Eagle’s Glory

In the previous independent world line, Eggron gave up and fled, stayed and married Teresa and lived in seclusion

With the singing of cuckoos resounding across the fields, the spring of 1833 came quietly.

Spring is naturally the season for the recovery of all things, and Italy, which is located on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, is even more beautiful in spring. Whether it is at the foot of the Alps or on the coast of the Adriatic Sea, there are spring travelers everywhere, full of Italy. The unique laziness and leisure of people.

Just as people were racing to go out for an outing and sweep away the winter haze, a convoy of carriages quietly traveled south from the north to Italy.

This convoy is deliberately low-key. There is no identification mark on the carriage. Except for the necessary rest in the inn along the way, it never stops much, let alone communicates with surrounding passengers. But judging from the size of the convoy and their cost , it is easy to see that the owner of the team must be either rich or expensive.

The idlers along the way are whispering, guessing the owner and whereabouts of the convoy and taking pleasure in it, but they will never want to get the real answer.

Under the bright spring sun, these carriages went all the way south, and finally came to the city of Venice.

In the small square at the entrance of St. Mark's Square by the Lake of Venice, there are two famous white stone pillars in Venice. The pillar is engraved with the flying lion of St. Mark, another patron saint of Venice, and the flying lion happens to be the city emblem of Venice. The flying lion is holding a holy book with its left front paw, on which the Catholic oracle is written in Latin: " My messenger Mark, rest there!"

Every foreigner who comes to Venice for travel or business enters this beautiful city through the middle of these two stone pillars.

Venice, the name is still full of Mediterranean romance until 200 years later, and she is indeed an ancient and magnificent city-state.

The history of this ancient city-state republic is much older than most of the existing dynasties on the European continent. They established their country through commerce and relied on their own terrifying mobility to expand their own strength.

At its peak, her merchants and warships were densely distributed throughout the Mediterranean world, controlling the most profitable trade routes in the world at that time, and wars broke out with almost all powerful opponents.

Even the distinguished and prominent Eastern Roman emperors sometimes had to bow to them and allow them to have concessions and trade privileges in Constantinople.

Even though the Ottoman Empire rose strongly and frightened the whole of Europe, Venice never surrendered, but fought the Turks many times, repeatedly defeating the ambitions of the sultans.

However, all the splendor will eventually come to an end. The Republic of Venice, which seemed to be able to remain strong forever, has also inevitably declined together with the Mediterranean world amidst changes in the world economic trend, and finally withdrew from the stage of world history.

Even after its fall, it couldn't even do it alone. As Napoleon marched into northern Italy and swept all the way, the ancient Republic of Venice finally lost its independence.

It was first occupied by the French, and then given to Austria by the French as a trade item, becoming an integral part of the Austrian Empire.

At this moment in 1833, apart from the exquisite buildings left over from the heyday, where else can we see the wealth and splendor of this city-state across the world?

Perhaps because of the care, the convoy arrived outside St. Mark's Square without any obstacles, and then the passengers inside got out of the carriage one after another.

Most of these passengers were dressed as servants and guards, and they clustered next to a young couple.

This young couple seemed to be in their twenties. The man had blond hair and was handsome;

Madame with fashionable curls,

She wore a velvet yarmulke on her head, and as soon as she stepped out of the carriage, she looked around Piazza San Marco curiously.

"It's so beautiful..." After a while, she couldn't help sighing. "Venice is such a beautiful city."

Then, she turned her head and looked at her husband with a happy face, "Honey, what do you think?"

"I think it's pretty good too." The young man just glanced a few times, then nodded and answered, even a bit perfunctory.

The lady noticed her husband's absent-mindedness, so her smile couldn't help but froze.

"What's the matter? Eggron? We were finally able to travel, why are we so unhappy?"

"Probably because this journey is a gift." The young man showed a slight sneer, and then answered in a slightly mocking tone.

"I'm sorry..." She apologized softly and hugged her husband's arm tightly, "I should have fought for you harder, Aegron, please forgive me..."

This couple is naturally the young couple Aigron and Teresa.

Although the two of them are still very young, they have been married for seven years since they officially married in 1826.

It is often said that after seven years of marriage, the original relationship between the couple will gradually fade away. However, this couple has broken this common law. Even though they have given birth to several children, the warmth between them has been kept fresh. There is tenderness and sweetness between them.

Especially for Teresa, the family has become the central axis of her whole life. She goes all out to create a more comfortable living environment for her beloved husband so that he can concentrate on writing on paper and pen. talent.

The husband and wife traveled together, which was the result of her application to Prime Minister Metternich through her father's relationship. This was also the first time they traveled away from Vienna after they got married. As for their children, they are naturally left with their grandparents to take care of them, and they will not interfere with their journey.

