Life of Being a Crown Prince in France

Mrs. Scheller seemed to awaken from a nightmare, rushed over a few steps to open the door, and immediately covered her mouth, choking back sobs: “Lu, Lucas, is it really you…”

Baron Scheller, standing to the side, finally saw clearly this time.

It was indeed his son.

Behind him were four people—two officers in Austrian gendarme uniforms. One was a well-dressed middle-aged man, and the other seemed to be his attendant.

One of the gendarmes looked at Baron Scheller and handed over a document: “Are you Rabo Tobias von Scheler?”

“Your son has been released. Please sign here.”

Scheller, in disbelief, took the pages and immediately saw the words “acquittal,” his hands trembling violently.

It wasn’t a parole.

It was an acquittal!

He shuddered suddenly, turned to his luggage to find a quill, signed his name, and handed the document back to the gendarme, excitedly saying: “Thank you so much! You’ve literally saved our family’s life! About Lucas, what’s the…”

The gendarme put away the document and gestured to the man behind him: “I’m not sure about the specifics. You can ask this gentleman.”

The gendarmes departed, and the tall man beside him smiled and bowed slightly, saying: “Baron Scheller, I am Lagadere, a representative of French diplomacy.”

The following day at noon.

A black carriage left Vienna, heading west.

Inside the carriage, Baron Scheller looked complicatedly as his wife held their son’s hand, bombarding him with questions, and he was full of emotion:

Austrian’s shameless bureaucrats had thrown Lucas into jail, extorted 3,000 florins from him, and still sentenced him to 25 years of hard labor.

In the end, it was a great figure from France who rescued his son. Though he didn’t know who he was, undoubtedly, only the great France could produce such a just and benevolent gentleman.

Moreover, that figure also offered him a generous job opportunity—a job in Paris.

Paris, the fashion capital more beautiful and prosperous than Reims.

He turned to look out at the chaotic streets, murmuring to himself: “Thank Jesus, finally leaving this filthy, rotten place.”

Yes, Joseph had previously overcomplicated Lucas’ matter. In reality, Lucas was of no value in the eyes of Austria’s high ranks.

Talleyrand only passed the task to the French diplomatic staff in Vienna through the Sharp Signal Machine. The latter then greeted Austria’s Minister of the Interior, and the next day, Lucas was released—Austria and Prussia’s war was imminent, and they hoped for French support; what did a mere prisoner matter?

As for Scheller, upon hearing that the French grande wished for him to work for the “Paris Commercial News,” he almost agreed without thinking.

Not only because of their great rescue of Lucas but also due to the high salary of 80 francs a month and the condition to settle in Paris, which a pro-French person like him couldn’t refuse.

…

By mid-July, the Palace of Versailles was becoming sultry.

Joseph signaled Eman to open all the windows, then turned to Count Robel and said, “Please continue.”

“Yes, Your Highness.” The Director of the Security Bureau bowed slightly, “Based on these clues and the decoding of those secret messages by Lavallette, we believe someone plans to have the garrison in Udine attack the Klagenfurt Fortress.

“Moreover, they have bribed some Austrian officers in the fortress, who will bombard our soldiers at a critical moment to escalate the situation.

“By Lavallette’s judgment, they should be ready to act soon.”

Joseph’s face darkened: “It should be after the outbreak of war between Prussia and Austria. At that time, Austria will be unable to dispatch troops to reinforce Klagenfurt.

“These guys are helping Prussia and Austria reach a peace agreement.”

Robel tentatively asked, “Your Highness, do you think we should arrest Colonel Desai and Lieutenant Master?”

These two should be the masterminds behind this event. The Security Bureau, through an Austrian logistics supplier named Schulmeister, bribed the Austrian officers at Klagenfurt, gaining fairly reliable evidence.

Joseph thought for a moment, then shook his head: “No, let them have their way.”

“Your Highness, this might make the situation unmanageable…”

Joseph said coldly: “If you stop them in Klagenfurt, they’ll cause trouble elsewhere sooner or later. It would be better to make good use of this opportunity.

“The Security Bureau needs to make some deployments…”

After discussing the strategy to deal with the Klagenfurt incident, Joseph took a stack of manuscripts from a drawer and handed them to the Director of the Security Bureau:

“Are you familiar with the situation in Portugal?”

“Somewhat, Your Highness.”

“Good.” Joseph nodded, “I need you to have these manuscript contents spread around the Estrela Mountains.”

Robel lowered his head to open the manuscript, seeing the first page’s title: “Beware, This Country is the True Culprit Wanting to Destroy Portugal.”

He quickly browsed through it, finding that it argued that England wanted to destroy Portugal so that they could permanently occupy the ports of Lisbon and Sinish as their naval base. England’s prior demand for Portugal to burn all villages and towns near Porto was just the first step. Such things will happen again until all of Portugal becomes scorched earth.

Robel inhaled sharply.

This rumor was indeed vicious… no, clever. The British heavily rely on Portuguese ports, and the previous burning near Porto was a fact; the subsequent deductions were logical and well-grounded.

If he were Portuguese, after hearing these words, he would certainly be suspicious of England as well.

He then looked at the next manuscript, titled “Whose Side Does Justice Stand On? Clearly Not Ours.”

He went through it at lightning speed, once again admiring the high level of the authors of these articles.

The article attributed the causes of the Franco-Spanish Alliance’s military action to repel Portugal to Portugal’s alliance with the evil British, offering naval bases and material support for Britain’s evil acts of besieging France and Spain.

To prevent their coastal populations from starving, Spain and France could only righteously counter England. And to break through England’s blockade, they had to strike their naval ports in the Bay of Biscay, which meant they had to attack Portugal.

If Portugal lifts its support for England, the Franco-Spanish Alliance is sure to withdraw immediately.

This reasoning was logical and directly put the beaten Portuguese government in an unjust position. Among the Portuguese populace, there would surely be voices calling to break the alliance with England for peace.

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