As the sun rises over the sea, Aiglon, far away in Nafpaktos, ushered in another busy day of life.
Living in a fortress, he got up from his camp bed, washed himself, had a simple breakfast, and then started his work.
There is no doubt that since he got used to Chanel's considerate and meticulous service, his current life does make him feel very uncomfortable, but as the days of the expedition increase, he has gradually become accustomed to this simple life.
After all, the sweat he shed now was for the comfortable life of himself and his family in the future, and he was willing to endure and sacrifice.
He has been here since the capture of Nafpaktos.
Because his strength was limited and the enemy's situation was unclear, he kept his thoughts on hold for now, paying attention to the movements around him and quietly waiting for a new opportunity.
Although at present, his sudden appearance has caused huge chaos to the Turkish army, but he can feel that the other party is already dealing with him, and a heavy blow of revenge is about to come, and even the air is filled with the smell of a storm.
.
In order to prepare for the battle that is bound to come next, he is also stepping up training of his soldiers and strengthening Nafpaktos' defense.
Just as he was finishing breakfast, his captain of the bodyguard, Andre Davout, came over and brought him unexpected news.
"Your Majesty." After saluting respectfully, he continued, "The people I sent to escort the prisoners have returned from Mesoni. They also brought us good news. I think you will be happy.
of."
"Oh? Then tell me." Seeing how mysterious he said it, Aigron immediately became interested.
"At the request of His Highness Theresa, Archduke Karl specially sent several officers from Austria to assist you in commanding the battle." Andre Davout did not show off, but continued with a smile, "They have now
I have arrived at Her Majesty Theresa's place as a messenger, and I expect to say goodbye to Her Majesty right away, and then rush to you."
Aigron first opened his eyes in surprise, then grinned. "Really? That's great!"
After he finished speaking, he couldn't suppress the excitement in his heart and immediately stood up from the chair.
There is no doubt that although he now has a team in his hands, there are not many people with long-term military experience, and there will naturally be fewer officers with reliable quality. When encountering problems, he can only summarize and solve them himself
Find a way to solve it, and the officers selected by Archduke Karl will definitely improve his predicament.
But what he's most excited about doesn't stop there.
Previously, because of what he did, Archduke Karl was naturally furious. Although he had never experienced it with his own eyes, Teresa said that he hated him deeply. But now that he is doing this, it is tantamount to acquiescing to the status quo and admitting that he
This is my future son-in-law.
For Aiglon, he had a very good impression of the Grand Duke and his wife, and he was very grateful for their attention and care. It would also be a blessing if he could mend his relationship with them.
Of course, these people have special status and it is not easy to integrate into the team. After all, the supporters of the Bonaparte family must still be resentful of the Austrian soldiers.
Moreover, there is a high probability that they will not be very fluent in French, and they may not be able to communicate very smoothly with the members of the Knights under them.
But even with the above problems, they can at least be used as their own military advisers. Their experience and skills have been tested, and they are definitely not comparable to the half-hearted people in their hands.
These thoughts quickly passed through Aigron's mind, and finally he nodded with a smile.
"Very good, then we have to entertain them well. Is there any other good news?"
"There is one more." Andre Davout replied. "With the arrival of the messenger, there is also a special gift. Her Highness Teresa asked them to take it and forward it to you."
Hmm? Gift?
Aiglon was a little confused. He looked at Andre Davout and found that his expression was also a little strange.
So Aigron quickly asked, "What's wrong? Is there anything strange about this gift?"
"There's nothing strange about it." Andre laughed awkwardly, "It's just that it looks... like a dressing box."
Aigron couldn't help being surprised.
For a moment, he felt that his father-in-law was deliberately trying to vent his anger in this way. But thinking about it carefully, the Grand Duke was not such a boring person.
"Bring it here and let me take a look." Aigron quickly composed himself and then calmly gave the order.
Soon, Andre Davout struggled to hold the dressing box with both hands, took it over and put it on the table.
"Your Majesty, this is it..." he said, looking at the young man, and then he was shocked to find that the young man was looking at the dressing box with an expression as if he had seen a ghost.
"Your Majesty...are you okay?"
Agron could no longer hear Andre's words at this time. All his attention had been placed on the dressing box. It was normal for others not to recognize it. How could he not recognize it?
This is the dressing box that Sophie often used in Schönbrunn Palace. He has been in and out of her room so many times that it is impossible to admit it.
What's going on? Why did it become a "gift" from Archduke Karl and be sent here? Many questions suddenly appeared in his mind.
He quickly reorganized his thoughts and forced himself to calm down.
Probably, Sophie visited the Grand Duke and entrusted him to send this dressing box as a gift... He quickly guessed the general outline of the matter.
"Your Majesty...?" Seeing that Aigron was still unconscious, Andre Davout asked again quickly.
"Ah...Andre, I'm fine." Aigron finally nodded, "Okay, you go out first, I'll stay alone for a while."
Even if Andre was his confidant, Aigron would certainly not be able to tell him all these things because this matter is now very involved and must not be told to outsiders.
Although Andre Davout still had many doubts in his heart, he could see that this dressing box was definitely not trivial. Since His Majesty was unwilling to tell him, he must not ask any more questions.
He just bowed and saluted, and then left directly, leaving Aigron standing there, staring blankly at the dressing box.
Although less than a year has passed since he said goodbye to her, he has experienced too many things during this period. Looking back now, everything seems like a world away, but everything is so fresh.
