I Am Louis XIV

Louis had imagined how he would say goodbye to Mary.

When he was assassinated in Dunkirk and was seriously injured and cursed, and he might not be able to survive even if he entered the other world, he imagined what would happen if he really couldn't escape the destined fate.

Of course, France would still have a king, and his brother Philip, the Duke of Anjou at that time, was also a smart and decisive child. With Louis' insistence, he did not become a deformed monster under the royal power as the Queen Mother and Bishop Mazarin hoped. As long as he was given time and opportunity, he could become a king like Louis or better. ——Louis will be secretly returned to Paris, like their father and grandfather, and buried in the Cathedral of Saint-Denis after a grand funeral.

Although he was a little regretful about this, it was not unacceptable.

Later, he got rid of the threat of death and curse and returned to his country and his world. He made France like a golden crown in the fire. After suffering cruel burning, it revealed its original glory. At the same time, he also imagined who should be at the helm of this huge ship if something unexpected happened to him - such worries gradually dissipated until the Duke of Orleans showed his military and political talents.

When the crown prince Louis becomes an adult, although he is not as good as his father and uncle, he is calm and confident enough. Perhaps after Louis XIV, a king as tolerant as him will be a good thing for France and even Europe as a whole. Now Louis and Queen Teresa has a second prince, the Duke of Orleans also has an heir, and there is no need to worry too much about the future of the kingdom - so Louis rarely thinks about the ending that everyone will face.

Very occasionally, the king would imagine that when he was lying in bed, with holy oil on his forehead, quietly waiting for the last moment in the prayers of the priests and family members, he would order Mary Mancini to be Released from the room in the Bastille, said goodbye to her, said sorry, and asked the Duke of Colonna to take her back to Naples - although she could not become the Queen Mother of France, she could become the King of the Kingdom of Naples (Italian Peninsula) Queen Mother, she may return to Gayola and spend the rest of her life peacefully surrounded by memories and children.

Louis never thought that Mary Mancini would die before him. The wizard's life span and youth are far longer than those of mortals. As for his punishment of Mary - even though Mary Mancini was a prisoner imprisoned by him in the Bastille, he did not isolate her from the outside world and allowed her to correspond with others and accept visits from others. Mary is not viewed harshly as a sinner—she was not guilty of anything—or rather, her sin was just an idea.

It's just that sometimes, a thought is already unforgivable.

But more, as Louis hoped, and as she hoped, she stayed quietly in the Bastille, still because there was enough love between them.

When Mary realizes that her love for Louis has turned into a threat to Louis, she will strangle it in its infancy. Even herself, she will never allow Louis to have such an enemy.

This can almost be said to be a tacit understanding between Louis and Mary, brewed from love, fermented by time and changing identities and responsibilities, similar to the weird and deep emotions between priests and sacrifices, Mary They are the devotees, and Louis is the recipient. They think they have seen what will happen in the next few decades - they are adjacent to each other, but they will never meet each other, and at the same time they will never meet each other, but they are attached to each other and miss each other. ...Perhaps just as Louis hoped, at the last moment they met, they would look at each other, laughing at each other's sudden old age, and then there would be eternal peace, one under six feet, the other under the sun and waves. between.

In the decades between the beginning and the end, she was in her room at the Bastille Castle. Even if he was in Versailles, he could feel the light she cast from the distant tower every day at dawn or dusk. sight. Whenever a dove or a raven flew over the king's hair, he would think that it was a messenger from Mary.

Like all vulgar mortals, Louis XIV also believed that everything would never change, never change, at least not so quickly or suddenly.

——She was supposed to live a long life.

When Louis woke up, he still felt the hot blood splashing on his cheek - it was like molten lead poured on his face, and the sharp pain almost made him Yelling, if it weren't for the glimmer of hope he still had... he would have cried - he was wrapped in a blanket and insisted on not leaving the chair, otherwise he would have passed out immediately (although Mary finally came to her senses and would Louis threw out the dream, but the dream did cause some harm to the king), he kept shaking, his lips were black, and his skin had no color at all, but he could not hear the news that Mary was safe...at least she was alive. He will never relax even for a moment.

——She will save the day.

After the popularization of "wizards", the speed of information circulation is indeed much faster than before, but no matter how fast, the wizards still rely on ravens and doves. Even if they use crystal balls and their eyes, the fastest ravens It still takes three hours to fly back to Paris - the letter brought by Barras's pigeon said that Mary Mancini suddenly fell into a coma four hours ago.

From the crystal ball, Vesalius could see the waves rushing by beneath the raven. Then came the sand, treetops and fields.

He glanced at the king with a heavy heart.

Louis no longer had the energy to observe the eyes of the royal doctor or others. He leaned against the Duke of Orleans, and the prince held his hand tightly, as if to give him courage.

- She'll suffer some, but she'll be fine.

"We're almost there." Vesalius said. He saw that the scenery in the crystal ball first became clear-cut, and then became colorful. Only then did he realize that day had fallen. Most birds could not see clearly at night. The wizard's The raven has been fed special nutrients and trained, but it still doesn't fly very fast at night. Now that the sky is bright, the raven's speed has obviously increased... They can already see the reflection of the golden pavilion of Versailles in the distance. The brilliant glow comes out.

——Everything will pass, and in a few decades, this night will be just a nightmare.

The raven was landing, and a hand stretched out reluctantly. The melancholy face of Barras was revealed in the crystal ball. The king's heart and body sank suddenly. The Duke of Orleans and the crown prince Louis were tightly together. Hugging him passionately, Louis' eyes stared at the scene from the raven for a moment - Barras's expression seemed to be able to give the ending, but people are always like this, with ridiculous delusions - Barras walked towards He reached the closed door, pushed it open, walked around the table, lifted the curtains, and stopped in front of the four-poster bed with hanging curtains. A maid pretending to be a servant sobbed and slowly opened the door. Thick bed curtains.

