Eagle's Glory

Of course, there will be many, many times in the future.

After teasing his granddaughter for a moment, the general spoke again,

"Just call Agnes over, I still have to leave some things to her."

"Why?" Alice was a little puzzled. "What can she decide?"

"She can decide many things." The general replied pointedly, "Your Majesty still misses her so much."　　

96, rebuttal

"His Majesty still misses her so much."

Alice couldn't help being a little embarrassed to hear the ridicule implied in the Marquis de Treville's tone.

Of course she knew that the father-in-law wanted to match Agnes and His Majesty, and she would be happy to see it if His Majesty was unmarried, but now that he is married and is about to have a child, what's the point of mentioning this again?

She was worried that doing so would embarrass her sister in front of the earl, and she might think of herself as a shameless seeker of glory.

But she didn't dare to refute her father-in-law's words in person, so she could only try to make up for it after hesitating for a moment.

"Agnes is also very proud to be His Majesty's friend. She feels that His Majesty is unrivaled among her generation and will surely create a great career. If there is such a day, she will also be honored to be His Majesty's friend." Yan."

Edmund Dantès did not see the twists and turns between the general and Mrs. Alice. In order to complete the task assigned by His Majesty, he is now obsessed with Miss Agnes, and of course he wants to seize every opportunity to get close to her. . "Speaking of which, I do miss Miss Agnes a little bit. Although there is a huge gap between us, Miss Agnes has always treated me with sincerity, which I admire very much. If there is a chance, I would like to see it in person again. See what she looks like."

Now that the Earl mentioned this, Alice couldn't refuse, so she nodded and agreed.

"Well, I'll let Agnes contact you. However, Agnes has a very straightforward temper and sometimes doesn't know how to speak. Please bear with me if I offend you..."

"Don't worry, I will never be hostile to Miss Agnes, and I dare not do so." Edmund replied with a smile, "After all, she can easily cut off my head, I have seen it before." She's skilled."

"Sir, who do you take her for!" Alice also laughed, and then protested coquettishly, "Agnes never threatens others with violence, swordsmanship is just an interesting skill for her, It's not a means of bullying others, since you have been in contact with her for so long, you should know, right?"

"Although she didn't threaten me, I have suffered enough under her hands, ma'am." Edmund replied with a big smile, "When I came to Paris last time, Miss Agnes said she would teach me swordsmanship, so I'll give it a try. I have been taught a lot, and I still have lingering fears when I think about it-of course I am looking forward to learning more this time."

"This stinking girl..." Alice felt helpless when she heard that her sister had 'offended' His Majesty's trusted envoy in such a way.

"No, don't, in my opinion, this kind of rate is really respectable and lovely about Miss Agnes—" Edmund shook his head, "It's so different, and so dazzling, we may be in You can't see it anywhere else."

Seeing the earl blowing up her sister so much, Alice couldn't help but blush slightly, but she also had an indescribable pride, "Agnes is indeed very different, she is much better than me, and she will be happy in the future." Duo... No matter who gets her, it will definitely be that person's greatest luck in this life."

…… Edmund didn’t know what to say for a moment. As His Majesty’s vassal, of course he could know a little bit about His Majesty’s “thoughts” towards Miss Agnes, so seeing Alice’s proud and yearning look at the moment , he actually felt a little unbearable.

But the momentary unbearableness quickly disappeared, he expressed a polite silence, and nodded in agreement with Alice's imagination.

Then, Alice took the count to the guest's room to rest, and then returned to the father-in-law's study alone. At this time, General Treville was still teasing his granddaughter, with a kind smile on his face.

After hesitating for a moment, Alice still couldn't help asking.

"Father, why did you deliberately mention Agnes in front of the count?"

"Why can't I mention it? She is friends with the Earl and His Majesty. Not long ago, we shared joys and sorrows together in Greece, and we have some friendship with each other. Therefore, moving her out will bring us closer to the Earl and His Majesty." relationship." The Marquis de Treville replied without raising his head as he teased his granddaughter.

"But... your statement is too ambiguous." Alice retorted in a low voice, "Those who don't know think how close Agnes and His Majesty are..."

"I'm just telling the truth. According to the information Edgar told me, His Majesty does have some sympathetic appreciation and admiration for Agnes. Isn't this normal? She is highly respected." The Marquis de Treville replied coldly, "Besides, even if His Majesty has a closer relationship with her, is there any problem? This is an honor that no one can ask for."

Logically speaking, when the Marquis showed this expression, Alice would not argue anymore. She had always admired and feared her father-in-law, but she was worried about her sister.

"Some people value fame more than honor," she whispered back.

"What? Will being His Majesty's friend lose your reputation?" The Marquis de Treville finally raised his head, and then looked at Alice with a slight frown. "Then you think we have no reputation? We are His Majesty's servants."

