Maria was obviously not mentally prepared for Aigron's direct attack, so her first reaction was to glance at Aigron in surprise.
Then, she frowned slightly, seeming a little unhappy.
"What are you talking about?"
"Ah, I'm sorry -" Aigron seemed to wake up with a start, and then pretended to apologize to Maria, "I just... just couldn't help myself for a moment. You must also know that she called me that when we were together in private.
of--"
"Hey, thank you for being able to tell your shameless past so confidently." Maria sneered, "What? Now you are using the same tactics you used against my sister to deal with me?"
"Why can't I be confident? This is the best memory in my life." Aigron replied more confidently, "Please forgive me for my negligence. How could I not recall those past events in Vienna in this situation?
?You are so similar to her, so my memory and reality overlap almost every moment... So, even if it is self-deception, I want to hear you call me that. Of course, this will not change anything.
, but at least it will reduce my pain a little bit. Can you be merciful?"
After finishing speaking, Aigron picked up the cup and took a sip of coffee, then sighed, perfectly showing off his half-truth and half-false sadness.
Seeing his behavior, Maria couldn't bear to scold him anymore. She just complained, "I have said it many times, I am me, she is her, we are not the same person at all, don't
You always want me to pretend to be her in front of you, shouldn't you bear your own fault?"
Yes, you are jealous of her. Aigron said in his heart.
This is not surprising. They are obviously twin sisters from the same mother. They have the same family environment and received the same upbringing since childhood. However, because Sophie was born a few minutes earlier, she became the "sister" and then got married inexplicably.
She had the honor of marrying to Austria and becoming a prince and concubine, and she was expected to become the empress dowager in the future. Even though she was punished for being willful and having an affair, her lover became the emperor, and she has never forgotten it;
Looking back at myself, at this age, I am still alone as a sister-in-law. No one cares about me. I have neither power nor prestige. No one has any expectations for me.
In contrast, how could the arrogant Maria not feel jealous of this?
But jealousy is jealousy. When her sister was in trouble, she tried her best to run around and even went to Vienna to visit her sister and deliver news to her. This feeling of compatriots was also sincere.
On the one hand, they are jealous and complaining, but on the other hand, they can't help but feel sympathy and sadness for her experience, and even try their best for her. This is the true and awkward love between twin sisters.
And Aigron planned to use this awkward emotion to get Maria to finally agree to his plan.
"You are right." So, facing Maria's rebuke, Aigron nodded slightly, "Okay, this is what I brought upon myself, so let me bear all this myself... You have done enough
That’s too much, I shouldn’t ask you for anything more.”
After he finished speaking, he continued to drink coffee happily, and this dejected posture actually aroused some pity from Maria.
The two drank coffee together in silence. After a while, Maria took the initiative to break the silence.
"By the way, is Miss Agnes pregnant?"
"That's right, how did you know?" Aigron asked.
"Huh... You don't have any secrets in France. It has been spread all over the streets and alleys." Maria replied with a smile, "I heard someone talking about this when I was walking around."
Although Aigron did not publicize this matter, since ancient times, the palace has been a place full of gossip, and people are extremely keen to talk about this kind of gossip. In addition, Agnes followed Aigron on a nationwide tour and was among the people.
The popularity has always been high, so the news that Miss Agnes was officially pregnant spread quickly to the capital and other places, and became a hot topic among people.
"Then what else have you heard?" Aigron asked awkwardly.
"I also heard that, in order to please her, you have promised to give your children the coat of arms of Duke Lechstadt." Maria replied. "Is this true?"
"These people are really good at spreading news. I haven't officially announced it yet." Aigron spread his hands helplessly.
While sighing, he secretly made up his mind that in the future, he must strictly enforce discipline within the palace and strictly investigate those who publish messy news, so as to prevent his own affairs from easily becoming the protagonist of gossip news in the future.
However, when it came to Agnes, Maria's attitude was quite calm and she didn't care too much about Agron's mistress.
