The Palace of Fontainebleau in spring is like a picturesque scene
The spring rain that just fell not only made the greenery in the palace exude a fresh aroma, but also seemed to be equipped with a layer of water mist filter. The Seine River in the distance flowed quietly, nourishing the clear water here.
The blue sky, everything looks so clear and pure.
However, the palace where the supreme power is gathered can never be as clear as it appears on the surface. At any time, there will be undercurrents surging under the calm appearance.
In the warm spring breeze, Queen Theresa walked out of her palace and walked leisurely along the corridor to an inconspicuous corner, with several confidant female officials following behind her.
Although this group of people was silent, people along the way immediately retreated to both sides and saluted Her Majesty the Queen respectfully.
Teresa walked calmly, until she reached her destination, a subtle expression of coldness and joy appeared on her face.
After walking through the door, Major Foresti, who was from Austria like her, came out and saluted Teresa.
"Did she get her back?" Teresa didn't care about the red tape and went straight to the point.
"The stolen goods were stolen." Major Foresti replied respectfully, "After we captured her back to the palace, we asked the female officer to search her body, and then found some information on her body. This information,
They are all summaries of His Majesty’s future Paris city construction plans, and there are even sketches drawn by His Majesty himself.”
After speaking, he handed all the physical evidence to Teresa.
When she saw these physical evidences, Theresa's eyes suddenly flashed with joy.
Because this clearly and unmistakably proves that Maria indeed "stole" His Majesty the Emperor's secrets and tried to sell them for profit. It can be said to be "irrefutable evidence."
But soon, her joy turned into anger.
Because these things are supposed to be topics of conversation that the couple should share before falling asleep.
For many nights, she watched His Highness talk endlessly about these seemingly bizarre "fantasies" with admiration and even obsession, and then fell asleep quietly with happiness and comfort.
All along, the couple has worked together to turn each of their wild dreams into reality.
These magnificent dreams of His Highness should only be listened to and remembered by yourself——
However, His Highness, whom he loves deeply, will also share these wild thoughts with others.
"She deserves to know..." Teresa bit her lip, then whispered a disdainful comment.
Feeling Teresa's hatred, the major next to him couldn't help but lower his head even lower.
To him, Queen Theresa was his Royal Highness the Princess and the descendant whom Archduke Karl entrusted him to take care of. No matter what happened, he could only stand on her side, even through fire and water - so he was completely
Following Teresa's instructions, he personally arrested Maria who fell into a trap.
However, deep down in his heart, he still had reservations about Teresa's ruthless behavior.
After all, in the empire, the person with the greatest say is always His Majesty, and his authority is unquestionable. It is really unwise for Queen Theresa to directly confront His Majesty over a dispute of sentiments.
But having said that, Teresa was uncharacteristically using such ruthless means to deal with Maria. She also had her reasons. After all, she was a young woman and not a cold political machine. Facing the aggressive Maria, she could no longer bear it.
.
"Your Majesty the Queen, although our actions are deliberately low-key, I think His Majesty the Emperor will know about it soon, so you'd better prepare accordingly." After a moment of silence, the major reminded Teresa, "We will definitely not be able to stop His Majesty.
, if he insists on coming here to take away Her Royal Highness Maria, we can only stand aside."
"If he comes, that's great. You don't have to stop him, just bring him to me. You don't need to intervene in the next thing." Theresa was obviously mentally prepared for this, so she just replied calmly.
.
Yes, it looks like he really has no mercy at all.
Alas, I just hope that this crisis can end with the least disturbance... The major prayed silently in his heart.
As one of the people who worked hard to bring this young couple together at that time, he was happier than anyone else when he saw them living a happy life, and he was also more afraid than anyone else of seeing them turn against each other.
Teresa didn't know what the major was thinking at the moment, and she had no time to care about it.
After the major opened a door inside, she walked straight in.
As for Maria, she was temporarily detained inside. In order to prevent her from making excessive moves, two maids were arranged to monitor her every move.
It was said that she was detained, but out of respect for Princess Maria's identity, she was not physically abused or tied up, but her freedom of movement was restricted.
But even so, at this moment Maria's face was still pale, her expression was frightened and confused, she looked extremely downcast, and she no longer had the arrogance of the past.
Obviously, Maria still doesn't know what exactly happened to her now and what situation she has found herself in.
