"However, Your Majesty, I would be happy to accompany you to enjoy this pleasure."
"Then it's settled." Aigron couldn't help laughing, "After I settle down, I will take the time to practice skiing with you. After I learn how to do it, I will take Theresa with me... I want to come She'll be happy too."
"If I can leave you and Your Highness Teresa with good memories here, it would also be an honor for me." Queen Ortense replied diligently, "From an elder's point of view, it is great to be able to see young people like you gathering together. Being in front of me also brings me a lot of comfort——"
When he came to Queen Ortense again, Aigron's mood was completely different.
The last time he had just escaped from Austria, the journey was bumpy and he had lingering fears. Although he had a vague plan for what to do next, he didn't know whether he had the ability to execute it, and he was also full of confusion about the future.
But now, the situation is completely different. After more than a year of experience, he already owns a small territory and has a group of loyal subordinates who follow him. More importantly, he has been trained to be calm, confident and calm. Mentality, he has fully devoted himself to his new role and is truly convinced that he can become the leader of the Bonaparte family and a pretender to the throne.
This mentality made him no longer have any hesitation or confusion, and he even felt a little more leisurely.
Of course, he was somewhat intentional. He just wanted to infect the people around him with this kind of confidence and calmness, so that they would also have a hundred times more confidence in himself.
Judging from Queen Hortense's demeanor, she was indeed infected by Aiglon, as if this young man was not doing anything important, but just an ordinary junior guest who came to visit her.
Aigron and the Queen chatted while dining, and the topic soon turned to the topic of Aigron's last visit to Bavaria and his visit to the widow of his adopted brother, Prince Eugene.
And Queen Ortense is Prince Eugene's biological sister.
The brother and sister depended on each other after their father was killed, and spent the darkest and most precarious days together. Their relationship was naturally extremely deep, so when it came to Prince Eugène, Queen Ortense could no longer maintain her usual calmness and elegance. Her expression changed, and she burst into tears, saddened by her brother's untimely death.
"Oh, God was so harsh on him. He took him away when he was only in his early forties! He was such an extremely upright and considerate person, full of kindness to everyone, even though he provoked many enemies for the sake of the empire. , but almost no personal enemies, everyone praises him and respects him... When I think that I will never see him again for the rest of my life, I feel that my heart is torn." Queen Ortense cried while , said with a trembling voice. "If my brother could see you like you are now, how happy he would be! He will definitely try his best to help you, even more than I have done."
Yes, he will do that - Aiglon answered in his mind.
He did not tell the Queen about Prince Eugène's posthumous manuscript, because it would be disgraceful to tell it, so he hid it.
"I dare not say that I am as sad as you about the prince, because you are the one who grew up with him and endured the disaster together. The bond between you and him is unmatched by anyone. But I For him, and for me, I am equally full of respect and gratitude. It’s funny, in our family, every man is full of ambition, and each other is full of quarrels and attacks, but he...he is our He is the best person in the world. He serves the emperor wholeheartedly and never complains or resents anyone. I only regret that I didn’t have time to see him again and say these words in person.”
Then, he solemnly looked at Queen Ortense, who was still crying, "She has passed away, and there is no point in talking more. We can only bear the pain silently. And now... Your Majesty the Queen, you are me There is only one of my closest relatives left. You were first my father's adopted daughter, and then my uncle's wife. You witnessed and experienced all the joys and sorrows of our family... You shared my adversities with me, and when I was in the most difficult times, you supported me. You helped me regardless of gain or loss...I will always remember this, and I will always love you, and I am willing to do my best to serve you and fulfill all your wishes."
After hearing Aigron's words, the queen was moved to tears again.
"I do want to trouble you with something, Your Majesty."
Aigron was slightly surprised.
He had just made a promise to the queen to "fulfill all your wishes" partly out of emotion and partly out of etiquette, but he did not expect that the queen actually wanted something from her.
Obviously, "every wish" is impossible, and he believes that the queen is not really so ignorant, making both of them look ugly.
"Please tell me." He replied quickly.
"You were born in 1811, and my sons, Louis is five years older than you, and Charlie is three years older than you... I am very happy that they have all contributed to you and the family's business, and I also warn They must continue to serve you and fulfill their duties." The Queen whispered while looking at Aiglon.
In fact, Queen Ortense had three sons, but the eldest son passed away early when he was only a few years old. Of course, Aiglon would not bring this sad incident to the scene at this time.
"Well, my two cousins really helped me a lot, and I'm very grateful to them." Aigron nodded.
Although his relationship with his two cousins is not very good now, they were the ones who rescued him in the first place. He cannot deny this debt, especially in front of their mother.
"Back then, your father was exiled to an isolated island. Before he passed away, when he mentioned you, he once said that when you grow up, it would be best for you to marry a princess from the ancient royal family. If that doesn't work, then you should marry the prince of the family. Sister, you are now married, and you are marrying a Habsburg princess. Although there were some innocuous twists and turns, it can be regarded as fulfilling his last wish. Now Princess Theresa has lived up to expectations and gave birth to you. He has given birth to an heir, and his spirit in heaven will surely cheer for him... I am also sincerely happy for him."
After sighing with emotion, Queen Ortense continued. "Parents in the world are like this. Your father can't worry about you, and I can't worry about my sons either. I don't know much about other things, and I don't want to get involved, except for their marriage. As a mother, I really can’t let go…”
When the queen said this, Aigron probably understood what she meant.
She was asking for grace for her son.
Intermarriage between feudal royal families in Europe has been a rule for thousands of years. When the Bonaparte family was at its most prosperous, it was accepted as the supreme monarchy family, and the marriages of its family members were naturally "top matches." .
