"Your Highness, see you on Christmas, you must remember!"
Looking at Theresa's back as she ran away quickly, Aigron was amused but also felt a little happy.
But even in moments of joy, deep in his heart, there was still a voice reminding him that it was all just in vain.
Teresa is indeed cute, but giving up all the planning so far for her?
He couldn't do it, and he didn't want to.
So...I'm sorry, Teresa, fate's trick has forced me to leave too many things behind. It's your right to blame me as much as you want, but I have to do what I should do.
He just stood there, watching Theresa get on the carriage and leave.
The hickey on his face felt cool and had a strange touch because it was blown by the cold wind. He picked up a handkerchief and wiped it clean, then walked towards the carriage waiting for him in the distance.
By the time he returned to Schönbrunn Palace, it was already evening. He returned to his residence as if there was no one around, and found that his guardian, Count Dietrichstein, was waiting for him.
He habitually stared at the earl, and then found that the other person's expression was very solemn, even a little distracted, and his eyes were quite distracted.
His guardian has always been very personable and never shows his emotions easily - this is how he teaches and demands his students, so this is the first time that Aigron has seen him look so lost.
The count's expression surprised Aiglon. Did some disaster happen?
"Sir, did something bad happen?" He forced himself to calm down and then asked the other party.
The earl's eyes finally began to focus, and then he looked at the young man with a sad look.
"What I want to report to you is indeed bad news, but it is not about you, but about me, Your Highness." Then, he suppressed his grief and answered in a voice that was as calm as possible but still trembling, "My mother passed away early yesterday morning."
Aigron was a little shocked at first, then calmed down, looking at the other person with condolences and condolences.
"I'm sorry, sir."
This was not an act, but he really felt very sorry - after all, he and the earl who acted as guardian had been together for so many years, and apart from the utilitarian trade-offs between them, of course there was also emotion between them.
"Actually, this is not breaking news for me. She has been sick in the past two years, and I have already had a premonition in my heart." The Earl sighed, "But there are some things, even if I have a premonition in my heart, once faced When it's right, it can still be overwhelming... The thought of me never being able to live with my mother again makes my heart throb."
Seeing the Earl looking so sad, Aigron didn't know what to say.
"I'm sorry," he could only repeat.
"Your Highness, you don't need to be sad for me. At my mother's age, it's not a pity for her to pass away from this world. At least she passed away peacefully with her children and grandchildren surrounding her bed. This is already the happiness that many people can only dream of." The Earl continued He calmed down and then looked at Aigron, "In comparison, you are more worthy of sympathy and compassion. You were only ten years old when you lost your father. I really don't know how strong you were to survive. You lost your father." My father also lost his empire, but you accepted it all with admirable calmness and indifference, and instead of giving up on yourself, you studied hard... From that time on, I knew you would achieve something."
No, it's just that I didn't regard him as a father at all...Aigron replied in his heart.
However, of course he would not say such words.
"I was just too young at that time and didn't know what I had lost." He laughed helplessly. "When I grew up and understood everything, it was already too late to say anything at that time, so I We can only face reality.”
"Yes, face reality... Each of us should face reality." The Earl nodded slightly and agreed with the young man's statement, "The reality is that my mother died of old age, and I myself have also entered the stage of In my twilight years, I can never achieve higher achievements in my life... But you are different. You are still too young, younger than my children. Although you have lost your empire, you still have things that most people cannot reach. Conditions, as long as you make good use of them, you can have a glorious future and achieve things that others can’t even imagine.”
"I hope I won't live up to your expectations." Aigron nodded.
"So did you enjoy getting along with Her Majesty Teresa today?" the count asked again. "The great musician didn't say anything outrageous, did he?"
"It went smoothly," Aigron replied. "Mr. Beethoven and Theresa hit it off immediately, so they had a very good chat. Overall, it was a very pleasant visit. Theresa also made a custom order from the musician. A piece of music..."
Then, he briefly told the Count the whole story of his and Teresa's meeting today - of course, he skipped the last part when the two said goodbye.
"Your Highness Teresa is really sensible. She has not done anything to embarrass you... It seems that she also knows that it is time to recognize the reality." The count smiled happily, "It seems that she just rejected you at the beginning. The little girl is just angry."
Then, his spirit was visibly lifted, "Your Highness, you are in sight of success! As long as you work harder, you can become the son-in-law of Archduke Karl. I would like to congratulate you! Please don't hesitate anymore." Okay, let’s get things settled quickly.”
He acted quite excited, changing his usual calm style - maybe he hoped to divert his attention to distract from the grief in his heart.
"I will work hard for this." Under the current circumstances, Aigron could only agree verbally.
However, the earl did not intend to stop the topic so easily. He stood up suddenly and paced back and forth in the room.
"Your Highness, maybe my life is coming to an end. If I look back now, the only achievement I can be proud of is you - I was fortunate enough to be named your guardian by His Majesty the Emperor. I taught you and nurtured you. Your Success is my success in a sense.
I'm glad that you have lived up to the time and energy I spent. You have mastered a lot of knowledge that surprised me, and you have also developed the calmness to deal with things without panic. Then all that's left is to hold your breath and fight for it... And there may not be much time left for me, so I eagerly hope that I can help you avoid detours and advance smoothly, so that my life can have a happy ending. "
"What do you mean?" Aigron felt something was wrong, so he asked.