Theoretically, interrogating her alone is meaningless. Maria, a arrogant person, has no awareness of counter-investigation. What she did can be easily detected. Now that the witnesses and physical evidence are very sufficient and complete, it is basically
There was no room for her denial.
But Teresa came to interrogate herself anyway.
For no other reason than to avenge her past shame and make her pay the due price for the humiliation she suffered before.
Teresa didn't feel that she was going too far, because Maria's actions to make her stand down in public had pushed her into a corner, leaving her with no room for tolerance.
Since you don't respect me at all, don't blame me for being ruthless.
After seeing Teresa walk in, Maria finally understood what was going on.
He was arrested by Teresa's men.
That's right, given her status, no one would dare to arrest her unless she gave the order herself.
How shameless!
"Your Highness Theresa, can you explain what you are doing?" Maria glared at Theresa, and then asked word for word, "You actually detained a foreign princess out of personal grudges. How is that?
Disregarding dignity?!”
Now that it was time to break up, she didn't want to call the other person "Your Majesty the Queen" in a pretentious manner, so she just called him by his first name.
Facing the furious Maria, Teresa remained unmoved. She just looked at him with mocking eyes, and then asked, "Your Highness Maria, you should be the one to explain to me what you have done now, right?"
?You are obviously our guest and you have received such preferential treatment, but you are doing some disgusting things in secret. How can you be embarrassed?"
After she finished speaking, she specifically showed the material in her hand and said, "Please stop making unnecessary excuses. This is the real evidence in my hand. You overheard important information from my husband and then forwarded it to me."
Selling the heads to businessmen for personal gain is stealing state secrets. Although I don’t know if you are officially sanctioned espionage or if you are just seeking personal gain. As the Queen of the Empire, I will never tolerate such despicable behavior like yours.
Theft, and I also have the right to stop it.
So, Your Highness Maria, although I regret the trouble I have caused you, I think you deserve it. Your best way out now is to cooperate with our investigation. We will give you a fair result and try our best to protect it.
Your family's reputation..."
Teresa's words were sarcastic, but they were also impeccable. At least now that the witnesses and physical evidence were available, Maria had no way to refute.
The problem is, she doesn't feel she needs to defend herself.
As a royal princess, as an arrogant and arrogant person, her thinking is based on the traditional aristocratic "family world" idea, and she believes that it is only natural and natural for her to obtain "rewards" from the king. She does not feel that she is "rewarding" at all.
crime".
Just like the nobles in ancient times did not feel that it was a crime to cause the destruction of the people's families when they asked for territory from the king.
Isn't it just to get some benefits from the emperor? What's the problem? Who wouldn't do this if given the opportunity?
Even the emperor didn't say anything. What are you talking about here?
Of course, Maria also knew in her heart that Teresa had caught her at the most critical moment when she was not prepared. Now that she had physical evidence in her hands, she was in a disadvantageous position.
But she also has her confidence.
After all, in this country, His Majesty the Emperor is the arbiter of everything in the empire. No matter what Teresa wants to do with her, she cannot spare Aigron. As long as Aigron does not punish herself, nothing will happen to her.
So the most important thing now is that you can't give in here, especially you can't "confess". As long as Aigron hears the news and comes to save himself, everything will be fine...
Maria, who is behind bars and has lost the ability to communicate with the outside world, can only place her hope on Aigron.
After thinking about her situation clearly, Maria calmed down a little and regained her usual proud look.
"Theft? What did I steal? Is it stealing if a person writes down the chats between himself and his friends? According to you, is everyone who writes a diary a thief?" Maria asked sharply.
Lesa, "When Your Majesty told me this, he never told me not to tell others! Excuse me, even if I tell others, can it be considered theft?"
Then, she pretended to smile softly again, "It's a pity that you were not present several times when His Majesty was talking to me about these things, otherwise you would have noticed that his eyes seemed to be shining... At that time
Your Majesty is really fascinating, so I was so impressed that I remember every word for it. Is this wrong?"
Teresa's heart was filled with nausea, as if she had swallowed a fly.
Maria had sharp teeth and a sharp mouth. She had already experienced it a long time ago, but now she seemed to be even more hateful and hateful.
But the more disgusting I feel, the more I can't show it in front of this woman. It will only make her complacent.
Because of this, Teresa seemed calm and just smiled.
