After hearing these words, Teresa, who was unprepared, stared blankly at the door as if she had been struck by lightning.
After a moment, she wanted to ask again, but Sophie didn't give her the chance, opened the door directly and walked out.
When the door was closed, Theresa stared at the door blankly without saying a word.
Although Sophie didn't clearly say what she meant, Teresa, who already knew so many inside stories, could certainly guess what she meant.
There is no room for luck, and all the most terrifying conjectures have been confirmed - His Highness and Sophie's previous affair and indulgence resulted in the birth of a child named Crystal.
Although she had been mentally prepared, she still felt heartbroken when she actually encountered this problem.
She actually did such a thing! Teresa gasped.
In the courts of various European countries, it was common for noble ladies to have affairs with others, and it was not surprising to others. However, it was quite rare for a woman to have such a passionate relationship that she actually gave birth to her lover's child.
What an investment and how willful this is!
Does she have any interests in mind?
Absolutely not. At that time, His Highness had almost nothing, held the title of Duke of Lechstadt, had no status in the court, and could not bring her any benefit at all.
Therefore, she did not ask for anything in return, she accompanied His Highness tenderly, and then she had a violent relationship with her beloved young man, and finally ended up like this.
Of course she was very jealous, but she also admired the other person's courage and personal charm.
Thinking about His Highness's situation at that time, how could he not be fascinated when he met a woman with such personal charm during a lonely and painful period?
Will she regret it? Teresa believes she will never regret it.
If it were him, he would never regret it. How could a proud person regret his own decisions and choices? He would rather face the judgment of fate with a smile.
"Cristel... is indeed a nice name." After a moment of silence, Teresa murmured to herself.
Then, she let out a long sigh, then stood up and walked out of the room.
The hall was still full of jewels, and people were dancing in it as if nothing had happened, but Teresa was in no mood to stay and pay attention any longer, and she walked to her mother's side.
"How is my daughter?" She looked at Teresa with concern, "It doesn't look like you were having a pleasant conversation?"
"We had a good conversation, Mom," Teresa replied, "I'm just a little sentimental."
"Sentimental? Sentimental for what?" Henrietta was a little confused.
"It's a little sentimental on both sides." Teresa lowered her head, "On the one hand, it's because of her past sins, and on the other hand, it's because of her current experiences. I don't know whether I should hate her or pity her, maybe both.
All of them...but no matter what, she is a living person, not a pitiful and mediocre symbol under the throne."
Henrietta was puzzled by this, and finally couldn't help laughing.
"Teresa, are you going to become a poet too?"
"I don't mind becoming a poet, but I can't find any poetry here." Teresa shook her head.
She saw a magnificent scene in front of her. The chandeliers shed bright lights in the hall, illuminating the dancing but faceless people. Although they wore various uniforms and palace dresses and spoke elegantly,
But no one made her interested enough to look at them for a moment.
Yes, everything here was so mediocre that it couldn't even make her feel the slightest attachment to it.
My poems are not composed here, and there is no room for me here. I am glad that I can not be integrated into it, but can write my chapter in another place...
"Okay, mom, let's go." Teresa smiled sweetly.
"Well, let's go." Henrietta nodded, "I don't want to stay any longer."
Just now she said hello to Sophie, but she received a cold reception and was ridiculed by Sophie. Now she was still angry, so naturally she wanted to leave as soon as possible.
In this way, during the interval when no one was paying attention, the mother and daughter left the hall, returned to the square under the guidance of the attendants, and then returned to the square.
Before boarding the carriage, Teresa looked back at the magnificent palace behind her.
In the night, with its bright lights, it still looks so dignified and beautiful, but yet so cold and lonely.
Guests come and go, and it never cares who stopped in the meantime.
Then, she waved her hand and closed the carriage door.
Everything was thrown away with this wave of the hand.
After this night, she no longer had any nostalgia.
Everything that has happened, let them be buried in the seal of time.
In the next few days, Teresa completed her final preparations in an orderly manner.
Everything is ready, everything is ready.
Soon, she will form a convoy with several carriages and embark on a grand journey abroad.
With the help of her parents, most of the dowry that Archduke Carl had promised her had been converted into cash and bonds and stored in several boxes. A batch of jewelry given by her mother had also been stored in several boxes.
collected in it.
In addition to these monetary treasures, there are also boxes filled with personal belongings and souvenirs that Teresa was reluctant to part with.
Even though she had been streamlined repeatedly, after everything was prepared, Teresa still had so many items as bargaining chips for her future destiny.
