Eagle’s Glory

Amidst the laughter and laughter, young Amberdine and William were accepted as members of the new court. Although their identities were a bit embarrassing to look into, they still received sufficient courtesy as people deliberately turned a blind eye.

For the two children, they were overjoyed that their new life could start so smoothly, and most of their original uneasiness dissipated. Just as their mother had warned, they must treat this place as their own home from now on. , treating their brother and sister-in-law as their protectors, they are already learning how to adapt to this life.

For them, this is a major turning point in their lives, but for Aigron, all this is just an innocuous trivial matter. From a high point of view, it is just adding two more people to eat under his command. He does not even need to go Think about how to take care of these two children. Anyway, as long as he expresses his acceptance of them, others will take care of everything for him.

It is conceivable that Queen Louisa, who is thousands of miles away, will often write letters to contact these two children in the future, but that has nothing to do with him. He only needs to fulfill his promise to take care of them, and other things It was beyond the scope of his "obligations".

After receiving the two children from afar, Aigron returned to his residence, then transformed, took off his luxurious robes, put on a set of simple clothes, and dressed himself up in the mirror as a A fashionable young man wearing a top hat and tie.

Then, he called his captain of the guard, Andre Davout.

Andre had already made preparations. Under his arrangement, the two people passed through and quietly slipped out of the Tuileries, then followed the route he took last time out of the palace, towards Augusta. Walked past the mansion where the princess was temporarily staying.

However, this time he did not plan to visit his sister-in-law's family, but stayed quietly outside the mansion and waited.

Sure enough, when the appointed moment arrived, a young woman also sneaked out from the back door of the mansion.

She wore a silk dress with stripes and puffy sleeves, a high belt, and a silk hat with lace on her head. Although it was indeed quite fashionable, it was all trendy and cheap. Look. She doesn't show much nobility, but more like a bourgeois woman who chases fashion and doesn't have much money.

Because this was a luxury area, there were not many pedestrians passing by, so she quickly noticed the two men waiting here, so she

In this way, under the shade of the trees, Aiglon and Maria met as planned.

"Your Highness Maria, I'm here as promised." Aigron took off his hat and saluted Maria.

"I have already said,

There is no royal highness or majesty here - just two ordinary tourists. Maria shook her head slightly, and then asked him teasingly. "Do you understand, Franz?" "

Aigron was stunned for a moment because no one had called him that for a long, long time.

Only then did he realize that this was the pseudonym he and Sophie had used when they hung out in private—at that time, they were walking around Vienna like siblings, just like they are now.

Memories came to his mind again like a tide. This person whose voice and appearance were almost exactly the same as Sophie called him by the name Sophie had called him. At this moment, he almost couldn't distinguish reality again.

After a while, he woke up from his daze.

"If you say so, then of course I will accompany you, Miss Maria." He replied softly.

Obviously, Sophie shared the past events between the two of them with her twin sister, so Maria knew it so well - then, the question is, what else did Sophie not tell her?

He was suddenly curious.

No matter what, they wouldn't share everything they did during the carnival... maybe?

"What are you doing standing around?" At this time, Maria saw his eyes flickering and asked with some displeasure.

"It's nothing... I just remembered some things from the past." Aigron quickly interrupted his thoughts, and then replied with a smile, "I beg you to forgive me. When I see you calling me by this name, I can't help but feel sad." Thinking of her..."

"Hasn't anyone told you that this is rude?" Maria narrowed her eyes and looked a little unhappy, "I am Maria, and there is only me here, not the shadow of another person!"

Although she and Sophie did have a "deep sisterly love", everyone would be taboo about being treated as someone else, so Aigron understood her feelings.

"I'm sorry, I just fell into a trance. You must be able to forgive me. After all, you must have been mistaken for her many times when you were a child, right? How could I not think of her at all when I saw you? ?" He defended himself.

After hearing his excuse, Maria knew that it was the truth, so she couldn't help but sigh again. In the end, she could only sigh.

"If you are so obsessed with it, why did you run away in the first place? You have added so much trouble to everyone."

These are two different things.

"Never forget" is a regret that only the winner is qualified to taste. The most important thing is victory, and everything else is insignificant compared to it.

Aigron knew in his heart that if he gave himself a hundred times a thousand times, he would still run away, but he just didn't want to spoil the scenery by saying it.

So he changed the subject, "I'm at your disposal today. I wonder where you want to go?"

In order to win over Maria and ask her to help him realize his plan to "rescue Sophie", Aigron had to put on a flattering attitude towards her. Since she wanted to have an "immersive experience" with Jian Cong, he had no choice but to accompany her. .

Maria didn’t dwell too much on what happened before. She quickly cheered up again, “There are many places I want to go, so you have your hands full... But first, let’s check out today’s fortune! "

"Looking at fortune?" Aigron was a little confused, "Do you want to find a fortune teller?"

In this age when mankind has just emerged from ignorance, feudal superstition is still very popular. There are many people pretending to be masters to make a living in astrology or card divination, and Paris is naturally not exempt from this practice.

"A fortune teller? You don't need that kind of thing -" Maria smiled mockingly, then raised her head proudly, "I have a more reliable method of divination..."

Soon after, the two people (and Andre and others who followed them quietly) arrived at the entrance of Frascadi Casino on Richelieu Street.