"Really? Are you unable to control yourself with just this little charm? Then every night when we cuddle up and talk, what I see is ten times a hundred times more than yours. All of His Highness's dreams are mine.
We are the ones who realize them together; and what about you? What have you done? What can you do? At best, you are just a spectator, and you have not even been a spectator a few times. All your abilities are nothing more than
Just desperately licking the leftovers that others have thrown aside..."
Having said this, she glanced at Maria with disdain, "Of course, I can also understand that you are so shallow. After all, for an old girl like you who is not cared about, I am afraid that if someone is willing to look at you more, you will
I feel like it's so sweet...it's sad, I feel a little sorry for you."
Teresa's words also easily ignited Maria's anger. She had never been humiliated in person like this in her life, and now she wanted to eat Teresa's flesh and skin.
"I am a few years older than you, but His Majesty likes people like me. He is obviously a married man, but he tries his best to get close to me and please me. What can I do? Oh, maybe this is
Doesn’t Sophie have a great influence on him? After all, every time the two of us are in love, he will always call out Sophie’s name inadvertently. I can’t figure out whether he is infatuated or not.
That’s so sentimental, Your Highness Theresa, why don’t you comment on it?”
In fact, Maria didn't like being regarded as Sophie's shadow, but at this moment, in order to hurt Theresa, she didn't care so much. She even made up stories just to hurt Theresa.
And she did achieve her goal, and the effect was even greater than she expected.
Teresa's face suddenly turned pale, and her eyes were so sharp that it seemed like she could cut someone in half.
Maria's words unintentionally touched the secret deep in her heart. After all, the fact she least wanted to face was that His Highness's first love was not her, and His Highness still couldn't forget that woman.
Even though she and His Highness had been married for several years, she still didn't even dare to test whether she and Sophie were more important in His Highness's heart.
However, Maria stabbed into this secret wound so hard that she almost went crazy.
Okay...just wait for me.
At this moment, there was a gentle knock on the door.
"Your Majesty the Queen!" the major's voice also rang.
The sound outside brought Teresa's mind back to reality a little.
She walked to the door and opened it. "Is your highness coming?"
"No, your Majesty is not here yet, it is another person who is here." Major Foresti replied, "Mrs. Mercedes seemed to have discovered something, so she came to see you, saying she had something important to report.
you."
Huh? Teresa was slightly surprised, and then she quickly calmed down.
"Let her come over."
Soon, Mercedes was brought to Theresa.
Previously, Mercedes was placed next to Maria on the order of Aiglon, and this upright lady was responsible for monitoring Maria. Mercedes also faithfully performed her duties and reported Maria's information regularly.
What he did, and this also allowed Teresa to obtain a lot of useful information.
However, during this period of getting along, the kind-hearted Mercedes also developed a little friendship with Maria. Although they were not friends, she also hoped that Maria could live here safely until
Until the day you leave.
However, Mrs. Mercedes soon discovered something strange in the palace, and finally she determined that Her Royal Highness Maria, whose whereabouts were unknown, might have been behind bars.
After confirming that the disaster had occurred, she hurried over to ask for help, trying to use her meager ability to defuse the storm.
After seeing Theresa, the anxious Mercedes did not forget the etiquette and bowed to Theresa respectfully.
"Madam, do you have anything else to report?" Teresa asked.
Seeing Teresa's calm but sinister expression, Mercedes knew that things were definitely out of control, but in order to fulfill her duties, she still asked Teresa.
"Your Majesty, after Her Majesty Maria went to Paris, she was suddenly brought back by the palace guards. As a female officer beside her, I must know her whereabouts. Is Her Majesty Maria being detained here?"
"Yes, she was suspected of committing a crime and was caught by me." Teresa was too lazy to lie to her, so she admitted directly. "She is currently under investigation and cannot go back with you for the time being."
"Then, can I visit her? At least confirm her current condition..." Mercedes asked.
"Are you worrying too much?" Teresa asked impatiently.
Although Teresa remained calm in her rage, this sense of oppression still made Mercedes tremble with fear.
But even so, this strong-willed former fisherman girl, now countess, still chose to persevere.
"Your Majesty gives me a task, and I must carry it out to the end. This is my principle. Your Majesty, this has nothing to do with any personal feelings. You can also give me orders in the future, and I will stick to the same principle."
