"You're right, I can't keep her locked up for a long time. It's time to solve the problem as soon as possible."
Hearing that Aiglon finally relented, the Duke was naturally overjoyed.
In fact, he doesn't care at all whether Princess Kadiyan lives or dies. The main thing is that he is the executor of Aigron's kidnapping of the princess. He cannot escape the involvement. Once the matter is exposed, his reputation in the circle will be ruined, which is unbearable for him.
price.
Therefore, he naturally hopes that the matter will be understood as soon as possible. It does not matter whether the princess is exiled or released.
However, Aigron's idea is much more complicated.
He hesitated, wondering whether he should tell the Duke the inside story of the matter.
After thinking for a moment, he felt that since this matter was handled by the Duke and related to the Duke himself, it was best to give him some mental preparation and at the same time listen to what he had in mind.
So, he spoke again.
"Do you know why I kidnapped this seemingly harmless woman?"
The Duke had always been puzzled by this question, so he honestly shook his head in denial.
"I don't know, Your Majesty, can you explain it to me?"
"I arrested her, not for her, but for her child, to be precise...her illegitimate child." Aiglon said calmly.
"What?" The Duke was stunned for a moment, and then suddenly remembered the rumors that the princess had been having an affair with Edgar.
"Could it be that...this illegitimate child is Edgar's?"
"That's right." Aigron nodded in confirmation.
Before the Duke could calm down from this unexpected news, Aigron continued to throw shock bombs, "Originally, I didn't care about such an affair, let alone an illegitimate child, but... the changes in the situation now, let me
I have to make some arrangements.”
Then, he told the still shocked Duke about the Marquis of Treville's plan to "legalize illegitimate children and indirectly inherit the family business."
Naturally, the Duke became more and more shocked as he heard this, and as the shock slowly subsided, natural anger emerged in his heart. His originally thin and pale face now looked even more white as thin paper, while his eyes were flashing with anger.
Light.
"This beast! How shameless!" Then, he became so angry that he no longer cared about his manners and cursed loudly.
He was not angry that his son-in-law had an illegitimate child outside the family, but that his in-laws actually had the idea of using an illegitimate child to inherit the family business. This was undoubtedly humiliating his daughter, and furthermore, it would also make him lose face.
Light.
Although he had always had a bad relationship with Treville and his son over the years because of his opposition to his daughter's marriage, and basically had no contact at all, he was still furious at this insult.
"Now you should understand why I want to control the princess, right?" Compared to the Duke's anger, Aigron was calm, "She has a special status. She is the wife of the former dynasty. Maybe she doesn't care about politics, but her
My husband is still in exile with the puppet king of Bourbon and is my political enemy! If someone knows these secrets by then, it will inevitably become an excuse to attack the Treville family and even me. This scandal cannot be spread, so the princess must
Stay at home.”
"That is to say, Your Majesty... have you approved General Treville's plan?" From Aigron's words, the Duke was keenly aware of Aigron's position.
Faced with the Duke's rhetorical question, Aigron was rarely embarrassed, but after a moment, he still told the truth to the other party. "Yes, although this is indeed unreasonable, General Treville begged me hard, and with his
I have always been loyal and accomplished, but I still can’t bear to reject him..."
Seeing Aiglon being so frank, the Duke was speechless.
Also, given General Treville's meritorious service in following the Bonaparte family for many years, it would be difficult for Your Majesty to refuse if he really begged.
After the initial shock and anger passed, the Duke gradually calmed down. After all, although his talent was mediocre, he had been used to seeing big storms after living for so many years. He had witnessed no matter how shocking things happened. Compared to this time
Rather, it's not a big deal.
After careful calculation, he had no dealings with the Treville family and had never coveted the Treville family's property. Therefore, even if this plan did succeed, he actually had nothing to lose - the only one who suffered from it.
It's just his daughter Alice, and he and Alice have been strangers for a long time, so he doesn't particularly care.
But even so, he still had an extra layer of hatred for the Trevilles. This family deceived his daughter and treated her like this. He remembered this hatred.
Seeing that the Duke was still aggrieved, Aigron couldn't help but worry that he would do something drastic, so he specifically warned him. "This matter is not a trivial matter. Considering the reputation of your two families, the situation must be controllable. Therefore,
You must not reveal it to Alice and Agnes, lest they do something drastic. Let them know when the time is right."
"Okay, Your Majesty, I won't tell you." Although he was extremely reluctant, the Duke also knew that such a thing could not be made public, so he could only accept it with resentment.
"So, now you should understand my difficulty, right?" Aigron smiled bitterly, and then asked the Duke, "Sir, can you provide me with any advice?"
The Duke naturally had a confused look on his face. He had never been one to adapt to circumstances, so he was naturally even more at a loss now.
However, since this is His Majesty's will, he can only use his few brains and rack his brains to think of countermeasures for His Majesty.
"Your Majesty, since you are unwilling to release the princess, and it is inconvenient to continue to imprison her secretly, you might as well let her make a public statement to draw a line between herself and her husband, and express her support for the empire. As a reward, it is also a legal detention.
For her reasons, you can assign her to return to her manor to continue living in seclusion and accept surveillance in disguise..." After a moment, he came up with an idea, "As long as she publicly issues a signed statement, then the Puppet King will naturally also
She will be very angry, and maybe her husband will take the initiative to draw a clear line with her. Then she will be alone, and no one will pay attention to her anymore, and naturally no one will care about whether she has an illegitimate child."
"It makes sense." Aigron thought so, but quickly raised his doubts. "But, will she make such a statement?"