Out of political concerns, although the Austrian government agreed to their travel request, they were not allowed to leave the country, and they had to send "guards" to escort them all the way, so Teresa decided to take Venice as a journey after much deliberation. destination.

During the negotiation between the two parties, Egron and Metternich had a very unpleasant quarrel, and Teresa couldn't help but feel a little frightened in the middle. Fortunately, the two sides made concessions in the end, and the journey was finally able to proceed.

For Teresa, this is naturally a joyous journey, after all, she has always been full of affection for this city, and the description of it in the book fascinated her; and perhaps because of the quarrel with Metternich Because of this, Aigron was a little depressed along the way, and he was not happy until he arrived in Venice today.

Seeing Teresa crying, Aegron couldn't help but feel soft, and he comforted his wife in a low voice.

"Teresa, I don't blame you, I just know the fact that although I am the emperor's grandson, although I am the Duke of Reichstedt of the Empire, although I married a princess, I will always be Bonaparte Sir, I will not be your own."

"What do you mean by 'you'?!" Teresa protested softly, "It should be 'we'! I am also a Bonaparte now..."

"Well, except for you." Aigron shrugged and apologized to Teresa, "Those people don't treat me as their own, and my self-esteem doesn't allow me to bow my head to flatter them, so that's it, I would be happy to be a spectator of an empire... I would like to see how long their good life can last."

"Aigron, don't be discouraged. You and I are still so young, and we still have a long, long time, long enough for those who are malicious to you to leave." Teresa comforted her husband, "Finally One day people will forget everything that came before, and recognize your talent and how sublime your dignity is..."

"Maybe there will be such a day, but I don't really care about it. It's enough for me to have you and the children by my side." Aigron replied casually, "Teresa, don't worry about me, you finally came here for a while." Just go and have fun, it’s really beautiful here.”

"It's very beautiful, it's in line with my imagination, I feel that I will be able to go shopping, and I'm already looking forward to it..." Teresa replied with a smile on her face, and then she suddenly changed the subject, "But... ...Aigron, its beauty is meaningful only when you are watching it with me, otherwise what is the difference between it and the ruins of Babylon?"

After she finished speaking, she stood on tiptoe and kissed her husband on the cheek.

Then she blushed slightly and looked at the young man in front of her. "If you're not happy, I'm not happy either."

Looking at his wife's face, Aigron was immediately moved.

All the unhappiness, grievances and anger accumulated during this period disappeared in an instant.

Yes, there are people in this world who will love me unconditionally and tolerate me.

As long as there is such a one, it's worth it.

So he didn't regret his original decision, and decided to stick to it.

So, he hugged Teresa, and then kissed her like no one else.

The servants and tourists around him all looked sideways. But he didn't realize it.

After a while, the lips of the two separated again, and at this time, Teresa's cheeks were flushed with embarrassment.

But the rippling look in her eyes was enough to reveal the excitement in her heart.

"I love you." She said it again.

Then, the two visited St. Mark's Square together.

Soon the tide began to rise and flooded the ground of St. Mark's Square, so they walked onto the arch bridge together and continued to enjoy the beautiful scenery along the way.

However, soon, they received an invitation from the Governor's Mansion.

So they took a small boat, walked through the dense water network of Venice, and drifted towards the Governor's Palace.

After 1815, with the collapse of the Napoleonic Empire, Austria recaptured the Lombardy region centered on Milan, and established the Kingdom of Lombardy Venetia on its own Italian territory, with the Austrian emperor as the head of state.

Although Lombardy and Venetia were merged into one country, in fact, the two regions still had their own parallel governments, and the Austrian royal family sent a governor to supervise the operation of the kingdom.

The current governor is Grand Duke Rainer.

He is the twelfth child of the former Emperor Leopold II, and naturally the younger brother of Emperor Franz and Archduke Karl. Since 1818, he has been staying in the Kingdom of Lombardy Venetia as governor, representing Austria The emperor ruled over this part of Italy.

As the governor, he usually stays in Milan with his family, but sometimes he also comes to Venice to perform official duties. Today, because of the couple's arrival, Archduke Reiner received them as a matter of course.

It didn't take long for them to follow the waterway to the magnificent Doge's Palace in Venice. In the distant past, this place was once the political center of the Republic of Venice, and decisions that affected the whole of Europe were made here.

Even today, when Venice has declined and become a province of Austria, the Governor's Palace is still magnificent enough.

Grand Duke Reiner, who had been waiting here for a long time, received the couple cordially.

Although he didn't have a good impression of the Bonaparte family, he respected his elder brother, Grand Duke Karl, so it was naturally impossible to neglect his elder brother's daughter and son-in-law.

The Aigrons were treated with great courtesy and had lunch with the governor.

After finishing their lunch, they resumed their sightseeing tour.

