(In the previous independent world line, Aiglon gave up his escape and stayed to marry Teresa and live in seclusion)
As the cuckoo's cries resounded throughout the fields, the spring of 1833 quietly arrived.
Spring is naturally a season of revival for all things, and Italy, which is located on the coast of the Mediterranean, is even more beautiful in spring. Whether it is at the foot of the Alps or on the shores of the Adriatic Sea, spring tourists are everywhere, and Italy is full of joy.
The unique laziness and leisureliness of human beings.
Just as people were rushing to go out for an outing and sweep away the gloom of winter, a convoy of carriages quietly traveled from the north to the south and arrived in Italy.
This convoy deliberately kept a low profile. There were no identification marks on the carriages. Apart from taking necessary rest in the inns along the way, they never made many stops or communicated with surrounding tourists. However, judging from the size of the convoy and their expenses,
, it can be easily seen that the owner of the fleet must be either rich or noble.
Idle people along the way were whispering and having fun guessing the owner and whereabouts of the convoy, but they would never want to get the real answer.
Under the bright spring sun, these carriages traveled south and finally arrived at the gates of Venice.
In the small square at the entrance of St. Mark's Square by the lake in Venice, there are two famous white stone pillars in Venice. These are the Venice City Gate. One pillar is carved with Saint Todaro, the patron saint of Venice during the Byzantine period, and the other
The pillar is engraved with the flying lion of St. Mark, another patron saint of Venice. The flying lion happens to be the city emblem of Venice. The flying lion is holding a holy book in its left front paw, with the Catholic oracle written in Latin on it: "
Rest there, my messenger Mark!"
Every foreigner who comes to Venice for travel or business enters this beautiful city through these two stone pillars.
Venice, the name is still full of the romantic atmosphere of the Mediterranean even 200 years later, and she is indeed an ancient and magnificent city-state.
This ancient city-state republic has a history much older than most of the existing dynasties on the European continent. They founded the country based on commerce and relied on their own terrifying mobility to expand their strength.
At its peak, her merchants and warships were densely distributed throughout the Mediterranean world, controlling the most profitable trade routes in the world at the time, and fighting wars with almost all powerful opponents.
Even the noble and illustrious Eastern Roman emperors sometimes had to bow down to them and allow them to have concessions and trade privileges in Constantinople.
Even though the Ottoman Empire later rose to power and frightened the whole of Europe, Venice never surrendered. Instead, it fought many wars with the Turks and repeatedly thwarted the ambitions of the sultans.
However, all glory will eventually come to an end. The Republic of Venice, which once seemed to be able to remain strong forever, also inevitably declined along with the Mediterranean world amid changes in world economic trends, and eventually withdrew from the stage of world history.
Even after its decline, it could not even survive on its own. As Napoleon marched into northern Italy and swept all the way, the ancient Republic of Venice finally lost its independence.
It was first occupied by the French, and then given to Austria as a trade item by the French, becoming an integral part of the Austrian Empire.
At this moment in 1833, apart from the exquisite buildings left over from its heyday, where else can we see the wealth and splendor of this city-state that spanned the world?
Perhaps because of the care, the motorcade arrived outside St. Mark's Square without any obstruction, and then the passengers inside got off the carriage one after another.
Most of these passengers were dressed as servants and guards, and they clustered around a young couple.
This young couple looks to be in their twenties. The man has blond hair and is handsome. The woman is also very beautiful and dressed luxuriously. The two of them stand together and look extremely harmonious.
The lady had her hair styled in fashionable curls and wore a velvet yarmulke on her head. As soon as she stepped out of the carriage, she looked around the Piazza San Marco curiously.
"It's so beautiful..." After a moment, she couldn't help but sigh. "Venice is really a beautiful city."
Then, she turned her head again and looked at her husband with a bright face, "My dear, what do you think?"
"I think it's pretty good too." The young man just glanced briefly, then nodded and answered, even a bit perfunctorily.
