresa smiled and found two wooden fishing rods from the corner of the pavilion, and then handed one to him. "Actually, the technique is very simple, waiting, and waiting with hope. , that’s the whole essence of it. Besides, even if we get nothing, at least we spent our free time together, right?”
Before Aigron could react, he found that he had a fishing rod in his hand. As for him, he had to smile bitterly and follow Teresa to sit by the railing and fish.
Under Theresa's guidance, he put the bait on the hook, then dropped it to the surface of the pond. All he had to do next was wait quietly.
The two of them sat side by side, quietly waiting for the passage of time. In the pavilion, there was only the gentle breeze blowing through the leaves and flowers.
"Sometimes when I want to think about a problem, I run here." After a while, Teresa looked at the water and said to herself, "For example, Your Highness, I have been unable to figure out why recently. Do you want to be so unfeeling? I’m not saying that you are unfeeling towards me, but you are too unfeeling towards yourself. Could it be that with your intelligence, you can’t see how to benefit yourself?”
"In addition to pros and cons, sometimes people think about many other things. Such people are human beings, right." Aigron also looked at the water and replied in a low voice.
"In other words, this is emotional." Teresa seemed to have expected it. "I'm not saying that this is not good. In fact, I admire your warm way of acting... But even so, you It’s time to weigh whether it’s worth it.”
"What do you mean?" Aigron asked.
"Actually, we don't need to guess anymore at this point. The reason why things that were originally going smoothly are so troublesome is because someone is causing trouble, right?" Teresa asked back. "Or let me make it clear that Her Highness Sophie is causing trouble and instigating you to seek trouble for your own future. Oh, she is happy on her own, but how much price do you have to pay! When I think of this, I can't help but feel a little angry Unfair.”
"She didn't instigate me." Aigron shook his head.
"Don't lie anymore, I have witnessed it with my own eyes... The way she stared at me that night was as if she wanted to hang me with her own hands." Teresa sneered exaggeratedly, "Although I I know she has given you a lot of care, but I really don’t understand how she could selfishly joke about your future..."
"She didn't..."
"Don't deny it." Before he could finish speaking, Teresa had planned his words. Then, she lifted the fishing rod heavily, and then flicked it gently, using a skillful movement to throw the hooked fish. In the small bucket next to it, the fish jumped around unwillingly, but there was no way to escape the bad luck.
Then, she turned her head and looked at the young man, "Your Highness, although I am not well informed, I can see that the patience and opportunities given to you by His Majesty the Emperor and Metternich are definitely limited. If you show no cooperation, attitude, then maybe there will be no chance in the future... So that’s the fact, isn’t it?”
Aigron didn't know how to refute her for a moment.
Maybe this is indeed true.
"I don't deny that she helped you a lot, but for her own obsession, she forced you to cut off the opportunity that you finally got. What is this if not selfish?" Seeing Aigron speechless, Trey Sha then continued to ask, "Aigron, for me, no matter what our outcome is, I am still me, my parents love me equally, and I can still become one of the most eye-catching people in this empire; but you are different. Now, think about what you would do if you lost such an opportunity? Will you continue to be unknown for the rest of your life? When I think of this, I am so angry that I cannot tolerate it. You should never be manipulated like this."
Teresa's words were reasonable and kind, and Agron had to admit that they were all right - even though he actually had other plans.
"Then what can I do? Abandon her? No, I'm sorry, I can't do it." He was silent for a moment, and then replied, "She once gave me light and illuminated my life when I was most difficult. , I am willing to repay her, even if I have to pay some price for this, I think it is worth it."
"There are many ways to repay her. Why abandon your own life? If you abandon yourself, then you won't even be able to repay her in the future, right?" Teresa continued to ask, "Besides, Egron , I think you just lack the care of others. You don’t have your mother to accompany you, but she has always taken care of you, so you unknowingly transferred your admiration for your mother to her, so you are extremely obedient to her and obey her words. . This would have been great, but it’s a pity that people can’t always be a child. You should come out of your dreams and see the outside world clearly. There are different scenery there. You can eventually amaze everyone——"
"I really didn't expect that your surname was not Habsburg, but Freud." Eggron couldn't help complaining.
"What Freud?" Teresa asked in confusion.
"Oh, I'm just talking casually, don't worry about it." Aigron smiled and fooled him.
Yes, in this day and age, who knows anything about Freud and his psychoanalysis—even though he is an Austrian.
"Don't treat me with such a perfunctory attitude, okay? Your Highness, what we are talking about now is really important! If you don't care about it yourself, how can others help you?" Seeing that he was still so calm and relaxed , Theresa was a little anxious.
Unknowingly, she put down the fishing rod in her hand, then stood up, eagerly looking down at the young man in front of her, "I really don't want to see you sink into depression in the future, don't you understand? Can't give Do I have a chance to rescue you? Your Highness... Even if I come a little late, wouldn't you be willing to open the door a little for me and listen to my heart? "