This bed curtain is still new, sapphire blue, with the golden Sun King emblem embroidered by Mary herself. I don’t know if it’s intentional or not. Every face embedded in the sun garland has a silly smile. Louis has seen it. , although he had never passed by the Place de la Bastille as Mary expected, he did see it - those smiling faces that could even be said to be silly made him feel familiar, especially when facing the mirror - and then We will forget today, he thought, like everyone who recovers from misfortune.

Then he saw Mary's face.

——She deserves happiness.

Mary was lying there on her back, with her hands folded on her chest. Some might say she didn't look dead, but asleep - but Louis had seen so many dead people that he knew at a glance that they were lying there. What was there was just a hollow body. It was an object rather than a person. It had a frozen smile on its face and its skin was like inferior white wax.

A wide ribbon was wrapped around its neck. Mary would never use a ribbon like this.

"Pull that ribbon apart." A hoarse voice said. Varo Vesalius had to think for a moment before he understood that it was the king who was speaking. It was not easy to control the raven from such a distance, so he let the raven fall. On Mary, he swept the ribbon with his wings. Barras understood its meaning miraculously. He hesitated for a while before asking the maid to take off the ribbon. The maid sighed deeply and untied the ribbon.

Under the ribbon was a gaping hole. The blood had been washed away, and blood vessels and bones could be clearly seen from the hole.

——She used so much strength.

The king stared at the gap, motionless. In that scene, even the most hard-hearted and indifferent person could not help but have sore eyes and chills - the Duke of Orleans could even feel his brother paralyzing in his arms. , a person like him who knows the inside story well and doesn't understand the king would definitely wonder how Louis could be so rude and painful to a royal lady who has obviously lost his favor.

But in this world, Philippe wants to say that no one can understand Louis, his king and brother better than him. For many people, the Sun King is a perfect man, but as Louis XIV privately admitted, he There is a huge emotional flaw.

He has only great love.

To be more precise, his personal emotions cannot transcend his responsibilities and authority as a king... He loves Mary, but he feels more guilty because his love with Mary is not equal at all.

But God, the Duke of Orleans cried in his heart, if you don't want him to be Louis Dieudonné Bourbon, then go on, don't let him suddenly become a mortal, don't let the distress and pain of mortals torment him. he! But as if things were counterproductive, the king suddenly straightened his body, "Get ready!" He shouted: "We..."

Everyone in the cabin stared at him. They could almost predict the king's next words. He would order the fleet to return to Dunkirk, or Calais, or directly dock and land at a nearby port, and then return quickly. Paris? It is understandable to say that in this assassination, although the king survived by chance, he was indeed injured and needed more careful inspection, tighter defense, and more adequate rest - as well as the need for Mary Manche Ni, the king's first love, whom everyone knows and everyone knows, is more sincere and deeply mourned...

But suddenly the man being watched stopped, and his eyes filled with tears.

Louis looked over one by one and saw that the people who could accompany him in this grand parade were all important ministers and nobles. Prince Conti, Count Henry (King Ludwig I of Poland, son of the Grand Condé), Marquis of Lovas, Duke of Luxembourg, Colbert, Duke of Vendome... People who can enter the room at this critical moment are even more important. Most importantly, they cast concerned and searching eyes. There is no doubt that as long as it is the decree issued by the Sun King Louis XIV, they will follow it.

Louis closed his eyes. When these blue eyes returned to people's field of vision, Louis Dieudonné Bourbon left, and the Sun King Louis XIV returned.

His grand tour has just begun. Loyal people or unscrupulous people in Brittany, Provence, Lorraine, Alsace, even Flanders, and many more places are still waiting, watching, and guessing. ...No matter what the reason is, since he is still alive, able to stand, and able to speak - the parade must continue! Before the inevitable war begins, this grand parade may even lay the foundation for victory or defeat... As a king, Louis XIV should have been prepared, and he had to offer sacrifices.

——She is dead.

"The original plan remains unchanged," the king said. He pushed the Duke of Orleans, who did not retreat at all, stubbornly rejecting the king's suggestion for the first time - Louis probably didn't know that his tears had crossed his cheeks and fell on the Duke's hands.

"Let the Duke of Colonna return to Paris immediately," the king continued: "Finish...the next things." Everyone obeyed in silence, and then they watched the Duke of Orleans send the king back to his bedroom.

"Did I see it wrong..." After everyone else left, the Duke of Orleans and Bontang exited the room together. The Duke looked at Bontang and said, "Brother's sideburns..."

"It's white," Bontang said, "I'll dye it for him early tomorrow morning."

"I'll deal with those Bretons." The Duke of Orleans said, enduring anger and sadness. He pressed his chest and walked out, leaving Bontang behind. Bontang knew he should go to rest, but his turbulent emotions destined him to be unable to do so. He stared at the dancing candlelight - although Louis had said long ago that he was the first person to make a deal with the devil, and he was affected by it. Backlash is a matter of course, but it is absolutely impossible for Bangtang to accept it calmly!

Louis and Marie, this ill-fated little couple, can be said to have grown up under Bontang's watchful eye. To put it bluntly, they are Bontang's dearest people. The previous antagonism and alienation between the two had made Bontang feel extremely sad. Now she is dead, and Louis almost died. The most vicious thing is that this curse actually took advantage of Mary's love for Louis and Louis' love for Mary. Apart from Louis and the Duke of Orleans, the most angry person present was Bontang. .

"Just wait," he said, and put out the candle.