NOVEL NEXT Chapter 416 Flowers of Vienna
Chapter 417 Flowers of Vienna
Joseph walked through the neatly maintained courtyard and saw the gate of the villa being pushed open from the inside. A girl in a white dress ran out. Because she was in a hurry, her long golden curly hair swayed slightly behind her like waves.
The girl kept her head down nervously, and almost bumped into Csode.
"Please forgive me, I really didn't mean it."
She hurriedly knelt down to apologize to the captain of the guard. After receiving the latter's forgiveness, she carefully glanced at the crowd. Suddenly she remembered something, straightened her back, and came to the handsome boy in the sapphire blue coat with a very even pace, kneeling down and saluting with very standard court etiquette:
"It's a great honor for you to come here, your Royal Highness the Crown Prince." She was not very proficient in French, and had a German accent. After a pause, she seemed to react, "Ah, I am Camelia Ermini Delvaux. It's a great honor for you to come..."
Joseph saw the girl's face. She was about sixteen or seventeen years old, with a soft face and delicate skin like a baby. Her big violet eyes were full of nervousness and anxiety, and her lips were slightly moving, as if she wanted to say something else, which made people want to protect her.
Joseph had seen many beauties of various types in the Palace of Versailles, but he was still surprised by Camelia's appearance at this time, and he couldn't help but be slightly stunned.
"Ahem," he hurriedly used a dry cough to cover up the embarrassment, nodded to the girl in return, and asked, "I'm here to visit Mrs. Delvaux. Is she feeling better?"
Camelia's expression suddenly dimmed when she heard this, and whispered:
"Grandma... is not in a good condition. Oh, please come in."
In the bedroom on the second floor of the villa facing the sun, the old woman with silver hair was lying on the bed, her eyes closed, and her breathing was so light that it was almost unnoticeable.
When Joseph entered the room, a maid from the Delvaux family hurried to the bed and whispered a few words in the old lady's ear.
The wrinkled eyelids slowly opened, the old man tried to turn his head, and a vague voice came out of his throat:
"Is it... the crown prince... His Highness?"
"Yes, madam."
The old lady immediately opened her eyes with force, and pulled the maid with her skinny arms, struggling to sit up, and a line of turbid tears was about to flow out of her eyes:
"Her Majesty the Queen... She... is still thinking about... me..."
Joseph hurried forward to support her: "Lie down quickly. My mother really wants to visit you, but she really can't leave Paris, so she asked me to do it for you. She conveys her most sincere blessings to you. "
"Woo woo..." Mrs. Delvaux suddenly burst into tears, "I, I also... miss... Her Majesty the Queen very much..."
After crying for a while, she looked at Joseph and struggled to salute:
"You see... I... am really... old... and confused. Honorable... Crown Prince... Your Highness..."
"You don't have to be polite, take care of your body." Joseph helped her lean on the pillow, but found that the old lady was so tired that she couldn't open her eyes because of the tossing just now.
He turned his head to look at Camelia:
"What did the doctor say?"
The girl whispered: "Dr. Richter just bled grandma this morning and said that if there is no improvement, vomiting treatment may be required in the afternoon."
Joseph's face was full of black lines. The old lady was like this, and the quack doctor actually wanted to bleed her...
Forget it, in this era, even President Washington can't escape the "blood loss debuff", not to mention an ordinary noble old lady in Vienna.
Mrs. Delvaux rested for a while, and smiled as she talked about some things about Queen Marie's childhood. Joseph couldn't bear to interrupt the old lady's beautiful memories, so he sat by the bed and listened quietly.
At noon, Dr. Richter came. After examining the old lady, he looked at the young man next to him who was obviously of extraordinary status with some nervousness, and then whispered to Camelia:
"Alas... Mrs. Delvaux's condition... should not require emetic treatment. What she needs is a priest. May God have mercy on her."
After the doctor left, Camelia couldn't help wiping away tears, but Mrs. Delvaux smiled and comforted her:
"Grandma... is very good. Oh, no need for that... damn... emetic... how good. Go and ask... Father Koch... to come."
She seemed to suddenly remember something, looked at the French Crown Prince and was about to get up again.
Joseph had to help her lie back on the bed again:
"Do you have something to tell me?"
The old lady nodded weakly:
"Your Highness... there is a devil named... Walter... He..."
Joseph finally understood what happened in Madame Delvaux's intermittent narration. This Baron Walter detained and raped many women in Spain, and caused the death of two of them, which angered the important minister Campos. He had no choice but to flee to Tuscany seven years ago to seek refuge with his cousin Ludovica. Then he followed her to Austria.
Walter was still flirting with women everywhere in Vienna, until he saw Camelia at a ball one time, and immediately fell in love with her beauty and threatened to marry her.
After hearing about this guy's bad character, Madame Delvaux flatly refused the marriage, and then he was constantly harassed by her.
Camelia was so scared that she almost dared not go out during this year. Fortunately, Madame Delvaux still had some reputation, so Walter did not dare to come to her house to rob her.
"When I... go to see... God," Mrs. Delvaux continued with difficulty, "that... bastard... will no longer... have any scruples."
Joseph could not help but frown. He had already inquired about the situation of the Delvaux family, and they had few relatives in Vienna. After the old lady died, Camelia, a little girl, would most likely not escape Walter's clutches.
Madame Delvaux motioned her granddaughter to come over, held her hand, and then carefully pulled Joseph's sleeve, put her granddaughter's hand into his hand, and begged:
"Prince... Your Highness... Please... For the sake of Her Majesty the Queen, you must take... Camelia away from Vienna, keep her away from... that devil!"
Joseph looked at the old lady's pale face, immediately held Camelia's slender and cold hand, and nodded:
"Please rest assured, I promise no one will dare to hurt your granddaughter. She will live well in Paris."
"Thank you so much, Your Highness. May God... bless you." Madame Delvaux said, and cried again, but her expression seemed to be relieved.
Soon, the old man fell asleep tiredly.
After comforting Camelia, Joseph agreed to visit the old lady again tomorrow, and then left the manor.