Make France Great Again-Chapter 815 - 806: The Willful Emperor and the Helpless Prince

Chapter 815: Chapter 806: The Willful Emperor and the Helpless Prince

"Your Majesty, this is Princess Pauline von Metternich!"

Empress Augusta immediately introduced her to Jerome Bonaparte.

"Your Majesty, hello!" Pauline von Metternich curtsied again to Jerome Bonaparte, "It’s an honor to meet you!"

"Miss Metternich, hello!" Jerome Bonaparte pondered for a moment, then spoke again, "May I ask about your relationship with Prince Metternich..."

"My mother is the daughter of Prince Metternich, and my father is the Hungarian nobleman Count Morik Sandor!" Pauline von Metternich responded gracefully to Jerome Bonaparte.

"So, you are la petite - fille (granddaughter in French) of Prince Metternich," Jerome Bonaparte inquired about Pauline von Metternich.

"Soon, I will call him le beau-père (father-in-law in French)!" Pauline von Metternich responded to Jerome Bonaparte with a calm expression.

"Why?" Jerome Bonaparte instinctively asked.

He immediately realized that the question he had just asked was indeed quite foolish.

"Your Majesty, I am engaged to my uncle Richard von Metternich!" Pauline von Metternich immediately explained to Jerome Bonaparte: "We are expected to marry next year!"

This old man Metternich is truly absurd, what on earth is he thinking! Jerome Bonaparte silently mocked in his heart.

Though such close marriages among European nobility are not uncommon (Jerome Bonaparte himself married his cousin Augusta, as he could not find a royal family willing to accept him), direct and intergenerational cases like this are still relatively rare.

Most cases involve marriages between cousins.

"Then congratulations!" Jerome Bonaparte said hypocritically to Pauline von Metternich, "Richard is an excellent young man; you will surely lead a happy life with him!"

"Your Majesty, thank you for your blessings!" Pauline von Metternich replied with a smile to Jerome Bonaparte.

Subsequently, Pauline von Metternich gently bid farewell to Jerome Bonaparte.

"You shall stay here with Augusta! I need to leave for a while!" Jerome Bonaparte prevented Pauline von Metternich from leaving and instead searched along the edge of the dance floor for his target.

Jerome Bonaparte, wandering by the edge of the dance floor for a while, found Prince Metternich in a room next to the ballroom, where he was chatting leisurely on a sofa with old Marshal Radetzky.

Jerome Bonaparte walked slowly towards the direction where Metternich and Radetzky were, and as he got close, Marshal Radetzky noticed Jerome Bonaparte and called out to him: "Your Majesty!"

Seated with his back to Jerome Bonaparte on the sofa, Prince Metternich immediately turned his head towards Jerome Bonaparte upon hearing Radetzky’s call.

Marshal Radetzky and Prince Metternich quickly stood up to greet him as Jerome Bonaparte walked softly before them and smilingly asked Radetzky and Prince Metternich, "Count Radetzky, Prince Metternich, why didn’t you two join the dance floor!"

"Your Majesty, I am old now!" Marshal Radetzky replied to Jerome Bonaparte, "It’s hard to muster the energy to dance anymore!"

"I believe, Marshal, you are not old at all!" Jerome Bonaparte said with a smile to Radetzky.

"It’s impossible! Truly aged!" Marshal Radetzky’s experienced face revealed a sense of nostalgia, "I am already 89 years old, ready to heed the call from the Lord at any time!"

"Marshal, do not say that!" Jerome Bonaparte replied to Radetzky, "As I see it, you can live at least another 10 years!"

"10 years?" Radetzky shook his head with a bitter smile, "How many people in this world live to 99 years old? I am merely a flickering candle waiting for God’s call!

And having lived so long, I am already content!

Among those who experienced that era with me, there are now only a few left!"

"Marshal, regardless, you must maintain an optimistic mindset! Lombardy and Venice still need your governance!" Jerome Bonaparte encouraged Marshal Radetzky.

"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty!" Marshal Radetzky thanked Jerome Bonaparte and then continued to inquire: "There must be more than just this purpose for your visit, right!"

"Certainly not, actually I came for Prince Metternich!" Jerome Bonaparte turned his gaze towards Prince Metternich.

"You two chat!" Marshal Radetzky gestured invitingly and then prepared to head elsewhere.

"No need!" Jerome Bonaparte raised his hand to stop and then said to Metternich: "Prince Metternich, would you accompany me for a walk!"

"Of course, Your Majesty!" Prince Metternich nodded and replied to Jerome Bonaparte.

