Over forty minutes later, the leading painter looked at the freshly adorned farmhouse, nodded in satisfaction, and beckoned his subordinates to leave.
The soldiers guarding the house had not noticed that he was holding one more paint bucket than before, and his long-handled brush had disappeared.
Naturally, that paint bucket contained the military uniforms of Audric’s two “younger brothers” and the work clothes of the three men, while the “long-handled brush” was left in the attic.
When the painters left the area, an officer of the French guards stopped them, checked their identification, and counted the number of people.
There were eight people coming, and still eight people leaving; everything was in order.
The officer nodded for his subordinates to let them pass. Even if he searched them exhaustively, he would not likely check with the soldiers guarding each farmhouse about the specifics of the painters.
The next morning, the sun cast slanted rays on the spacious avenues outside of Paris, and the temperature was so warm it hardly felt like winter.
Several meticulously crafted white carriages, escorted by more than a dozen cavalrymen, were slowly approaching from the south.
In the middle carriage, the two beautiful eyes of Princess Louisa Maria of Sicily watched the outside nervously.
This wasn’t even Paris yet, and she was already deeply shocked—”King’s Avenue” was unnecessarily wide, and the houses on both sides were more refined and beautiful than the last; it seemed as though only nobility lived in the surrounding areas of Paris.[Note 1] Only on m v|le|mp|yr
However, what made her most nervous was the French Crown Prince she was about to meet, who was called “God’s Favored Son.”
It was said that he had just turned fourteen this year, one year younger than herself, but he had already completed the curriculum of the University of Paris, successfully overseen the police reforms in Paris, and was even serving as an assistant to the Finance Minister of France.
This was simply beyond the description of a genius! She herself was studying university mathematics, fully aware of how difficult it was, and more understanding of how complicated it was to govern a country—how on earth did he do it?!
Moreover, it was rumored that the Crown Prince had inherited the looks of his mother, with extremely handsome features, slightly curly golden hair, sparkling blue eyes, and facial proportions so perfect they resembled an ancient Greek statue. The girls of Versailles would be excited for months if they could speak a single sentence to him.
The thought that such an exceptional Crown Prince might become her fiance made Princess Maria’s heart pound furiously.
While she was lost in her thoughts, the carriage suddenly slowed to a stop. Timothy, the Sicilian ambassador to France sitting opposite her, hurriedly reminded her in a low voice, “Your Highness, it appears the Crown Prince has come to meet you.”
Princess Maria quickly collected her thoughts, checked her clothing, straightened her back, and exhibited a polite and dignified smile.
Timothy was the first to get out of the carriage to open the door.
Maria descended from the carriage along the wooden steps, walking gracefully past the reverent attendants. Looking up, she suddenly saw a handsome young man in a dark blue velvet coat, white trousers, and wearing a tricorne hat, smiling at her.
The elegant curves of his face and his mesmerizing eyes left her mind blank for a split second. She could swear that those who had described the Crown Prince’s appearance to her hadn’t managed to convey even a tenth of his handsomeness.
Slightly dizzy, Maria stepped forward without daring to meet the Crown Prince’s gaze, hastily lifted the hem of her dress, and performed a deep curtsy, her voice trembling as she said, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince. I’m greatly honored that you would come so far to greet me.”
Joseph quickly responded with a smile and a hand on his chest as a gesture of courtesy, “This is my duty, beautiful Princess. Welcome to Paris.”
He embraced the princess with a cheek-to-cheek hug, following traditional etiquette. Hmm, her waist was very slender, her skin smooth and soft, her chest—
Cough! Joseph quickly interrupted his thoughts. After all, she was just a fifteen-year-old girl; what was he thinking?
Once the greetings were exchanged, he stepped back two paces, gestured toward the princess’s carriage, and said, “Your Highness, I shall lead the way. The King and Queen are already hosting a banquet at the Palace of Versailles, eagerly awaiting your arrival.”
After another round of pleasantries, Joseph turned back to his own carriage and commanded the convoy to head back to Versailles.
Maria, seeing that he did not invite her to share a carriage, felt somewhat disappointed. She suddenly remembered she had a rival—the Grand Duchess Clementine of Tuscany.
Drums and horns began to sound around her, signaling the convoy was about to set off. She quickly climbed back into her carriage, her heart heavy with the thought: Could it be that the Crown Prince prefers Clementine? She wondered if she could compete with her.
…
A league away from where Joseph met Princess Maria, in a farmhouse, Audric vaguely heard the sound of the trumpets. He immediately began to rub his sore arms and legs—he and his two “younger brothers” had been holed up here for an entire night.
Moments later, dressed as a farmer, Audric carefully crawled out from the cupboard, peeked down from the attic, and saw the guard of the place dozing against the doorframe.
He grabbed a short stick prepared under the bed, stealthily descended the attic, and struck the soldier on the head with precision. The guard immediately passed out.
Audric then pulled out a dagger, tossed it to the bald man who followed him, and made a throat-slitting gesture toward the guard on the ground.
The bald man swiftly and unhesitatingly stabbed the soldier to death, then dragged the body inside—the act of killing was as easy for him as drinking a cup of wine.