First of all, they will naturally go to St. Mark's Basilica not far from the Doge's Palace. This building is the condensed product of the entire glorious history of Venice. It is also decorated with artistic treasures from Byzantium, which are part of the spoils brought back by the Venetians.

The walls and domes of the church are covered with magnificent golden mosaics, which is also the architectural style that Venice has absorbed from Byzantium. The magnificent golden altar and the gems inlaid everywhere make the couple open their eyes. vision.

The two watched and chatted as they walked, and they were both satisfied with their first long trip in many years.

Aigron walked silently along the church corridor, until after a while, he stopped suddenly.

"What's the matter, Eggron?" Teresa asked curiously.

"It's nothing..." Eggron shook his head, and then replied, "I'm going to make things easier."

Then, he told Teresa to stay where he was, and then walked along the other side of the corridor to the bathroom, and just as he passed a room, there was a soft sound inside.

Aegron immediately opened the door and walked in.

This is a confessional room, the light is very dim, it is obviously a place where believers usually come to confess and repent with the priest.

At this time, there was a person staying in the room. She was wearing a nun's costume, and her face was somewhat blurred.

Aigron looked at each other quietly, then walked in front of her.

"Chanel, it really is you." He was a little surprised and sighed.

That's right, this is his former maid, Chanel.

After he decided to marry Teresa and stay with her forever in Austria, Chanel was hit like a catastrophe. She tried her best to persuade Aigron to change her mind and not to give up her destined love for a mere princess. great cause.

But Aigron had made up his mind and would not change anything.

Desperate Chanel bid farewell to Aigron, she hoped to go to other places to find opportunities for the restoration of the empire, Aigron agreed to her request, and gave her a large gift of money to send her away.

From that day on, Aigron cut off all ties with the empire, and from now on he only lived for himself.

There was no news of Chanel, but he did not expect to meet her in Venice today.

When he saw her gesturing to him in the church just now, he thought he was dazzled, but he decided to take a look, and it turned out to be her.

Aigron carefully looked at Chanel in front of him.

She is still so pretty, but maybe because of traveling outside and experiencing for a long time, her face is a little more determined and calm.

At this time, she looked very excited, and her blue eyes were filled with tears.

"Your Majesty... are you alright?" she asked in a trembling voice.

"I'm... not bad." Aigron nodded, and then asked the other party, "Is everything that happened today a coincidence? Did you really come to Venice to become a nun?"

"No...of course not, the empire hasn't been revived yet, how can I hide from the world?" Chanel smiled and shook his head, "We found out about your whereabouts and knew you were coming to Venice, so we came here first to wait for you."

"Wait for me, what are you doing?" Aigron asked calmly.

"We can take you away." Chanel replied.

Then, her breathing became more and more rapid, "Your Majesty, didn't you notice? Now is the best time for you to escape. There are countless places for you to hide in Venice. As long as you leave Venice, you can get complete freedom of movement!"

Although she spoke upliftingly, Aigron remained calm and showed no signs of being moved.

"Escape here...do what?" he asked again.

"What?" Chanel smiled in amazement, as if she didn't think there was any need to ask. "Of course it is to revive the empire! Although you live in Austria, your news must not be blocked, right? The Bourbon dynasty is over. Although the Orleans family ascended the throne, their position is not stable. Now the people are everywhere. Miss the Empire, France is calling you, don't you hear?"

"Sorry, I don't care about this anymore." Aigron shook his head calmly, "I remember I made it very clear that from the day I married Teresa, I have nothing to do with France, she Be whatever you want to be.”

Chanel's face suddenly turned pale.

"How can you say that?" She asked Aigron in a low voice, "You are the only son of the late emperor, the heir of the Bonaparte family, and the unyielding emperor of the empire... How can you abandon your obligations, abandon such How many followers are willing to die for you?"

"It's their own choice that they want to restore the empire; and it's my choice that I want to live my own life. Since I respect your choice, I hope you also respect mine." Egron was a little unhappy, coldly He replied coldly, "You can do whatever you want for the empire, but don't come to me... You have been by my side for so long and you should understand how persistent I am, so what I thought back then, That's what I think now, and I won't change my mind!"

After a pause, he asked again, "You just said 'we', who is that?"

"I found your cousins, and they... they are all very happy to restore the empire," Shanel replied.

Then, she asked again without giving up. "Have you really not changed your mind?"

Eggron replied coldly, "I've made it clear enough."

"You..." Chanel burst into tears suddenly with a great sadness, she covered her face, unable to speak for a while.

Aegron just stood there, quietly watching her cry.

After a while, Chanel finally controlled her emotions. She raised her head and looked at the handsome young man in front of her with eyes mixed with love, blame and helplessness.

