At the welcome ball that evening, Clementine also displayed her sociable nature to the fullest, joking and playing tricks with the nobles of the Palace of Versailles. She quickly became the center of attention.
Queen Mary watched her niece with satisfaction, nodding frequently, thinking how wonderful it would be if this girl were her daughter-in-law.
As for the young noblewomen of Versailles who dared to approach the Crown Prince, they were soon chased away by his little cousin’s “fierce” gaze, allowing Joseph to enjoy a rare moment of relaxation at the ball.
As night fell, Joseph and Louis XVI walked side by side away from the ballroom.
The father and son talked for a while about training craftsmen to make caplock guns. Suddenly, the King gestured for the attendants to step back, then pulled his son closer, whispering, “Archduchess Clementine seems very healthy and lively, but Princess Maria seems even smarter. To be honest, both are quite nice.”
“Yes, they are quite nice,” Joseph replied.
“What do you think then?” the King asked.
Joseph looked at him, puzzled. “Think about what? What exactly?””
Louis XVI revealed a knowing smile, patted his son on the shoulder, and said, “Tell me the truth, which one of them do you actually like? Ah, don’t worry about what your mother thinks. It’s most important to marry the person you love.”
“Marry?!” Joseph suddenly had an epiphany. Oh no! Were these two girls here to get married?!
He couldn’t really blame himself for being slow to realize it; in his subconscious, he never associated such young girls with potential fiancées, thereby overlooking such an obvious issue.
Joseph was rendered speechless for a moment—Maria was tolerable, although young, she at least had some… cough, womanly features.
Whereas, Clementine was obviously still undeveloped, just a little brat! That’d be criminal!
Not to mention she was his own cousin. Hadn’t he heard about the dangers of marrying a relative? He certainly didn’t want to have a bunch of children with intellectual disabilities…
After a moment of thought, Joseph said softly, “Dear father, what if I don’t like either of them?”
“Ah?” Louis XVI frowned, “My dear Joseph, as far as I know, you only have that female doctor by your side, and you shouldn’t have, ah, been with her, correct?”
“You must tell me the truth. Are you–” he glanced at his son’s crotch, a look of concern on his face, “very tight there and even feeling some pain? If so, believe me, a simple operation by a doctor can fix that. Don’t be like me in the past, waiting for a long time…”
Joseph paused, finally realizing his father was probably referring to a condition of being too long—something that had caused him trouble in his marriage. Was he extrapolating from his own experience to suspect his son had the same issue?
Joseph quickly waved his hands, “No, no, thank you for your concern, but I am perfectly fine.”
Louis XVI’s expression became more serious, “Joseph, if you prefer… men, you still must fulfill the duty of a Crown Prince…”
“Don’t get any wrong ideas!” Joseph was nearly exasperated. I mean, I’m only 14 years old, isn’t it quite normal not to have a lover? Why is my father making so many assumptions?
Oh, right. He frowned to himself. In this age, nobles did indeed start pursuing romantic dalliances at 14… Did he need to find a lover to prove there was nothing wrong with his body or orientation?
He had no choice but to earnestly say to the King, “Father, I truly just haven’t met the right person. You don’t have to worry. As for the two princesses… I am currently devoted to making France stronger. Let’s talk about the other matters in a few more years.”
Louis XVI responded with gravity, “Child, I know you have grand ambitions and will surely be an exceptional king in the future, but you can pay attention to your duties towards women as well…”
The father and son continued talking as they walked, and before they knew it, the night had grown deeper.
Just as Joseph was thinking about how to escape his father’s earnest discussion about the duty of procreation, a white shadow “whooshed” past his side and disappeared at the end of the corridor.
“Be careful!” the Swiss Guard responsible for protection immediately formed a circle, shielding the King and the Crown Prince in the middle.
Then, a petite figure rushed over with people in tow, speaking in broken French, “Have you seen Monsieur Mustache?”
“Clementine?” Joseph was rather surprised, “Monsieur Mustache… What happened to your cat?”
“It’s gone missing!” The little girl was so anxious that her face turned bright red, “It’s usually very obedient, but today, for some reason, it was desperate to get out and I couldn’t stop it…”
Remembering the white shadow he had just seen, Joseph quickly pointed toward the corridor behind him, “It must have run that way.”
“Thank you, cousin.” Clementine called to the two maids behind her, “Let’s hurry after it!”
Joseph hastened to hold her back, “You’ve never been to the Palace of Versailles before; it’s very easy to get lost running around like this.”
“What should I do?” The little girl was nearly in tears.
Joseph gestured to Kesode, “Could you please have someone look for the cat?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Elsewhere, Louis XVI also ordered the Swiss Guard to search for the cat. In no time, dozens of guards put down their rifles and swords, lightly armed themselves, and turned into cat hunters.
Joseph, too, wanting to take the chance to break away from his father’s incessant talk of lineage, beckoned Clementine to join him on the cat-searching journey. Your next read awaits at m v|l-e’-NovelFull.net
Before long, the Palace of Versailles began to erupt in chaos.
As the guard knocked on each door, often there would be a pair of hurriedly clothed, panic-stricken men and women inside. Hmm, not the married kind, of course.
Of course, this was a very normal occurrence in France at the time; if you weren’t entertaining several lovers, it only meant you lacked charm.
On Joseph’s side, Clementine was even more efficient, knocking on doors, apologizing pitifully before searching for the cat inside. Having become somewhat acquainted with most of the nobility at the evening’s ball and having a sweet tongue, not a single person became angry with her for disturbing their intimate moments.
That was until she knocked on the door of a room on the second floor of the south wing. An annoyed male voice shouted from inside, “Can’t you see the time? What do you want?!”
Joseph blinked; that voice seemed familiar. Could it be… the Interior Minister Mono?
The little girl pleaded in a cute, coquettish voice, “I’m terribly sorry to disturb you. But my beloved cat has gone missing, and I hope I might search for it here. May God bless you, kind gentleman.”
“There’s no cat here!”
“It’s very good at hiding. It could have squeezed through the vent on your door. Please! just a quick look, just a minute.”
There was silence inside the room.
The little girl was very patient, pleading earnestly and knocking on the door from time to time.
Finally, the people inside couldn’t bear it any longer. It sounded like a man and woman were having a low-voiced argument. Then, the door opened and a disheveled noblewoman, hastily draped in clothes, hurried out with her head down and disappeared around the corner of the staircase.
Joseph was immediately stunned; wasn’t that Marquis Saint Priest’s wife?
“Thank you!” Clementine, completely unaware of the turmoil she had caused, cheerfully dashed into the room, directing her maids to search for the cat.
While Joseph exchanged understanding smiles with Mono, who was sitting on the edge of the bed.