At the warm invitation of Archduke Charles and his wife, Aigron celebrated Christmas with their family. At the following banquets and other social events, Aigron also attended Theresa.
Although on the surface Duke Lechstadt was just an invited guest, the other guests all understood the intentions of the Grand Duke and his wife in making such an arrangement.
It has long been an open secret that the palace has always hoped to promote this marriage, and the behavior of Archduke Carl and Princess Theresa has long made the outside world judge that "they are willing to accept it."
Even though the matter has not been officially announced, everyone has already understood it tacitly, so no matter what they think in their hearts, they are all polite to Aigron on the surface and already treat him as the prince's son-in-law.
What made them secretly amazed was that until now, His Highness has always faced everyone with a cold and calm attitude, showing no complacency at all about embarking on a prosperous road in life, so people secretly admired His Highness's magnanimity.
After completing all the ceremonial activities, Agron found Theresa and said goodbye to her.
"Teresa, thank you for your hospitality." He solemnly thanked Theresa. "I will never forget how much your family values me."
"There is no need to say 'you are a family' at this time..." Teresa replied with a smile, "Mom has already said that Your Highness is also a part of our family."
"This is an honor given to me by God." Aigron nodded slightly, "I hope I am worthy of it."
"Of course you deserve it!" Teresa replied with some surprise, "Your Highness is the most deserving person in the world."
"I'm not as confident in myself as you are." Aigron smiled bitterly, "Teresa, I'm leaving first."
Although Aigron's expression was a little strange, Teresa was not confused at this time.
In Teresa's view, Aiglon was just saying goodbye to her temporarily and went to make a final break with Her Highness Sophie. At this time, it was normal for him to be in a bad mood and feel uneasy.
She reached out and took the young man's hand.
"Your Highness, if you really feel uncomfortable, it doesn't matter if you postpone it for a while."
"There is no way to postpone it. At this point, you should do it to the end. It is better to be ruthless than delay." Aigron sighed softly, and then looked at Theresa, "I am really an indifferent person, not worth it.
Being favored by you is not worth waiting so long for me."
"Being able to say these words is no longer indifferent. Your Highness, some decisions cannot be influenced by emotions. The fact that you have a sense of proportion in your heart shows that you are a person who can make a career." In order to make the young man happy, I specially
Lesa kept smiling and looked at him and replied, "In addition, Your Highness, I am happy to wait for you. Since I have decided to spend my life with you, I should and can make some sacrifices..."
In the cold wind, Aigron only felt a slight sting on his face.
He looked up and saw that it was snowing again.
The snowflakes are getting bigger and bigger, first like flying insects, and slowly like goose feathers, spreading on the ground little by little, giving the city a hazy feeling in the fog.
"Teresa...you are really the cutest girl I have ever seen." He nodded to the girl, then waved goodbye, "Goodbye."
"Goodbye, Your Highness!" Teresa waved with a smile. "Come and play early next time!"
Amidst the howling of the cold wind, Aigron took a carriage and arrived at the Ruby Theater.
As soon as he entered, he felt a wave of heat hit his face. He found that there was a lot of people inside, and the seats were full of spectators. Citizens who got free time during the holidays from Christmas to New Year were using this way to spend their rare leisure time.
.
Compared with the brightly lit hall and the heavy snow falling outside, they are simply two different worlds.
With heavy steps, Aigron walked up the stairs without saying a word and came to his familiar box.
Although it was only less than a week since he last came here, when he set foot in it, he felt like he was in another world.
Just as he expected, Sophie was inside. At this time, she was leaning against the railing, staring blankly at the performance on the stage.
After hearing the sound of the door opening, Sophie suddenly turned her head and showed a happy smile.
"Aiglon...you're still here. I thought you would never come again!"
"Since I promised you, I will come." Aigron said as he took off his coat and threw it on the seat in the box.
"Did you enjoy spending the holidays with that family?" Sophie asked somewhat uneasily.
In fact, she had heard many rumors in the past few days, and all of them were saying that Duke Lechstadt had been fully appreciated by Archduke Karl. He and Princess Theresa were also in love, and their marriage was about to begin.
Public announcement.
She was sitting here with her last hope, and she even suspected that the boy would never come again.