The lady noticed her husband's absent-mindedness, so her smile couldn't help but stiffen.
"What's the matter? Aiglon? We are finally able to travel, why are we so unhappy?"
"Probably because this journey is a gift." The young man sneered slightly, and then answered in a slightly mocking tone.
"I'm sorry..." She apologized in a low voice while hugging her husband's arm tightly, "I should have fought harder for you, Aiglon, please forgive me..."
This couple is naturally the young couple Aiglon and Teresa.
Although both of them are still very young now, they have been married for seven years this year since they were officially married in 1826.
People often say that after seven years of marriage, the original relationship between a couple will fade away day by day. However, this couple broke this common law. Even though they have given birth to several children, the warmth between them has been preserved and they are still in love with each other.
There is a lot of tenderness and sweetness between them.
Especially for Theresa, family has become the central axis of her entire life. She goes all out to create a more comfortable living environment for her beloved husband so that he can concentrate on writing his thoughts on paper and pen.
Talent.
The couple traveled together, which was the result of her application to Prime Minister Metternich through her father's relationship. This was also their first trip out of Vienna after they got married. As for their children, they naturally stayed with their maternal grandparents to take care of them.
, will not interfere with their journey.
Due to political concerns, the Austrian government agreed to their travel request, but did not allow them to leave the country, and had to send "guards" to escort them all the way. So after thinking about it, Teresa decided to take Venice as her journey.
destination.
During the negotiation process between the two parties, Aiglon and Metternich had a very unpleasant quarrel, and Teresa couldn't help but feel a little frightened when she was caught in the middle. Fortunately, both parties finally made concessions, and the journey finally took place.
For Theresa, this was naturally a joyful journey. After all, she had always been fond of this city, and the description of it in the book made her even more fascinated; and perhaps it was because of her quarrel with Metternich.
Because of this, Aiglon was a little depressed along the way, and he was not happy until he arrived in Venice today.
Seeing Teresa on the verge of tears, Aigron couldn't help but feel soft, and he whispered to comfort his wife.
"Teresa, I don't blame you, I just know the fact that although I am the emperor's grandson, although I am the Duke of Lechstadt in the empire, and although I marry a princess, I will always be Bonaparte.
Sir, I will not be one of your own."
"What do you mean by 'you'?!" Teresa protested in a low voice, "It's 'us' that's right! I am also a Bonaparte now..."
"Well, except you." Aigron shrugged and apologized to Teresa, "Those people don't treat me as one of their own, and my self-esteem doesn't allow me to lower my head to flatter them, so so be it.
I am happy to be a spectator of the empire... I want to see how long their good life can last."
"Aiglon, don't be discouraged. You and I are still so young, and we still have too long, long enough to make all those who have ill intentions towards you withdraw." Teresa comforted her husband, "Eventually.
One day people will forget everything before and recognize how noble your talent and your dignity are..."
"Maybe there will be such a day, but I don't really care. It's enough for me to have you and the children by my side." Aigron replied casually, "Teresa, you don't need to worry about me. You finally came here."
Just go and have fun, it’s really beautiful here.”
"It's very beautiful. It matches my imagination. I feel like I will be able to have an eye-opening shopping trip, and I'm already looking forward to it..." Teresa replied with a smile on her face, and then she suddenly changed the subject, "But...
...Aigron, its beauty only makes sense when you are with me to look at it. Otherwise, what is the difference between it and the ruins of Babylon?"
After she finished speaking, she stood up on tiptoes and kissed her husband on the cheek.
Then she blushed slightly and looked at the young man in front of her. "If you don't become happy, I won't be happy either."
Looking at his wife's face, Aigron was suddenly moved.
All the unhappiness, grievance and anger accumulated during this period disappeared in an instant.
Yes, there are people in this world who will love and tolerate me unconditionally.
Just having one like this is worth it.
So he did not regret his original decision and decided to stick to it.
So he hugged Teresa and kissed her as if no one else was watching.
The servants and tourists around him all looked sideways, but he didn't notice it at all.
