"However, you can regard us as your protectors."
Aiglon's warning was serious and thoughtful, but the young Prince Otto was not discouraged by this, nor did he fear his possible future career as king.
He is only twelve or thirteen years old now. Although he has received education from the royal family, he does not really understand what "ruling" means, let alone the actual logic of the operation of power. He is just looking for a crown that will accidentally fall on his head. Just feeling excited.
He knew that as the second son, if he had not been lucky enough to see his eldest brother die young, the best future would have been to become a prince of Bavaria in the future, and he would not be able to truly command a country. But now he is There is hope of becoming the king of a new country - even if this country is far away, it is definitely a big leap in his life.
This piece of good news had already made him forget about it, so how could he worry about anything else?
Besides, from Prince Otto's point of view, his family has lush branches and deep roots. He only needs to bring people from Bavaria to assist him, which is enough to manage the country of Greece.
However, the smug little prince also had basic sense. He also knew that he must have a good relationship with the young man in front of him.
Although no one said it publicly, everyone knew that this crown was given to him by him, and even if he gave up the throne, he still had great influence in Greece. He single-handedly created the Principality of Ioannina It is also next to his own kingdom - which means that as long as he has the intention, he can cause great trouble to his rule.
In other words, without the cooperation of this "king chooser", he would never be able to safely be the king of Greece.
Therefore, under the advice of his father and teachers, he had already made up his mind to have a good relationship with Duke Lechstadt.
Moreover, as a young man who has just gained enthusiasm, he admires heroes the most. Duke Lechstadt happens to be the best among the royal nobles of the same generation. After learning about his deeds, Prince Otto himself admires him from the bottom of his heart. He was filled with admiration.
Because of many considerations, Prince Otto paid respectful attention to Aigron in front of his father, "Your Highness, I have been paying attention to your heroic deeds. You saved a suffering country and a great civilization." The remnants have accomplished what all Christians want to do... I only regret that I was too young and did not have time to join your service as a volunteer and create great achievements with you.
But God has favored me very much and given me the opportunity to be a follower of your great deeds and to lead that nation out of the trauma of long years of war. In this case, I am willing to follow God's teachings and your expectations and shoulder the responsibilities that a member of the royal family should have. responsibility! I also promise you that I will work hard to learn the knowledge required to be a king, abide by the principles I should have, and use my whole life to seek the welfare of my future people! "
This passage was the result of discussions between his father and his teachers, and Prince Otto had already memorized it by heart. Therefore, the little prince spoke it very skillfully, in one go, and at the same time, it was full of the lofty ideals of a young man, which made him very happy. The mediocre face also has a bit of immature kingly aura.
After listening to Prince Otto's words, Teresa glanced at Aigron, and then nodded gently, indicating that she was quite satisfied with the little prince's attitude.
Since his wife had no objections, Aigron had no objections either.
He did not feel sad about the loss of the Greek throne - after all, subsequent history had already proved that Greece was a chaotic place, and the country was poor and the people were weak, so it was really not worth worrying about.
So as long as the future king does not infringe on his legitimate interests, it doesn't matter to him.
So, he walked up to the little prince, stretched out his hand, and patted him on the shoulder condescendingly.
"Very good, Otto." He deliberately called the prince's name to close the psychological distance between the two people. "After hearing what you said, I was very moved. It seems that you have completely understood. As a king, I hope you will remember everything you said today, and then rule your future people with justice and mercy, and do not let down their expectations."
Aigron's pat was a little hard, causing the little prince's body to sway slightly, but neither he nor his father minded this small offense. On the contrary, the eyes of both father and son flashed with something that they could not hide. The joy of the young man - this move of the young man is tantamount to showing that he has no objection to Prince Otto, and as long as he has no objection, this crown will undoubtedly fall on Prince Otto's head.