"I know what you are hesitating about, and what happened between you and Her Highness Sophie -" When the Earl said this, he felt something was inappropriate, so he stopped, "I don't want to comment on your private life, but please You want to understand that it's time to end things now. Archduke Karl will not want a noble lady's lover as his son-in-law. Before all this becomes an obstacle, let's end everything decently, and then you can be relaxed and free. Just chase your future.”
"Okay, sir, you are a little emotional now. Let's discuss it later." Aigron waved his hand to signal the earl to stop talking. "I think with your current mental state, it's best to take a rest first."
"Your Highness, I am sober now, and I am speaking completely from your standpoint." The Earl refused to give in. "If you can't bear it, or you can't bear it, then I can solve the problem on your behalf. I I think Her Highness will also be considerate of you, and she knows what is best for you."
"I said, stop!" Aigron interrupted the other party impatiently and looked at him with some annoyance, "How dare you coerce me? I will listen to your advice on my matters because I respect you. experience, but I can only make the decision! I don’t need you to act for me... I understand your current mood, but now, please sit down for me!"
Under Aigron's scolding, the Earl's originally excited mood suddenly cooled down as if a basin of cold water had been poured on him.
He fell down on the sofa and looked at the young man blankly.
"Your Highness...I'm sorry, I may be a little...a little distracted." After a moment, he finally calmed down and apologized to Aiglon.
"It's nothing, we all have moments when we are distracted." Aigron shook his head, saying that he didn't care.
Then he asked, "Can I attend your mother's funeral?"
"Of course, it is our family's greatest honor to have you here." The Earl bowed to Aiglon to express his gratitude. "In addition, because of the many years I have taken care of you, Archduke Karl will also attend - Your Highness, you see, this Isn’t everything already falling into place?”
It is indeed a rare honor for a prince to take time to attend the funeral of an unknown family member like the earl. No wonder the earl is so grateful.
Archduke Karl has given enough face to his side.
"I will accompany you to say goodbye to your mother with great sadness, sir. I hope you can get over your grief as soon as possible."
Aigron thought for a moment, then spoke again. "Besides, how are you going to organize the funeral?"
"Originally, I planned to keep everything simple and only require family members to attend. But since Archduke Carl and you will be here, I will try to be more grand. You and Archduke Carl will be the hosts of the funeral."
After a pause, he added, "Don't worry, this is just in name only. It doesn't mean that you and the Grand Duke have to be responsible for handling all affairs. You and he can just give speeches instead of the pastor."
The count's arrangement was not only to allow his mother to be buried in a grand manner, but also to allow Archduke Karl and the young man to attend public events together as their son-in-law, so as to continuously consolidate the impression of marriage among the outside world.
As long as we continue to convey similar messages to the outside world, the Austrians will eventually accept the reality - and His Highness will also slowly admit the reality.
"Okay, I understand." Aigron nodded, indicating that he accepted the count's arrangement, "Please allow me to say it again, I am very sorry, please forgive me."
"Thank you for your comfort, Your Highness." The Earl smiled bitterly, then stood up and said goodbye, "Okay, I won't disturb you anymore. Goodbye, Your Highness."
"Goodbye, sir." Aigron also stood up and said goodbye to him.
In order to take care of the Earl's mood, Aigron sent him out of the palace specially, and did not wave goodbye until he came to the fountain.
Your Highness... you still have to be pushed by someone after all - looking at the young man's leaving figure, the Count thought to himself.
=============================================
After sending away his guardian, Aigron returned to his room again.
However, his previous joyful mood had been diluted a lot by the bad news brought by the count.
After all, after being together for so many years, it is impossible not to regret this.
But there was something else that worried him even more.
After thinking for a moment, he called Shanel over.
"Your Highness, do you have any orders?" Chanel asked curiously.
"Next time you go to the theater, you find a way to tell my cousin that I want to attend the funeral of my teacher, Count Dietrichstein." Eggron whispered to the other party, "The Count of time and place will definitely It’s written in the obituary, he just needs to pay more attention to the newspaper.”
"Okay, Your Highness." Shanel nodded lightly.
But at this time she seemed a little hesitant, "But, it was a funeral after all..."
"It's a good opportunity just because it's a funeral." Aiglon replied impatiently. "The count plans to hold a large funeral, so he will definitely accept condolences from all walks of life. When the time comes, my cousin will be among the mourners, and no one can We can clearly tell who he is, and of course no one will care who he is, and no one will be surprised when I greet the mourner and the mourners."
"That makes sense." Chanel thought for a moment, then nodded, "Okay, I will tell that to His Highness."
"You will definitely feel that this is a bit unhuman." Aigron smiled bitterly, "Yes, this is indeed a bit unhuman, but now is not the time for us to talk about human kindness. I have to do some things that are embarrassing to others."
After a pause, he added in a low voice, "What is entangled with me now is a dead end. The people around me have poured too much emotion into me and placed too many bets. They are the biggest in their lives." Their success may depend on my success...so they will not easily allow me to act outside of their plans, and they will try their best to tame me——"
"What do you mean?" Chanel asked quickly, "Will they be harmful to you?"
"No, it's not against me. On the contrary, they think it's for my own good." Aigron smiled bitterly, "This matter is going crazy. While everything can still be saved, I hope to be freed as soon as possible - I want to Run away before the wedding, so that everyone can have a step up. If the marriage really comes true and I run away, then Teresa... God, she will become a laughing stock in society. ...She shouldn't have to bear such a price!
If I don’t care what happens to Theresa, that’s fine, but I don’t think I can harm her to this extent, so…”
Aiglon looked at Chanel.
"I understand, Your Highness!" Chanel nodded heavily.
I don't know why, but she is also full of energy.
