Eagle’s Glory

Chapter 744 39, Appearing

"Fernand, how did you climb out of the rotten fishing village in Marseille? Where did you get the money to move? What did you do back then... and who are you?"

Aiglon's sudden question was like a thunder, frightening Fernan who was already in shock even more.

Because these questions directly touched his soul, the things he had spent half his life trying to cover up were revealed again.

How did I climb out of a rotten fishing village? Where does my money come from?

No one in the world knows the answer to the question better than Fernand himself - a love rival, a tragic victim, gave him the first chance to change his life.

But this was a secret he could never tell.

On the one hand, he didn't want people to know that he took the anonymous letter written by Tanglar and went to the prosecutor's office in Marseille to falsely accuse a young man in exchange for a reward; on the other hand, more importantly, that damn guy He was the first love and fiancé of his wife, Mercedes. Even today, the lady still misses that person.

If the wife knew that it was he who personally caused her fiancé to be imprisoned, there is no doubt that their marriage would immediately break down.

Fernand couldn't bear such a result. Although he was obsessed with fame and wealth, he also loved his wife deeply. He loved her so much that even though he knew that Mercedes still missed her old lover in her heart, he still chose to tolerate it; In the romantic and dissolute Paris social world, he did not have any scandals or affairs. Although he was outstanding, he still kept his body and mind at home.

Therefore, he must not let Mercedes know all this.

Wanting to preserve both wealth and family, Fernand found himself suddenly on the edge of a cliff, and he might fall to pieces if he wasn't careful.

The scariest thing was that he didn't know what was waiting for him next.

Aigron was so kind to him before, which numbed his nerves and made him think that he had won His Majesty's trust and importance through his performance; however, the cold reality told him that he was far from allowing His Majesty to accept him as a confidant. ——Otherwise, His Majesty would not have secretly sent people to investigate him after hearing the reports from those despicable people.

Now that His Majesty is having a showdown with himself, how should he respond?

Completely denying his past and insisting that he is Count Morcerf,

Absolutely stupid move.

It is true that Fernand put in a lot of effort when forging his own genealogy. Not only did he find various relevant certificates, but he also bribed witnesses, but a famous family is a famous family after all, and even members of the collateral line are not known locally. He will be an unknown person, but as long as he investigates carefully, he can always find flaws.

If His Majesty finds out that he is still quibbling and lying, his credibility will be reduced to zero, and his future will naturally be wiped out - so this path is absolutely not an option.

The only choice is to be honest with His Majesty in the most sincere manner, ask for his forgiveness, and then continue to use your performance to please him.

Of course, the so-called "candor" cannot be unlimited, and the most heaviest incident in his dark history must not be exposed.

Fernand thought to himself that it was already fifteen years ago that he framed that poor guy. Few of the people handling the case had ever met Fernand, and they were all busy with their affairs, so it was unlikely that they would still remember him. The face and name of the young man who reported him five years ago.

The main promoter of the case, Prosecutor Villefort, is now a prosecutor at the Paris Supreme Court.

Although the two people basically had no contact after that incident, Fernand had already seen through Prosecutor Villefort. This person is sanctimonious and has always created a persona of enforcing the law impartially, but in fact he is also a selfish and shameless person. For the sake of his own political future, he has secretly handled countless unjust cases - so How could he reveal to others that he had imprisoned an innocent young man in prison?

What's more, now that the Bonaparte family is about to regain power, he has even less motivation to reveal that he imprisoned a major criminal on the charge of being a "Bonapartist".

Therefore, Fernan believed that even if Aiglon sent someone to investigate him, the secret could still be kept.

After experiencing the panic and fear just now, he has gradually regained his senses and can begin to find a way to break the situation for himself.

Without much hesitation, he bent his already trembling knees and knelt directly in front of Aiglon.

"Your Majesty, I'm sorry! Let me tell you the truth. I am indeed not from a noble family. My real name is Fernand Mondego. I am indeed from a Catalan suburb of Marseille as you said. In a small fishing village of immigrants.

More than ten years ago, I was so obsessed that I forged a noble pedigree and bought myself the title of earl in order to be fashionable..." Fernand said, trembling and choking, "All of this is caused by vanity. In order not to lose face among my colleagues, I did this stupid thing. I know it makes me look ridiculous, but I still can't resist the temptation of the title... Your Majesty, please forgive me for my crime! "

After finishing speaking, he continued to kneel, raised his head, and looked at Aiglon pleadingly.

At this time, he no longer had any of the airy aristocratic demeanor he had learned in the Paris social scene, and was left with the desolation of a bereaved dog.

After the outer skin called "Fernand de Morcerf" was peeled off, he finally revealed the true self hidden deep inside - the poor, humble and confused fisherman Fernand- Mondego.

However, for Aegron, this was not enough.

"Fernand, I'm very happy that you didn't waste everyone's time with quibbles, but were willing to tell me the truth frankly. Regarding this, I have just said that heroes do not ask where they come from, and I don't care where you were born. Family and class, this is just a matter of luck. People should not be despised just because of bad luck." Aigron shook his head, then looked down at Fernan who was kneeling in front of him, "I am still concerned about the problem just now. ...Fernand, how on earth did you crawl out of that shabby fishing village?"

"...In 1815, when the emperor was restored, I was conscripted and joined the army." Cold sweat appeared on Fernand's forehead, but he could only bite the bullet and continue, "Unfortunately, due to General Bourmont With his order, I was forced to follow him and leave our camp. Then I got a promotion and a bounty. I relied on that bounty and other additional income to get the capital to move and start a family. .”