This casino is the most outstanding and luxurious casino in Paris and even in Europe. Big gamblers from all over Europe once flocked here, and there was a scene of spending money everywhere. I don’t know how many people have lost everything in it.

Even in the glitz and luxury of Paris, Casino Frascadi is one of the most exciting and frightening places, where modern poetry that makes people's blood boil is performed every day.

Historically, the French government has had a very conflicted attitude towards casinos. On the one hand, it is indeed a huge source of profit. As long as the government allows casinos to operate, it can enjoy a large amount of tax revenue. The French people who like to have fun do not I don’t exclude going to the casino to fight against fate; but on the other hand, after all, France is also a traditional Catholic country, and there are many people who pay attention to "morality". They hate casinos and believe that they will corrupt the social atmosphere and make people lose their temper. Gamblers become destitute and fall into depravity and crime.

Precisely because these two views are very reasonable, both the private sector and the government have been arguing about this for many years.

During the old dynasty, the government allowed casinos to operate several times and banned them several times, with a wavering attitude.

Finally, after the Bourbon dynasty came to an end, the financial pressure faced by the government finally overwhelmed its "moral pursuit". In 1786, it finally issued a number of legal casino operating licenses in Paris, Frascadi Casinos also came into being.

After their birth, money also flowed crazily amidst the shouts of gamblers. Even during the period of the Great Revolution, when heads fell one after another, Parisians could not stop the rising enthusiasm for gambling, the pursuit of money, the persistence of victory, and the pursuit of victory. The desire to change your life, or even just to enjoy the adrenaline rush... these are the reasons why people flock to casinos.

Of course, that’s not the whole story of the casino.

In the next one or two hundred years, the royal flag changed on the city walls of France, and the political system changed several times. After the birth of each new government, it would swing back and forth between the pendulum of "interests" and "morals" to make its own choices. , and the casinos in Paris are the embodiment of this choice.

In the original historical line, at the end of 1837, according to the order of the July Monarchy government, all casino licenses in Paris were invalidated, which meant that the government no longer allowed casinos to operate openly.

However, like all other idealistic laws, this law was completely ineffective. It only spawned underground casinos all over Paris. Most of these casinos did not have good facilities and were prone to fires, thefts, murders and other evils. Cases involving surnames occur frequently.

So during the Second Empire of Napoleon III, the government allowed open casinos again. These casinos and those luxurious and glitzy nightclubs together created the impression of the entire Second Empire period.

Some time later, in 1920, the French government once again swung the pendulum and issued a decree announcing that casinos would not be allowed to be opened in Paris. At this time, France's rich men who wanted to spend money had a new place to go - Monaco. This small principality relied on legal casinos to accumulate its first pot of gold, and made the Grand Duke's family the richest man in Europe.

The history surrounding casinos may itself be an integral part of the national culture.

However, for Aigron at this time, these things are temporarily irrelevant. He just doesn't understand Maria's thoughts.

"Why are you here? If you are short of money, I can give you some directly."

"Money...? Of course I'm not here for this." Maria smiled and shook her head, "But don't you find it interesting? We usually see only catering smiling faces or stiff faces around us, but only Here, we can see people at their most excited, depressed, expectant and painful, and there are so many living people here... I just want to see this."

When Maria said this, Aigron finally understood.

She is a little tired of the palace life, and there is nothing that she needs to do, so she wants to be excited - even this is somewhat similar to the original Sophie, she is really worthy of the twin sisters.

She wanted to see gamblers more than she wanted to gamble.

However, even after understanding all this, Aigron still disagrees with this kind of bad taste.

"There is nothing good about gamblers. As far as I know, once you fall into the quagmire of gambling, you will become the prey of the banker. No matter how rich you are, you will lose everything. Even if you win money in the middle, it is just hypocrisy. It's just an illusion... There are many things in the world that are more interesting than this group of desperate lambs waiting to be slaughtered."

"Look at what you said, aren't you a gambler yourself?" Maria asked with a smile, "How many times have you taken risks and gambled so far, and have you almost died in front of me? Don't you feel that now Besides, isn’t this a bit ridiculous?”

"Their bets and my bets are not the same thing." Aigron's expression was both serious and a little proud. "They place their hopes on illusory probabilities, or even worse, on the mercy of the dealer. In terms of mercy, they actually allow others to decide their own victory or defeat... So they are nominally fighting fate, but they are just turning themselves into slaves of fate!

But I am different. I want to be a banker. I only abide by the rules that are beneficial to me. I have the courage and ability to overturn the gambling table, so I will always win. "

Aiglon's words were obviously a bit arrogant and boastful, but his arrogant attitude at the moment and the aura exuding from him suddenly seemed charming.

Faced with this aggressive momentum, Maria, who was originally sarcastic, did not refute or ridicule him, but just looked at him with expectant eyes.

"So, Mr. Winner, can you please be patient for me, put aside your prejudice against gamblers, treat yourself as a guest experiencing novel experiences, and try to blend in and have some fun? I believe that even you are looking for some excitement. time?"

Now that Maria has said so, of course Aigron will not question anything anymore.

Anyway, to him, winning or losing really doesn't matter at all, he just wants to have some fun.

Taking a princess of a country to visit a casino privately would definitely arouse criticism, but because of this, it seemed to be very interesting.

So, why not do it?

"Of course, I am happy to fulfill your wish..." Aigron bowed slightly, then he reached out and took Maria's hand, and the two of them entered this luxurious sales vault together.