[This article is an independent world line, taking over the first extra chapter, that is, the world line in which the protagonist chooses to stay in Austria, marry Theresa and live in seclusion after hesitation.
Also, happy Chinese Valentine’s Day everyone~]
A summer day in June 1846
In the manor on the outskirts of Vienna, it was a rural scene.
In the early morning forest, there is some light mist that has not yet dissipated. It changes in the morning light, like the dancing gauze of fairies in the forest.
The hillsides are covered with grass, and the lush leaves cover the country paths, making the air cooler. Clusters of wild flowers bloom in the morning sun, and the dewdrops on the petals flash with colorful lights, tempting those who work hard.
Bees come to dance with him.
Birds chirped happily in the woods, bringing the quiet forest to life.
And deep in the forest, there is a small but quite exquisite white building that carefully hides itself in the natural scenery.
On the second floor of this mansion, there is a room with the widest view, which has been opened up as the owner's study. In the study at this time, there is a middle-aged man in his thirties, sitting on the desk.
, quietly looking at the green scenery outside the window.
There are some manuscripts and books in front of him, and on his right is a cup of coffee that has just been half-drunk and is still emitting steam. In the wastebasket next to him, there are many piles of coffee that have been crumpled into a ball.
The manuscript paper is obviously the residue produced by middle-aged people in their creation.
Although he seemed to be gazing at the scenery outside the window, his brows were sometimes frowning and sometimes relaxing, and his expression was changing. It was obvious that he had devoted himself wholeheartedly to his own unique spiritual world.
After a long time, he finally made a move - he picked up the pen, then moved it quickly across the paper, and wrote it down in one breath. His movements were so fast and his handwriting was so sloppy, as if he couldn't wait to accumulate all the information in his mind.
The creativity and passion pour out cleanly.
Time passed quickly, and after a while, there was a pile of manuscript paper in front of him. At this time, he finally poured out all his passion, so he took a deep breath and put down his pen.
Only then did he realize that he was already sweating profusely.
Creation is a very difficult job in any era.
At this moment, the melodious piano sound came from the room next to him, and he knew that it was his wife Theresa playing music with her daughter Emily.
He stood up, picked up the remaining half cup of coffee and walked silently to the window, then drank it while looking at the scenery.
At this moment, there was a gentle knock on the door of the study.
"Aiglon, do you have time? The guests are waiting for you!"
"Come in!" Aigron answered after hearing who the speaker was.
The door was opened immediately, and a woman wearing a white taffeta dress decorated with velvet ribbons walked in.
She looks about thirty years old, her skin is still smooth and smooth, her cheeks are white and rosy, she always seems to have a vague smile, and her eyes are also full of joy, and her whole person seems to be exuding
The light of happiness.
She is Her Royal Highness Princess Theresa, who is also his wife.
Although neither of them is very old now, they have been a couple for nearly twenty years.
And today is the 20th anniversary of their engagement.
Although the couple has no plans to hold a big banquet, on this important anniversary, their family members and closest relatives and friends will naturally come to celebrate the couple.
Since his marriage, Agron has lived in seclusion in the countryside with Princess Teresa, actively isolating himself from the world. The only thing that keeps him connected with the world is the scripts, poems and historical monographs he silently created.
Disputes from the outside world cannot spread to this isolated island, and the family is as harmonious as ever. The couple rarely quarrels, and every time the couple has a disagreement, it ends with a compromise of mutual understanding - of course, most of them At that time, it was Teresa who accommodated her husband.
Just as Teresa swore when the two first got together, she seemed to regard it as her mission to "take good care of His Highness's life so that he can concentrate on creation and display his talents", and she persisted in it happily. The married life of personal closeness continued in such a harmonious and beautiful manner, and twenty years passed by inadvertently like a snap of a finger.
Perhaps, this calm "inadvertence" is happiness itself.
"Your Highness..." Teresa shouted softly, then walked to the desk and sorted out the manuscript paper that Aigron had just written. "Let's go down together after we have a rest. Everyone is waiting for us! "
While recognizing the handwriting, she moved her fingers skillfully and put the manuscript paper into a special booklet - and on the bookshelf next to the wall of the study room, there were already too many similar manuscripts placed in categories, with notes specifically marking them. Time and keywords so that the owner can search at any time.
Sometimes even Aigron herself can't figure out these scattered and scrawled manuscripts after passionate creation, and she is almost the only one who can sort them out.
"Teresa." Just as she was tidying up, Aigron suddenly turned his head and looked at his wife.
"What's wrong?" Teresa asked, lowering her head.
"Is François here?" Aiglon asked in a low voice.
Teresa's movements suddenly froze for a moment, and then her expression darkened.
Finally, she shook her head slightly.
"This bastard doesn't know what the heavens and the earth are!" Aigron couldn't help but shook his head and sighed, "Why does he have to do something stupid?"
"Of course you know why he is like this..." Teresa also sighed. "Haven't you thought about similar things over the years?"
When his wife retorted like this, Aigron froze immediately.
Although he is quite satisfied with his current life, when he occasionally looks back on his life or hears about major events in Europe, a little flame of ambition still emerges in his heart - which is deeply rooted in Bonaparte's spirit. The desire for power in the family bloodline.
The desire for glory and power possessed him like a ghost, coming out to cause trouble from time to time, reminding the prince, who was approaching middle age, that he still had his destined career yet to be completed.
However, every time he reminds himself - since you have chosen this path, you should go on without hesitation.
He has always been a resolute and decisive person. Once he has made a decision, he must stick to it, so he used this stubbornness to forcibly extinguish the fire in his heart, and then happily spent 20 years of marriage with his wife. Life.
To him, Teresa and her children were God's best compensation for what he had lost.