Its dark color and bright patterns were all so familiar, easily bringing back memories that had been stuck in his mind.
Memories of his time with Sophie, happy and sad, came to his mind one after another, and those scenes gradually faded, and finally settled on the image of her kneeling on the ground crying that night.
This has become a scene etched in his soul.
The heartbreaking sobs and cries seemed to echo in his ears again at this moment.
"This is all the result of your own doing." In a trance, the dressing box seemed like a gramophone, and a questioning voice came from inside, "It's all because of you!"
Yes, it's all because of me... If I hadn't dragged her into that whirlpool willfully, even if I escaped, she wouldn't be so heartbroken, and she wouldn't have to bear such terrible punishment and sin.
He knew that all this was his own choice, and he couldn't escape it, nor did he want to escape it.
He took a deep breath, then stretched out his hand to touch the surface of the dressing box. The smooth feel was as if he was touching her skin.
He gently opened the lid of the dressing box and found that the top was empty.
So, his hand moved to the hidden drawer and pulled it gently.
In an instant, the dazzling brilliance of the jewelry obscured his sight.
If it were an ordinary person, his mind would probably go blank the moment he saw these precious jewels, but Aiglon was different. He had already been trained by the treasures on Monte Cristo Island and was already immune to jewels.
He looked at the jewelry carefully, and in almost every item, he could find in his memory the way Sophie was dressed at that time.
The laughter and laughter they had together at that time, compared to now, how can it not make people feel emotional?
Obviously, Sophie gave herself the jewelry that she loved and used.
"What, do you think I can still sell them all?" he asked with a wry smile.
Of course not.
He wanted to collect them well to commemorate the days when the two of them got along, and to commemorate her kindness to him.
At this moment, among the jewelry pile, a pocket watch caught his attention.
This pocket watch was obviously not something belonging to Her Royal Highness, and he had no impression of it in his memory, so he picked it up casually and looked at it carefully.
The pocket watch is small and luxurious. The outer shell is made of enamel and is inlaid with pearls and diamonds. It is worth a lot at first sight.
He gently opened the casing of the pocket watch, and the hands inside the pocket watch were immediately revealed in front of his eyes. At the same moment, a few strands of hair on the inner wall of the pocket watch immediately attracted his attention.
He quickly took a closer look and found that they were several silver-white hairs, carefully trimmed, and then curled and contained in the inner wall.
This is not Sophie's hair color, nor is it mine.
Aigron came up with the correct answer almost instantly.
"Crystel." He called out the name. It was obvious that he had never pronounced the name before, but at this moment his true feelings were revealed, and yet it seemed that he could pronounce it so smoothly.
Previously, when he heard Teresa mention the birth of her daughter, although he was extremely shocked, he had no real sense of reality, let alone the realization that "I have become a father."
However, after seeing and touching the real object, everything was completely different. Aigron was reminded by Sophie in this way and remembered this fact.
Although I have never seen this daughter, I think she will be very cute. After all, she is the daughter of me and His Highness Sophie, how could she not be beautiful?
In an instant, his heart suddenly began to cramp, and the inexplicable resentment and shame made it very difficult for him to breathe. He gasped for air, and finally managed to return to normal.
"I must see her again, I must!" This was his first thought. "She suffered so much for me, how could I just turn a blind eye?"
Next, he thought of another place.
He imagined that Sophie deliberately gave her daughter's hair to him along with the gift, not only so that he could see traces of her daughter, but also as a reminder.
She is our daughter and you must not leave her alone.
This poor child was born in the shadows, without flowers or blessings. Everyone just pretended that she did not exist. Even though her parents had such dazzling identities, she could only live in the world with the stigma of being an illegitimate daughter.
No one respects or cares about her. If she really lets it go, God knows what kind of fate she will encounter in the future.
"Yes, I must not leave it alone." In the deserted room, he murmured to himself, "One day, if I succeed... I will definitely bring Crystal back and let her have her.
She deserves everything, I swear!"
If he failed, he would not even be able to protect himself, and nothing would happen; but if he succeeded, but still ignored Christel, not only would he have insulted the name of father, but how could he possibly be worthy of Su?
Fei?
He assured loudly that although Sophie could not hear his assurance now, he believed that she would be able to feel it even though she was thousands of miles away.
After a moment of explosion, he took the pocket watch into his hand again, then took out his original pocket watch and put it on the table. Then he pressed the button of the pocket watch in his hand and carefully adjusted the time against the pocket watch on the table.
Then he tightened the spring again.
Soon, the pocket watch given to him by Sophie began to run, the hands began to slide silently, and began to fulfill its duties as a tool.
Aiglon carefully put the pocket watch into his breast pocket, making it his new timekeeping tool, while the original pocket watch was thrown aside.
He knew that what he had done was far beyond common sense, and he had never expected to be forgiven... But he found that the person had forgiven him and was still praying for him sincerely.
.
Although there were no words written for himself in the dressing box, these things themselves were worth a thousand words, so much so that Aigron couldn't help but feel heartache just by imagining them.
But even when he was heartbroken, the strength in his bones was not compromised.
He is paying the price for his decision, and precisely because the price is painful, in order to make the price worthwhile, he must succeed because only success can prove that the path he is taking is the right one. It's that simple.
The anger and shame turned into a raging fire in his heart, and he wanted to burn everyone who stood in front of him.