Teresa frowned, but soon relaxed.
She never liked to show her anger to others, so even if she was angry at the moment, she was not willing to lose her temper with Mercedes, who was doing her duty faithfully.
Besides, she did admire this lady.
"Okay, then come with me." So she didn't say anything more, but walked in again with Mercedes.
At this time, Mercedes finally met Maria.
After confirming that Maria had not suffered physical trauma or abuse, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
After seeing Mercedes, Maria also had some hope - she didn't think that Mercedes could save her in front of the queen, but since Mercedes had found herself, then
Aiglon must be on his way soon, she felt that she would be saved soon.
Looking at the two highnesses who were at war with each other, Mercedes was frightened and helpless.
"Your Majesty the Queen, I think there must be some misunderstanding between you and Her Majesty Maria." So she whispered.
"I don't think there is any misunderstanding about her criminal behavior." Teresa replied coldly, "You should stop defending her."
"That is not what I am talking about, Your Majesty." Mercedes replied respectfully, "I am saying that some of the disputes between you and her are probably wrong on the original point, or at least unnecessary."
"Original point? What do you mean?" Teresa was a little confused.
Mercedes came close to Theresa, and then whispered in her ear to explain.
"Your Majesty, because this involves personal privacy, I have not made a special report before, but now I will tell you: after my observation during this period, I think that Her Royal Highness Maria should still be in perfect condition... She definitely has not had an affair with Your Majesty.
What kind of romantic affair did you have?"
"What?" Teresa was really shocked now.
A perfect body? In other words, this arrogant woman turns out to be just an old maid?
In other words, the ambiguity she deliberately showed before and the words she just said in front of her were actually just fabricated stories?
is it possible?
Of course she knows best what her husband's style is. She simply doesn't believe that nothing has happened between two people who have been secretly together for so long.
She immediately looked at Mercedes with suspicion. "Are you kidding me?"
"I will never deceive the monarch I am loyal to, Your Majesty." Mercedes looked at Teresa seriously, "I would never draw this conclusion if I was not certain, and now I can guarantee that this is probably the case.
.”
Teresa was stunned.
So, after all the hard work and effort I have put in, I am actually fighting an old maid who no one cares about?
For a moment, she herself didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"Your Majesty, you see, the matter is not getting serious yet, shall I take her back first?" Seeing that Teresa's anger seemed to have dissipated, Mercedes spoke again, "If you quarrel with Your Majesty over her,
, that’s a bit not worth it.”
In Mercedes' view, the reason why Teresa hated Maria so much that she deliberately planned to kill her was because she hated her for having an affair with her husband, so she just had to clarify the "misunderstanding".
But she didn't know the inside story, so she didn't expect that the entanglement between Teresa and Maria was far more complicated than she thought.
Theresa has always held a grudge against Maria's cynicism towards her from the moment they met, and the Sophie she just deliberately pulled out hurt Theresa's biggest wound.
Moreover, things have reached this point, how can we pretend that nothing happened?
She wants to drive away this hateful woman, and before she drives her away, she wants to make her suffer an unforgettable shame and make her understand that she is by no means someone she can easily offend.
"You are not sure, you just said 'probably'." So, she replied coldly.
"But I think this should be the fact. As a person who has experienced it, I can see..." Mercedes explained quickly.
"Then we might as well verify it-" Teresa pointed out.
"Verification?" Mercedes was stunned for a moment, and then she took a breath.
"Your Majesty, no!"
"There are only women here anyway, right?" Teresa ignored her and asked coldly. "Let's see what your vision is like."
Then she gave an order to the two female officers next to her, "Go and check to see if she has been through personnel matters."
This order made them all stunned.
But facing Her Majesty the Queen's gaze, they could only bite the bullet and slowly approach Maria.
"Ah!" At this moment, Maria, stripped of the arrogance and self-esteem she had cultivated as a princess since she was a child, let out the most frightening and ear-piercing scream in her life, and almost fainted.
Then, she stared at Theresa with the most cruel and resentful eyes.
If she "hated" him before, now she almost regarded him as a life-and-death enemy who wanted to eat his flesh and sleep with him.
However, her screaming and cursing could not change anything.
…
"Sure enough, she's just an old maid who talks nonsense and pretends to be arrogant..." Teresa couldn't help laughing, "It's so ridiculous."