——After all, as a princess, even if she chooses self-exile, everything she possesses is still beyond the reach of ordinary people.
Before leaving, in order to prevent omissions, she was careful and made a list and checked it carefully.
Finally, it was time to leave.
On this gloomy morning, Teresa wore a simple gray dress. After calmly eating breakfast, she came to the study room of the manor to say goodbye to her parents.
Her mother was also waiting there, looking at her daughter with worry and heartache.
Her father, on the other hand, frowned, clenched his fists, and waited for his daughter angrily.
God, who am I to laugh at Sophie's willfulness? I am also willful...even what she did was even worse, because Sophie hurt those people she already hated, while she herself was
Hurt your own parents.
I'm such a bad guy, she said to herself.
"Dad, mom..." Theresa hesitated for a moment, then spoke in a low voice.
Although she had already prepared in her heart, when it came time to say goodbye, everything was still so difficult.
However, at this point, there is no other way to go. Since she has chosen all this, she must face the most difficult farewell.
"I'm leaving. Please take care of yourself in the future. I will definitely come back as soon as possible."
"Teresa...my daughter..." Henrietta cried, then held her daughter in her arms, and continued to cry.
"Don't leave, okay? It's too late to stop now! Your mind is always so smart, why are you so stupid in this matter? Why don't you weigh it carefully..."
"Stop crying, Henrietta." Archduke Carl, who had been silent all this time, spoke up and stopped his wife with cold words. "Don't lose your mind in front of your daughter. In vain, she will look down on you."
Then, he looked at his daughter sternly.
"Teresa, you really made me powerless. You threw your father aside and took advantage of our love for you to do whatever you wanted... You broke our hearts, and we were so hurt by you that we had no choice but to satisfy you.
But fortunately, this is the last time -" His tone was trembling due to anger and pain, but he still maintained his dignity and said seriously to his daughter, "Yes, I am sorry for you,
I was obsessed with ghosts and took you to Schonbrunn Palace to meet that bastard boy. I made a big mistake! But no matter what, I was trying to make it up to you, right?! I warned you in every possible way and tried to save you.
situation, but you yourself have willfully refused all help, well... I can’t control you, so let’s do whatever you want, whatever you want!”
When he said this, his eyes became more and more gloomy.
He took a deep breath to let his heartbeat slowly calm down, and then continued, "Okay, we can't do anything to you, we can only let you do whatever you want, but you should also know that everything has its limits.
You have exhausted my patience and tormented my heart with holes, so I am not ready to forgive you anymore! Don’t expect anything from me anymore. No matter you are good or bad, I am incapable of doing anything.
I am powerless and no longer want to care about it. If fate makes you have a smooth journey, then I congratulate you on your luck but I don’t want to take advantage of you. If fate makes you unfortunate and makes you lose everything, then you are the one to blame! If it is really the worst
situation, then I won’t allow you to cry and confess in front of me that you chose the wrong path, that will only make me look down on you, because I have already advised you!”
"Don't worry, Dad." Teresa replied, half sad and half stubborn, "No matter what my fate is next, I will never regret it, let alone beg for mercy in order to regain your protection. I am
Your daughter, I know how to face my own life, and I also know how to maintain my dignity."
"That's enough, do you still want to quarrel at this time...?!" Henrietta loudly interrupted the conversation between father and daughter, "Don't you think I'm sad enough and you have to step on me a few more times to make you happy?
?Why are you so angry at this time? Am I really going to be a stranger from now on and make me lose my daughter forever?"
She continued to hug Theresa, and then continued with tears, "I don't care what happens, Theresa... you will always be my daughter... I just hope that everything goes well for you, and it's best to come back and see you as soon as possible."
Me. You have been by my side since I was a child. I really don’t know how I would live without you by my side. God...why do you want me to endure such torture?"
"Mom, I'm sorry..." Seeing her mother crying so much, Teresa also shed tears contagiously, "I love you forever!"
The mother and daughter just hugged each other and cried. Tears met on their faces and eventually fell to the floor, leaving traces as witnesses of family love.
After crying for a while, Teresa raised her head from her mother's arms with difficulty.
"Mom, you must take care of yourself." She said tremblingly, "I am not qualified to beg you to forgive me for my unfilial piety, but I will find a way to make up for it. No matter what I can do, I will definitely make up for it. I and I
You promise."
"You can make up for me the most by living your life well." Henrietta replied, "Remember, no matter what happens, you can come to your mother for help. Don't bear it silently alone."
Seeing the mother and daughter hugging each other and crying, Archduke Karl's heart softened. He could only sigh and silently looked at the carriages outside the window.