She was very afraid of hearing that answer, but the pride and dignity in her bones prevented her from showing her fear, so she just looked at the young man quietly, waiting for his verdict.
"We got along very well." Aiglon nodded gently. "They appreciate me very much and are more enthusiastic than I expected."
Looking at his serious expression, Sophie seemed to notice something.
"That is to say, you have already made your choice, right?" She asked softly, trying not to tremble in her voice.
"I made my choice a long time ago." Aigron replied softly.
"A long time ago..." Sophie smiled bitterly, "In other words, you came here to say goodbye to me? Pretending to let our secret end in a decent way?"
"I am indeed here to say goodbye to you..." Aigron nodded again.
"Farewell..." Of course Sophie could not misunderstand the meaning, so for a moment she felt her eyes darken, her feet were so weak that she could no longer stand still, and she finally managed to hold on to the railing to prevent herself from falling to the ground.
She took a few deep breaths and finally regained her consciousness. Then she raised her head and looked at the young man, "So, you still chose glory and wealth?"
"No... Your Highness, I chose something more dangerous." Aigron shook his head.
Then, he walked up to Sophie and hugged her tightly to prevent her from doing anything that would harm her and himself.
"I have something very important to tell you. Can you...can you take a moment to listen to me carefully?"
"It's already here, what else do you want to say to me?" Sophie tried to struggle, but was easily broken down, so she soon gave up her struggle and just leaned weakly in the young man's arms.
"Do you still want to trick me with your lies?"
"I have indeed told you a lot of lies, but I guarantee with my life that what I tell you next will be the truth and not the slightest bit false." Aigron looked at her sincerely.
Then, he picked up his pocket watch and checked the time. "After confirming that I stepped into the theater, at nine o'clock in the evening - that is, one hour later, someone will shoot and cause trouble in the theater, and then I will take advantage of the chaos and leave.
Then, under cover, they escaped from Vienna - and Austria."
Although he spoke very clearly, Sophie seemed to have been deceived and stared at him blankly with her eyes wide open, as if she had heard his nonsense after having a high fever.
"Your Highness... do you need me to repeat it again?" Aigron asked.
"You...you colluded with others and wanted to escape?" After a moment, Sophie seemed to have come to her senses and asked tremblingly.
"Yes." Aiglon nodded heavily.
To his expectation, Sophie was not that shocked, but looked very sad.
"Do you have a premonition?" Aigron couldn't help but ask.
"I've been with you for so long, getting along with you day and night... I can feel that you have a strong will to hate your situation and want to escape from everything here." Sophie seemed to be completely unsteady on her feet.
The person leaned on him to maintain balance, and spoke feebly, "I thought I could influence you, let you find the meaning of life, and stay here with peace of mind and stay by my side... It turns out that I have been dreaming all this time...
…”
As she spoke, she smiled bitterly, "It turns out that all those sweet words you have been saying are just to deceive me. You are using me to collude with your own accomplices behind my back... You have used me as a tool. God, I... I
Why didn’t I discover it until today! I could have discovered it earlier, but I was lucky enough to deceive myself and pretend that I couldn’t see it. I didn’t want to see it! But... my dream was shattered today.”
"Your Highness, I don't lie all the time, although you definitely don't believe me anymore." Aiglon hugged her tightly, and then replied, "I like you very much, but I have no choice.
I can't let my life go to waste here, I have to do something because..."
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"You want me to forgive you? No, don't even think about it! Don't even think about it!" Before he could finish speaking, Sophie, who seemed calm at first, suddenly broke out violently, "Cunning thing, do you think you can get everything?
?You stole my heart, then trampled it to pieces, and now you come to tell me that all you want is to run away? Shameless liar, you never thought I would forgive you! You told me
So many sweet words, but now you want to leave me without mercy. Do you think you can still coax me into pretending that nothing happened? Don’t even think about it! I will retaliate against you, and I will do everything in my power to retaliate against you.
!”
"Your Highness..." Aigron was surprised when he looked at Sophie's sudden outburst.
This was the first time he saw her look so vicious.
Sophie blushed, and then, she didn't know where the strength came from, and pushed the young man away.