As a thousand-year-old aristocratic family in Germany, the Wittelsbach family has always been one of the most important princes. Various branches of the family have successively ruled places such as Palatinate and Bavaria, profoundly affecting the history of the HRE Empire.
However, in the past few hundred years, the family has slowly slipped into decline and been weakened in a series of wars.
The biggest blow came after 1740. In this year, Emperor Charles VI of the Holy Roman Empire and the Habsburg family passed away. However, he left no male heirs and was forced to let his eldest daughter Theresa inherit his Austrian throne. Ancestry.
The then Elector of Bavaria, Karl-Albrecht, stood up as the leader of the princes and opposed Theresa's inheritance. In 1742, he was elected by these princes as Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, with the title Charles VII.
However, Theresa was unyielding and won the War of Austrian Succession, and sent troops to invade Bavaria, leaving the "Emperor" disgraced.
After falling into a desperate situation of internal and external troubles, Emperor Charles VII died of depression, and his successor, forced by the situation, also voluntarily withdrew from the election of the new emperor. In this way, the Wittelsbach family ended its three-year rule. The throne of Luo was returned to the hands of the Habsburg family - however, in order not to cause interference from other countries, Queen Theresa chose to let her husband, Duke Franz of Lorraine, take over the throne, and she actually implemented it. imperial power.
After this catastrophe, Bavaria was in ruins, and the Wittelsbach family also encountered disasters such as the Succession War and the Napoleonic War. Although they barely maintained their ancestral business, they were in decline, let alone fighting for Germany. leadership, it is already exhausting to maintain one's own status without declining.
But now, this declining family has seen an unexpected surprise - the crown from Greece has inexplicably fallen on their head.
The crown means land, population, increased family prestige and strength, and the great contribution this generation of kings have made to the family's prosperity.
How could this wonderful prospect not excite King Ludwig?
He seemed to see a future in which he would be praised as a wise king by his descendants - even though he actually did not put in any effort or price for this crown.
The more he thought about this, the more pleasing he looked at Aigron.
This young man has already achieved great fame. Although he gave up the crown of Greece, he still holds a principality in his hands. Even if he does not become an emperor in the future, his current performance alone is enough to show off. Complacency.
It's a pity that he is already married, otherwise it would be appropriate to become his brother-in-law...
His Majesty the King didn't know why his sister Maria suddenly asked him to see him alone - but according to her, it was because she was quite curious about this young man when she was corresponding with Sophie and wanted to see what he was like. Such people.
This request made King Ludwig a little confused, but he still complied with it, satisfying his sister's curiosity - he didn't know what Maria's real thoughts were, and he didn't bother to care so much.
His father, the forefather King Maximilian I, married twice. The first marriage was to Princess August Wilhelmine of Hesse-Darmstadt. They had 2 sons and 2 daughters who survived to adulthood. , including the king himself, and Princess Augusta, the wife of Prince Eugène; and the second marriage was after the death of his first wife, to Princess Frederick Caroline Wilhelmine of Baden, a total of five Two daughters lived to adulthood (two of them were twins).
So, Sophie and Maria are his half-sisters.
King Ludwig and his stepmother were not close, let alone such a half-sister. Apart from polite greetings, there was not much emotional communication.
He did not expect Maria to have such a request, but considering that her twin sister Sophie and the Duke of Lechstadt had been together, and it was said that Sophie took good care of the Duke, it was not enough for Maria to have some curiosity. No surprise.
Since Sophie married to Austria, King Ludwig had never cared about Sophie at all, but at this time he was full of gratitude to Sophie - after all, it was obvious that the reason why Duke Lechstadt accommodated himself in this way was Family, the biggest reason must be her care for the Duke back then.
A man who ignored his sister after getting married because of a political marriage did not expect to make great contributions to the family while he was silent!
Thinking about it, the king felt a little sad. How many generations of his family had worked hard and participated in so many wars. However, the territory did not increase much, but they were beaten to disgrace countless times. However, he did not expect that a married daughter would , but inadvertently, he more than doubled his family's territory... Even if Greece's national power is weak, the land is still there.
