"Your Highness, the Emperor asks you to supper."
With that, the squire respectfully left the room again, leaving the two men looking at each other.
Although aigron was the Emperor's grandson, it was not every day that he had the opportunity to dine with the Emperor, and the timing of the order did not seem to bode well.
"It seems that his Royal Highness has persuaded his Majesty that he is more determined than he imagined." "Whispered Count Dietrichstein a moment later.
"Yes, so it's not too late for you to back out, I understand." Agron nodded.
"I have promised you, and I will not go back on my promise, but there is only so much I can do for you, Sir. I hope you will understand." The count sighed.
Then he stood up again. "Well, I'll leave you to rest and see your Majesty later."
After the count had left, Agron picked up the book again and looked out of the window.
The room was silent again, only reminded of the passage of time by the ticking of the clock and the slanting sunlight outside.
When night began to fall on the earth, Agron finally left his room and followed the squire into the dining room.
Although it was late at night, the dining room was illuminated with brilliant lights from chandeliers on the ceiling, and a parade of uniformed squires passed through it, giving it a royal air.
When Agron entered the dining-room, the Emperor was already there and seated at the head of the table. So he went up to the Emperor and bowed respectfully to him.
Although he ruled over a vast empire, the passage of time had inevitably left its mark on emperor Franz I. His hair had turned gray, and no amount of majesty could hide the air of age.
But even so, he had enough energy to rule the empire effectively.
Today was not a formal occasion, so he did not wear fine clothes, but a military uniform as a casual dress, without a medal, simple clothes on the contrary made him look more lively than when dressed.
The Emperor, who seemed in a good mood today, looked Agron up and down and nodded with pleasure.
"Franz, every time I see you I wonder if you could be prettier, and I am not disappointed."
Agron was a little confused by the sudden praise. He did not quite understand the Emperor, but first he had to express his gratitude.
"Thank you for saying so, and I'll try not to disappoint you in the future."
"Please sit down, it is delightful to have a young man by your side at dinner." The Emperor smiled.
Agron bowed to his Majesty's will and took a seat.
It was a long table, and the Emperor was seated at the head of the table, and the Queen was seated opposite him, and Agron was beside the Emperor, and opposite him were the second prince, Grand Duke Karl, and princess Sophie and his wife.
Because of poor health, Prince Ferdinand often suffers from epileptic seizures, so he is not married and does not attend his majesty's dinner. He eats alone in his bedroom.
After he took his seat, Princess Sophie looked at him, then smiled and winked.
"Good evening, Franz..."
"Good evening, your Highness." Agron greeted her.
The two men smiled at each other and looked away.
As the Emperor began his meal, the dinner began.
Since this is not a grand palace banquet, it's just a royal dinner, so the food is not luxurious.
White sausage served cold with cream of mushroom soup, sirloin cut into small pieces for the main course,Served with a sauce made from cod and caper buds, and served with small desserts.
At dinner, the closest the royals are to each other all day, and usually the least pretentious of them, they talk to each other more, and even the emperor, who is usually so serious and unapproachable, becomes more approachable.
"Franz." After eating a few mouthfuls, the Emperor turned to the boy and said, "I hear you have rejected Metternich's offer? Can you tell me your reasons?"
"I don't know how his Royal Highness relayed my words to you, but I have already spoken to his Royal Highness about the exact reasons... Quite simply, I don't want to be a soldier, Your Majesty. ' "It's purely a matter of interest," Agron said, as calmly as he could. "I don't mean to be against him."
"But not everything in this world can be a bed of roses, even as an emperor." The Emperor spread out his hands. "No, more so, I should say, as emperor."
The Tone of the Emperor was as gracious as that of a common grandfather educating his grandson.
But there was an unassailable authority in that affability, and no one, at least at this court, could defy it.
Agron took a deep breath to calm his pounding heart.
"Your Majesty, this is no mere whim of mine. I have made this decision after much thought. I beg you to listen to my reasons, though the notion of deliberation seems ridiculous for my age."
"Oh?" The Emperor was greatly amused and nodded, "Speak."
"My father was a man who gave Europe countless nightmares. Because of his greed, countless young people from Lisbon to Moscow died in foreign lands, never to see their families. I can feel the pain even today." "Knowing the nightmare he has created, I feel unable to stare at the guns that created it... I don't want to be like him. I don't want to be like him. I don't want to be like him. I don't want to be like him.
