As the dawn light slowly emerged from the dark sky, the day gradually broke, and the earth was still hazy, like a light veil of silver-gray shrouded. In the midst of the silence, a fish's belly white floated in the eastern sky, and the earth gradually brightened.

As the sun rises into the sky little by little, the boundaries between heaven and earth become clear in the chaos, and the vast fields and magnificent palaces also return to the world in the void.

Just as the morning fell, Charles and Charlotte, led by their attendants, came to the drawing room and had breakfast with His Majesty Franz Joseph.

It was the last time they would see the young emperor, and when breakfast was over, they would leave the palace and set out on their journey home. However, instead of returning home by the same route he had come to Austria, he would return home via Germany, or even via Frankfurt.

Although the Charles' performance was not highly evaluated, His Majesty Emperor Franz-Joseph had always done his best to be landlords, and treated them with no disgrace in courtesy, and on the morning of their departure, he personally accompanied the couple to breakfast.

Because she was so courteous to the emperor, and she thought that she would be able to return to China in the near future, Charlotte was in a good mood, and she kept chatting with His Majesty the Emperor, laughing from time to time, while Charles seemed to be a little out of spirits, sitting next to the two of them depressedly, not talking much, only occasionally helping Charlotte without a match.

Both of them noticed Charles' strange behavior, so they didn't go out of their way to talk to Charles. It saved him a lot of energy.

Charles sat in his seat and pondered, as if he were waiting for something.

When the day finally came for him to leave, he suddenly found himself a little reluctant to leave Schönbrunn Palace. It's for another reason.

He occasionally interjected, but his gaze kept wandering, and he often secretly looked at his pocket watch to confirm the time.

As time passed as the two men talked, the sun followed its trajectory in the sky, and Charles's heart slowly calmed.

"Charlotte, talk to Your Majesty again. I'll go back and pack up my papers. ”

Charlotte was slightly puzzled, for their salute had already been packed up the previous night, but she didn't doubt it. Charles left the room.

As Charles exited the door, he made his way through the hallway he was already slowly and somewhat familiar with, and made his way to his room. However, there was one thing he cheated on his wife. Because he didn't plan to go back directly.

When he came around a corner. From the stairs next to him, Gu Ying saw two figures.

Charles's brow suddenly widened, and a smile spread across his face.

Angela von Trym put her finger to her lips and made a gesture that silenced him for a moment. "Listen to me, sir, Your Highness has only had a few minutes, so I ask you to be however enthusiastic. It's also a good idea to finish what you want to say quickly so that you don't have any regrets for yourself. ”

She said these words at breakneck speed. Then he sneered slightly mockingly, then turned away.

Next to her, there stood a girl much shorter than her, who was standing there expectantly, looking like she wanted to follow Angela.

Of course, Charles would not let this happen, he strode forward, and then hung down in an exaggerated form of almost ninety degrees, "Your Highness, I hope you will forgive me for being rude!" ”

Then he looked up at the princess, and his eyes were full of longing, as if he were about to burst into tears.

Charles's earnest appearance made the princess a little frightened, and she looked more and more shaken.

"First...... Sir, I'm really not mad at you, you don't have to apologize to me all the time! ”

That's right, Charles came out to apologize to her.

Perhaps because of his disgust at his previous faux pas, Her Royal Highness has been avoiding him all this time, and Charles has tried to find a chance to meet her several times without success, and when he is desperate, he suddenly finds that he has an extra helper.

On the condition that he help her collect a large collection of writers after returning home, he obtained the man's cooperation, and then, he wrote a letter apologizing to the princess.

He wrote the letter in a very pompous manner, beginning with the words, "My dear princess, you now hold the life of a young man in your hands, and he begs for your forgiveness, but he does not know how to tell you, so that he is in shape"—a kind of rhetoric that is too much for a fourteen-year-old girl to resist, very fierce and moving, and in many places he deliberately writes crookedly, as if his hands were trembling because he was so excited when he was writing the letter.

To add to the effect, he also used the trick of his good friend Albert de Foa Gray to deliberately sprinkle a few drops of water on the letter paper to pretend to be tears.

Angela, the servant of Her Majesty the Queen Mother, did not break her promise, and brought the warm letter he had written to the princess, and the effect was as Charles had hoped, which dispelled anger at him in the princess's heart, and aroused a sense of guilt.

At her current age, she has always been cared for by her family, where has she learned the knowledge of the Parisian social scene, and where can she imagine the sinister hearts of people in this world!

