After Father Faria left, Aigron personally took charge of his posthumous affairs.
First of all, as the prime minister of a country, no matter how small or unknown the country is, the priest can be regarded as a "heavyweight" to some extent, so the court of Fontainebleau and the imperial government issued an obituary through official channels, while briefly stating
He reviewed the priest's life (of course, this life experience is mostly fictitious, because the priest's real experience involves too much dark history that cannot be mentioned), and at the same time expressed his deep condolences for the priest's death.
After the obituary was issued, it did not cause any surprise to the outside world. After all, it was well known that the priest was old and suffered from hemiplegia, and his death had long been expected.
Compared with the death of the priest, people are more concerned about who will take over the seat left vacant by him.
Although the Principality of Ioannina is only a new country with a small country and a small population, it is also one of the only two independent countries in the Balkan Peninsula at this time. Naturally, it formed a partnership with another independent country, Greece.
alliance.
The two countries are closely interdependent and act together internationally, treating their original rulers, the Turks, as their common imaginary enemy.
And behind this alliance stood the French Emperor.
Therefore, every move of the Prime Minister of the principality will affect the situation in the Balkans, and he is not an insignificant person.
Because of this, the outside world was secretly speculating on who Aigron would appoint as the new Prime Minister of the Principality. However, Aigron said nothing about this, allowing outsiders to speculate.
Amid all these disturbances, the priest's funeral was held as scheduled, with Aiglon personally presiding over it and delivering a speech, while the Count of Monte Cristo accepted the condolences of the attendees as his "adopted son" and heir.
At the funeral, of course, as the monarch to whom the priest was nominally loyal, Haidee, the Grand Duchess of Ioannina, also appeared.
This titular monarch has lived in the Palace of Fontainebleau for a long time since she returned to France in Aiglon, and it is obvious that she prefers to stay here.
The entire funeral was grand and solemn, worthy of the priest's status. Although there were only a handful of people who were truly grieving, at least the atmosphere was in place, and Aigron had an explanation for both the priest himself and Edmund.
After the funeral, in compliance with the priest's last wish before his death, his body was quietly cremated, and then the ashes were divided into two parts, ready to be sent to his hometown of Italy and Ioannina for burial respectively. As for his heart, it was being embalmed.
After processing, hand it over to Edmund himself for safekeeping.
Of course, these detailed aftermath tasks are not something that Aigron needs to personally handle. Everything is handled in an orderly manner by dedicated personnel.
As for Aigron himself, he was worrying about another, more important matter at the moment.
Before he died, the priest, because he was worried about Haidee, made several suggestions to Aigron, hoping to make arrangements in advance, and Aigron himself also wanted to find out what Haidee thought about this.
So he had Haidee called to him after the funeral.
At this time, Haidee still had some tears on her face. She had obviously cried at the funeral of her prime minister just now.
For a thirteen-year-old child, tactics and sophistication are still very far away. She cried for the departure of the priest, not because she felt sorry for the loss of an important minister, nor because she was showing the deep love between king and minister to the adults around her.
She was just sincerely grieving that a reliable and kind elder of hers had bid farewell to her like this - in her short life, she had had similar painful experiences more than once, so she would naturally be emotionally moved at the funeral.
.
"Haidee, I know you are very sad now, but I hope you can express your condolences..." Aigron started with a very concerned consolation, "For a monarch, excessive joy and excessive sorrow are both.
It should be avoided as much as possible, because it will affect your judgment——"
"I will learn to be an excellent monarch like you, Your Majesty, but at least for this time, please allow me to be a child again..." Haidee choked up and replied, "I truly treat him as a relative.
of."
"Good boy, I thank you for your mercy on Edmund's behalf." Now that she said that, Aigron could only nod.
At the moment, Haidee is indeed still young and childish, but because of the ups and downs in her life and her status as a king, she has begun to have a bit more majesty in her movements and has some subtle adult characteristics.
breath, and as her body develops, she becomes more and more beautiful. Maybe it won't be long before she can become as beautiful as in the "original work".
And Aigron specially summoned her this time to talk about her future.
So, after waiting for a moment to make sure that Haidee's mood had returned to normal, he started to get down to the topic, "To tell you the truth, before the priest died, he still couldn't worry about you, for the sake of your future and for you to become an adult.
To be able to rely on you in the future, he hopes that I can make arrangements for your future as soon as possible..."
Haidee opened her eyes wide, and a hint of surprise first flashed through her beautiful black pupils, and then a little panic flashed across her eyes - she had roughly guessed what the so-called "future" meant.
"He...what does he want to arrange?" Haidee asked cautiously with a little luck.
"He believes that you are about to reach adulthood. As your guardian, for you and the principality, I should arrange your marriage as soon as possible so that the principality can continue stably." Aigron's answer shattered Haidee's heart.
It was a fluke. "His personal suggestion is to either arrange an engagement between you and one of my young cousins so that you can officially become a member of my family, or let you find an outstanding person but without much property or family power."
Marriage of a foreign prince.”
"Then what do you think, Your Majesty?" Haidee asked feebly.
"I can do either. But I think that you should first seek your own opinion - after all, this is related to your fate, and I think you should have some say anyway..." Aiglon replied in a gentle tone. "
So, that’s what I’m asking you now.”
He's not lying.
Although he is destined to become a "puppet" at his mercy, Aigron does not like to bully others. Within the scope of feasibility, he is still willing to give Haidee a little autonomy so that she can live a more comfortable life - from a utilitarian perspective
From a personal perspective, the more satisfied she is with her life, the more she can reduce some of the political costs of controlling her.
Of course, no matter how Haidee chooses, it must be under the premise of "not harming her own interests." This is the fundamental principle.