Because he had rehearsed it so many times in his mind, his words came out with such earnestness that he almost believed them himself.
He was fed up with living in seclusion. All he wanted was to get his freedom back, and to do that he didn't mind burning the whole world.
Under his influence, the people around the table fell silent.
The Emperor listened to Aigron's confession in astonishment, and for a time was somewhat moved.
Metternich's words and his grandson's turned over in his mind, and he weighed them up and found them all right.
"Look how we've made a monk of Franz! The compassion is really touching." A moment later, he smiled awkwardly, soothing the table. "Franz, I don't want to interfere with your wishes, but as your grandfather, IT's my duty to make plans for your future..."
'Your Majesty!
Just then, Princess Sophie suddenly spoke.
The Emperor looked at his daughter-in-law in surprise. "Sophie, what's wrong?"
"I think Franz makes a lot of sense." Sophie looked bravely up at the Emperor. "Franz does not have to live like Napoleon, and I do not think he is fit to be an officer. Did you not just say he is very handsome? How could such a child bear the rigors of the army? Since he prefers pen to sword, we, as elders, should grant his wishes, right? He likes solitude, so let him keep it that way. Maybe one day he'll become a Napoleon of poetry, leaving more immortal poems for your Schonbrunn Palace... Wouldn't that be nice?"
Agron had not expected that Princess Sophie, who had just promised to help him, would do so quickly.
She really took good care of herself, as the pressure of saying pleasant words and comforting words in private was quite different from the pressure of defending herself in front of the emperor.
"Sophie, you Bavarians have always loved poetry and music more than guns..." Her husband, Archduke Carl, tried to smooth things over with a laugh and a joke.
Princess Sophie, however, was ungrateful. Her eyes moved slightly, giving her husband a stern glance.
Under this stern gaze, Archduke Carl took a mouthful of soup and gagged.
Two prince archduke Karl has always been gentle, even some weak, so the character respected and a strong wife, Sophie, in the history of Austria in 1848, he had the chance to inherit the throne, but because of Sophie insisted on, he gave up the throne, give the throne to their sons, which became the emperor Franz Joseph.
In the habsburg male members of the declining situation, Sophie princess with its hard will, strong control of the court, even known as the "habsburg court only man".
That's when Agron saw the momentum.
"Your Majesty, Sophie is right. We must take Franz's personal advice as well as his. To do otherwise would just send him into depression and misery at a young age, which is bad for everyone." Seeing her sister (and titular daughter-in-law) so vigorously defending Aigron, Her Majesty Queen Caroline could not help speaking.
At just 34, the empress is the emperor's fourth wife, 24 years behind him in age, and when she is with the ageing emperor, she is more like father and daughter than husband and wife.
The emperor looked at his new wife more like a father and daughter, but he didn't talk to her as much as he did to his sister, Princess Sophie.
The Emperor did not expect that what he had intended to settle at the dinner table would suddenly become an argument between members of the royal family, with his wife and daughter-in-law unanimously supporting his grandson's opinion.
Perhaps it would have been better for Napoleon's son to say goodbye to guns for good?
Metternich's proposal was still in his head, and he was suddenly in a state of uncertainty.
While he was thinking about it, the dinner came to an end, and the servants brought up the fruit, and the Emperor decided to observe it for the time being.
And so, as the Emperor rose to leave the table, the dinner party left the dining-room in a mood of joy or gloom.
Agron was the lucky one.
However, with the help of Princess Sophie, he managed to stay out of trouble for the time being.
However, this is only temporary.
If you don't get rid of this kind of life as soon as possible, then you will still be at the mercy of people, escape today can not escape tomorrow.
"Agron ~"
Suddenly he heard a greeting in his ear and turned to look at princess Sophie.
She changed her name after she left the restaurant.
No matter what, her gentle smile always makes people feel at ease.
"Agron, are you free tomorrow? If you're free, let's go out hunting."
Obviously, she's trying to take some pressure off herself.
Only moments before, she had been trying to defend herself in front of the Emperor.
Under the influence of her smile, Agron unconsciously straightened his back.
"If you call, I shall be free."
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