Alice changed her previous obedience and suddenly burst out with the courage to face the prince and defended her sister in front of the prince. This surprised Albrecht and made him at a loss.
The education he received since childhood was to abide by etiquette and upbringing. He must never be rude to ladies, especially ladies from the upper class. No matter how emotional he is, he must not lose his composure, so even now he is in trouble.
Fire, but it couldn't burst out at Alice.
In addition, although he is not deeply involved in the world and does not know much about the world, he can also see that Alice truly cares for her sister from the bottom of her heart, otherwise she would not risk offending himself and Theresa.
I argued vigorously in front of myself.
After all, everyone has flesh and blood ties. If you protect your sister, of course she also has reasons to protect her sister.
So, after a moment of silence, the prince spoke again. "I have never met your sister, so I can't make any judgments about her. Maybe she is indeed as you said, a very good person - but now,
The objective facts are here. Your sister is following His Majesty in the limelight. Not only in France, everyone who pays attention to French news already knows about her, including us Austrians! What will the outside world think? The King of Rome takes his lover everywhere
Being in the limelight, but leaving his wife aside, everyone knows that he has a new love. Doesn't this mean that my sister will be humiliated for no reason in front of the world? And this is not the first time... The outside world will not only laugh at me
Sister, she will also ridicule our family and make us lose face. My father has been upright in his life and has never done anything he feels guilty about. However, he has to be humiliated like this when he is old. He has no reason and no right to be angry.
No? No, he has the right to demand respect for himself and his daughter, and I want you to help me get that respect right now."
After the prince simply showed off his cards, Alice, who had been arguing hard, was speechless now.
Indeed, no matter how eloquent she is, she is indeed in the wrong on this point. After all, the person who destroyed other people's families and is now in the limelight to make Teresa lose face is indeed her sister. No matter how you say this, it is
Can't get around it.
"I'm sorry, Your Highness... This is indeed our fault. We have damaged the dignity of the Grand Duke, and he has the right to be angry. Not only me, but my sister has also been feeling guilty about it." So, Alice could only go there.
He took a step back, bowed his head and apologized to the prince. "Maybe you don't believe it, but I guarantee with my personality that Agnes definitely did not mean to be high-profile on purpose. She herself is also afraid and uncomfortable with her current fame, and she also
I have never thought of challenging Princess Teresa's status. It is precisely because she has always respected Her Highness the Princess that Her Highness the Princess will tolerate her presence by her side. I think you should also be able to notice that Princess Teresa has such respect for Her Majesty.
My sister isn't that disgusted, is she?"
This rhetorical question made the prince suddenly enlightened.
Indeed, he has been wondering why his sister was so calm about this matter. He didn't know much about the whole incident, but based on his understanding of his sister, if she really couldn't accept it, she would never be so patient, let alone
He won't keep the other person's biological sister by his side and use it.
Could it be that they had some tacit understanding in private?
This conjecture made the prince who originally launched an army to investigate the crime suddenly lose a lot of momentum.
"Then what's going on all this?" he couldn't help but ask.
Alice hesitated for a moment, thought about the wording, and then briefly explained the ins and outs of everything to the prince - of course, she simply ignored some things that were inappropriate or should be kept secret.
"Actually, His Majesty and my sister have known each other for a long time. When His Majesty just escaped from Austria, he came to Switzerland, and my father-in-law received the news and sent my husband and I to meet with His Majesty to congratulate him and listen to his instructions.
, and my sister volunteered to go with me at that time, so they got to know each other at that time, and they admired each other very much.
Later, His Majesty arrived in Greece, and then my father-in-law ordered my husband to go to assist. Because I couldn't feel relieved, I asked my sister to escort him there, so they had more contacts there. I think, Your Majesty started from that time.
Let’s start falling in love with her..."
Alice recounted the personal relationship between His Majesty and her sister, and tried her best to excuse her sister, "In short, I can assure you that my sister never deliberately seduced Your Majesty for the sake of wealth. She has never done this.