"That's not what I meant..." Alice hurriedly defended herself, "I mean, Agnes shouldn't be too close to His Majesty, after all..."

"Why, are you afraid that Agnes will do something indecent? Do you think she will do that?" the Marquis de Treville asked back.

"No! With her character, how could she wrong herself to do that kind of thing?" Alice blurted out.

"Then what are you worried about?" The Marquis de Treville continued to ask, "Since Agnes will cleanse herself, there will be no problem of indecentness at all. Do you still think that His Majesty will force her to do something in spite of decency?" What happened? If you really think so, you will belittle both of them at the same time, and you will belittle the two most outstanding young people of this generation in our country."

Alice was speechless after being refuted by the Marquis de Treville.

Logically speaking, she didn't believe that Agnes would give in to herself, let alone that His Majesty would actually force her to do something—so, after all, what was there to worry about?

She still felt something was wrong in her heart, but her tone unknowingly relaxed, "Maybe it's true that I'm thinking a little too much, I'm just worried about what might happen..."

"What could be the matter? I think you are thinking too much." The Marquis de Treville didn't take it seriously at all. "Instead of worrying about these things that are out of reach in the future, why not think about how to complete the tasks His Majesty assigned us. This is more important." more important."

Alice was also persuaded by the Marquis de Treville's coaxing and training—or, subconsciously, she couldn't believe the most terrifying possibility, so she would rather be persuaded by her father-in-law.

谷灎

"Getting Agnes involved in these matters may bring her unwarranted disaster..." She still had a little final hesitation.

"Don't you know her well enough? How can she be afraid of any danger? If you face the danger alone but don't call her, that is something she will never forgive." The Marquis de Treville replied, "Besides , it doesn’t matter if other people in your natal family don’t get in touch, but Agnes still needs to deal with it. Since she was the one who caused the trouble, wouldn’t it be natural for her to bear part of the responsibility?”

"You can't say that..." Alice immediately defended her sister, "Agnes is not interested in these things, she was just eager to help for my sake."

"No matter what, it's always good to have multiple helpers, and you can't do everything alone." The Marquis de Treville made the final decision. "As for the so-called risk, don't you think that it reduces the risk instead?"

After hearing her father-in-law's explanation, Alice was gradually moved, obviously she was temporarily persuaded.

"I'll call Agnes over here, she hasn't come to visit for a long time..." After a moment of silence, she whispered.

The Marquis of Treville nodded, and a faint smile flashed in his eyes.

Alice saluted him farewell, and then walked out of the room, while the Marquis de Treville continued to tease his beloved granddaughter.

"My little baby...you must remember that you must not act emotionally, and judge everything based on reason." After the door was closed, he whispered to his granddaughter.

========================

Alice did keep her promise, and sent a letter to her natal family early in the morning the next day.

And Agnes, who was bored at home, was suddenly invited by her sister. Without any hesitation, she straightened her clothes and came to her sister's house in a carriage.

After being informed by the servant, she ran straight to her sister's bedroom.

"Sister, long time no see!" She greeted her sister with a smile on her face.

"You're still so energetic, Agnes." Alice also greeted her sister with a smile.

Although her smile was very sweet, she was a sister after all, and Agnes quickly noticed that her sister seemed to be preoccupied.

"What? Did something bad happen?" She asked cautiously, "Has Xia Lu been sick?"

"No, she's fine, and she's playing with grandpa now." Alice still smiled, "It's just that I have encountered a little difficulty here."

"What's the matter? Just tell me." Agnes immediately assured her, "It looks like you need my help?"

"There is no problem with my father recently..." Alice did not immediately express her request, but asked a seemingly irrelevant question first.

Upon hearing this question, the smile on Agnes's face disappeared immediately, "Why do you ask, have you heard anything?"

"It seems that something really happened..." Alice smiled wryly, looking as expected, "Did His Majesty the King reprimand father recently?"

Agnes's face suddenly revealed a bitter look, with an extremely troubled look. "Yeah... hey... I'm also responsible for this matter."

Once she heard her sister say this, Alice became even more clear in her heart, and she simply made it clear. "Is it about the Count of Monte Cristo?"

"Yes, that's it!" It's about family secrets, and of course Agnes would choose to keep it a secret from others, but she has no scruples with her sister, and she just nodded and admitted, "Last time I brought Mr. Earl to our house , my father entertained him grandly because of my face, and introduced the Count of Monte Cristo to many people... At the time, no one cared. After all, there were not many new faces on the social scene in Paris? But a year later, something big happened. Someone discovered that one of the vassals of the Kingdom of Ioannina had the title of the Count of Monte Cristo... So some people with ulterior motives suspected that his father had colluded with the Bonaparte family. His Majesty the King even questioned him personally, and his father spent a lot of money It took Da Jin to explain this matter... In order to protect me, he didn't say that I introduced it, but just asked a friend to bear the responsibility, and he didn't know anything else about it."

