After reaching a consensus with Lady Alice, Edmond Dantès also visited the Duke of Nordelien's residence under the guidance of Alice.
Although he did not want to see these two uninvited guests, the Duke had no choice but to open the door of his house and receive them.
Like last time, they were taken to the study.
"You two are here to visit me. Do you have any advice?" the Duke asked politely upon meeting.
"Your Majesty has a personal letter to send to you." Edmund did not want to engage in hypocritical politeness with the other party, so he went directly to the topic.
This news really surprised the Duke.
Ever since Mr. Bowen proposed the additional conditions for the letter of guarantee, he had been worrying about this matter. He hadn't figured out how to ask for it, but he didn't expect that the handwritten letter actually came to him on his own.
Is this to express special favor to himself? Or is there some other secret? It was difficult for the Duke to tell for a while, and time did not allow him to think more about it.
With trembling hands, he took the handwritten letter.
Ignoring those polite polite words, the Duke directly perceived the important content.
"Your Excellency, from Miss Agnes's letter, I learned that you are still facing difficulties, which is very regrettable. As far as I am concerned, whether it is out of concern for a good friend or for a famous family with a long history,
Dear, I can't bear to watch you suffer in pain.
Therefore, I have informed Mr. Bowang that no matter what, we must give priority to your financial needs and not set up any obstacles. I hope that such a clear statement is enough for him to understand my thoughts. I wish you good luck in the future, Your Excellency.
.”
Saved... Although these words were very brief, they aroused huge waves in the Duke's heart, a sense of relief that made him almost collapse.
It seems that Agnes wrote a private letter to the King of Rome to plead for mercy... It turns out that you still can't let us go after all.
With the statement of the King of Rome, the dark clouds hanging over his head suddenly dispersed. He knew that as long as Bowang was willing to continue to donate generously, the financial difficulties he was facing would be relieved immediately, and neither did Alice.
No way to hold yourself hostage again.
For a moment, he felt secretly happy and guilty at the same time. He felt dizzy and managed to maintain his consciousness.
He is too weak now, he is already old, and coupled with the recent bad luck, his spirit has been severely stimulated and he has suffered from a severe lack of sleep, so he now looks haggard.
However, we finally overcame this difficulty, which is more important than anything else.
"Are you okay?" Seeing her father's dizzy appearance, Alice finally couldn't hold back and asked with concern.
"Thanks to you, I won't die for the time being." The Duke responded with a wry smile, but he still showed an attitude of rejecting others.
He was already very angry at his daughter for choosing a marriage partner without authorization. Recently, his daughter took the opportunity to blackmail him, which made him even more disgusted. Now that he was free from the blackmail, he didn't bother to show off to Alice anymore.
In a sense, in the Duke's heart, this daughter was even as disgusting as the runaway banker Danglars.
Of course Alice could see what her father was thinking. Although this was expected by her, it still made her heart ache.
Fortunately, she is now increasingly able to conceal her inner thoughts, so she still maintains calm.
Anyway, His Majesty will definitely use me in the future, so there is no need to vent his anger on his father anymore.
"Then I also wish you good health in the future." With this plain blessing, she ended the last remaining father-daughter relationship between the two people.
Edmund had no intention of lamenting the plot of the father-daughter rift, so he immediately put forward Aiglon's conditions.
"Your Excellency, Your Majesty is so enthusiastic in helping you, I hope you can feel his protection for your family. This is an extremely rare grace."
"Of course, I will always remember it in my heart!" the Duke replied quickly. "Our family will definitely be loyal to His Majesty and repay this kindness."
Regardless of how sincere he is, he must express his stance now.
However, the earl did not intend to give him a chance to breathe. After he expressed his stance, he immediately laid out his cards. "Then, you now have the opportunity to repay this kindness -"
"What do you mean?" the Duke asked in surprise.
"Your Majesty hopes that you can meet with him as soon as possible. He has important matters to discuss with you."
It really came... In an instant, the Duke's mood fell to the bottom again, and his face, which had regained some color, suddenly turned ashen again.
Not only did it come, it came so quickly.
He knew that all these "favors" were definitely not free, and the Bonaparte family was definitely not a kind person. If you wanted to get generous assistance from them, you would have to pay a heavy price.
But even though he knew this, he still had some luck in his heart, hoping that he would not be involved in the terrifying whirlpool so soon.
But now, this luck has been ruthlessly shattered.
The Duke was naturally very reluctant, but he did not dare to show it. He could only think about it with a grimace, and then slowly spoke. "I am naturally very excited to receive such an honor, but... Your Majesty
Now that we are not within the borders of the country, if I want to see him, I will inevitably have to travel too far. I am already old and I am afraid I cannot bear such a hard work."
"It doesn't matter." Edmund had long expected that the other party would come up with such an excuse, so he immediately blocked it, "I will personally escort you there and will never let you tire yourself out on the road, let alone let you
If you face any danger, please trust me."
Of course, the Duke did not dare to say to his face that he did not believe the Count, so he could only make another excuse.
"Of course I believe you, but you also know that I am somewhat of a public figure here and am involved in worldly affairs. If I disappear from the public eye for a long time, people will inevitably become suspicious, which may not be a good thing for you."
At this time, Alice suddenly interrupted, "Father, this is easy to handle. Just say that you have been sick and weak recently. Now that winter is coming, you feel that you can't stand the cold and want to take leave to go to a warmer climate."
I don’t think anyone will find it strange that you need to warm up your body in the south - just to be on the safe side, you can also find a doctor to endorse you."
This is indeed true. Now the Duke is haggard and looks like he is old and decayed and may fall down at any time. If such a person says that he needs to recuperate, no one will believe it...