At this moment, Fernando was in an extremely embarrassed mood. Although everyone knew about his deeds of surrendering to the enemy before the Battle of Waterloo, saying this in front of the emperor's heir still made him feel as embarrassed as being publicly executed.

"Hmph." Aigron snorted coldly to express his displeasure, but he did not intend to dwell on this past incident. "The descendants of Catalan immigrants have never received favors from the empire. They were only temporarily conscripted into the army in 1815, so the war is imminent. It is understandable that you want to protect yourself wisely. There were many deserters at that time. , you are not the only one...so now that I have accepted you, it means that I will not be entangled in this matter anymore, please don't worry about this."

Just as Fernan had eased some of his embarrassment, Aigron suddenly changed the subject, "But since I forgave you for running away, you should also be honest with me - Fernan Nan, are you really just relying on these to get the chance to change your life?"

"Yes, Your Majesty." Although Fernand was very nervous, he still answered in a very determined tone, "My life is very simple. I became a fisherman first and then a soldier. I will not do anything else. "

"Then you are so humble. I think besides these two things, you are at least a master of love..." Aigron said coldly.

Fernand was stunned.

For a moment, his whole body stiffened, and cold sweat suddenly broke out on his back. "You...what do you mean?"

"Isn't my point very straightforward? Fernand, your wife, Countess Mercedes de Morcerf, used to be a fishing village girl like you, and she was an orphan. This The poor woman found a fiancé for herself when she was about to come of age; however, it was not that fiancé who finally married her, but you, Fernand... Doesn't this prove that you are indeed a master of love? ?"

Fernan only felt his heartbeat suddenly speeding up. He could almost hear the "bang bang" sound, like a wrathful hammer from heaven, which accelerated his blood flow, caused pain all over his body, and left him speechless.

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty..." His lips kept trembling, but he couldn't utter complete words. He just looked at Aigron with a pleading look on his face.

The dirtiest and most concealed secret in his heart is being slowly touched. He doesn't know how deep a sharp sword can penetrate, but even if it is only as small as now, it already makes him feel like What a disaster.

"I have nothing to say about your victory in love. We are all French. Being able to hug a beautiful woman is your ability. Let alone a fiancé, what if you have a husband? Everyone will only praise you for your ability. ——" As Aiglon said, he gave Fernan a thumbs up in a bad way, as if he was really praising him, "But Fernan, I do want to know a question... what happened to that poor guy? What's your name and where are you now?"

After finishing speaking, Aigron looked at Fernan who was still kneeling on the ground with interest, waiting for his answer.

Under his gaze, Fernan was breathing heavily, his face was as pale as a death, and his whole body was almost soaked in cold sweat.

He didn't understand what kind of powerful person Your Majesty sent to Marseille to investigate him, and he was able to dig up so much information so quickly. He also didn't understand why Your Majesty had the leisure to investigate himself in such detail.

I am just a brigade commander and a count. Is it worth doing this for you? He cursed in his heart, but did not dare to complain.

"His name...his name..." Fernan's lips twitched, but he couldn't say the man's name.

Not only was he speechless because of nervousness, but also because he had really forgotten that guy's name now - since he came ashore with a clear conscience, got promoted and got rich, and married the lover of his dreams, Fernand used the name Morse He wanted to repaint himself in the name of Earl Husband, desperately trying to forget his poor and despicable black history, and he was not willing to touch the whistleblower case, so he deliberately forgot everything related to it, so in this tense and uneasy life When he reached the extreme point, he couldn't even remember that person's name.

Aigron waited for more than ten seconds, and after confirming that the other party really couldn't pronounce the other party's name, he sneered slightly again.

"Oh, that young man is such a pitiful man. His fiancée was robbed, and no one else can even remember his name... But it's understandable. Who would care about the name of a loser? You are so proud of your love life and your rise to success. , there is no need to remember his name, right?"

Fernan didn't know whether to say the right thing or not, so he could only cover his chest and force out a sneer that was even uglier than crying.

There was no doubt that he had ruined the life of a young man with a promising future, but he never felt guilty for a second. For him, it is natural to destroy all the stumbling blocks in front of him, so what is there to regret?

That was the case with that poor fellow, as was the case with Ali Pasha, and with Marshal Marmont. No matter how they treat you, if they harm you, you should kick them away without mercy. As for whether the stone is alive or dead after being kicked away, what does that have to do with you?

"Your Majesty... since I left my hometown, my career has taken up most of my energy. I really... really have no interest in disturbing my mood by being jealous of the past. For me, after my wife and I get married, At that moment, it was all...over." He used his last remaining calm to defend Aigron.

Just like a drowning man desperately trying to grab any straw, at this moment he was praying crazily in his heart that Aigron's investigation would end here. If he digs even one more layer, the reality he is least willing to face may be It's going to happen.

As if hearing his prayer, Aiglon finally seemed to be planning to stop.

"Fernand, I'm sorry to use these irrelevant old memories to make you endure new torture." The young man's tone was as gentle as ever, "I'm just asking you again, you really don't remember. Don’t you remember his name and whereabouts?”

Fernand tried his best to shake his head.

"Okay, I accept your explanation." Aigron nodded, "Then, let me tell you one last thing. The person who went to Marseille to investigate your past is..."

Aegron clapped.

The door reopened, and a tall figure appeared at the door, blocking the light.

Fernan subconsciously looked at the door. He didn't want others to see him in such a mess, but unfortunately he couldn't change anything.

Standing at the door was someone he knew—the Count of Monte Cristo.

"Edmond Dantès." The count stared at Fernand, who was kneeling on the ground, and slowly walked up to him, "Mr. Count Morcerf, that poor guy, Just call it this name, this time... I don’t think you will forget it again.”