I Am the Crown Prince in France

Chapter 424 Compensation (asking for monthly votes)

It is obvious that Walter has used some means to involve the Delvaux family's property in the lawsuit, so Camelia will immediately be penniless. And she has no relatives or friends - even if she has, I'm afraid no one dares to take her in under Walter's threat.

Then she can only compromise with that bastard in the end.

Joseph's mouth showed a sneer. He didn't even bother to pay attention to that Walter before, but he didn't expect that this guy would take the initiative to jump on his face.

Then teach him a lesson.

He walked to Camelia and comforted her softly:

"Don't worry, I will never let Mrs. Delvaux's reputation be damaged. And the villain who framed her will also get the punishment she deserves."

As for how to operate, he didn't need to do this kind of thing himself, just let Kaunitz handle it.

The next morning, the court officials of Schönbrunn Palace came to Joseph's room and respectfully invited him to attend the farewell banquet held by His Majesty the Emperor for him at noon.

Joseph smiled coldly and said calmly:

"Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty, but I'm afraid I have to stay in Vienna for a while longer."

The court official left in surprise. After a short while, Austrian State Minister Kaunitz and Baron Ferrari, Baron Turgut and other ministers hurried over.

After the salute, Kaunitz asked anxiously:

"Your Highness, you were originally scheduled to return to Paris tonight. I don't know why you changed your schedule?"

He couldn't help but be anxious. Austria had just decided to make a big move in Silesia, and the front line was eagerly waiting for French reinforcements. If the French crown prince did not bring the Vienna Special Agreement back to the country, the French army would not be able to set off.

Joseph said with a gloomy face:

"You know, Madame Delvaux had just passed away, and someone slandered her for participating in a fraud case. I must wait until the truth of this matter is found out before I can go back with peace of mind."

"Madame Delvaux?" Kaunitz looked at Foreign Minister Turgut in surprise, and the latter whispered a few words in his ear.

Queen Marie's wet nurse? Kaunitz frowned immediately. Although generally speaking, the birth of a wet nurse is not too high, sometimes she will have a deep affection for the child she has taken care of, which is a bit troublesome.

He hurriedly signaled to Joseph:

"Your Highness, please return to Paris first, I promise to give you a satisfactory answer."

"No, I will wait for the result here." Joseph said calmly.

Seeing his firm attitude, Kaunitz had no choice but to leave, and immediately asked someone to summon the guard officer in charge of the matter - he had just learned the general situation from the servant of the crown prince.

He cursed in his heart, which idiot was it, delaying the war in Silesia for some fraud case.

After asking about the case, Kaunitz went to the head of the secret police, Marquis Hartmann, and asked him to help investigate the matter.

With the intervention of the secret police, the officer quickly confessed the captain of the palace guard, Marquis Wilhorna. The secret police then found Judge Meyer who tried the fraud case.

The so-called fraud case was fabricated rather hastily, and the evidences before and after contradicted each other. The secret police interrogated the case for only one day, and everyone from the "fraud victim" to the judge told the truth.

Of course, this was because the Minister of State intervened, otherwise such a low-level false accusation could have seized all of Camelia's property.

The false accuser was thrown into prison, and the judge quickly dropped the case. Kaunitz excitedly went to tell Joseph the good news, but the latter still had no intention of returning to Paris.

Kaunitz reported the matter to Leopold II in a panic, and the latter was also in a state of panic and ordered Marquis Hartmann to re-examine the case.

The secret police immediately took heavy measures against all those involved in the case.

When the captain of the palace guard and the judge learned that Leopold II had personally asked about the matter, they were a little confused - the girl was just a small nobleman at the bottom, how could even the crown prince be alarmed? ! [Note 1]

They dared not hide it any longer - it was not worth sacrificing their future for a few thousand florins - and immediately confessed Baron Walter.

Walter was flirting with a woman at a ball hosted by a nobleman, and was taken away by the emperor's personal guards - due to the sudden incident and the level of communication at that time, he had not received any news of the reversal of the case until then.

After Leopold II learned the whole story, he scolded his brother-in-law severely, and then asked Kaunitz to invite the French crown prince.

When Joseph entered Leopold II's reception room, he saw a 20-year-old nobleman with a wretched appearance standing tremblingly with his head down.

After he and Leopold II exchanged greetings, the latter immediately hit Walter on the back with his cane and shouted:

"Apologize to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince immediately, you bastard!"

Joseph raised his hand to stop him:

"Your Majesty, I am not involved in this case, no need to apologize to me. I think Austria should have corresponding laws to judge false accusations, forged evidence and bribery. Oh, by the way, the person he falsely accused is a respectable noble lady, and she has already passed away."

Leopold II looked at his legal advisor, and the old man hurriedly stepped forward and said:

"Your Majesty, if the charges brought by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince are proven, then Baron Walter will be sentenced to 20 years in prison and double the amount of the false accusation."

Joseph nodded with satisfaction:

"Praise the justice of Austria, I think this is a good way to deal with it."

Walter was immediately frightened and turned pale. He turned around and knelt in front of Leopold II, begging:

"Your Majesty, I was wrong. I am willing to pay compensation. Please don't put me in jail, please..."

The more arrogant and domineering a guy is on weekdays, the more cowardly he will be when he encounters an adverse situation.

Leopold II glanced at Joseph who was studying the murals on the ceiling, and gritted his teeth helplessly. For the situation in Silesia, he could only sacrifice this useless brother-in-law.

"Guards, bring Baron Walter..."

He had just said half of his words when his wife Ludovica walked in quickly from the side door, saluted him and Joseph hurriedly, and then wiped her tears in public:

"Fred made a stupid mistake. Please give him a chance. I am willing to compensate the Delvaux family for 80,000 florins."

Mrs. Delvaux left behind an estate of about 60,000 livres, or 25,000 florins. She offered three times the compensation right away, which seemed "full" of sincerity.

Seeing that Joseph was unmoved, she gritted her teeth again and said:

"100,000 florins should be enough to make up for Mrs. Delvaux's reputation... Your Highness, please be kind..."

Joseph breathed a sigh of relief. He knew that even if Walter was thrown into prison, with his status, as long as he left Vienna, he would most likely be secretly released. It would be better to fight for some benefits for Camelia.

"150,000 florins, plus an apology to Mrs. Delvaux in the newspaper."

Before Ludovica could say anything, Leopold II immediately nodded and said:

"Thank you for your tolerance, Your Highness, I will do as you said."

Joseph was stunned immediately. Why did he feel like it was going to be less?

[Note 1] Here is a reminder for readers who have forgotten the previous content. Leopold II is the younger brother of Joseph II. Since the latter has no heirs, according to the order of succession, Leopold II is the current Crown Prince of Austria and the designated candidate for the next Holy Roman Emperor.

At the same time, Leopold II was also the Grand Duke of Tuscany, so others would address him as "Your Majesty".