After all, the Duke's mediocrity is well known to everyone. Although he occupies a place in the palace by virtue of his family status, he does not occupy any distinguished position and has no power. Although he is a good decoration in the social scene, he really wants to disappear.
No one will feel sorry for it.
Seeing that the reason he was looking for was ruthlessly exposed by his daughter, the Duke became angry and glared at Alice, but Alice pretended not to see it, making the Duke even more frustrated.
Seeing that the two reasons he had found were rejected, the Duke felt even more headache.
After hesitating for a moment, he made a final effort, "Then, how about letting my little daughter visit His Majesty on my behalf? I think Agnes is also very happy to repay Your Majesty's kindness. Your Majesty can and
Let her resume friendship again."
The Duke throwing away his daughter was his last struggle. In his opinion, since His Majesty was so kind to his family, the reason was obvious. Since he had already reached this point, he might as well just point it out and forget it.
As for what will happen when his daughter gets there, he doesn't want to ask anymore - he has already been mentally prepared anyway.
Since he had said it so openly, the other two people could naturally understand what he meant. Edmund was fine, but Alice was immediately furious at her father's act of "selling her daughter for glory."
She really didn't expect that her father had already made plans for her daughter to be someone else's lover for her own sake... Even if the target was His Majesty, this would be too insulting to Agnes. How could she be willing?
Before the count could answer, Alice immediately interrupted.
"How can this be done? The person His Majesty wants to see is you, not Agnes. Besides, if His Majesty wants to summon you, it must be to discuss some vital matters. How can Agnes bear the responsibility? Father,
I advise you not to shirk it anymore, if His Majesty knows that you are behaving like this, I am afraid he will also be chilled."
Seeing such harsh words being said, the Duke felt that he was forced into a desperate situation.
He looked at the count again, with a bit of pleading in his eyes, as if he wanted the count to say a few nice words.
But he was disappointed. The Earl just nodded, obviously agreeing with Alice's opinion.
Therefore, he has no room to struggle.
After weighing it again and again, the Duke finally found that he could no longer find an excuse to refuse, so he could only sigh dejectedly.
"Since His Majesty values me so much, of course I am very happy, and I will go to see him with great honor. Then I will announce to the outside world that due to physical factors, I am temporarily unable to perform official and private affairs and need to go to the south for a long-term recuperation.
…”
"I promise you, this will be a pleasant journey." Seeing that the Duke finally gave in, Edmund smiled and nodded, "You should prepare as soon as possible, and then we will hit the road together."
The Duke just smiled sadly, while his heart was thinking about the future uneasily, full of annoyance and fear.
In the final analysis, he is just a mediocre person, not a bold speculator. He never thought of doing anything big. He only wanted to follow his family to preserve the family business that was finally revived. However, fate is capricious.
, finally dragged him into the quagmire, unable to hide, and he could only lament his misfortune in his heart.
But what can he do now? Now that he has set foot on the pirate ship, colluded so deeply with the Bonaparte family, and even wrote a personal letter expressing his loyalty, it is too late to go back on his words now. He has no way to resist that person.
The will of young people.
The Duke deeply realized this, and he also realized that from now on, the status of himself and his family depends entirely on two things: first, where this young man has reached;
Second, is this young man willing to continue to help him?
The first thing was beyond his control, and he could only pray to God to bless the Bonaparte family; but the second thing was not impossible - Agnes was the solution.
This idea has been in the Duke's mind for a long time, and the resistance in his heart has long since dissipated, and now that he has said it in front of others, he has no more psychological scruples.
He has realized that the importance the King of Rome attaches to Agnes is indeed extraordinary. As long as Agnes is here, his family will not be cut off from this favor.
Since it was going to be done anyway, it would be better to do it more simply. After thinking secretly, the Duke made up his mind.
He wanted to reveal this matter when he met with His Majesty.
Edmund and Alice didn't know what the Duke was thinking. After everything was settled, they quietly left the study.
In the corridor, Alice's eyes wandered subconsciously.
Edmund knew what she was looking for.
"Is Miss Agnes okay now?" So he asked in a low voice.
"I don't know, we haven't been in contact recently." Alice replied dully, "Since that incident, she has never looked for me again."
"Then...it's rare to come here today, why don't you go see her?" the count asked again.
This question immediately aroused waves in Alice's heart.
In her heart, why doesn't she hope to settle the feud with her sister?
However, judging from the current situation, it is difficult for Agnes to forgive herself for the time being. If she forces herself, the consequences may be more serious.
She knew in her heart that if she wanted to mend the rift between the sisters, time alone would not be enough, she would also have to put in some effort to make Agnes feel that she was not completely on the opposite side of her.
"Forget it, if she doesn't want to see me, then I...I can't provoke her anymore." So, she whispered to the count, "Let's talk about it later."
Then, she thought of something again.
"Has Agnes found you before? Otherwise, how could your Majesty receive her personal letter?"
Now that he had reached this point, Edmund didn't want to hide it anymore, so he nodded, "She came to me the day after the incident, and then made a request to me to take care of Bianca's life.
, and then send the letter for help to His Majesty. That’s why Your Majesty wrote a letter specifically to warn Bowang."
Alice paused.
At this time, she finally understood the whole story, and also understood that it was her sister's pleading that allowed Aigron to temporarily hold her down.
But she was not angry, she just smiled bitterly, with both sadness and relief in her eyes.
"On the second day... I underestimated her."
Then, she raised her head again and looked in the direction of her sister's bedroom in the darkness. At this time, there was naturally silence there. "It seems that she is also growing up slowly..."