After a while, their lips separated again, and by this time, Teresa's cheeks were already red with embarrassment.
But the sparkle in her eyes was enough to reveal the excitement in her heart.
"I love you." She said this again.
Then, the two of them visited St. Mark's Square together.
Soon the tide began to rise and flooded the ground of St. Mark's Square, so they walked onto the arch bridge together and continued to enjoy the beautiful scenery along the way.
However, soon, they received an invitation from the Governor's Mansion.
So they took a small boat, passed through Venice's dense water network, and drifted towards the Doge's Palace.
After 1815, with the collapse of Napoleon's empire, Austria retook the Lombardy region centered on Milan and established the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venecia on its own Italian territory, with the Austrian Emperor as its head of state.
Although Lombardy and Venetia were merged into one country, in fact the two regions still had their own parallel set of governments, and the Austrian royal family sent a governor to oversee the operation of the kingdom.
The current governor is Archduke Rainer.
He was the twelfth child of the late Emperor Leopold II, and naturally the younger brother of Emperor Franz and Archduke Karl. Since 1818, he had been staying in the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venecia as governor, representing
The Austrian Emperor ruled this area of Italy.
As the governor, he and his family usually stay in Milan, but sometimes they come to Venice to perform official duties. Today, because of the arrival of the couple, Archduke Leonard received them as a matter of course.
It didn't take long for them to follow the waterway and arrive at the magnificent Doge's Palace in Venice. In the distant past, this was the political center of the Republic of Venice, and many decisions that affected the entire Europe were made here.
Even today, when Venice has declined and become a province of Austria, the Doge's Palace is still magnificent and magnificent.
Archduke Rainer, who had been waiting here for a long time, cordially received the couple.
Although he did not have a good impression of the Bonaparte family, he respected his brother Archduke Karl very much, so he naturally could not neglect his brother's daughter and son-in-law.
The Agrons were treated with great courtesy and had lunch with the Governor.
After finishing their lunch, they continued their sightseeing tour.
First of all, they naturally want to go to St. Mark's Basilica, not far from the Doge's Palace. This building is a condensation of the entire glorious history of Venice. It is also decorated with art treasures from Byzantium, which are part of the trophies brought back by the Venetians.
The walls and dome of the church are covered with magnificent golden mosaics, which is also an architectural style that Venice absorbed from Byzantium. The magnificent golden altar and the gems inlaid everywhere made the couple even more excited.
Vision.
The two of them walked, watched, and chatted. They were both satisfied that they were traveling far away for the first time in many years.
Aigron walked forward silently along the church corridor, until a moment later, he suddenly stopped.
"What's wrong, Aigron?" Teresa asked curiously.
"It's nothing..." Aigron shook his head, and then replied, "I'm going to take a convenience."
Then, he let Teresa stay where she was, and then walked along the other side of the corridor to the bathroom, and just as he passed a room, there was a sudden sound inside.
Aigron immediately opened the door and walked in.
This is a confessional room with very dim lighting. It is obviously a place where believers usually come to confess to the priest.
At this time, there was a person in the room. She was wearing a nun's costume and her face was a little blurry.
Aigron looked at the other party quietly, and then walked up to her.
"Chanel, it really is you," he sighed with a little surprise.
Yes, this is his former maid Chanel.
After he decided to marry Teresa and stay in Austria forever to stay with her, Chanel was devastated. She desperately tried to persuade Aiglon to change his mind and not give up his destiny for a mere princess.
great cause.
But Aigron had made up his mind and refused to change no matter what he said.
Desperate, Chanel bid farewell to Aiglon, hoping to go elsewhere to look for opportunities to restore the empire. Aiglon agreed to her request and gave her a large sum of money as a gift before she left.
From that day on, Aigron severed all ties with the empire and lived only for himself from now on.
There was no news from Chanel, but he didn't expect that he would meet her in Venice today.
When he saw her gesturing to him in the church just now, he thought he was dazzled, but decided to go and have a look, and it turned out to be her.