However, his self-control can endure the flames of ambition, but his descendants may not be able to do so——
In the past 20 years, he and Theresa have had six children, and their eldest son Francois is now almost an adult.
Under the care of his mother and grandfather, this young man has never suffered any hardship. Although his grandfather has never been by his side for a second, his grandfather's reputation has been lingering in this young man since he became sensible.
in his mind.
This young man was just as smart as his father back then, but when he reached this young age, it became increasingly difficult for him to endure the lonely life his father had chosen voluntarily. The flame in his blood seemed to be always driving him, insisting on
Don't let him do something big.
The "big cause" in his mind was not in Austria, which belonged to the Habsburg family, but in France in the west - to be precise, the French Empire that had been briefly ruled by the Bonaparte family.
In this day and age, the Bourbon dynasty had already been overthrown by the July Revolution in 1830, and the Orleans family that replaced it also showed signs of instability.
Because of this, those long-dormant Bonapartists began to make moves, hoping to use this opportunity to overthrow the increasingly unpopular King Louis-Philippe and allow the Bonaparte family to regain control of France.
In order to achieve this goal, they secretly sent people to contact Aigron. However, Aigron, who had already made a decision, would not change his will of course, so he rejected their request.
For him, being the Duke of Lechstadt in Austria is not a wonderful life, but at least his current life is satisfying enough.
But his son was completely different - although the Bonapartists did not persuade Aigron, they hit it off with his eldest son. The young man's ambition and spirit made him readily accept their support, and he also hoped to use it to
My own actions will allow my family to return to the top of Europe.
After he made such a choice, the father and son had many quarrels over this. The father blamed his son for risking his own life and the lives of others, while the son blamed his father for indulging in a life of seclusion, which had wiped out his will and forgotten his destiny.
obligations.
During the quarrel between father and son, this originally happy and harmonious family also split. In the end, Francois left a sentence: "You and your mother can just stay in the country. I will take over the honor that belongs to our family."
Take it back and give it to you!" and then ran away from home.
The parents were helpless and powerless over what their son did, and could only watch helplessly as he took matters into his own hands.
And today, Francois has not come back on this important day, which is enough to show the extent of the rift between father and son.
Aigron stopped talking and stared blankly out the window in trance.
"Your Highness, don't be angry about Francois anymore. Young people will always be a little ignorant of the sky and the earth. You will know what is good when you hit a wall in reality." Teresa walked next to him and comforted her in a low voice.
Husband, "At least we are still together now, that's enough... As for Francois, he will come back when he is exhausted."
"No, Teresa, I'm not upset about him." Aigron reached out his hand to cover his face, and then sighed, "I was thinking, maybe... maybe Francois was right.
Yes, I did lose too many important things!"
Teresa's face suddenly froze.
"So do you think I delayed you?" She lowered her gaze and asked cautiously.
"No, I haven't thought about it that way." Aigron shook his head quickly, "Being able to marry you and spend a lifetime together is enough to compensate for all my losses, but Francois... now my son is fighting for our family.
Isn’t it ridiculous that I’m standing here looking at the scenery while struggling?”
Teresa saw the hesitation in her husband's heart, and her heart also ached, but now she knew that she had to be strong, comfort her husband, and let him get out of his hesitation.
"You don't need to change your mind for him, Your Highness. Since he is already an adult, he can naturally choose his own path. We can't control that much, so just let him go." She stretched out her hand and held it tightly.
She held her husband's hand. "Your Highness, I love François and all our children. The children are the happy fruits of our marriage and the most important treasure in my life, but... for me
, you are life itself.”
Because of her full devotion, Teresa's voice also trembled a little, "I love you and love every day I spend with you, so I don't need you to snatch anything. If you ascend to the top of power, then
Of course it's good, I can get glory from this, and maybe even wear a crown, but in that case, will my life be better than now? I'm afraid not! I have experienced too much glory and wealth, even if I bring the queen with me
The crown may not make me more dazzling, and if that is the case, there will definitely be too many interests and trade-offs between us, which will make the originally frank love between us tarnished, so..."
Teresa hugged her husband, and then closed her eyes slightly, "This is the best now. The two of us are together, no one disturbs us, you quietly dedicate your talents to the world, and I spend my whole life
I will always be by your side, freeing you from all worries and allowing you to devote yourself wholeheartedly to your magnificent career... Your Highness, sometimes I really feel that God is too partial to me, allowing me to get what I want without any hardships.
Everything, we can live so happily! Aigron, my dear, I am very satisfied with everything. If I have any wish, I just hope that everything can continue peacefully, and nothing should be changed until we
Until the two of us grow old."
Teresa's words were so touching, and her eyes were watery, so that Egron felt happy and moved at the same time.
Yes, his heart that occasionally trembled due to ambition was melted by this extremely warm love.
He reached out his hand and touched his wife's still smooth cheek.
"Teresa, you are right. On this day, it is too ridiculous to think about those boring things. As long as you are by my side, it is enough for me, damn the empire!"
Then, he suddenly lowered his head and kissed his wife hard, as if to express his determination.
Teresa also closed her eyes happily and opened her red lips to welcome her husband's tenderness.
After a long time, the two separated their lips, and then Teresa raised her head slightly and looked at her husband.
"Your Highness, let's go on a trip to relax after a while. You can go wherever you want, Rome, London, Petersburg, or even to the ends of the earth... anywhere!"
Yes, after 20 years, Austrian officials have very few restrictions on Eglund, and since Eglund published his works under his real name, it has caused a sensation all over Europe.
Now he has fans in various European countries, and if he is willing, he may be warmly welcomed wherever he goes.
"Yeah." Aigron just nodded slightly.
Then, the middle-aged couple, whose love was still fresh, walked out of the study hand in hand and came to the living room where everyone was gathered, enjoying everyone's blessings to them.