"Your Majesty, I love you. Although as far as I am concerned, I am not worthy to love you, but I do fall in love with you. You are the first person in the world who treats me so well, and you are so talented. People I admire...the days when I stayed by your side were the happiest times in my life."

After saying this, she felt a sense of disillusionment, and she couldn't help closing her eyes, "But I didn't expect that you, who are so ambitious and thirsty for power, would choose to back down before a marriage! Could it be that an Austrian How could a woman bewitch you so easily?! Could it be that you would mock your ambition like this? You could become an emperor, but you shrank yourself into a volute..."

"For me, this is the happiest volute." Aigron interrupted her, "You want an emperor? Yes, you want, but what you want more is an idol! One responds to you Your expectations, your aspirations, idols for your revenge, you impose all your fantasies and fantasies on me, forcing me to give up the life I want, to fight for a dream that has been lost... No , I choose to live for myself, Chanel, unfortunately, but this is my decision."

Chanel knew that it was useless to say anything since she was talking about this matter, so she lowered her head and sat on a chair and wept silently.

After crying for a while, she asked Aigron with red and swollen eyes.

"Then can you write a personal letter? You allow your cousin to act in the name of the Bonaparte family, and allow your followers to be loyal to him."

Aegron froze for a moment.

At this time, he understood that Chanel and the others had also made two-handed preparations. The best result was to take him away.

Now that he has reached this point, he certainly won't make it difficult for Chanel anymore.

"Well, you can feel free to do whatever you want, as long as it doesn't involve me."

Aigron asked Chanel to take out the prepared paper and pen, and then wrote a short letter in the dim light.

Chanel received the letter, but there was no happy expression on her face, on the contrary, tears were still flowing.

"Your Majesty, you...you can change your mind at any time." She carefully put away the letter, left such a sentence, and finally disappeared.

With a sense of trance, Aegron walked out of the room, and then returned to the place where he was separated from Teresa along the corridor just now, while his wife was still waiting for him quietly there.

As soon as he saw Teresa, Aigron's heart suddenly became peaceful.

He managed to pull himself together and smiled, then walked to his wife's side.

"Sorry, Teresa, to keep you waiting."

"It's okay, Eggron." Teresa smiled, then reached out and stroked her husband's cheek.

Then, she asked in a low voice, "Did you have a good chat with Chanel just now?"

Aigron's face suddenly changed.

"Actually, I saw her just now, but I was vague and not sure... But from your demeanor and behavior, I have already guessed it." Teresa explained to her husband in a low voice.

Then, as if she was afraid that her husband would worry, she added, "Don't worry, I didn't tell anyone...what happened just now didn't exist."

Aegron immediately felt relieved.

He wasn't worried about what happened to him, but worried that Chanel and the others would be hunted down. Since Teresa didn't expose the matter, it didn't matter.

"Just now, we had a little quarrel." He explained softly to his wife, "But now the quarrel is over and she has left."

"Is she still not giving up? She is really persistent... This kind of loyalty is quite admirable." Teresa nodded gently, "You rejected them again?"

"Yes, the same as back then..." Aigron nodded, "Since I have made a decision, I should stick to it."

"Have you ever regretted it?" Teresa suddenly asked in a low voice.

Aigron didn't answer immediately, but looked at his wife.

"It would be a lie to say that you have never regretted it for a moment. But for some reason, when I saw you and touched you..." As he said, he stretched out his hand and stroked gently Wife's hair, "I have no regrets, I think this is pretty good, at least I can be satisfied."

"Really...?" Teresa asked in surprise.

Then, she hugged Aigron, buried her head in his arms, and listened to his heartbeat. "Aigron, I know that you have sacrificed a lot for me, so I am willing to sacrifice everything to repay you. I only hate that I have not repaid enough, which makes you unhappy sometimes... so I am worried and scared. "

"Afraid of what?" Aigron was a little surprised.

"I'm afraid you will take back your original decision." Teresa replied in a muffled voice in his arms, "Sometimes I have nightmares, dreaming that you were bewitched by those ambitious people, and suddenly left our home and ran to a place where I I can't find it, and then we parted... God, what should I do if this happens to me?"

Then, she raised her head again and looked at her husband with tears in her eyes, "Aigron, promise me...don't abandon me no matter what? Even if you want to escape from all this, you must tell me, because I I would rather be a criminal who betrayed the empire than be separated from you! I am on your side, and I am also Bonaparte!"

Aegron almost cried when he heard it.

He stroked her back gently, like a frightened kitten.

"Silly girl... I won't take it back, we'll be together forever, just like we've always been. You're right, we've got too much time left, long enough for us to enjoy and savor, well... let's move on Let's travel."

"Okay, honey." Teresa laughed through her tears.

There was no one around, only the magnificent dome of St. Mark's Basilica echoed the tenderness of the young couple.