Aigron carefully looked at Chanel in front of him.
She is still so pretty, but perhaps because of her long experience in working outside, her face is a little more determined and calm.
At this time, she looked very excited, and her blue eyes were filled with tears.
"Your Majesty... are you okay?" she asked tremblingly.
"I...not bad." Aiglon nodded, and then asked the other party, "Is everything that happened today an accident? Did you really go to Venice to become a nun?"
"No... of course not. The empire has not yet been revived. How can I hide from the world and live in seclusion?" Chanel smiled and shook his head, "We found out about your whereabouts and knew that you were coming to Venice, so we came here to wait for you."
"Wait for me, what are you doing?" Aigron asked calmly.
"We can take you away." Chanel replied.
Then, her breathing became faster and faster, "Your Majesty, haven't you noticed? Now is the best time for you to escape. There are countless places for you to hide in Venice. As long as you leave Venice, you can get complete
Freedom of movement!"
Although she spoke excitedly, Aigron remained calm and showed no signs of being moved.
"Escape from here...what to do?" he asked again.
"What to do?" Chanel smiled in astonishment, as if she felt that there was no need to ask. "Of course to revive the empire! Although you live in Austria, you must not be secluded from the news, right? The Bourbon dynasty is finished.
, although the Orleans family has ascended to the throne, their position is not stable. Now everyone misses the empire. France is calling you, don’t you hear it?”
"Sorry, I don't care about this anymore." Aigron shook his head calmly, "I remember I made it very clear that starting from the day Theresa and I got married, I have nothing to do with France anymore. She
Become whatever you want to be."
Chanel's face suddenly turned pale.
"How can you say that?" She asked Aiglon in a low voice, "You are the only son of the late emperor, the heir to the Bonaparte family, and the emperor who is responsible for the empire... How can you abandon your obligations and abandon such
How many followers are you willing to go through life and death for you?"
"They want to restore the empire, it is their own choice; and I want to live my own life, it is also my choice, since I respect your choice, but I also hope you respect mine." Aigron was a little unhappy and cold.
He replied coldly, "You can do whatever you want for the empire, but don't come to me... You have stayed with me for so long and you should understand how persistent I am, so what were my thoughts back then?
That’s what I think now, and I won’t change my mind!”
After a pause, he asked again, "You just said 'we', who was that?"
"I found your cousins, and they... they are very happy to restore the empire," Chanel replied.
Then, she asked again without giving up. "Have you really not changed your mind?"
Aiglon replied coldly, "I've made it clear enough."
"You..." A great sadness suddenly made Chanel burst into tears. She covered her face and could not speak for a while.
Aigron just stood there, watching her cry quietly.
After a moment, Chanel finally controlled her emotions. She raised her head and looked at the handsome young man in front of her with a mixture of love, reproach and helplessness.
"Your Majesty, I love you. Although I am not qualified to love you because of my status, I did fall in love with you. You are the first person in the world to be so kind to me, and you are also so talented that I admire you from the bottom of my heart.
The people I admire...the days I stayed by your side were the happiest times in my life."
After saying this, she felt a sense of disillusionment and couldn't help but close her eyes, "But I didn't expect that you, who are so ambitious and hungry for power, would choose to shrink back before a marriage! Could it be that an Austrian
How can a woman bewitch you so easily?! Do you actually make fun of your own ambitions like this? You can obviously become an emperor, but you shrink yourself into a volute..."
"To me, this is the happiest volute." Aiglon interrupted her, "You want an emperor? Yes, you do, but what you want more is an idol! A response to you
Expectations, to implement your ambitions, to avenge your idols, you have imposed all your fantasies and fantasies on me, forcing me to give up the life I want, to fight for a lost dream... No
, I choose to live for myself, Chanel, I’m sorry, but this is my decision.”
Chanel knew that since it was about this matter, it was useless to say anything. She lowered her head, sat on the chair and cried silently.