After hearing Aigron's answer, Haidee's eyes lit up, and she seemed to have found some hope again.
"Your Majesty, although I have the title of monarch, you saved my life, and you gave me everything I have. I also swore an oath of allegiance to you... So no matter how you plan to arrange for me, I will do it."
Accept it as an obligation, even if you want to marry me to a member of the Turkish royal family that I hate the most, I will bear this pain silently." She raised her head and looked at Aigron, her eyes full of heartfelt emotions.
Sincerely, "But if you are merciful and allow me to have some independent decision-making rights, then... I beg you, don't decide my life events so early. I am still too young and there are too many things that I have not experienced."
, there are too many novelties that I haven’t seen before. I don’t want to be forced to be someone’s wife in my youthful years. I want to be a foreign monarch and enjoy peace in your country.”
Aigron was slightly surprised by Haidee's reply.
However, if you think about it carefully, it is quite normal for a thirteen-year-old girl not to want to talk about marriage... Even Valentine was forced to make such a choice because of saving her family.
Undoubtedly, if you force her, she will submit, but why force her?
So, after pondering for a moment, Aigron nodded and agreed to Haidee's request. "Well, since you think so, then I can promise you - anyway, you are indeed still young now, and I am not in a hurry.
Make a decision."
Originally, Haidee felt very satisfied after Aigron's concession, but seeing that Aigron was so easy to talk to today, she began to feel eager to try, hoping to take this opportunity to gain more autonomy for her future.
"Your Majesty, since you are willing to show mercy and allow me to decide my future, may I boldly ask you to allow me to remain single until I find the one I love?" She boldly continued to ask.
Um?
Aigron's expression suddenly changed due to this unexpected turn, because it seemed to be against his own will and Father Faria's last wish.
Seeing that Aigron seemed a little unhappy, Haidee quickly gathered her courage and continued to explain to Aigron.
"Your Majesty, the reason why I make this request is not that I am determined to be alone for the rest of my life. I just want to have one more choice for my life. If I find the ideal person in the future, of course I will be happy to get married."
Then, she changed the topic again, "I know that you and the priest are so concerned about this matter, more because they are afraid that the crown of the Kingdom of Ioannina will fall by the wayside and let other families covet the principality, but this problem can also be solved.
Isn't it? If I really live alone all my life, then in my later years, I will adopt anyone you designate as my adopted son, and then let him inherit my throne. Wouldn't this also fulfill your wish in disguise?" "I
I have heard that a marshal of the late emperor became the king of the Kingdom of Sweden in this way."
This answer made Aigron dumbfounded, and in the end he could only spread his hands and show a bitter smile.
"It seems you have really studied hard."
And his answer also meant that he recognized Haidee's request.
Haidee is indeed qualified as a puppet monarch. She generously dedicated her territory and power to Aiglon and his agents, and almost never interfered or asked. After paying so much price, all she asked for was herself.
It's just "disposal power". This requirement is indeed not high. Since she has said it for this reason, there is no need for her to force others to make things difficult.
In any case, even if Haidee insisted on living alone for the rest of her life, it would not matter to him whether the Principality of Ioannina fell into the hands of the Bonaparte family a few decades earlier or a few decades later - in fact, he would still
He can designate a certain second son to be Haidee's heir without having to provide a branch to other families, so he can naturally be generous.
Seeing that Aigron was so talkative today, Haidee couldn't help but laugh - but when she thought that this "good luck" was due to His Majesty's rare softness after the priest's death, she couldn't help but feel sorry for Father Faria.
Feel sorry and guilty.
She knew that the request she made after the priest's funeral was actually a blatant violation of the priest's last wish, but she believed that the priest's spirit in heaven would eventually forgive her because she had not betrayed the Bonaparte family.
In her opinion, instead of becoming a marriage tool and becoming a couple with someone she hates, it is better to live the life of a king alone and at least be able to enjoy and socialize freely.
Even if you are a puppet, it is better to be a happy puppet than to be a crying puppet.
"Your Majesty, thank you for your magnanimity!" Haidee saluted Agron with gratitude, "I will never forget the favor you gave me... No matter what my future life is like, I will always be your servant.
Nothing will change.”
"I believe so too..." Aigron nodded.
Then, he changed another topic, "By the way, Haidee, according to the priest's last wish, part of his ashes will be buried in the garden of the Prime Minister's Residence in Ioannina. I hope you will also accompany the fleet.
Let’s go back to Ioannina together and preside over the burial ceremony to show our respect for the priest. By the way, you will also attend the inauguration ceremony of the new Prime Minister there, so that it is just right.”
"Then who will you appoint as the new prime minister?" Haidee had no objection to Aigron's arrangement and just asked casually.
Although Hai Daigui is the monarch of the principality, she is not actually "patriotic", but this is not surprising. After all, her relatives are dead and she did not grow up there, so she doesn't care how the principality is treated.
Rule, everything depends on Aigron's arrangement.
In fact, this was also a thorny issue for Aiglon. Although he led the Knights of Fontainebleau to conquer the principality at that time, and established roots there through the relationship of land and property enfeoffment, but as the
His "counterattack" was successful, and most of the members of the Knights returned to France with him.
The more talented people among them are, the more they hope to develop in France. After all, the colorful world here is much more attractive than the small principalities far away on the border of Europe.
Aigron also knows that this is human nature, so he doesn't want to force others into trouble.
Therefore, he decided to select someone from among his professed nobles who were willing to stay there to become prime minister, and continue the system and rules set by Father Faria.
Anyway, with him behind his back, there is no problem with the duchy's survival, and there is no big problem in finding a mediocre person to serve as the housekeeper.