"You are truly the son of the Ogre King! You are worthy of him, so worthy of him, just as vicious! I... really want to cut your heart out and see what color it is inside!" She forgot.
With his own identity, he cursed the young man in the most vicious language, "You can't run away, you will be caught like a wild rabbit, imprisoned, shot, or hanged in public!"
After cursing a lot, tears appeared in the corners of her eyes, "Oh my God, I'm crazy... I must be crazy, yes, I have been driven crazy by you a long time ago! If you make me crazy, I will let you
You paid the price, and I want your life to repay me!"
Aigron did not answer, but put his hand into his arms.
Then, in Sophie's sight, he took out the pistol from his arms.
Sophie was stunned for a moment, but soon stared at the young man without fear.
"Why, do you still want to scare me with a gun?" She scolded sternly, "I'm not afraid! If you have the guts, just shoot me. I'll be free as soon as possible and go to hell to wait for you! You, a bad guy, will definitely be fine in there.
Bear the torment!”
"If you want me to pay the price of my life, I can pay you now without using the future." Aigron picked up the pistol, but did not point it at the other party, but aimed it at his own head. "When things have reached this point, I
I will no longer leave myself a way out, either escape or die, and I will not endure the humiliation of being captured like my father..."
As he spoke, he moved his finger and placed it on the trigger.
"I owe you, so I give you a choice. If you are willing now, you can go out and ask someone to arrest me right away. I will give myself another shot. Everything will be fine. No one of us has to worry anymore. Everything is so simple.
.”
He slowly stepped back, showing that he had no intention of stopping Sophie.
He was absolutely sure that Sophie would not do this.
If there was a one-in-a-ten thousand chance that she would do this, then he might as well get rid of it as soon as possible. He could also be cruel to himself.
Despite the movement of his fingers, the anger on Sophie's face was replaced by panic.
"Stop!" She covered her mouth to prevent herself from screaming.
"Aiglon...Aigron!"
She wanted to walk over, but she couldn't move because her feet were too weak. After taking a step reluctantly, she fell to her knees on the ground.
Her spirit had collapsed, and she stretched out her hand anxiously, trying to grab the young man's feet.
"Don't shoot...I don't want you to die!"
Aigron put down the gun, then walked to her side, squatted down and grabbed her hand.
"Thank you, Your Highness, for saving my life." He thanked the other party gently.
"Why do you have to bring things to this point..." Sophie burst into tears and choked with tears, "Why can't you just stay here with me? I beg you, don't leave, okay? I beg you... why do you have to take risks?"
Woolen cloth?"
"I'm sorry...but I've already decided." Although Aigron was heartbroken, he still shook his head firmly, "I can't tolerate being treated as an insignificant person and being manipulated; I don't want to have to deal with it all the time for the rest of my life.
The Emperor of Austria is groveling... I want to be a person who can control my own destiny, and I know it will cost a lot, but... Your Highness, I have no other way to go."
Then, he leaned down and kissed Sophie on the cheek, "I owe you too much, so I don't expect you to forgive me. You can always hate me, or even curse me to death like just now. This is all your fault."
rights - I just hope that you can take care of yourself until we meet again."
"Will we meet again?" Sophie asked crying.
From her point of view, even if Aigron marries Theresa, the two can still communicate with each other, and it is not impossible to even maintain the original relationship in private - after all, there are too many such things in the world of aristocrats.
But if he escapes like this, then God knows when he will see him again - maybe even never again.
The more she thought about it, the more desperate she became, and her tears couldn't stop flowing.
"Yes, I will definitely come back to see you." Aigron kept her tight, and then promised her, "One day I will start my own business, and then come back to see you."
"Do you promise?" Sophie asked reluctantly.
"I promise." The young man replied solemnly.
Sophie said nothing more, because she knew it would be useless.
She cursed first, then begged, but to no avail. After the anger and pain subsided slightly, she was left with only sobbing.
"Put the gun away, I feel bad when I see it." After a moment, she said with a tearful voice. "Why can't you cherish yourself?"
"No one is born to like gambling, but I have nothing and am not qualified to cherish myself." Aigron replied, and then he put the gun back obediently.
"How do you plan to leave?" Sophie asked in a low voice.
"Jump down from here." Aiglon replied.
Then he briefly told Sophie his plan.
