Chapter 59: Chapter 59 I Want to Duel with You!
Perna gazed at the Crown Prince’s retreating figure, worried he might be upset over the dance, and wanted to follow but hesitated.
Suddenly, she remembered her duty to monitor His Highness’s health and, pursing her lips, she pushed through the glaring noble maidens and chased after Joseph.
Joseph tightened his mask, yanked off the bothersome shawl, and wriggled his way out of the crowd.
He took a deep breath and wiped off his sweat. Taking the opportunity while the birds had not yet caught him, he hunched over and slipped out next to the great door of the Hall of Mirrors.
The night air of Versailles Palace Square was cool and fresh. He stretched his arms and walked at a leisurely pace, feeling much relieved and secretly swearing in his heart never to attend such balls again.
In the dim light of the courtyard lamps, Eman, dressed as a maid, could barely make out the Crown Prince’s figure and hurried over, “Your Highness, why did you come out so early?”
A graceful figure in a white robe arrived almost simultaneously from the other side, “Your Highness…”
Eman turned, slightly surprised, “Miss Perna, why are you…”
His gaze swept over the two of them, and suddenly getting an idea, he cleared his throat, “Ahem, Your Highness, I have a little matter to attend to on the other side.”
“Don’t go!” Perna blurted out, her face flushing red, “I just came to ask if Your Highness is feeling unwell!”
Joseph hurriedly replied, “I’m fine, just wanted to get some fresh air. Dancing is indeed exhausting.”
Eman, realizing he might have misunderstood, nodded awkwardly, “Ah, yes, those ladies are indeed too enthusiastic.”
As the three of them stood in awkward conversation, they saw two figures approaching, mingled with the sound of a girl’s sobs.
“No, Andre, you won’t understand! If possible, I’d trade everything for the time spent with you…”
The man’s voice replied, “Oh, Emily, then please marry me! Since compassionate fate has reunited us, I will not miss the opportunity again!”
“But you know it’s impossible…” The girl tried to hold back her tears, speaking in fits and starts, “My heart lets me bestow all my love upon you, but my reason tells me the entire Vilar family still rests on my shoulders, I must put aside my love for you and turn to another man whose embrace leaves my heart locked.”
“My dearest Emily, I wish I could puncture my own ears not to hear your cruel words, and wish to blind myself not to see the sad tears flowing on your face! Do you know you appear in my dreams every night? I love you, and you love me, isn’t that enough? Should we really let another innocent soul stand between us, to bear our painful feelings caused by this fickle fate?”
The girl began to cry softly again.
It seemed the young couple was at a critical point in their conversation, and not wanting to disturb them, Joseph planned to walk around them, but found his path blocked by a large topiary of trimmed shrubs behind him, and the couple occupied the way ahead.
Helplessly, he looked at Eman, who after scanning the surroundings, pulled him behind a maple tree.
Perna hurriedly followed along.
But the maple tree wasn’t thick enough, with Eman’s back pressed against the trunk, Joseph and Perna squeezed together, barely keeping out of sight.
The moonlight was dim, and without close scrutiny, it was hard to detect anyone hiding there.
The girl’s sobbing voice grew nearer, “Andre, not all love can be blessed with sunlight.
“You know, my mother values reputation too much, cares too much about the Duke’s title, she…”
The man hugged her tightly, “Emily, I’ve just earned a distinction on the battlefield, and now I’ve been promoted to Lieutenant! Please believe me, in a few years, I’ll have a status worthy of you!”
The girl also wrapped her arms around his waist, shaking her head in agony, “But my uncle keeps pressuring me to marry his son, I can’t hold out much longer!”
“No! You cannot marry him!” the man urged, “Your mother wouldn’t agree, would she?”
The girl sighed, “Do you know? Actually, it was my mother who suggested that my uncle transfer you to Soissons, to make me forget about you…”
“Andre? Soissons?” Joseph slightly frowned, then suddenly remembered the voice of the man, “Is he Lieutenant Dawu?”
Eman peeked out halfway, examining the seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl dressed in Crusader’s attire under the dim gaslight, and mused, “She seems to be the Duchess of Villar.”
“Duchess?” Perna exclaimed in a whisper, “That girl is a duchess!”
Eman nodded, lowering his voice as well, “Do you know of Marshal Villar? The one who twice defeated the British at Stenkerque and Nerwinden, who routed Prince Eugene’s forces and captured the former Austrian capital of Freiburg.”
Perna nodded, she had naturally heard of the marshal whose fame resounded during the reigns of Louis XIV and Louis XV.
Eman continued, “This Miss Marie Emilie is the great-granddaughter of Marshal Villar and the current Duchess of Villar. However, her father faced severe punishment during the Seven Years’ War for negligence, causing a great decline in the family’s strength. Still, the Villar name holds considerable prestige in the military, especially in the region of Mulan.”
At that moment, a tall, slender man dressed as a flower girl hurried over, and upon seeing Emilie, he immediately called out loudly, “My dear Emilie, why have you come here? Come back with me, the ball isn’t over yet.”
Emilie retorted coldly, “It’s none of your business where I go. Please leave.”
But the “flower girl” reached out to grab her, “I am your fiancé, how can I not care about you?”
“No! You are not my fiancé, I have never agreed to it!”
The “flower girl” smiled, “It’s only a matter of time. Your mother will surely agree to your marriage with me! Without the thirty thousand livres from my father, your family probably couldn’t even maintain the dignity of the Villar duchy.”
From behind a maple tree, Perna puzzled, “Thirty thousand livres is indeed a lot, but would the duchess’s mother really marry her daughter off to a man she doesn’t like just for the money?”
Eman whispered, “I’ve heard that the assets and influence of the ducal family of Villar are managed by Major General Villar—oh, that’s Miss Emilie’s uncle.
“It seems he has quite possibly usurped control from Miss Emilie and her mother, keeping everything firmly in his grasp.”
Joseph sneered, “Such cunning plans, to force his own son to marry Miss Emilie, then everything the Duchess of Villar possesses would become his.”
Perna clenched her teeth in anger, “Shameless! This is utterly shameless!”
The “flower girl” spoke, then glanced at Andre nearby, with a mocking tone said, “Oh, aren’t you that little officer from Soissons? You actually got to attend a ball at the Palace of Versailles, what’s the matter? Still not giving up on my Emilie?”
Andre had been invited to the ball as a reward for his military service. He glared at the man, “I am deeply in love with Emilie, and she loves me! I will not let her marry you!”
“Ha ha,” the “flower girl” suddenly laughed, “Someone like you aspires to marry the Duchess of Villar?
“Do you know how much it costs to run the Villar ducal mansion? Your meager salary would hardly suffice for two days.”
“I…” Andre began to respond but was somewhat choked up.
The “flower girl” continued, “Listen, even if Emilie were to marry you against all odds, it would only make the Villar family a laughingstock. Her mother wouldn’t be able to lift her head in front of the nobility, why?”
He affected a patronizing tone, “Oh, Lady Villar, I heard your daughter married a poor lieutenant with no significant title? How pitiable you are!”
“You!” Andre’s eyes burned with fury, and suddenly, he removed his glove and threw it to the ground, drawing his sword fiercely, “I, Louis Andre Davou, challenge you to a duel!”