As a princess of the royal family, her mentality is actually similar to Theresa's. She just thinks that this is a "historical tradition". Agnes is just a servant no matter what, and even being jealous of her is a very "low price" thing.
.
On the contrary, she felt a little unfair for this unborn illegitimate child.
"You are so magnanimous. For an unborn child, the child of a princess, you have already prepared a noble title for him... Then have you forgotten that you have another child who is even more noble?
She was supposed to be a princess, but now she has nothing, and the world doesn't even know she exists——"
"I haven't forgotten." Aigron's heart suddenly tightened. "Although you can't notice it, I can tell you that I am trying to get closer to Austria. When the time is right, I will work with the old emperor and Mette.
Negotiate with Nirvana and ask them to send Crystal over as soon as possible - after all, detaining a little girl will not bring glory to their faces, not to mention that it is also his bloodline. As long as I can accomplish this,
Then I will definitely make her a princess and get the honor she deserves. What does a mere duke mean?"
Seeing Aigron's serious look, Maria believed what he said, so her expression finally softened a lot.
"Austria is not so easy to talk to -"
"When you become an emperor, when you have hundreds of thousands of troops in your hands, you will always find a way to make people talk nicely -" Aigron replied with an unquestionable expression, "Undoubtedly, I don't want to directly
We are at war with Austria, but I have many means to make them uncomfortable and make them ask for me, so don't worry, it won't take a few years."
Aiglon's arrogant and arrogant attitude would make many people feel disgusted, but for Maria, it made her feel sincere admiration and resonance, and she liked this style.
Therefore, she immediately forgot her little unhappiness, and turned to look at Aiglon with excited eyes. "Yes! That's it! You shouldn't be soft on those old people, you should have made them suffer a long time ago!"
She was cheering for joy, and for a moment she became energetic, "How about we find a way to let the old emperor go to see God as soon as possible? Anyway, he is a disaster to everyone when he is alive. As long as he dies, Sophie's situation will naturally be much better -"
"We still have to be realistic and can't daydream out of thin air here." Aigron laughed dryly, pretending that he didn't hear anything.
Aigron had heard similar words from Maria before, but even so, he couldn't help but feel secretly frightened at this moment.
This daring and gloating woman was actually even more unscrupulous than Sophie. She even treated the life of the emperor of a country as something casually used for fun.
Fortunately, she doesn't really have power, otherwise I really don't know what she would do.
However, Aigron had also secretly considered the idea of "fulfilling his filial piety" to his grandfather.
Not only because the death of the old emperor can improve Sophie's situation, but also because after the death of the old emperor, Metternich, who has lost his biggest supporter, will have a more precarious position. He will have more motivation to move closer to him and rely on his own strength.
Support the continuation of his position as prime minister - he may even be forced to form an alliance with the Sophie to consolidate his position in the court and avoid being driven out by other dissatisfied royal families.
However, after thinking about it, he put the idea aside for the time being. It's not that he had an "uneasy conscience" and couldn't bear to do something to his grandfather. He didn't have the guts to do it. It's just that killing an emperor was not as simple as casual talk.
He does not have reliable manpower or reliable means now, and the risk is too great. Once things are not done well, he will immediately become a heinous murderer. He can only be cautious in the face of such terrible consequences.
.
In order to prevent Maria from saying more crazy things, Aigron took the initiative to change the subject, "By the way, Miss Maria, are you interested in hearing about my playground plan?"
"Amusement park?" Maria was confused by this word she had never heard before, "What is that?"
Seeing that he had diverted Maria's attention, Aigron was secretly lucky, and then he patiently explained his thoughts.
"During this time, you and I have been playing together. You must have noticed that the citizens of Paris have spare money and time, but they actually lack entertainment venues and means. Undoubtedly, they can sit in a cafe all day
, they can also go to the casino to squander their few assets, but this will not be beneficial to society, and it will corrupt the morals of the people. Therefore, I want to find a piece of land in the suburbs of Paris, and then use it in the name of the royal family.
