Eagle’s Glory

With the restoration of the empire, the situation in Paris quickly stabilized. The previous hustle and bustle had become forgotten history, and people returned to their usual busy but stable life.

In this stable and even dull atmosphere, the remarriage of Prosecutor de Villefort became a big news among the upper class.

Before, seeing the Bourbon family in turmoil, the prestigious Prosecutor Villefort turned around and unknowingly switched to the Bonaparte family, and used his talents to assist His Majesty in launching political accusations against the Orleans family, and became This was the trigger for the Orleans family's final defeat in the struggle for power.

There is no doubt that in the eyes of the outside world, Villefort, who had been so favored by the Bourbon royal family, seemed a bit "ungrateful" for jumping ship so quickly. However, many people secretly admired Villefort for his seemingly iron face. He is ruthless, and actually has a bit of a keenness to adapt to the changing circumstances. He is worthy of being the son of the Marquis of Noirtier.

After the change of government, Prosecutor Villefort immediately spread the news of remarriage. He was not even willing to wait for Christmas and New Year. To outsiders, this seemed a bit impatient.

To be fair, Villefort's wife has been dead for several years. Even his former father-in-law and mother-in-law, the Marquis and Marquis of Saint-Meran, are not qualified to accuse him of remarriage, but acting so "cannot wait" is as if his previous affection was just a performance. , in fact, he was just afraid of his father-in-law and mother-in-law, which made the outside world even more privately despise him.

Only a limited number of people know that Villefort's change of family and his hasty remarriage were actually involuntary and forced choices. Although he was indeed a sanctimonious hypocrite, he would rather continue to act in order to Gaining respect and fear from the outside world, he didn't want his hard-working image to collapse like this.

Obviously he has always been proud of his wisdom and skills. Even the princes and dignitaries were in awe of him. However, now he is suppressed by His Majesty and his father and can only be the most submissive tool. How can this make him happy? ?

Moreover, Villefort was not satisfied with the marriage partner his father chose for him. He believed that with his power and social status, he could marry a well-known lady who had not left the court even if he remarried. However, his father only chose one for him. A wife of the former dynasty who unfortunately lost her husband.

Although theoretically speaking, she was a noble lady, worthy of the remarried prosecutor, but Villefort was naturally disappointed and felt extremely aggrieved.

This depressed mood also made him basically indifferent to the marriage, leaving everything to his father and the servants around him to arrange, and he only came forward when necessary.

The woman is different. She is actually very satisfied with the marriage. After all, as the wife of a well-known prosecutor and the daughter-in-law of the Marquis of Noirtier,

After getting married, she will also occupy a place in the new court in the future. In other words, her social status has not declined due to the revolution and the loss of her husband, but has actually improved - even if she can see that Villefort is a little unwilling. She doesn't want to, but since she can get such luck, what else can she find fault with?

Before they knew it, it was their wedding day.

On this day, the weather was not kind. It was snowing everywhere. The streets of Paris were covered with white snow, and the streets were covered with mud and water due to melting snow.

But for Villefort, this is actually a good weather - because in such weather, there will be very few people watching the excitement in the market and on the streets, which will not add to his depression and embarrassment at the moment.

Because both parties were remarried, in order to avoid embarrassment, Villefort did not make a big deal, but chose a small church to hold the wedding.

After receiving the priest's witness and blessing in the church, the "newlyweds" quickly returned home. There were not many guests attending the wedding. Except for relatives of both parties, only a few Villefort thought "valuable" "My friend accepted the invitation as a witness to his wedding.

The Marquis of Noirtier as his father, and the Count of Monte Cristo as the most important "ally" of the prosecutor are naturally included.

After the brief wedding, they took a carriage together from the church back to Villefort's home.

At this moment, Edmund's mood was extremely complicated.

Just now, he was sitting on a chair under the altar of the church and watched the whole process of this deserted wedding. As a person involved, he understood better than anyone else why this wedding happened in such a hurry.

All this is because the Marquis of Noirtier wants to let Villefort seize the time to continue the bloodline of his family before he takes revenge, so that the family name will not be cut off.

In the audience, he also witnessed the expression of the Marquis Noirtier at this moment - there was absolutely no joy or happiness on his face, only serious worry and unspeakable sorrow.

He would never sympathize with Villefort, a scumbag, but he was full of admiration for the Marquis of Noirtier, who was his comrade and predecessor. After all, his loyalty and courage were his role models.

His revenge will cause him to lose his only son. What is the difference between this and when he lost his father?

If Edmund had just been released from prison, full of resentment and anger, of course he would not sympathize with anyone, but now his is different. He already has everything that he could not imagine before, and more importantly, he also I have tasted enough "joy of revenge".

He even personally killed Fernand, his rival in love and the origin of all disputes and hatreds, and ruined his reputation and made him bear the responsibility of treason. He would not be able to recover even if he went to hell; and Tanglar was also bankrupted by him. , is still being held in an unknown place and suffering.

The bloodthirsty heart of revenge was watered with so much blood that it became somewhat numb.

Now, he finally has the time to sympathize with other people.

The Marquis's plea in front of him that day was still ringing in his mind. To be honest, he did feel a little sorry for the old man.

However, Edmund never wavered on the "quid pro quo" he proposed because it was so ridiculous.

Valentine is just a child, and he has always treated her as a child. How could he think of getting married? This is ridiculous.

However, if she really chooses revenge, then Valentine will inevitably become an orphan. Even if her grandfather takes care of her, God knows how long the Marquis of Noirtier can live? Therefore, at that time, I can secretly take care of her as she grows up, just like I took care of Fernan's son Albert.