Should I be happy or smile bitterly?
Never mind it! No matter how bad a joke fate plays, the quality of the crown will not be devalued because of it.
When he thought of this, His Majesty the King's mood became unprecedentedly good, and the eyes he looked at Aigron were full of hospitality and joy.
"Your Highness, I will never forget the favor you bestowed on our family today. No matter what happens in the future, you will always be our family's friend - and I think my sister who is far away in Austria heard this. After this news, I will definitely feel very relieved, and she will definitely be grateful to you! After all, you have lived up to her love and care for you..."
As soon as he heard the king mention Sophie, Aigron suddenly became serious. "I said before that when I was in the most difficult time, Her Highness Sophie took care of me selflessly, giving me the courage to face life and persevere. My heart has always been full of gratitude. At that time, I was thinking, what if If I can repay the Wittelsbach family in the future, I will definitely do it. After I fled Vienna, she was even more disliked by His Majesty the Emperor. I think I owe her too much. Thank you fate... I finally Given this opportunity, I hope that after she learns about this, she can forgive me a little for the pain I have caused her."
Theresa lowered her gaze and looked at the table, not letting her unhappiness leak out to others.
She knew that Aigron's thoughts were very normal and inevitable; she also knew that choosing a member of the Wittelsbach family to wear the Greek crown was the best choice for the current situation.
However, just because she knew this, she always felt a little unhappy in her heart.
She knew that the lingering love after marriage made the young man feel very happy, but it could never dispel the memories that had always stayed in her husband's heart.
Those previous touches were deeply ingrained in his heart. Even if she felt unhappy, there was nothing she could do about it - who told her that that woman was already taking care of him before they met? This is probably the helplessness of fate.
Fortunately, now that she has been left in Vienna forever, she and her husband will be far apart from each other in the future, and she does not have to worry about her coming again to hinder her and her husband's happy life.
In this case, of course I can be more generous.
I wish her a happier life in the future~ Giving her family a crown to compensate for her victory is enough to show her generosity.
Fortunately, the two people mentioned Sophie and changed the subject soon after. Teresa's inner torment did not last long.
"I'm very happy that Otto is not alone in Greece. He also has the Principality of Ioannina as an ally, always watching and helping each other." King Ludwig took the initiative to propose a motion, "Your Highness, I have an idea - "
From his tone and expression, Aigron felt a little ominous inexplicably.
"Just say it."
His Majesty the King smiled, and then pointed to his second son, Prince Otto, "Look, Otto and Grand Duchess Haidee are similar in age. It is like God's arrangement. What do you think about letting him get engaged to Haidee?" In this way, the two newly born countries will have a closer bond with each other and will be able to help each other in the future."
Aigron's shock only lasted for a moment, and he immediately understood the other party's intention.
As a nominal ruler, Haidee had no actual power, but a ruler was a ruler after all, and she had no brothers or sisters, so her children were the natural heirs.
If Prince Otto marries her and gives birth to an heir in the future, then this means that the Principality of Ioannina can be incorporated into the future Kingdom of Greece without any bloodshed, further expanding the Wittelsbach family's ruling territory.
The worst-case scenario can also be the Junhe model. Anyway, the family can further expand.
Huh, that's a pretty idea. But for Aigron, although the Principality of Ioannina is not the place where he will always stay, it is still his first real territory after all, and he is not willing to hand it over to others in the future - even in name only.
Just when Aigron was about to politely refuse, Teresa suddenly spoke, almost tacitly speaking out what he had in mind.
"Your Majesty, Haidee is still too young, and it is too early to talk about this. Moreover, her previous experiences have left her lacking a lot of education. It is really difficult for her to be qualified to discuss marriage with one of the oldest royal families in Europe. , so... I think we can take a look first and talk about it later."