No one can resist the love between two people... Moreover, she has always been extremely guilty of Princess Teresa in her heart, and she has never thought about losing face to her. She would rather live a low-key and unknown life, and does not want to be exposed.
Outside interference.”
Regarding Alice's defense, the prince could only be skeptical.
Although this narrative seems to add a bit of "reasonability" to the affair, from another perspective, it also shows that someone behind the scenes was deliberately planning to send Agnes to her brother-in-law from the beginning.
, this personal relationship is also a natural result.
But since everything has happened, he has no intention of pursuing it anymore - besides, it is too common for someone to deliberately send a woman to the princes, and there is nothing to be surprised or angry about.
Moreover, the problem he is most concerned about now has not been solved yet.
"Okay, maybe this is more complicated than I thought, but no matter what it was before, the real problem is always here. Now these news have caused a sensation, and our family has been disgraced. As a
"One of the parties involved, I ask you to work with me to solve this problem." His attitude became a lot gentler, "I know that you are in this kind of crack, and it will definitely not feel very good, but I
I still hope you can help me calm down this storm as soon as possible."
"If I could have stopped all this, I would have stopped it long ago, Your Highness. But I really can't control His Majesty's thoughts, nor can I control my adult sister." Alice shook her head helplessly, "Everything is done now.
I can never persuade Your Majesty to abandon my sister..."
"Even if we can't interrupt this affair, at least we can't let it continue to become a hot topic." The prince took over, "Like you, I can't stop my brother-in-law from doing anything, but I hope
, as a husband, he can shoulder his due responsibilities. Although my parents can no longer restrict him, they treated him as their own back then, even better than his own mother. He cannot repay him like this.
My parents, are you right?"
In this way, the prince revealed his bottom line - since this affair has already happened, let it go, but at least he can't continue to make the streets hotly discussed and bring shame to his sister and parents.
He didn't want to interfere in his brother-in-law's private life (even if he wanted to, he couldn't stop him). After all, this was how the princes and nobles had lived for centuries. But for the sake of his sister's face, and then his father's face, he just hoped that all this could be done quietly.
If it happens, don't let your sister become the laughing stock of the whole of Europe again.
And this one, even Alice agrees with in her heart.
Princess Teresa has always treated her well, and she should repay her kindness, and...even from the perspective of a fellow woman, she couldn't help but feel sorry for Her Royal Highness.
His Majesty's "escaping from the engagement" on the night of the engagement had already made Theresa a laughing stock and brought shame on the Grand Duke and his family. However, His Majesty the Princess still persisted and insisted on completing the engagement.
And after they got married, Her Royal Highness the Princess has been "starting a business" with His Majesty. She has done everything a good wife needs to do, but she is still rewarded like this by His Majesty. It is really too much.
It was normal for princes and grandsons to have some romantic affairs, even among nobles. Alice also knew that her husband had been having contacts with lovers in private. In the upper class society of this era, this kind of thing was not a big deal.
But even if you restrain yourself a little in private, do you have to drive your wife crazy? As a close observer, she sometimes complains in her heart.
"I agree with you on this point. I don't want this matter to be hotly discussed in the streets, because for me, this is not an honor. If possible, I also want everything to calm down." So,
Alice nodded slightly and agreed with the prince's opinion, "As far as I'm concerned, the current heated discussion is because everyone likes to see tidbits about women, and Agnes's deeds have given
They have brought a lot of new ideas, so they will attract people's attention; on the other hand, I am afraid that some people are deliberately adding fuel to the flames and demonstrating against Her Highness Theresa."
"Protest to my sister?" The prince was confused for a moment.
"This demonstration is not out of personal hatred, just because she is from Austria -" Alice reminded the prince.
The prince suddenly understood.
Although the French royal family has repeatedly married into the Habsburg family over the years, the French have been at war with Austria for a long time, which has also planted a deep-rooted hostility towards Austria. Back then, his great-aunt was scolded as an ignorant person.