Edmund's revenge is only aimed at his enemies. He doesn't want to bring disaster to the next generation, so he just wants to let the hatred be cleared up in his own generation.

After the wedding in the church, Prosecutor Villefort invited all the guests present to return to his home to celebrate the banquet. Because the hospitality was unbearable, Edmund also followed him. Before the sharp blade of revenge was stabbed out, he had to play the role of prosecutor. Officials play the role of ally and backer, so it is necessary to maintain a good relationship.

Soon, they returned to Villefort's mansion together.

Although it is snowing outside, it is very warm inside the mansion, and the servants have made careful preparations. They have decorated the living room with lights, hung a lot of festive brocades on the walls, and prepared a lot of snacks and drinks. For guests to enjoy.

The guests congratulated the two "newcomers" while chatting comfortably in twos and threes.

Naturally, Edmund was left alone.

This is not surprising. Although he has become the powerful "Count of Monte Cristo", Edmund essentially does not like social interaction, let alone making friends in the upper class; and others are also afraid of his cold appearance. He was even more afraid of offending his majesty's favorite minister, so he didn't dare to come over to chat with him without authorization, and would rather leave him alone.

Edmund had long been accustomed to this kind of "self-isolation" scene. He drank calmly with a glass of wine while thinking about the best time to say goodbye and go home.

Just as he was deep in thought, a short figure walked up to him.

Edmund looked up and found that it was Miss Valentine standing in front of him.

She naturally attended the wedding today, so she was wearing a white dress and a celebratory wreath on her head, but even so, she could not hide her childishness at this time.

Her hair was combed into small braids and coiled on her head. Her fair face was full of the elegance of someone who had read a lot of articles, and her deep brown pupils seemed to be able to drip water.

A very sweet boy indeed, thought Edmund.

At this time, he suddenly thought of the terrifying proposal of the Marquis of Noirtier.

So feeling guilty, he no longer dared to look directly into the young lady's eyes and actively avoided her eyes.

"Miss Valentine, what can I do for you?" he asked in a low voice.

"Hello, Count of Monte Cristo." Valentine said hello to Edmund in a clear voice, then bowed slightly and saluted him flawlessly, "I thank you for attending my father's wedding. , it’s an honor for our family.”

From her voice and movements, Edmund could easily tell that Valentine was indeed very well-bred.

He is a good boy who deserves a better fate.

However, Edmund soon noticed something strange.

It's too calm. This little girl shouldn't be so calm.

Logically speaking, a little girl cannot be happy about her father's remarriage, because it would mean that there would suddenly be an outsider in her family, but from Valentine's face, Edmund could not see anything. Nervous and disgusted, she accepted it all calmly.

Are you really so sensible? Or is there another reason? Edmund couldn't figure it out.

However, he didn't particularly like interfering in other people's family affairs, so he didn't think too much about it.

"Your father has provided me with a lot of help, so since he extended a warm invitation to me, of course I should come and congratulate him on his happy event."

Then he asked, "What do you want from me?"

"It's not that I have anything to do, sir..." Valentine shook her head slightly, "My grandpa asked me to come over and call you. He has something to tell you."

Do you want to continue begging me again? Edmund probably had some idea.

He wanted to refuse, but when he thought of the sad eyes of the Marquis, his heart softened.

That's all, just let this old man have a chance to vent, he sighed inwardly.

Besides, it is indeed not etiquette to refuse an invitation from the head of the family in someone else's home.

"Okay, please take me there." So he stood up calmly.

"Please come with me."

Valentine turned around and left, while Edmund walked slowly behind her. The two of them walked upstairs together. At this time, the noisy noise in the living room gradually became blurry. got up.

"Right here." After reaching the door of a room, Valentine stopped and opened the door. "Count, please come in."

Edmund strode in, only to find that there was no one inside - but this was normal. The Marquis of Noirtier might not be able to get away for the time being, so he didn't mind waiting for a while.

At that moment, however, Valentine herself came in, and she closed the door carefully.

"Miss Valentine..." Edmund felt something was wrong, so he immediately asked, "Where is your grandfather?"

Valentine did not answer immediately, but leaned against the door tightly, then raised her head and looked up at the man in front of her who was much taller than herself.

It's not that she has never met the Earl, but originally, in her eyes, the Earl was just a "majestic but kind uncle", and she didn't pay too much attention to him.

But now, all this is different, because she has gradually positioned her life goal as becoming the "Countess of Monte Cristo".

Of course - in fact, she didn't quite understand what "madam" meant and what she needed to do. She just ignorantly realized that this meant loving her husband and taking care of things at home for him. Of course she didn't know anything else, and naturally no one would teach her.

However, it is childishness that makes people lovable, because it is pure and has not been corroded by any social and romantic fields, nor is there any evil desire.

Seeing that Valentine still didn't say a word, Edmund became even more confused. Of course, he would not stay in the place of suspicion, but frowned slightly.

"Sorry, Miss Valentine, I seem to have something to do and have to go home. Can you please get out of my way?" His tone was a little impatient.

Valentine knew that this was a life-or-death moment—the moment that would determine her father's life or death, and the moment that would determine her own future.

When making this little plan, she originally thought that she would be very nervous, and might even be so scared that she would cry and be speechless. But at this moment, when she really faced this moment, she found that she Not that scared.

"Lord Earl...I'm sorry that I deceived you. My grandfather didn't call you. I called you here on my own initiative. But...please believe that I don't have any ill intentions. I just want to say something to you." It’s just words. If you don’t want to listen, you can always push me away and throw me to the ground, then open the door and leave. No one will stop you, and no one can stop you. But even so... I still plead Please, give me a little time, don’t treat me like an insignificant child, and let me have a good talk with you, okay? I’m begging you!”