Eagle’s Glory

Time passed unknowingly, and in a blink of an eye, December 24th arrived.

Tomorrow is Christmas. Although it is still daytime, people everywhere in the palace are wearing lanterns to welcome the arrival of this grand festival.

However, Aigron will not appear in the palace celebrations this time. He will go to the Albertina Palace at the invitation of the Archduke Karl's family to spend Christmas with their family.

Just like before the visit to Grand Duke Karl's manor last time, Chanel helped him pack up and salute, but this time the atmosphere between the two was very different.

Because after today, Chanel will temporarily bid farewell to Aegron and be exiled from the court.

According to Aigron's arrangement, she will be escorted to Vienna, and then she will have complete freedom of movement.

Everyone thinks that the maid who angered Her Royal Highness Sophie will bid farewell to the wealth and prosperity of the world, leave this country in a dreadful state, and will never appear in people's memory again; no one would have thought that she Together with rebels from foreign countries, he will lurking in the capital of the empire, waiting to escape with His Highness.

Although this was part of the plan, Aigron was still a little uneasy - since the two met, he had long been used to the days when Chanel was by his side, and her loyalty and diligence had saved him too much energy , And the days of getting along day and night also cultivated the feelings between the two people.

For him, this kind of feeling may not be called love, but it is enough to make him care about Chanel's safety.

If all goes well, that's fine, they will meet in a few days and flee the country together; but if it doesn't go well or even fails, then everything is unpredictable, and maybe Chanel will even pay the price with his life.

He absolutely did not want to see this happen.

So...it has to be done anyway.

As he watched silently, Chanel helped him pack up.

"His Royal Highness, I wish you all the best." She turned to greet Aegron, "I will take a step first, and I only ask God to let you return to us safely as soon as possible, and lead us to victory!"

Although she intentionally made her words look uplifting and excited, her expression was rather gloomy, and she looked like she was about to cry. Obviously, she was more reluctant to be separated than young people.

Exotic treasures can't repay such loyalty! Aegron thought.

"Chanel, don't worry, we will succeed." He stretched out his hand and patted Chanel on the shoulder, encouraging each other in this way, "You just left before me, it's not sad. On the contrary, it means that we are only one step away from success! And we will have more and greater success in the future, you wait and see, I will do my best to reward you. "

"Yes, Your Highness, I firmly believe... I believe in you more than anyone in the world." Chanel nodded, looking up at the person she admired with incomparable enthusiasm, "I said, the greatest reward I hope for , that is, with your permission, I can always take care of you by your side, I want to stand nearer than others to see you succeed, this is the greatest glory that God can bestow on me."

"Well, if you want, you will get it." Aigron nodded and agreed to the other party's request.

"By the way, I still have something to give you." Chanel suddenly remembered something.

"what?"

Aigron asked while watching Chanel walk to a cabinet and carefully open the mezzanine inside.

Then, he was stunned to find that Chanel was actually holding a pistol!

The pistol is rather small, with beautiful lines and carved ornaments on the wooden handle, making it more of a work of art than a weapon.

But even so this is something that can kill.

"How can you have this thing?" Aigron was startled.

"That Highness wanted you to have a spare self-defense tool when escaping, so he insisted that I bring it to you." Chanel replied in a low voice, "I hid it under my skirt and brought it in."

Then she added, "Your Highness, multiple preparations are always a good thing, you can use it to deal with emergencies..."

If there is any "in case of emergency", what's the point of having an extra pistol in your hand? Aigron smiled bitterly in his heart.

But he still accepted the gift, after all, multiple weapons are better than none.

"Okay, Chanel, thank him for taking so much care of me after seeing him." He nodded, and then hid the pistol with his own hands.

Then, he looked at the time.

It's time to part.

"Chanel, goodbye." He said goodbye briefly.

"His Royal Highness, goodbye!" Chanel bowed deeply and saluted, then walked out of the room.

Next, she will be escorted by Aigron's teacher, Captain Foresti, to Vienna.

With a heavy and inexplicably relaxed complex mood, Aigron stood by the window sill and witnessed Chanel board an inconspicuous carriage and set foot on the road away from Schönbrunn Palace.

Whether she wins or loses, this is her final farewell to this palace.

And I... have nowhere to go.

After a while, Aigron walked out of the room with his suitcase, then boarded another carriage and headed to the Albertina Palace in Vienna.

After a short journey, he came to this palace in the city center.

He got off the carriage and walked down the stairs to the gate of the palace.

It didn't take long for Teresa, who received the notification, to come to the door to welcome His Highness.

"His Royal Highness!" Teresa called, speeding up her steps, walking in front of the young man, then raised her head and looked at him with a smile on her face. "Welcome to visit!"

Today's Teresa, like at the previous court ball, was wearing a luxurious long dress and a diamond necklace around her neck. Against the backdrop of the jewels, her whole body looked radiant.

Seeing this smile, the tension that had accumulated in Aegron's heart suddenly disappeared a lot.

"It should be me thanking you for inviting me." Aigron replied with a smile, looking up at the palace behind her, "You guys are really impressive here."

"There's no more style than the palace. You grew up in Schönbrunn Palace, don't you think you'll meet again without style?" Teresa replied with a smile, "Okay, I'll take you in, my father and mother are waiting. and you!"

So, Aigron followed Teresa into the gate.

As soon as they entered the porch, Aegron saw the statue of Athena on the opposite wall.

This goddess of clerical wisdom and extraordinary force, holding a spear and wearing a helmet, looked sideways at the visitor with awe-inspiring and inviolable eyes.

Under the guidance of Teresa, Aigron passed the statue of the goddess, then walked into the door on the left of the statue, and entered a long corridor.

There is a long red carpet in the middle of the corridor, and there is a Roman-style marble column separated by a distance on both sides, and there is a statue of Mars, the **** of war, at the entrance of the corridor.