Jerome Bonaparte and Prince Metternich walked to the entrance of the ballroom, where Count Gneer, who was responsible for guarding the ballroom, looked at them with a puzzled expression, "Your Majesty Jerome, where are you all planning to go?"

"Sir, do we need to report to you wherever we go?" Jerome Bonaparte asked with a frown.

As one of the administrators of the Royal Palace, Count Gneer had no choice but to look to Prince Metternich for help with pleading eyes.

Prince Metternich, who lived in the Tuileries Palace, naturally understood the reason for Jerome Bonaparte’s displeasure; the rules of the Tuileries Palace were far fewer than those of the Hofburg Palace.

The entire management of the Tuileries Palace consisted of only Mokar and Vilnius, which is why Jerome Bonaparte, who could come and go freely in the Tuileries Palace, was averse to such matters.

"His Majesty said he wanted to go for a walk!" Prince Metternich quickly signaled to Count Gneer not to meddle.

The rigid Count Gneer still adhered to his doctrinal approach, responding to Prince Metternich, "Your Highness, where are you planning to go? I should send someone to protect you!"

"Mr. Metternich, have you prepared to imprison me already?" Jerome Bonaparte looked at Prince Metternich with displeasure.

Prince Metternich and Count Gneer were shocked when they heard Jerome Bonaparte’s words.

If allowed to develop, the relationship between the French Empire and the Austrian Empire might be ruined instantly.

"No! Your Majesty, I am not!" Count Gneer hastily explained.

"Then get out of my way!" Jerome Bonaparte said in a low voice to Count Gneer.

"Yes! Your Majesty!" Count Gneer had no choice but to clear a path.

Jerome Bonaparte and Prince Metternich were able to leave, but before they did, Jerome Bonaparte specifically threatened, "By the way, do not spread the news of our departure! Otherwise, you will bear the consequences yourself!"

"Yes! Your Majesty!" Count Gneer replied submissively to Jerome Bonaparte.

After Prince Metternich and Jerome Bonaparte had walked a considerable distance away from the Hofburg Palace, Prince Metternich inquired of Jerome Bonaparte, "Your Majesty, what did you want with me!"

"Actually, it’s nothing much!" Jerome Bonaparte said nonchalantly to Prince Metternich, "I heard that Empress Elizabeth at the Hofburg Palace does not seem to have a harmonious relationship with Empress Dowager Sophie!"

Upon hearing Jerome Bonaparte’s words, Prince Metternich suddenly felt as though he was about to encounter a significant issue.

Moreover, he couldn’t avoid it!

"Was it Her Majesty Empress Elizabeth who told you this, Your Majesty!" Prince Metternich asked Jerome Bonaparte.

"No matter who told me, you only need to answer yes or no!" Jerome Bonaparte asked Prince Metternich with a slightly stern tone.

"Yes!" Prince Metternich responded to Jerome Bonaparte, "There are indeed some conflicts between Empress Elizabeth and Empress Dowager Sophie!"

"Hmm!" Jerome Bonaparte nodded and continued, "Has Empress Elizabeth tried to seek your help?"

"Indeed!" Prince Metternich replied to Jerome Bonaparte, "Before Her Majesty the Empress gives birth to an heir, it’s difficult for me to assist her!"

"So, you endure watching an 18-year-old girl sink into gloom day by day in the Hofburg Palace without taking action!" Jerome Bonaparte questioned Prince Metternich.

"Your Majesty, this is the inborn responsibility of an empress!" Prince Metternich, who had seen waves and storms, no longer had empathy; he was like an unfeeling political machine, calculating gains and losses.

"Nonsense about responsibility!" Jerome Bonaparte couldn’t help but curse, "A bunch of self-proclaimed smart people created self-devised etiquettes, and then a large group of people, like fools, follow it as instructed!

What do you think they aim to achieve by doing this?"

Prince Metternich did not speak, knowing that anything he said now would not solve the problem.

Because standing in front of him was an emperor of the Bonaparte Clan, who decades ago attempted to persuade Emperor Napoleon (before the Battle of Leipzig) to give up things that did not belong to France (the Rhine Federation, the Kingdom of the Netherlands) by arguing for the maintenance of the Bonaparte Clan’s position in France.

However, he failed, and Emperor Napoleon scolded him and drove him away.

From that moment on, he realized that the Bonaparte Clan could not be persuaded by interests alone. Their impulsiveness would lead them to undertake actions despite any adverse consequences, even if those actions were not beneficial to them.

This is also the most terrifying aspect of Bonaparte.

"Your Majesty, what do you want me to do?"