"I am touched by your kindness, but my conscience is troubling to me, and I must be forgiven by you." Charles still looked at each other excitedly, "I can't leave with regrets, or I'll go crazy!" ”

"Okay, I forgive you, please don't do this, don't ...... like this" Because she was afraid that someone would see her, Her Royal Highness the princess had been very panicked, and as soon as Charles urged her like this, she became even more flustered, and even spoke to Charles, but she didn't know what she was talking about.

"I couldn't even imagine the madness of that day, because you were so beautiful and so kind-hearted. It almost made me lose myself. Charles said, leaning closer to her slightly, "Do you really forgive me for my mistakes that day?" ”

Because Her Royal Highness the princess is on several steps. So she was now taller than Charles, and when she leaned over to look at Charles's worried expression, she found that she really couldn't be angry. And who gets angry when they are complimented?

These French people are like that, impulsive and enthusiastic. The princess thought to herself.

"Well, I really forgive you." She nodded vigorously, "God testifies." ”

"That's great!" Charles breathed a sigh of relief, like a saved patient. "I'm so afraid that my crazy actions will make you hate me, that they will destroy the diplomatic relations between our two countries, and that all my own efforts will be in vain."

"Then you don't have to be scared now." The princess also breathed a sigh of relief. "Alright...... Now I have something else to do......"

Just as she was about to say goodbye, Charles burst out laughing. "As you know, I'm getting out of here."

"Yes, have a great trip." The princess nodded.

It's to see that Charles is about to leave. She couldn't bear it. I want him to feel better before leaving.

"Are we friends now?" Charles asked suddenly.

"Huh?" The princess was unprepared for this question, and was stunned for a moment.

Now the two of them should not be friends, but they just said that they forgave others, and in the blink of an eye, they refused, and they seemed to be a little unkind...... The princess hesitated again.

And this hesitation was something that Charles could exploit, and his smile slowly faded, looking dazed and lost—the expression. He's seen too much on the social scene, and unexpectedly it works well. With the exception of the truly tried and tested noblewomen, the women always ate this set.

And this time is no exception, Her Royal Highness the princess has finally relented.

"Yes, we're friends."

"Great! You won't believe it, your words have literally lifted me to heaven. Charles immediately laughed again, looking very happy, "Well, as a friend, I bid you farewell, and I really hope to see you again in the future." ”

"Yes, so do I." The princess replied, half against her will, half sincerely.

"Okay, Your Highness, oh, maybe it's time for me to call you Your Majesty." Before she knew it, Charles had walked up to her, then reached out and took her hand.

This sudden action made the princess even more flustered, as if enchanted, she found that she could not move, and watched her hand be slowly sent to his lips by him.

Charles kissed the hand softly again, and then sent it back respectfully, as if facing a true queen. "I'm so honored that I was the first to treat you with the courtesy of a queen."

"Really...... Is it...... "The princess can't speak completely.

Suddenly, she noticed that she had something more in her hand.

"...... this?"

An enamel pocket watch with a diamond-encrusted casing lay quietly in her white hand, the diamond and gold bracelet glowing brightly.

"We're already friends, and I'd like to give you a gift." "Also, as I told you before, I thank you very much for your advice and want to repay you," said Charles with unquestioning certainty. Considering that we're probably going to be on separate sides of the world in general, I guess some kind of token might be needed in case you need my help...... So, this is given to you, as a token, if you really have an order one day, let this token come back to me, I will go to the soup for you. ”

Charles spoke so passionately that he almost believed his sincerity to himself.

"But...... But ...... "The princess sensed that something was wrong, but she didn't find any loopholes in Charles's words, so her thoughts became more and more confused.

"Your gift is too valuable, isn't it?" In the end, she only found this reason for herself to resist.

"Compared to precious friendship, this is not precious." Charles immediately dispelled her doubts, "You just need to accept it with peace of mind, there will always be all kinds of accidents in life, maybe you really need help one day?" It's not me boasting, I'm ...... Well, I still have some skills, and I think I can solve some problems for you. ”

“…… Well, thank you. With Charles' earnest explanation, the princess was finally persuaded to accept his gift.

Well, everything is going so smoothly, what a child...... Charles secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Alright, two, it's been a long time." At this time, Angela suddenly jumped out, "Although I was a little moved to see it, I have to remind you that the time is up......"

"Goodbye!" Charles took the princess's hand with both hands, then clipped the watch into her palm, then shook her hand again, "May God bless you, Your Highness." ”

Then, no longer dwelling on him, he turned around and walked towards his room, and soon he was about to leave with his wife, but he had no regrets now.

Only the princess, who was still in shock, silently watched his departing back, and unconsciously grasped the gift he gave herself.

The scales of the pocket watch move at an unchanging rate, faithfully and indifferently recording every moment of the world. (To be continued.) )