Build a large entertainment facility and get some novel toys so that citizens and their children have a fun place to have fun in their free time...This is better than losing all their money in the casino."
Then, Aiglon made gestures on the table, demonstrated with cups and saucers, and introduced his plan to Maria with great enthusiasm.
There is no doubt that in this era, amusement parks are still a concept that is ahead of its time, but if you think about it carefully, in fact, the prosperous Greater Paris area already has sufficient "market demand".
Moreover, in this period when the steam age is gradually beginning to show its power, there is enough motivation to build some large-scale entertainment facilities, and you can also stuff zoos, botanical gardens and other novel things into them, and finally create a place that ordinary people will never leave.
's playground.
Of course, due to limited technical capabilities, it is still difficult to build facilities such as roller coasters or Ferris wheels, but even so, in this era of high lack of entertainment means, his "playground" idea is attractive enough, not to mention
Still using the royal gimmick.
"Why do you care so much about this kind of thing?" Seeing Aiglon's enthusiastic look, Maria was a little confused for a moment, "I thought you only cared about power and were engaged in various conspiracies all day long-"
"No, this is power. Miss Maria, you have mystified power. In fact, making people feel happy is also a major source of power." Aigron waved his hand gently, correcting the other party's wrong thinking, "Actually, it makes people feel happy.
This is not a new idea. In ancient times, the Roman emperors had already summarized their methods of winning people's hearts. In fact, it was very simple. There were only two words - bread and circus. Bread means food, means work, and allows the people to work.
They obtain supplies for survival; and the circus allows people to have leisure and novel entertainment after a hard life. For this reason, the Romans built a spectacle-like Colosseum, which still stands in Rome today... Of course
, In today's era, we have to be civilized. We can't let people be slaves, let alone let them fight each other as gladiators. In order to reflect the progress of the times, I should dedicate some high-end products to the people. This is what I want to do.
everything."
"That's what I say, but it's really rare for an emperor to care about people's entertainment -" Maria seemed to be sighing. "Most emperors only care about making the people satisfy their endless ambitions like ants..."
"So I am the better kind of emperor -" Aigron replied triumphantly.
After saying this, Aigron changed the topic again, "Furthermore, as long as it is managed properly and makes small profits but quick turnover, the amusement park I founded will become an important profit-making asset of the royal family. It can earn more money than the government issuing casino licenses and then earning from it."
Taxation is much cleaner -"
In fact, Aigron had another purpose that he did not reveal.
Next to the amusement park he plans to build, there is also a planned huge train station, which will serve as a distribution center for tourists. At the same time, the huge steam-belching machinery in the amusement park will surely attract everyone who comes here.
It left a deep impression on people, allowing them to intuitively feel the "future vision" brought by steam power, and subtly allowing them to support the new era and the huge changes brought about by new inventions.
This trick of moistening the rain to educate folk customs silently was quite advanced in this era, and Aigron didn't want to explain too much to Maria.
And Maria's interest has been completely aroused by Aigron. She forgot about her sister and the dangerous words she just said to Aigron, but was obsessed with the picture Aigron said.
She is a woman who likes novelty and enjoyment, so how could she not be interested in this.
According to Aigron's design, she imagined a "carousel".
In the hazy water vapor, the two people rode a white wooden horse through the clouds and mist, which instantly captured her romantic reverie.
"This is a good idea!" She couldn't help but praise, "You must let me come over and play with it when the time comes."
"No problem, I will take you there before it opens, and the entire amusement park will be open to us only - how about that?" Aigron replied with a smile.
"That's great, my darling~ I've been waiting for this day." Maria looked at him, and then replied with a smile.
Huh? He actually came?
Even though he knew it was an act, Aigron was still a little dazed for a moment.
"This is all because you just gave me a large amount of money - I should always be humble to my creditors." Facing his doubtful eyes, Maria kept her smile unchanged, and then drank it calmly.