After her father spoke, Teresa had to stop complaining and sit down at the dining table.
In order not to affect the mood of others, she quickly controlled herself, stopped complaining about Beethoven, and turned to other topics.
However, she still remembered her sudden idea in her heart and prepared to realize it as soon as possible before the master's life ended.
Time passed slowly as the family members chatted, and soon the dinner was over.
Like most families of this era, Henrietta invited Agron to pass the rest of the time with a game of cards.
"I heard that when Theresa was called over, you also played with the Emperor and the Queen?" Henrietta asked Agron.
"Yes, ma'am." Aigron nodded, "Let's play whist."
"Then let's imitate the two majesties. If you don't mind, you and Teresa will form a pair again." Henrietta winked at her husband, "By the way, how did you and Teresa work together before?
?”
"Just so-so, we are not good at this." Aiglon replied half-truthfully.
"That's just right, we're not very good at it either." Henrietta said with a smile, "It should be the most fun to play with opponents of equal strength."
As a result, Aiglon teamed up with Teresa again to fight against another most noble couple in the empire.
Compared to the last time when he was nervous, Aigron felt much more relaxed this time.
He soon discovered that the strength of the Grand Duke and his wife was slightly stronger than the combination of the two His Majesties, but still very average, so he and Teresa played the cards casually, and the game was quite tight.
"Franz." While playing the cards, Henrietta asked him casually, "Do you usually have many chances to see His Majesty in the palace?"
"His Majesty the Emperor has a lot of matters to deal with every day, so he doesn't have much time to see me. I will only go there when he wants to summon me." Aigron answered.
"Then who do you interact with more in the court?" Henrietta asked curiously, "Logically speaking, if no one communicates with you for a long time, your personality will be a little autistic, but I don't think you lack communication.
The subject's appearance - although he is indeed a bit introverted, at least he is not withdrawn."
"I communicate with teachers every day, so there is no shortage of people to communicate with." Aigron answered casually.
"I don't feel like -" Henrietta shook her head, "In order to educate the children, we have also hired teachers. They either sternly supervise the little master or are respectful to the little master, and the age difference is too big, so basically nothing
It’s a common topic, so it’s difficult for us to communicate with each other.”
Then she seemed to think of something, "Do you have a lot of contact with His Highness Karl?"
Now His Majesty the Emperor only has two sons. The Crown Prince is a crazy mentally retarded person so he has been automatically ignored. Henrietta directly thought of the second Prince Carl.
Are you getting close to the truth so soon...Aigron suddenly became a little nervous.
"I do have a good relationship with him." He could only answer vaguely.
"To be precise, Franz should have a good relationship with His Royal Highness and his wife." Archduke Karl interrupted at this time, "When I entered the palace that day, I saw him and His Highness Sophie talking happily."
Teresa's hand shook slightly, almost losing her grip on the cards, but she finally returned to normal without letting her parents notice anything unusual.
She did not tell her parents about Sophie because she knew that would be counterproductive and she could only solve her own problems by herself.
"Is that so?" Henrietta looked at Agron.
"Indeed." Aigron could only nod. "Her Highness Sophie has taken great care of me since she came to Austria, and her attitude is very kind. Maybe she pities my life experience."
"In this way, she is a good person." Henrietta finally understood, "No wonder, it seems that this is the reason why you have not become withdrawn and autistic."
"Mom, how can you talk like this?" Teresa protested dissatisfied.
"Oh, I'm sorry, kid, I didn't think of the right words for the moment, but... I think His Highness will forgive me." Henrietta smiled at Agron.
"What you said is true." Aigron nodded, "The palace is very big, but it's hard to find friends."
"When you go back, say thank you to Her Highness Sophie for me. It seems that she has really helped you a lot." Henrietta smiled again, "To be honest, I sympathize with her. Now the whole empire
All my hopes are on her, I hope she won’t be overwhelmed..."
"Okay, don't mention her anymore, just play your cards with peace of mind." Archduke Karl suddenly interrupted his wife.
This is indeed a very dangerous topic.