"Can you tell me where you are going now?" he then asked.
"I am going to a small island called Monte Cristo Island, where His Highness is temporarily hiding." Since it was now, Theresa no longer had to keep it a secret, so she answered her father truthfully.
"Hmph, you said you wanted to go out and build a great career, but in the end you ended up hiding on a small island and lingering?" Archduke Karl asked with a sneer.
"Of course His Highness wants to achieve great achievements, but you have to spend some time to accumulate strength, right?" Teresa asked, "And I will also add my own help to His Highness's career. Don't worry, we will find a way to achieve it.
Someone who has a great career."
You put it lightly, it was my money, it was all my money! The old father cursed in his heart again.
But now, he doesn't even feel angry anymore.
"After you met Sophie, did she say anything about that?" he asked finally.
Teresa hesitated for a moment, but nodded slightly.
She did not tell her father about her specific experience last night. After all, Sophie's words were involved in a scandal - this was a secret that could never be made public to the empire, and it was also a taboo that was difficult for her to talk about.
After seeing Teresa's performance, Archduke Karl also understood everything. He put a hand on his forehead and tried to overcome the dizziness in his head.
"Even she is going crazy, what have you done! How did that bastard boy charm you so much? Did he secretly learn some evil magic from the alchemist? Don't let me meet him again, or else
I'm afraid I really can't control my hands and have to pull out my sword and kill him!"
He muttered a few more curses, but finally regained his composure.
"That's it, that's all, what else can I say?" He sighed again, then walked to his daughter, and gently made a sign of the cross on her forehead, chest and ribs. "May God bless you——
Although I don’t think you deserve His blessing.”
"I also wish God to bless you, my dearest father." Teresa also hugged her father.
After a brief and sad farewell, Archduke Karl walked out of the room and came to the open space downstairs.
He came to several carriages, and the people waiting here stood at attention to salute him, but his footsteps stopped in front of Captain Foresti.
Although he said to his daughter that he would not be responsible for her in the future, Archduke Carl was of course extremely concerned about his daughter's safety on this trip. After all, although it was considered a peaceful year, it was really troublesome for a woman to run around with such a large belongings.
Action that is too dangerous.
Therefore, in order to ensure safety, he carefully selected a group of escorts for her, all of whom were close confidants who had been with him for many years - and the families of these people were all in Austria, so he was not afraid of any temporary problems with them.
However, there was an accident in the end of the plan. At the insistence of his daughter, the captain of the escort was replaced by Captain Foresti.
Archduke Karl didn't know what his daughter was planning specifically, but it was obvious that she wanted to recruit his former teacher for the boy.
He had no intention of stopping him. After all, he also knew that the captain had been expelled from the army and was in a bad situation. Finding another job would be a way out.
Moreover, although he is good at swordsmanship, he is just a small person after all, and will not bring any loss to the country's interests - when it comes to "betting on enemies", is there anyone who can bet on enemies more powerfully than himself?
When he thought of this, Archduke Karl couldn't help but feel angry.
Perhaps because of this anger, his eyes became more severe, and Captain Foresti, who bore the brunt of it, became even more embarrassed.
The captain had tried his best to put in good words in front of the Grand Duke in an attempt to broker the marriage.
Although fate seemed to finally realize his intention, this was definitely not what they had imagined before, let alone the way they wanted to see it.
Because of this, the captain naturally felt guilty towards the Grand Duke.
"Can you still swing the sword?" Archduke Karl asked after a moment of silence.
"It's still possible, Your Highness." The captain quickly replied with his head held high, "Although I may never be able to return to the level I was at back then, I don't think ordinary people can do anything to me."
"Okay, help me protect Theresa and don't allow any mistakes." Archduke Karl said coldly, "Although you are no longer a soldier, I hope you can promise me in the name of a soldier."
"Yes, Your Highness, I will protect her." The captain agreed immediately.
"After she sees that boy, you can stay too." Archduke Karl said suddenly. "This country may not have a future for you now. You may be able to find a way out in another place. This is also a good thing for you."
"Your Highness...?" Captain Foresti was shocked and moved at the same time. "I...I can't..."
"It's common for capable people to serve in other countries, so why not? Kreesewicz even served as a Russian general." Archduke Karl shook his head, "You find a place that can accommodate you, no one will
What can I blame you for—but I hope you remember that you are an Austrian after all."
"I will remember... Your Highness, no matter what happens, I will never swing my sword against the motherland." The captain replied with emotion.
"That's enough." Archduke Karl nodded. "Have a safe trip and listen to Teresa on everything."