Of course, Aigron was not willing to miss Princess Sophie's warm invitation. He got up early the next morning, stretched out his body, and followed the princess's attendants to the fountain.
"Good morning, Aiglon!" Princess Sophie, who was already ready to go, greeted him with a smile. "Are you ready?"
Different from her usual long skirt, she was wearing a hunting suit today. The tight-fitting clothes and breeches highlighted her slim figure, and her long gray hair was tied behind her head, making her look heroic.
"I'm ready." Aiglon replied.
"Okay, let's go while it's not too hot yet!" Her Royal Highness the Princess waved her hands excitedly.
The weather is beautiful today and it is another sunny day. The weather is very suitable for going out for a long trip. However, it is already early summer after all. The temperature will rise at noon and it is not suitable for strenuous exercise. Therefore, if you want to hunt, it is best to go hunting.
morning.
So the two of them stopped talking and walked into the garden together, where the attendants brought the horses. Then they rode horses through the Zoo and Botanical Garden of Schönbrunn Palace, and ran westward to the outskirts of Vienna.
In the vast forest.
The two rode side by side, with Her Royal Highness the Princess' entourage following behind. Under the cover of numerous trees, the bright sunlight gradually became much darker. Breathing in the fresh and cool air, Aigron felt relaxed and happy.
"Aigron." In the silence, Princess Sophie spoke softly. "What you... said in front of us last night, was it true?"
Aiglon's heart suddenly tightened.
He didn't know whether Sophie was asking on behalf of herself or someone else.
"When you were talking, I was looking into your eyes." Before he could answer, Sophie continued, "Honestly, your words were full of emotion and emotion. Logically speaking, I should
I believe it - but when I see your eyes, I feel that there is a fire burning in your heart...Aiglon, you don't mean what you say, do you? We have known each other for a while, although you always deliberately put yourself
I hide my feelings, but I don’t know why, I just feel that you don’t mean what you say, and those words are all lies, Aigron, did I blame you wrongly?”
Aigron remained silent and did not answer.
"Don't worry, these are just what we talked about in private. I will never mention it to the second person again, even to Karl." Sophie turned her head and looked at the boy with a smile on her face, "
I just want to confirm whether I have wrongly accused you, and I don’t mean to interrogate you. If you are not happy, you don’t have to answer.”
Now that he has already talked about it, there is not much point in him continuing to explain. It will only cast a shadow on the trust between the two people. As for silence, it is meaningless. It will make him appear to be afraid.
"Yes, I was lying." Therefore, he admitted it simply. "I had no intention of becoming a writer or traveler at all. These were just words to fool them."
"Well, it seems that you are quite honest with me, and my good intentions are not in vain." Princess Sophie smiled, and then asked. "In that case, why did you refuse His Highness the Prince's arrangement? Although it is definitely not pregnant.
Good intentions, but objectively it does help you."
"I know what my fate will be if I obey..." This is of course impossible to answer.
Aiglon lowered his head and looked at the trembling mane on his mount's head, "I actually don't object to joining the army after a while, but I... I can't bear to spend the days with you now. If I go now,
There will definitely be fewer opportunities to see you in the future, so I would rather wait for a while."
"Have you learned the coaxing words of a libertine at such a young age?"
Princess Sophie glared at him, then raised her hand and picked up the riding crop as if to give him a whip.
Aigron did not dodge, but looked at Sophie calmly.
Sophie's whip didn't really swing down, she put her hand down again, and then looked forward.
"You are too short of friends, so you may value our friendship too much."
"There are not many people who are willing to be my friends." Aiglon replied in a low voice. "I don't know whose friendship to value except you, because I don't have any in the first place."
After receiving this answer, Sophie was obviously a little sad.
"This is really God's trick! Why do you have to suffer this kind of suffering?" Finally, she sighed. "Aiglon, don't be discouraged, everything will be fine. As long as I am here, no one here can
Insult you."
"Look, you carelessly show kindness to people like me, but at the same time you don't let me cherish this precious time. Isn't this forcing someone to do something difficult..." Aigron looked at the other party with aggrieved eyes, "If you want me to
If you change your mind, then you'd better not treat me like a sister, just treat me like everyone else."
"Haha..." Sophie couldn't help laughing, "I didn't realize you were so eloquent. Okay, let's not talk about these unpleasant things and concentrate on hunting!"