Speaking of this, Agnes looked terrified again. ,

"Because of this, and because he was worried because I hadn't heard from me for so long, he was so angry that he was going crazy, scolded me several times, and almost beat me. Oh, I gave He brought such a big trouble, if he wants to beat me, I can only be beaten obediently, but luckily he didn't have the heart to do it after all..."

Although Agnes said it was miserable, Alice couldn't help laughing after hearing it. She could imagine her father's rebuke and helplessness—she had seen it countless times in the past.

All of a sudden, she nostalgic for her life before she got married.

"It's not your fault, Agnes, you also meant well, and no one thought that things would turn out like this..." After a while, Alice sighed, "We are all just boats in the storm, We can only let it be at the mercy of the stormy sea.”

"Why are you so depressed all of a sudden?" Agnes was a little surprised, "It's all over, Dad has calmed down the turmoil, and no one will hold him accountable. Although he was angry with me, he didn't beat me up. , what else is there to be emotional about?"

"Without the past, everything will not pass so easily." Alice shook her head dejectedly, "Agnes, I am different from you, I am now on this ship of the Treville family, I must do my best It's my responsibility to keep this ship able to ride the wind and waves without capsizing...because I'm not alone, I have a husband and a daughter, and I can't accept that they have nothing in the storm."

"Ah? What happened? Why did you make it so serious?" Agnes became even more nervous when she heard that. "Is it possible that someone is going to arrest the general...?!"

"It's not that serious. It's just that troubles follow us everywhere. We can't get rid of them. Not only can't we get rid of them, but we should face up to them. Only in this way can we show our loyalty and value..." Alice said with emotion. She became serious, "Agnes, the Count of Monte Cristo, is here with us now, in the room next to you."　　

97, guilt

"The Count of Monte Cristo is with us now, in the room next to yours."

Agnes stared at her sister dumbfounded.

In an instant, her expression changed, from questioning and blaming at the beginning to understanding and helplessness, she knew that it was not her sister who could decide whether to accept this "honored guest".

She hesitated to speak, as if she didn't want to provoke her sister any more, so she could only sigh in the end.

"I've known it for a long time. It's definitely not good to follow that guy! We are all unlucky!"

Alice knew who the guy she was talking about was referring to, so she dissuaded her sister, "You shouldn't say that. Although we are indeed facing a little danger, this is not imposed on us by anyone, it is our own choice."

"No! You didn't choose it, it was that arrogant general! Not only is he ambitious, but he also involved all his family members." Agnes retorted to her sister, "You were involved. You didn't care about the Bonaparte family at first, but now there are only two of us here, so why do you pretend to be a loyalist? Don't tell me, under the pressure of that damned general, you don't even have the courage to hold your own opinion in private ?"

Agnes didn't have a good impression of General Treville, and she was angry at this time, so she spoke very bluntly.

However, Alice was also angry when she heard this, and she gave her sister a glare to stop her bad words. "Agnes, I don't care what you say outside. I don't allow you to speak ill of him in front of his family in this house! The general is a very powerful person, with firm will, courage and strategy. He is more powerful than us. His father is so much stronger! I admire him so much, not fear him, and I took this path not because I was afraid, but because I genuinely identify with what he did, and would rather be a part of it go in..."

"Agreed?" Agnes was a little puzzled.

"Yes, you're right, even now I don't have a good impression of the Bonaparte family, but that's not important—the important thing is that the Bonaparte family is now willing to bid for our family, willing to pay a high price, And the Wang family will not do this, and others will not do this!" Alice replied seriously to her sister, "We are indeed taking risks, but we are also promised rich rewards in the future. If there is such a One day, the general will definitely stand taller than his father, the difference is that the father got those things only because of blood and flattering the king, but the general really got all of these by himself."

After a pause, she smiled wryly again, "Perhaps in your eyes, I have also been polluted by the world and become a careerist addicted to power. However, the situation is completely different for me. My family It's all at risk, can I pretend nothing happened and stay out of it? Am I not sworn to share the joys and sorrows? For me, it's more than words.

Also, Xia Lu...my daughter, if I had a choice, I would not let her live in a ruined family and suffer the eyes of the outside world, I would let her get everything she deserves, She is so smart and so cute, can't she be admired and admired like a princess?Are we doomed to be excluded from society only by those who are inferior to us?I can bear this humiliation, and have for a long time, but I can't bear my daughter being treated the same way... Now that they push us away, we step on their heads, isn't that the fairest outcome ? "

The elder sister's rhetorical question immediately made Agnes speechless.

She knew in her heart that since her sister married Edgar, those famous families who were dissatisfied with General Treville closed the door to her, and even her father almost ignored her, although her sister didn't care. These, but it is very normal and reasonable to accumulate resentment in my heart.