After crying for a while, she asked Aigron with red and swollen eyes.
"Then can you write a personal letter? You allow your cousin Bonaparte to act in the name of the family, and allow your followers to be loyal to him."
Aiglon was stunned for a moment.
At this time, he understood that Chanel and the others had also made two preparations. The best result was to take him away. If that didn't work, they would ask for authorization from themselves and get the name to start the rebellion on their own.
Now that he has reached this point, of course he will not embarrass Chanel again.
"Okay, you can feel free to do whatever you want to do, as long as it doesn't involve me."
Aigron asked Chanel to take out the paper and pen he had prepared, and then wrote a brief letter in the dim light.
Chanel received the letter, but there was no happy look on her face. On the contrary, tears were still flowing.
"Your Majesty, you...you can change your mind at any time." She carefully collected the letter, then left such a sentence, and finally disappeared.
With a sense of trance and illusion, Aigron walked out of the room, and then walked along the corridor back to the place where he separated from Teresa. At this time, his wife was still waiting for him quietly there.
As soon as he saw Teresa, Aigron's heart suddenly became peaceful.
He managed to cheer up, smiled, and walked next to his wife.
"Sorry, Teresa, for keeping you waiting."
"It's okay, Aigron." Teresa smiled slightly, then reached out her hand and touched her husband's cheek.
Then, she asked in a low voice, "Did you enjoy your chat with Chanel just now?"
Aigron's expression suddenly changed.
"I actually saw her just now, but I was vague and unsure at the time... But from your expression and actions, I have naturally guessed it." Teresa explained to her husband in a low voice.
Then, as if she was afraid that her husband would be worried, she added, "Don't worry, I didn't tell anyone... whatever happened just now never existed."
Aigron immediately felt at ease.
He was not worried that something would happen to him, but that he was worried that Chanel and the others would be arrested. Since Theresa didn't expose this matter, it didn't matter.
"We had a little quarrel just now," he explained softly to his wife, "but now the quarrel is over and she has left."
"Is she still not determined to give up? She is so persistent... This kind of loyalty is quite admirable." Teresa nodded gently, "You rejected them again?"
"Yes, it's the same as before..." Aigron nodded, "Now that I have made a decision, I should stick to it to the end."
"Have you ever regretted it?" Teresa asked suddenly in a low voice.
Aiglon did not answer immediately, but looked at his wife.
"To say that I have never regretted it for a moment would be a lie of course. But I don't know what happened, but when I saw you and touched you..." As he spoke, he reached out his hand and stroked you gently.
Regarding my wife's hair, "I have no regrets. I think this is pretty good. At least I can be satisfied."
"Really...?" Teresa asked in surprise.
Then, she hugged Aigron and buried her head in his arms, listening to his heartbeat. "Aigron, I know you have sacrificed a lot for me, so I am willing to sacrifice everything in return.
You, I just hate that I didn’t repay you enough and made you unhappy sometimes... so I’m very worried and scared.”
"What are you afraid of?" Aigron was a little surprised.
"I'm afraid that you will take back your original decision." Teresa replied muffledly in his arms, "Sometimes I have nightmares, dreaming that you were bewitched by those careerists, suddenly left our home, and ran to a place where I
We can't find it anywhere, and then we part ways... God, what should I do if this happens?"
Then, she raised her head again and looked at her husband with tearful eyes, "Aigron, promise me... don't leave me no matter what? Even if you want to escape from all this, you must tell me, because I
I would rather be a criminal who betrayed the empire than be separated from you! I am on your side, and I am also Bonaparte!"
Aigron almost cried when he heard this.
He stroked her back gently, like a frightened kitten.
"Silly girl... I won't take it back. We will be together forever, just like we have always been. You are right, we still have too much time, enough for us to enjoy and reminisce slowly, okay... let's continue
Let’s travel.”
"Okay, dear." Teresa burst into tears and smiled.
There was no one around, only the magnificent dome of St. Mark's Basilica echoed the tenderness of the young couple.