He has short curly hair, wears a Roman robe, and sits upright on a stone, with a stone helmet and shield at his feet.

Between the columns of the corridor, there are many busts, and when passing through the corridor, it is like admiring the sculpture art gallery.

Teresa deliberately slowed down so that Aigron had enough time to appreciate these sculptures, and she was also happy to spend more time alone with His Royal Highness in this name.

The two people were walking and came to the end of the corridor, and at the end there were two Sphinx statues - the upper body was a girl, and the lower body was a lion, which looked quite charming and charming.

"Does it look good?" Teresa asked.

"It's pretty." Agron nodded.

"Then you can come often in the future. After all, there are many collections here, enough for you to see for a long time!" Teresa said with a smile.

Then, the two walked up the high steps to the second floor of the palace, where the Grand Duke couple and their children lived.

In the same style as the downstairs, the vestibule on the second floor houses two statues of muses, the one on the left holding the lyre and the one on the right holding the flute.

After entering the front hall, they passed a few more rooms, and then came to a small room.

The tapestry in this room is dominated by red, with sofas and coffee tables, and it looks like a place where families usually gather for tea. There are also several portraits hanging on the walls.

"His Royal Highness, let's wait here, they will come right away!" Teresa said to Aegron.

"Okay." Aegron nodded and agreed.

Then, his gaze involuntarily turned to the portrait on the wall.

The two largest paintings are portraits of a man and a woman. The man is wearing a military uniform, with small pigtails popular in the eighteenth century, wearing a ribbon and medal; while the woman is wearing a luxurious dress popular in the Rococo era, holding a The ivory folding fan, the hair is coiled up, the height is very exaggerated, and the blue bow hair accessories are pinned.

"These are the Duke and Duchess of the previous generation, and they are my father's adoptive parents." Teresa explained to Aegron upon seeing this, "They adopted my father because they had no children, and finally passed it on to him. In the future, the portraits of my parents will also be hung here side by side for future generations to pay their respects."

"It's very well drawn." Aigron complimented.

"That's natural, this is the work of Alexander Roslin." Teresa took his casual politeness seriously, and explained to him seriously, "This painter is the great French painter François Boucher. His disciple, who is especially good at figure painting, wanted to invite him to paint at that time, but it cost a lot of money."

Although Aigron was not very interested in painting and sculpture, his education since childhood naturally included art.

Of course he had heard of the names of the master and apprentice.

François Boucher himself is also a famous painter in the Rococo era, and is highly sought after by the upper class. The most famous portrait of Madame de Pompadour in the world is his masterpiece.

The portraits of women painted by the master and the apprentice are vivid, extravagant, and feminine. They are truly superb, and have become a distinctive mark of the magnificent Rococo era.

It's a pity that the splendid era is long gone. Although the current era is only a few decades apart, after the baptism of Europe by the Great Revolution, the two eras seem to be separated by comparison. There is no such flamboyant architectural style and decoration.

Even people's hairstyles and clothing have changed. Men have basically turned into short hair, and women no longer have exaggerated hairstyles like before.

While Aigron and Teresa were chatting, there was another footstep at the door, and then the door opened, and the Duke and his wife appeared in front of them.

Aegron did not dare to neglect, and hurriedly saluted them.

Archduke Karl didn't speak, just glanced at him indifferently, then nodded slightly as a greeting.

The Grand Duchess Henrietta was much more enthusiastic.

"Franz!" She called the boy's name happily, then stepped forward and hugged him, then put his arms around him, and looked at the boy carefully.

Then she sighed with a smile, "Yeah, it's been a long time since we saw each other, but our little Highness is handsome again!"

Henrietta's enthusiasm made Aigron a little uncomfortable, but of course he wouldn't show it.

"You are as beautiful and amiable as the last time I saw you, Your Highness." He smiled and complimented the lady. "I would love to be your guest."

"Don't be so polite! We don't want to treat you with the standard of a guest." Seeing the young man's smile, Henrietta nodded happily, and then laughed himself. "This holiday, if you were here, I'm afraid our whole family would be happier."

"I am very happy to be accepted into a happy family to celebrate the festival. This is a novel experience for me, and it is even a dream opportunity." Aigron looked at the lady with anticipation, "His Royal Highness, Although it's only the second time we've met, you're much more affectionate to me than my mother."

It's not that Aegron is lying. After all, it's a well-known fact that he has a bad relationship with his mother. Anyone who knows everything about it will not blame the young man for being unfeeling, but will only pity him for his lack of maternal care since childhood. .

"Who wouldn't be kind to a lovable child like you?" Henrietta replied with a smile.

Then the lady blinked her right eye and said to him as if joking, "I can treat you like a mother if you like."

Then she looked at her husband again, "Dear, you should also say a few words to His Highness, tonight is Christmas Eve, do you still want to continue to be inexplicably angry and make everyone unhappy?"

Under the gaze of his wife, Archduke Karl had to force himself to laugh ugly. "Franz, I hope you have a good time with us."

"He's just been angry with a child recently." Henrietta explained to Aigron again, "Actually, he still cares about you very much, and has always been trying to help you."

"I will always remember the help of the Archduke to me." Aegron replied with a smile, "Besides, I can understand his mood. If I had such a lovely and intelligent daughter as Teresa, I would also hate me for being inexplicable. The guy who ran over."

"Why, are you talking about love in front of us?" The Grand Duchess glared at him pretending to be annoyed.

Then, she looked at Teresa again, as if to make fun of her.

Although Teresa blushed slightly, she did not avoid her mother's gaze, as if she was very proud of what the young man said.

"Teresa, go and make us some coffee—" the lady said with a smile, "and let Your Highness taste the craft you've recently learned."