The Austrian princess only knew pleasure in her suffering. During the Great Revolution, Austria became the hated executioner who suppressed the revolution. It fought many wars with France until the Napoleonic era.
This long-term hostility must have made them feel repelled by Theresa, who had just arrived. They were happy to see a native-born woman by His Majesty's side to dilute the feeling of being controlled by the Austrians in the palace.
Therefore, some people actively or passively add fuel to the flames, deliberately using Miss Agnes to suppress Teresa's limelight.
The two reasons were intertwined, and finally detonated the current public opinion, making Agnes attract more attention than Theresa.
After thinking about all this, the prince couldn't help but become worried.
If the French are so hostile to my sister, then even if my sister becomes queen, what’s the point?
"Your Highness, you don't have to worry." As if she could see what the prince was thinking, Alice comforted him in a low voice, "With Queen Teresa's character and intelligence, as long as she works harder, it will be easy for her to dispel the doubts in people's hearts.
, she will definitely be loved by the people, and people will soon discover that she will not be another Queen Mary, but the most outstanding queen of France... Now, she is just hindered by her pregnancy and cannot devote too much energy.
It's just a public event, so just wait patiently and give her the stage and space to perform. As someone who grew up with her, you should have confidence in her."
Alice's persuasion simply spoke to Albrecht's heart.
No matter what the truth is, in short, due to the preference of his closest relatives, he must be full of confidence in his sister.
At this time, he also remembered his sister's strange attitude when he had a showdown with her before - and now all this can be explained. Her sister clearly saw the current situation, so she chose to endure it temporarily. She wanted to wait for him.
Free yourself from the shackles of pregnancy and win the hearts and minds of the people.
At least his sister was aware of all this, and she had her own measures, which made him feel more at ease.
"I see..." At this time, the prince no longer had any hostility toward Alice. Instead, he continued to question her as if he was treating her as a consultant, "So Madam, what should we do now?"
Alas, he was really a child, he looked so aggressive, but he was dismissed so easily... Alice secretly laughed in her heart.
But this is fine. People who are willing to listen to advice are better than people who are arrogant and arrogant. It seems that Austria still has hope in the future.
On the surface, she still remained deferential to the prince.
"If what you care about most is public opinion and you don't want to embarrass your father, what do you think? Let's split up. You go to Prince Talleyrand and protest to him in a private capacity, asking him to downplay public opinion and report the reports in newspapers everywhere.
The focus should be on His Majesty and this parade, and stop reporting so many gossips about my sister; while I wrote to my sister to express my interests, bluntly saying that she is now in the midst of the storm and should keep a low profile... She
You will listen to my advice."
At this point, she made a promise to the prince, "If there is a chance, when she comes back, she can also apologize to you and the Grand Duke himself. There is no harm in writing a personal letter - what do you think?"
In fact, Alice never asked her sister at all, but she was confident in what she said. She also believed that this solution would be the most honorable way for both parties.
And Prince Albrecht pretty much saw it the same way.
He asked himself, and found that there seemed to be no better way to deal with it - and his wife had already taken special care of his family's face.
What more could you ask for?
It seems there is no more.
At this time, he changed his arrogance and looked at Alice with admiration, "No wonder my sister thinks so highly of you... You are indeed very pleasant, madam."
"It is my bounden duty to serve His Majesty. It would be great if I could satisfy you." Alice bowed again and saluted the young prince.
Then, she faced the prince seriously and said, "In addition, Your Highness, I have to remind you that we are from a famous family and are not servants. Even if we are servants, we are not servants of your family. Don't forget that even if you
I am His Majesty's brother-in-law, but your surname is also Habsburg, not Bonaparte... I respect you and am willing to help you solve your problems, but it does not mean that we must obey you in everything. Please don't treat me badly at that time.
My sister is too strict. As a sister, I cannot compromise on this. I love my sister just as you love yours."
After saying this, she solemnly saluted again and then left the prince.