Although the current Emperor Franz has two sons, the prince is destined to have no heir, so the second prince and Sophie bear the important responsibility of continuing the empire and the Habsburg family.
As for the issue of "continuation of the imperial line", any family in Austria can discuss it, but Archduke Karl's family can never discuss it. This is definitely a taboo.
Among the sons left by the late Emperor Leopold, His Majesty Emperor Franz was the eldest, the second son Ferdinand had died in 1824, and Archduke Karl was the third son.
In other words, Archduke Karl is already the eldest living brother of His Majesty the Emperor.
If Sophie remains homeless, the imperial line may spread to Archduke Karl's branch.
Because of this, this topic is particularly dangerous. It is definitely not something that can be discussed casually after dinner. His Majesty the Emperor will never allow his brother to have improper covetousness for the throne.
Henrietta quickly reacted, and she knew she had violated a taboo.
"It's okay, everyone here is family, what's the problem if we chat casually?" She smiled reluctantly, trying to maintain the atmosphere.
However, she knew in her heart that His Majesty the Emperor had not always gotten along well with his brothers. He and Metternich had also arranged spies in the manor, so she quickly changed the subject.
In this way, while chatting, the time slowly came to late night, and it was time to prepare for bed.
"Okay, that's it for today. I'm a little sleepy." Princess Carl moved to end the game, "You guys should go to bed early."
"Teresa, we are going to rest. You can take your Highness to the bedroom." Henrietta ordered her daughter.
Is this... is this okay? Aigron was immediately shocked.
"Oh, don't get me wrong, young man -" Perhaps seeing the young man's shock, Henrietta couldn't help but laugh. "We will not be short of guest rooms here."
"Mom, stop making such jokes!" Teresa protested helplessly to her mother.
Then, she took Aigron upstairs, and then along the corridor to the door of a room.
She opened the door and walked in with Aiglon.
The room was already brightly lit with candles, and the bed and furniture had been packed away.
"Your Highness, you can rest here tonight." She pointed to the bedside table, "If you can't sleep for the time being, you can read a book to pass the time. In addition, if you have any instructions, just ring the bell and someone will come over.
"
"Okay, thank you." Aigron nodded, "Your arrangements are very thoughtful, and I am very grateful as a guest."
"Then cherish your time here as a guest." Teresa blinked, "I believe that when you return to the palace, it will be difficult to feel the family atmosphere."
"Family..." Aigron smiled bitterly.
Indeed, the family atmosphere here is very strong and the family members are happy and happy. However, perhaps because he has never had a family life, when he saw all this, even though he was catering to it on the surface, he felt very strange in his heart.
- Just like a bystander.
His heart has become alienated and cold, and he is not easily melted by family affection.
Logically speaking, Teresa should say goodbye and leave when she got here, but she seemed a little evasive and hesitated to speak.
"Do you have anything else to ask, Teresa?" Aigron couldn't help but ask.
"Your Highness, it just so happened that we were talking about Your Highness Sophie, so after thinking about it carefully, I still feel uncomfortable saying something." Theresa hesitated for a moment, but decided to speak.
Aigron frowned slightly. "What do you want to say to her?"
"My parents' words made me understand how important she is to you. In a sense, I do want to thank her for preventing you from becoming an unapproachable cynic." Teresa whispered, "So you sent
Get close to her from the bottom of your heart and regard her as the guide of your soul, just like Beatrice in The Divine Comedy."
"I remember that you have said similar words once before." Aigron replied calmly, "Are you going to conduct a psychoanalysis on me again?"
"No, that's not what I meant." Teresa shook her head.
Then, she lowered her head slightly sadly, "I just feel that I am so unlucky that I have to deal with a ghost."
Teresa's sadness made Aigron not sure how to reply.
"So I've figured it out, instead of fighting a desperate battle with the perfect illusion in my heart, it's better for you to understand that ghosts and mortals are not the same thing after all." Teresa smiled bitterly, "It just takes a little time.
That’s all, I can afford to wait. And in the end, you will find that there is not only one person in the world who cares about you and takes care of you, the ghost will dissipate, and you will return to the real world."
"I think you're thinking a little too much." Aigron replied awkwardly.