After finishing speaking, she picked up the shotgun and pointed it at the quail flying in the forest.
"boom!"
With a loud noise, smoke filled the space between the two people, but unfortunately the princess's shooting skills were not very good and she missed the hit.
The sound of gunshots awakened the forest, and various birds in the forest jumped up one after another.
Aigron also raised his shotgun and aimed at the birds flying in the distance.
Because there were thick trees in the forest and the light was dark, the shooting field of view was not good, so he could only do his best.
"Hit!" Sophie cheered, as if she had hit the target.
As she spoke, she controlled the horse and ran in the direction where the prey fell, and Aigron naturally followed behind her, while loading the shotgun with bullets.
"Aiglon, your marksmanship is pretty good." Looking at the dead quail under the horse's hooves, Sophie looked at the young man with approval.
"It's just good luck occasionally." Aigron pretended to be modest.
"Look at how proud you are!" Sophie was unconvinced again and picked up the shotgun again and loaded the bullets, "Look at me!"
She raised the shotgun again on horseback and took aim. After aiming at the prey, she slowed down her breathing, and then pulled the trigger, all in one movement.
"boom!"
With a loud noise, this time an unfortunate turtle dove fell to the ground.
"Hit!" Sophie cheered for herself this time, then rode her horse and ran over, ready to admire her victory. Aigron also raised his shotgun and fired a shot in front of him, but because of the cover of the trees, he did not
No prey was killed.
"I beat you this time." Sophie said happily.
In this way, the two men rode horses through the woods, shooting from time to time, competing to see who could catch more prey. Time also passed in this leisurely and warm atmosphere.
"Aiglon, it seems that you are still better than me." After a while, Sophie calculated the results of the two people, and then said regretfully.
"This is just my good luck." Aigron replied humbly.
The two people were chatting while traveling down a slope. Because this horse was not his daily mount, he was not riding very steadily on the downhill slope, and people bumped more heavily on the horse, so he controlled the horse carefully.
At the same time, I was chatting with Sophie.
"Aiglon, can you promise me something?" Sophie said suddenly.
"Please tell me." Aigron replied immediately.
"No matter how successful you are in the future, you must remain rational and don't spread your hatred to everyone. Although the Austrians are on guard against you, they also have their own difficulties. Most of them have no sympathy for you.
Disgusting feeling..."
"No one can tell what will happen in the future, but of course I will not let hatred blind me." Aigron replied briefly, "If you ask me to do this, then I promise you, I will."
While he was answering, Sophie kept looking into his eyes. When he finished, she nodded happily.
"Great, I believe you...Aigron, this is what I want to see in you most..."
She didn't expect that just when she was overjoyed, sudden accidents and disasters would come here.
The hoof of her mount hit the wooden post hidden in the grass heavily. The sprained horse let out a mournful cry, then its upper body fell down and its lower body suddenly lifted up.
"Yeah!" Sophie screamed as she was thrown upwards.
Oh my gosh!
Aiglon felt his blood freezing.
Neither he nor the original soul in his body could imagine the next scene.
He immediately reached out his hand, grabbed Sophie's body heavily, and then pulled hard.
This is a subconscious reaction. At this moment, he is making a decision for himself.
Fortunately, he caught Sophie and pulled her off her mount, avoiding the disaster of being thrown off the horse. However, just as he pulled Sophie, his violent movements also caused his mount to fall.
Out of his control.
He suddenly fell off the right side of the horse, landing on his right shoulder first, his forehead touching the ground at the same time, and he lay there on his side.
Sophie was in his arms and fell to the ground with him.
"Egglon!"
Sophie, who was already stunned, suddenly let out a scream, then knelt down on the soft soil regardless of her manners and held his head. "Are you okay?"
Seeing the scratches on the young man's forehead and face, as well as a small amount of blood, and the slight twitching of the corners of his mouth, tears flooded her eyes and then overflowed.
"Aigron, are you okay?!" she called with a tearful voice.
"I'm fine, Your Highness." Aigron looked at Sophie and couldn't help but smile, but the blood foam overflowing from the corner of his mouth made this answer unconvincing at all.
"sorry Sorry……"
Sophie apologized while crying. Then she raised her head and looked back with shame and anger that could almost set the entire forest on fire.