"Don't you think you'll be noticed if you blend in with the crowd? You're so conspicuous." Sophie shook her head.
"So I prepared something else." Aigron shook his head, then bowed and took out a package from the sofa.
Then, he opened the package and dug out the female costume that Chanel had put inside.
"So Chanel is one of your accomplices..." Sophie finally understood everything, and then glared at him. "You bastard... liar!"
But while scolding, she helped Aiglon take off his tie and shirt. She knew that there was not enough time, and if this plan failed, her beloved young man would really commit suicide.
She had felt that visceral fear before, so she didn't want to try it again.
So she has no choice.
With her efforts, the young man quickly completed the disguise and even wore a golden wig on his head. Because of his slender figure, he looked like a slim girl.
"Even this looks good...you little bastard." Sophie cursed softly.
"Your Highness, take care of yourself." Aigron whispered. "I'm sorry for causing you so much trouble. You will definitely be blamed next time."
"Don't worry about it. How can it be harder for you?" Sophie sighed. "Besides, if I said I couldn't bear it, would you stay? Don't hurt me anymore, you bad thing."
Then, she seemed to think of something.
"You must be short of money during this time, right? Damn it, I don't have anything valuable with me right now..." She took off the necklace from her neck and handed it to the young man.
The delicate and small gem was held in the palm of his hand, as if it carried her body temperature. "Take it away, this is our last farewell gift. When we were short of money, we sold it in a pawn shop. It is still worth some money."
"I will never sell it..." Aigron's eyes couldn't help but become sour, and it took a lot of effort to keep himself from crying.
Sophie looked at him again, and after confirming that there was nothing wrong, she let out a long sigh.
"hold me."
Aiglon obeyed her order, and then hugged her like this. The two of them were sticking together like close sisters, quietly waiting for the moment of farewell.
Time seems very long, but also seems very short.
Slowly, the hands of the pocket watch reached the fateful moment.
The actors on the stage were still dancing tirelessly, and the audience was either cheering or talking to each other. Everything seemed so normal...
"Bang!" A huge sound suddenly drowned out all sounds.
Before people could recover, the gunfire continued.
"boom!"
"boom!"
People reacted, and then there were loud screams. These screams gathered together and made the whole theater seem to be shaking.
Time is up.
Aigron looked at Sophie and nodded apologetically to her.
And Sophie no longer suppressed herself at this time. She burst into tears, but at the same time she also let go of her hand.
Yes, this is farewell.
There is no time left to say goodbye to each other.
Aigron looked at Sophie, walked backwards step by step to the railing, then turned around hard, grabbed the tassels and railings next to him, and slid down deeply.
At this time, the theater was already in chaos, with gunshots and screams everywhere, and people running around desperately. No one cared about the "girl" who slipped down from the third floor.
Although the theater was extremely chaotic at the moment and there were noisy sounds everywhere, the crying behind him seemed to be like a ghost, lingering in his ears.
Enough! I can’t think about that anymore!
Aigron forced himself to calm down. He looked at his surroundings, then stood up and walked backstage.
Nowadays, people are subconsciously running towards the door, so the door must be blocked, and of course he will not be stupid enough to squeeze in.
He had already seen the surroundings of the theater with Chanel, and he knew that he could escape through the window behind the stage.
Following the action path that he had demonstrated ten thousand times in his mind, he walked all the way to the back of the stage, then came, picked up the chair, and slammed it against the window.
Amidst the crisp shattering sound, the window was opened, and then Aigron jumped out from inside.
There was a gravel road outside, which was very slippery because of the snow. Aigron almost fell to the ground, but managed to maintain his balance with great difficulty.
It was late at night, and everything was pitch black, with only the dim lights in the distance guiding him.
But that's enough.
Aiglon took a deep breath, then stretched out his hand to wipe away the snow that fell on his face.
From this moment on, I have no way out and must move forward from now on.
Then... let's go.
He followed the predetermined route and walked along the alley toward his destination. There was a carriage there, and Chanel was waiting for him.
There is no one around. He only needs to advance a few hundred meters here to be free...
Yes, that's it! The young man walked forward step by step with fearless determination.
"Your Highness, where are you going?" At this moment, a question came from behind him.