While Prince Metternich was talking to the Emperor, Agron was strolling along the long corridor, ready to return to his bedroom.
He was in a bad mood because of his quarrel with Prince Metternich, but his face showed no sign of it. For years he had been accustomed to keeping his thoughts to himself.
He was just outside his door when he suddenly noticed what seemed to be another man beside him.
This is a woman of about twenty.
She was short in a long dress, but tall because of her slender frame, and her neck was long enough to give her movements and expressions a graceful touch. Her brown hair was curled in a fashionable fashion.
Looking at him with half a smile, his face was red and white, full of youthful charm, but because he was a wife for the first time, there was some charm of a young woman.
"Agron! Good morning." When Agron looked at her, she smiled and greeted him.
"Good morning, your Highness." Agron stopped and saluted her.
She is Princess Sophie.
The daughter of King Maximilian I of Bavaria, she was born in 1805. In 1824, at the age of 19, she married the Emperor's youngest son, Grand Duke Franz Karl (aigron's younger uncle) and lived in Schonbrunn Palace, where the two met.
Agron was quite friendly with her and liked the way she smiled when she greeted him.
Not just because she had a nice voice, but because she was the only person in the vast palace who could call herself by that nickname in French.
Moreover, although the prince's wife was his aunt, she was only six years older than him, and the new princess had more in common with him than anyone else at court.
Notably, her sister, Princess Caroline, born in 1792, married the widowed Austrian emperor in 1816 and became his titular "grandmother" -- though only 19 years older than him.
What's more, their eldest sister, Princess Augusta, born in 1788, married Napoleon's adopted son Eugene de Boharne in 1806.
So, according to the strict chronological order, the three princess sisters are respectively his "brother and sister-in-law", "grandmother" and "aunt".
It is also a sign of the chaos of political marriages in the aristocratic world and of the napoleons' desperate efforts to fit into the royal family of Europe when they were in power.
From the first day he met her, Aigron did not bother about "what should I call her?" After all, in this luxurious and leisurely court, these royal family members who are born to live in luxury, what do they care about the so-called sequence?
From the moment they met, Princess Sophie was very friendly to him, without any Austrian prejudice.
After all, The Bavarians did not hate Napoleon. After all, in napoleon's time, the giant had created the Rhine League and elevated the Elector of Bavaria to the kingdom of Bavaria, making it another German power.
In gratitude to The Emperor, the Bavarian king married his adopted son and fought alongside Napoleon, only deserting him in 1813 when napoleon was at his last resort.
Meanwhile, despite the collapse of the empire, the king took in his son-in-law, Oren, who had nowhere else to go, and enjoyed a pretty good life until Oren's death in 1824.
Oren and Princess Augusta were also very much in love, a rare kind of political marriage.
Growing up in such a living environment, Sophie princess naturally did not develop hostility to the Bonaparte family, after marrying Austria, friendly and kind to Aigron is very normal things.
After two people are familiar with, Sophie princess directly use you to call him, it can be seen that he is really another eye.
"I hear you were just called by our dear Prime Minister?" Princess Sophie asked as she approached.
"You are so well informed --" Agron smiled helplessly.
"It didn't look like you had a particularly pleasant conversation. Did he scold you?" "Asked the princess.
"Not really a rebuke... It's just a bit of a dilemma." Aigron continued to smile bitterly.
"Perhaps the old man is up to something again." Princess Sophie said disapprovingly.
Agron didn't say anything, since it wasn't a convenient conversation to have in the hallway.
"Well... This is not a good place to talk." Princess Sophie squinted sideways, then raised her eyebrows, her eyes flowing with charm in their cleverness. "Come with me --"
With that, she turned and walked away, her skirts fluttering and leaving the boy a graceful figure, and Agron had to follow her.
The two men went out of the great palace and down the steps to the fountain at the door. They did not have to worry about the walls having ears because of the sound of the water.
"Agron, what did he say?" "Asked the princess.
"He said he wanted me to get a military education, and I didn't want to go." "And we had some arguments."
"Is that so..." Princess Sophie looked down a little and thought. "He's not one to change his mind easily."
"That's my dilemma." Agron nodded. "I really don't want to go at all, but I don't want to go against his wishes."
"Then refuse him firmly. I think you deserve some freedom." Princess Sophie curled her lips unhappily. "He may be powerful, but he can't dictate all the actions of the royal family, can he?"