But after all, you didn't choose it in a daze... She didn't dare to say that.

Xia Lu, yes, Xia Lu is so cute, she should be the most dazzling star at the ball, how can she be excluded from the social world, and live as an unknown Xiaojiabiyu?Obviously her surname is de Treville... Thinking of this, Agnes suddenly understood her sister's thoughts a little bit.

At this moment, Alice also calmed down. She withdrew her rare excited scowl, and then showed her normal smile again.

"So you see, I was not coerced, but took the initiative to participate. I sincerely hope that His Majesty's career will succeed, and then lead us to the sky. But you are different, Agnes, you are outside of us, and you I've done enough for us before, you don't have any obligation to get involved, I'm just telling you this..."

"I see." Agnes bit her lips, and then took the initiative to comfort her sister, "Well, the Count of Monte Cristo is here, but so what? Everything is not that bad. To be honest, I admire that guy Yes, although the skills are average, but the personality is quite good, and it can be regarded as courageous and resourceful, worthy of being my friend!"

"Don't call him the Count of Monte Cristo now, so as not to cause new troubles, he now has a new alias, the Count of Bellevue from Parma-and he is going to live in Paris for a while, and I'm going to pay for it. He provided the help he deserved."

Although Agnes is not interested in these things, she can of course guess what the Earl's "residence in Paris" means, but she is not willing to add new troubles to her sister at the moment, so she just pretends to be fine. Nodding cheerfully, "Well! That's good, I'll help out too. After all, I'm a friend from afar. As a Parisian, I can't be rude."

Alice had known for a long time that her sister would answer like this—and it was the answer she was looking forward to.

Objectively speaking, she took advantage of her sister's kinship to let Agnes stand by her side to help, and because she knew this in her heart, she was full of guilt and didn't dare to look at her sister again.

"I think he is also looking forward to seeing you again, come with me—" She stood up directly.

Agnes naturally had no objections, so she also got up and followed her sister.

As the door of the reception room was opened again, Edmund Dantès, who had been waiting here for a long time, finally saw Agnes.

He immediately stood up, saluted and greeted the girl's arrival.

Perhaps because of the fact that she lived in seclusion after returning to Paris, and at the same time was well-clothed and well-fed, Agnes was more glamorous than when she was in Greece before, and her agile and vigorous aura was completely different from the ladies of the same age. Even more rare and valuable.

"Miss Agnes, it's a pleasure to meet you again."

"Glad to see you again, Count." Agnes also bowed to Edmund, "Why are you in Paris again?"

"Of course I was appointed by His Majesty." Edmund smiled bitterly. "As a servant, I have no right to refuse, and I also like this city very much."

"This is a very risky move." Agnes replied, and then changed the topic, "By the way, I heard that your majesty ran to France to make a public appearance and then fled the country, how is he now? Is everything going well?"

"Your Majesty is fine now. He escaped safely back to Ioannina. If my predictions are correct, he should be attending the coronation ceremony of the King of Greece by now." Edmund replied—of course he would not say what he said before. The assassination of His Majesty.

"That's it, it's quite powerful." Although this should be a major event in diplomacy, Agnes is not interested in it at all, so she just said, "Because of the trouble he caused before, the King His Majesty was furious, he lost his temper, and it turned out that not only the general, but even my father almost got into trouble..."

"Is it because of me?" Edmund asked hastily. "If so, I sincerely apologize to you!"

"It's not bad—" Agnes smiled wryly, "However, what is there to apologize for after the matter is over? Anyway, no one was harmed by it. But you, Mr. Earl, you'd better be careful , because you have made an appearance at my house, so you should try your best to stay as quiet as possible so that no one will recognize you. Once you are arrested, it is not a joke... I am afraid that even if my father intercedes, he will definitely not be able to save you. "

Agnes' attitude was quite sincere, obviously she was not just talking, but was really worried about the safety of the Earl.

"Don't worry about this. Since I'm here, I must be absolutely prepared not to be captured alive." Edmond Dantès replied indifferently.

Of course Agnes could hear the weight of it, she was both admiring and helpless, so she had to spread her hands.

"I wish this could all be over quickly! Our poor country has been soaked in blood for two or thirty years, and it's hard to get a breather, and the result is still restless! Oh, if only the world could not be so How good it would be to seek power and position..."

"It's not just a question of power and position. Sometimes we have to win or lose, because only the winner can represent justice and write history. In order not to become a clown in someone else's pen, we must grab the pen ourselves—" Edmund Answer positively.

"Hey... that's all right... As expected of his subordinate, he speaks exactly like him!" Agnes got dizzy when she heard this kind of words, so she shrugged impatiently and interrupted the other party, " Forget it, you can do whatever you want, I pray for your life, I hope God will show mercy and not take you away so soon..."