"Now that you have captured her, are you still afraid that she won't agree? She has no choice." The Duke laughed sarcastically, "Besides, you can give her her freedom, even a limited freedom; you can also
He acquiesced in allowing her to interact with her lover; he could even acquiesce in allowing her illegitimate son to quietly become the real heir of the Treville family... What else could she be dissatisfied with such a great favor? Isn't it natural to give a corresponding reward? "
When Aigron thought about it, he felt more and more that it made sense. It can be seen that no matter how mediocre people are, they have their uses sometimes, as long as they are used at the right time.
If the situation evolves in this direction, then the situation will always be under control. The princess who publicly declares her allegiance will benefit politically, and the Treville family will not only save their face, but also
Being under his control all the time is the best of both worlds.
Of course, there are no benefits that can be obtained out of thin air in the world. Someone will gain and someone will suffer. In such an unspoken exchange, Mrs. Alice will become the biggest victim. She has done nothing wrong obviously.
But as a result, she will lose most of what should originally belong to her.
Having known Alice for so long and having some kind of friendship, Aigron naturally had a little more sympathy for Alice's experiences.
"We will deal with the princess's matter as soon as possible, but we can take General Treville's plan step by step... After all, Mrs. Alice is the legal wife of the Treville family." So Aigron took the initiative to comfort the Duke.
, "Sir, the general himself has promised me that if Mrs. Alice and Edgar have a son in the short term, then his plan will automatically be cancelled, and he will be happy to have a legal heir inherit everything he has -
If that were the case, we would have saved ourselves a lot of trouble."
"No need, Your Majesty! Just let that bitch leave all his belongings to his scoundrel grandson. This will be just right. My daughter and I will not care about his rags!" The Duke suddenly answered Egger loudly.
Long.
"What... do you mean?" Aigron was a little confused by the Duke's reaction.
"Your Majesty, since Alice is not willing to give birth to another child in their family, then I think we should respect her idea. She has been despised and humiliated enough. There is no need for her to have to compromise. She has no debt.
They owe her nothing, but they owe her!" Perhaps because of his excessive anger, the Duke's voice was trembling, and his lips were trembling violently, "I did not agree to this marriage from the beginning, but you see the result
, I read it absolutely right! That boy Edgar was wild and neglectful, and now he actually wants to use an illegitimate child to seize the family property that she has worked so hard to support. How shameless and vicious! I have seen through them, so I let her
The two of them, father and son, can amuse themselves with the mud, she will only live a better life without them!"
After cursing for a while, the Duke finally calmed down a little, and then looked at Aigron with a sad and pleading expression.
"Your Majesty, you are sympathizing with Alice, but I know my daughter. She may seem weak, but she is very strong at heart. Even I can't hold her back when she is stubborn... She doesn't need any sympathy, she can withstand all blows.
As long as there is a place in the world, she can survive tenaciously. Therefore, I only ask you to take good care of her in the future and leave this place for her. Besides you, no one can
Granted this kind of protection... Nothing she loses will be as good as what she can get from you. And you will also get a lot from her..."
"Huh? You..." Aiglon was so surprised by the Duke's words that he didn't know how to respond.
With his intelligence, he could certainly hear that there was some kind of overtone in the Duke's words.
"Don't be ridiculous, we are discussing the issue seriously."
"Do you think I'm joking? No...I'm not joking at all." The Duke shook his head and expressed his meaning firmly, "Since the father and son treated her like this, she has no reason to continue to be loyal to her.
They have, can't they? She can give up those damn family fortunes, and that old Treville can give them to whomever he wants, but accordingly, Alice can also have her own freedom! Don't you think that this is
Is it fair?! Her sacrifice, her pain, and her all-time forbearance, couldn't we get this for her?!"
The Duke, who was already very angry with Treville and his son, was now even more angry because of the insult suffered by his daughter. He was eager to take revenge on Treville and his son, the more ruthless the better.
Moreover, he and his wife had long regretted that Alice married too early and lost the opportunity to get close to His Majesty. But now after hearing the news, he had no more scruples and had more motivations.
For him, anyway, his daughter already has a close relationship with this prodigal prince, and it is well known throughout Europe. If one daughter is given away, and two daughters are also given away, what's the big deal? Maybe
On the contrary, it can give your family more future protection.
The more the Duke thought about it, the more reasonable it became, so in his excitement, he threw out the idea that he had hidden deep in his heart.
If General Treville wanted his illegitimate son to inherit the family business, he would have to admit Alice's freedom. In his opinion, this was completely fair and reasonable, and no one owed anyone anything.
However, the Duke spoke lightly, but Aigron was in shock.
Although he usually admired Alice's ability and character when he came into contact with her, and he had never thought about it, but when he thought that she was the daughter-in-law of the Treville family and Agnes' beloved sister,
, and he took no action.
Although he is a dissolute prince, he also knows how to make trade-offs and does not want to cause trouble beyond his control just for a little personal affair.
But now, the Duke's words caused his original thoughts to waver in another aspect.
To be fair, this "exchange condition", although shady, does seem to be relatively fair and reasonable.
Moreover, with my father as my cover, things may not be as difficult as imagined.
But, should we really do this? Is this really reasonable? What if Agnes knows about it and gets angry because of it? Thinking of these questions, Agron couldn't help but hesitate again.
"Now, let's not think about these things." After a moment, he finally responded.
Although the Duke was not very good at other things, he had already developed his ability to observe people's emotions. From the young man's expression, he could see how weak this kind of 'rejection' was.
He also knew what His Majesty was worried about.
Then let Alice solve her own troubles - he thought to himself.
As one of the victims, he knew how deep his daughter's stubborn desire for revenge was.