"I hope I'm overthinking." Teresa nodded slightly, and then spoke again, "Good night, Your Highness."
"Good night, Theresa." Aigron also said goodbye to her.
"Before saying goodbye, can you give me a hug?" Teresa suddenly whispered, then looked at the boy expectantly. "Let me have some confidence in myself."
——Looking at her eyes shining in the candlelight, Aigron subconsciously raised his hand for a moment.
Maybe it would be good to just hold her like this.
But at this moment, he suddenly woke up.
This was never his plan.
"Your Highness, why did you stop?" Teresa looked at him helplessly, her disappointment palpable, "Can't my concern, my father's help, and our sincere reception be exchanged for this little thing? Could it be... Could it be...
Do you really hate me so much?"
Her confession, which was on the verge of tears, made the young man suddenly feel a throbbing pain.
He originally thought that he could manipulate Theresa with ease, using her father's reputation without making the lie come true, but at this moment he discovered that he was not so untouched.
Such a lovely Theresa, facing herself sincerely, how could she not be touched at all.
"You won't give me any sign of intimacy...?" Teresa asked.
"That's enough, shut up!" Aigron scolded her, then grabbed her hand and pulled her into his arms.
Caught off guard, Teresa bumped into his arms and let out a small exclamation.
But she quickly reacted, stopped talking, and then buried her head in his arms with a slight smile.
Even a blind person has hope of regaining his sight; even a stone-hardened heart can be melted, right?
"Are you satisfied now?" After a while, Aigron let go of his hand and asked angrily.
"Yes, I'm satisfied. That's enough as of now. I'm patient, Your Highness." Teresa's original sad expression had disappeared and was replaced by a smile on her face.
She took two steps back, then slightly bent her knees towards the young man.
"Thank you, Your Highness, now I have the courage... I am full of energy even when fighting against ghosts, because... because I, Theresa, am no worse than anyone else."
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Then, she finally turned around and left with satisfaction, leaving Aigron with a stunned expression.
Did she just feel something from her heart, or was she acting on purpose? He couldn't figure it out at the moment.
However, no matter what, he had to admit that Theresa was indeed more charming than he originally thought.
With a little joy, he fell asleep.
In the next few days, Aiglon enjoyed life in the manor accompanied by Teresa just like the first day.
Perhaps it was because she felt that she had gone too far that night. In the following time, she never made any extraordinary move. She just stayed with the young man enthusiastically and considerately, helping him to pass the time, so Aigron fell in love with him.
We also had a lot of fun playing it.
Good times are always short-lived, and finally it’s time for young people to say goodbye.
Just like when he came here, Aigron took his suitcase and walked towards the carriage parked in the manor.
But this time, it was Archduke Karl and Theresa who came to see him off together.
"Do you like it here?" Archduke Karl suddenly asked the young man as he walked to the carriage.
"It's a very nice place." Aigron replied half politely and half sincerely.
"I have carefully considered Theresa's proposal." Archduke Karl glanced at his daughter, then leaned over and whispered to the young man, "I can consider using part of this place as Theresa's dowry."
Aigron was stunned for a moment before he remembered that this was an idea Theresa had mentioned before.
He thought it was just a casual comment, but he didn't expect Theresa to actually mention it to her parents.
Embarrassed, he didn't know what to say.
"Don't be embarrassed, little guy, it's a good thing you have a baby. Everyone in the world thinks talking about money is vulgar and philistine, but who can live well without money?" Archduke Karl reached out his hand and patted the young man's shoulder.
"I can give a lot of things for Teresa, it's nothing - but I will never tolerate anyone being sorry to her, do you understand?"
Aigron could only laugh and not answer.
"Okay, see you later, kid."
Archduke Karl put him on the carriage and waved goodbye to him.
And Teresa also looked at the young man reluctantly and watched him leave.
After the carriage left, Archduke Karl looked at his daughter.
"Are you really sure?" He couldn't help but ask.
"Dad, unless God himself comes and gives me the order, I will not change it." Teresa turned her head and said to her father with a smile.
"Alas..." Father could only sigh, "I hope God can bless you."