"But he could persuade his Majesty to do it..." Agron shook his head. "If your Majesty should be persuaded by him, I might find it difficult to refuse."
Princess Sophie was dumbfounded.
Indeed, his Majesty was the supreme emperor and the unquestioned patriarch of the Habsburg family, and his orders to the royal family could not be offended, and Aigron was so special and awkward that it would have been difficult to refuse.
"If that's the case, I'll go to Carl and ask him to intercede with you. The Emperor is not a cruel man. If you and I intercede together, something will turn up." Princess Sophie's voice grew softer, apparently reassuring Agron.
Agron was silent.
Her Royal highness, standing near the fountain, seemed to be surrounded by a halo of water vapor, hazy and real.
"Thank you." A moment later he stammered, "I'm not saying I'm grateful for your help, but... I am very grateful for your kindness. It is really something to cherish."
"Ha ha... Lovely child." Seeing his reaction, Princess Sophie could not help laughing. "Don't be so stiff. After all, we are a family now, aren't we? I should certainly help you in any way I can."
"You're not much older than I am --" Agron whispered back.
"But I am married, and destined to take up this place: I have lost the right to continue my youth, and you have not." Princess Sophie's face became serious, then she raised her hand and pointed to the great palace opposite them. "Agron, do you know why I am so kind to you?"
"To be honest I do sometimes wonder..." "Replied Agron.
Her Royal Highness looked up at the sculpture at the top of the fountain and sighed a little sadly.
"Before I married, my brother-in-law, your brother, was dying. When he was very ill, he told me that he had been happy enough in his life, that he had never betrayed anyone, that he would not be ashamed to go to heaven, and that he could face that man with dignity. But there was one regret he couldn't get over: his brother. He was doomed not to be able to save the poor child in the cage, and he could not bear the thought of it, so he begged me to take care of you as much as I could when I got here, so that you would not die young out of despair..."
After saying this, Princess Sophie withdrew her eyes and looked seriously at the young man in front of her.
"I don't want him to die with regret, so I'll keep my word. Here, Agron, you can think of me as your sister and help you grow up safe and happy."
Aigron listened to her quietly and suddenly felt a dull ache in his heart.
It was not really his business, but somehow he felt a pang of sadness.
Both for the late step-brother Eugene de Boharne and for princess Sophie.
There seemed to be an intersection between two worlds that had diverged.
Historically, the relationship between two people has been very close.
After she was married to the Austrian court, the King of Rome, who lacked friendship all his life, regarded her as one of the few close friends in schonbrunn Palace, and Sophie princess seems to have special feelings for the King of Rome.
The two often dance together at the ball, and usually interact very much, because of their mutual feelings, which led to a lot of rumors in the court, and even some people suspected that her royal highness's youngest son Maximilian is illegitimate with the King of Rome.
There was, of course, no basis for such rumors, but it was common knowledge that the princess was devastated when the King died in 1832.
Perhaps in Sophie's eyes, the King of Rome was her real family in the strange Austrian court. UU reading www.uukanshu.com
"And I will do what I can to protect you, Your Highness." In the midst of emotion, he whispered a promise.
Suddenly, there was a little more pathos between the two.
"Don't be discouraged, Agron. These bad days will pass." A moment later, Princess Sophie recovered herself and comforted the boy. "I told you... One day I'll be the boss around here, and then you'll be free to do whatever you want with no one to bully you... Just wait until then, trust me!"
Agron knew that the Princess was right.
Although she was married to the emperor's youngest son, Archduke Karl, it was known to all that the emperor's eldest son Ferdinand suffered from a serious congenital disease and lost his fertility. Even if he succeeded to the throne, he could not rule the country, and eventually the Throne of Austria would fall to the princess.
In history, Ferdinand ascended the throne in 1835 and abdicated in 1848 due to serious illness. Franz Joseph, the son of Princess Sophie, succeeded to the throne at the age of 18. From then on, The Empress Dowager Sophie dominated the Austrian court with her own willpower and became a real figure who could say no more.
Well, that was 1848, and this is 1826.
Even if Princess Sophie does not change her mind and is willing to fulfill her promise, it will be at least 20 years before she has the final say in the court.
How many more 20 years of your life do you have to waste here?
He didn't want to wait that long.
He didn't have that much time to endure.
"I believe you, My Lord." Agron closed his eyes, moved. "I will wait for that day."
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