Napoleon himself married a Habsburg princess, his younger brother married a Württemberg princess, and his adopted son married a Bavaria princess. They almost "collected" the most noble and famous princesses in Germany at that time, which greatly satisfied the little Napoleon. The vanity of a landowner's son - his third brother Lucien was reprimanded by the furious emperor because he refused to divorce his original wife and marry another princess. He ran away to Rome in anger and almost broke off the brotherly relationship.
If you have a way, it's the way of heaven. It's so good when you're in good times, but so miserable when you're down and out.
After the fall of the empire, although the princesses who married members of the Bonaparte family did not abandon their husbands (except Louisa), the door of the European royal family was once again closed to members of the Bonaparte family. Their marriages, It's a bit like "If you can't do it well, you can't do it low."
In order not to lower the style of the family, and to prevent the family's hard-earned wealth from being leaked out, members of the Bonaparte family chose "internal digestion", that is, to allow cousins to marry.
Napoleon's eldest brother, the former King of Spain, Joseph, had two daughters. One married his brother Lucien's eldest son, and the other married his brother Louis' eldest son. It can be regarded as a compromise out of desperation - under normal circumstances, these two Bosnians would have married each other. Princess Naba will definitely marry the royal families of various countries.
In the original historical line, after many years of exile, Napoleon III finally rebuilt the empire. However, at this time, he could not find a royal princess who was willing to marry him. In the end, he had no choice but to marry a Spanish ordinary. The noblewoman Eugénie became queen.
During the 20 years of rule of the Second Empire, Napoleon III had been trying to change his family's pedigree and re-enter the royal family.
His efforts were successful. During his reign, his cousin Prince Jérôme Bonaparte married a princess of the Savoy family of the Kingdom of Sardinia (on the condition that the Kingdom of Sardinia went to war with Austria. time was on Sardinia's side) and finally entered the palace.
After the Franco-Prussian War, the Second Empire was eventually destroyed, but its "family line" was retained after all. Victor Bonaparte, a descendant of Jérôme and an exile known as Napoleon V, married a Belgian The princess of the royal family is integrated into the monarch's family.
However, in this world line, it is obvious that this process has been greatly accelerated - after all, as the heir, Aigron married the daughter of Habsburg.
And Queen Ortense seems to hope that her son can get some glory.
Sure enough, under Aiglon's gaze, Queen Hortense made her request, "Your Majesty, my eldest son has now married Joseph's daughter, let's not mention it for now. However, my younger son Charlie is still unmarried. Door, I really don’t want to see him who is obviously older than you but still has no whereabouts... So, I have the audacity to ask you to help me with this, can you?"
Aigron did not answer immediately, but remained silent.
He knew that for the royal family, marriage was never just a marriage, it also meant too many things. His cousin was so ambitious, and it would be a bit eye-catching if he was married to a foreign royal family.
However, now that the queen is begging softly in front of him, and he has just said that he will make every effort to fulfill the queen's wish, how can he go back on his words in person?
"Your Majesty the Queen, if I can do it, I would be happy to let my family members marry foreign royal families like the late emperor did." After pondering for a moment, Aigron answered, "But now, with our I really can't make the proud royal family lower their heads... This matter can only be discussed later."
"I know that it is a bit difficult for you to realize this wish at the moment - but I believe that as long as your career is successful in the future, you will have many opportunities to realize it for me, don't you think so?" The Queen pretended not to hear Aigron's words. He was perfunctory, but continued to question him, and it seemed that he would not give up until he got a positive response.
Facing Queen Hortense's expectant eyes, Aiglon finally nodded. "Yes, of course."
After all, he was unwilling to break the queen's heart, nor was he willing to break his promise in person.
Forget it, there is no point worrying about this kind of thing now. Besides, even if the promise is to be fulfilled in the future, there are many workarounds to make this matter harmless.
After receiving this satisfactory answer, the queen finally smiled again, "Thank you, Your Majesty... I believe that this day will come soon... I am longing for the day when I will be surrounded by my grandchildren, that will be the day when I The last and most complete happiness in the world, right?"
"Of course." Aigron could only nod again.
Now he has figured out that his cousin must be behind all this.
He knew that his relationship with His Majesty had cooled down and that if he made a request, he would definitely be rejected, so he used his mother as a mouthpiece. Queen Ortense was also willing to work for the welfare of her son, so when she first saw Aiglon Tian took advantage of Aigron's most emotional moment to make this request.
Basically, after using this move, Aigron could not refuse.
Even after thinking about all this, Aiglon had nothing to say, and he had no objection to the queen herself - no one was qualified to criticize a mother's love for her son, and there was nothing wrong with wanting to pave the way for her son's future. Woolen cloth?
Didn’t his own mother do the same thing? Of course her motive is for the children with her stepfather, Earl Neipeg.
When he thought of Louisa, Aigron's mood hit rock bottom.
Comparing Louisa with Hortense, he wished he could be like Queen Hortense.
It's just that the past cannot be recalled, and the previous relationship between mother and son is destined to be irreparable.
After this turmoil, Aigron was a little disheartened, ended his breakfast hastily, and left Queen Hortense's side.
He came to the room assigned to him by the queen, and then asked his captain Andre to call Prince Charles over.
After receiving the order, Prince Charlie quickly came to the room. Judging from his expression, he was ready to face a violent storm.
If it's just a scolding in exchange for an inescapable promise, it's already worth it to him.
However, what surprised him was that his cousin's expression did not have any gloom. On the contrary, he was still as happy and content as before.
"My cousin, I thank you for everything you have done for me during this time...you have worked hard." Aigron greeted him with a smile.
This smile made the prince feel worse than any angry rebuke, but of course he did not dare to contradict Aigron.
"Your Majesty... it is my duty to serve you..." He quickly lowered his head and paid tribute to his cousin.
