Chapter 131: A Date with the Princess
Suddenly, from the Marble Courtyard in front of the main gate of Versailles, an angry cry from a girl rang out:
"The French Guards couldn't even stop two bandits; they must be severely punished!"
Hearing this, the noble young women in the corridor nodded in agreement:
"Exactly! They're the ones who caused His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to get injured!"
"I heard it was Besenval's faulty security arrangements that allowed the bandits to slip in."
"I wonder how badly His Highness is injured, and when he'll recover..."
Joseph heard the loud condemnations outside, and his eyes lit up. He quickly whispered a command to Eman, telling him to thank the 'righteous' noble young woman on his behalf.
Soon, word spread among the young women that Mademoiselle Andréane had been thanked by the Crown Prince for criticizing the French Guards. More girls began to join the chorus of condemnation.
By noon, two or three hundred young ladies had gathered outside the War Minister's office, loudly demanding severe punishment for the French Guards. Soon, their brothers and male friends were also brought along, further swelling the ranks.
"His Highness's injuries seem to have stabilized," Perna said, concluding her examination and turning to her father, a sigh of relief escaping her heart.
Lamarck nodded, just as he was reminding Joseph of some precautions for recovery, when he heard the voice of a ceremonial officer announce: "Princess Maria has arrived—"
He quickly pulled his daughter back, retreating into the crowd of nobles who had come to observe.
The Princess of the Two Sicilies entered, her eyes red-rimmed.
Perna leaned beside her father, glaring fiercely at Maria. 'If she hadn't insisted on coming here to tour, the bandits wouldn't have had an opportunity. Fortunately, the Crown Prince received divine protection, and his injuries weren't too severe,' she thought.
She didn't realize, however, that her anger stemmed more from having to yield her spot to this young woman just as she was attending to His Highness.
It also stemmed from the fact that this girl, whose chest was smaller than her own, might one day become the Crown Princess, while Perna would be relegated to the sidelines, silently caring for his health...
Seeing Maria's tear-reddened eyes, Joseph felt a surge of apology and guilt. He had put her through an unnecessary fright, all so he could bring down Besenval.
Maria curtsied, asking softly, "Your Royal Highness, Crown Prince, are you feeling better?"
Joseph smiled and nodded. "Much better, thank you for visiting. Please, have a seat."
Maria lowered her head, seemingly struggling to utter a single sentence: "Your Highness, you were attacked because you came to escort me..."
Joseph quickly waved a hand. "No, no, this is not your fault. Please don't blame yourself."
Maria's heart immediately warmed. She had prepared herself for blame, yet she hadn't expected His Highness to be so understanding. Tears welled up again. "I, Your Highness... *sniffle*..."
"Hey, hey, don't cry! I'm really fine!"
Comforting a crying girl was not Joseph's strong suit. He pinched the bridge of his nose, at a loss for words, when he saw the observing nobles suddenly turn and stand respectfully, bowing. Then, Queen Mary, in a pink and white gown, her hair still undone, quickly approached, waving her hand anxiously:
"Oh, heavens above! Why are you sitting up? Lie back down! The doctors all said you need plenty of rest!"
Joseph smiled, placing a hand to his chest and bowing his head. "Mother, I'm much better. I'm fine."
The Queen had her maids arrange an assortment of desserts before her son, then offered a stream of solicitous questions. Suddenly, her eyes flickered to Princess Maria standing nearby, and her expression immediately darkened.
She had always believed her niece was the most suitable daughter-in-law, and this Princess of the Two Sicilies was an unwelcome complication. Now, her son had even been attacked because of her, which only intensified her displeasure.
Seeing the Queen look her way, Maria quickly wiped away her tears and stepped forward to curtsy.
Queen Mary, however, turned her head away, deliberately addressing the Countess of Debeninac: "Please have anyone irrelevant leave. Don't disturb the Crown Prince's rest."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The Countess of Debeninac immediately turned to usher people out. Maria bit her lip, took two steps back, curtsied, and then turned to leave with her maid.
Seeing Maria's distressed expression, Joseph guessed that the Queen might have taken her anger out on her. Feeling even more remorseful, he quickly called out to her retreating back:
"Princess Maria, I'm sorry for disrupting your travels. Once I've recovered, please allow me to be your guide and show you around Paris."
Maria's body stiffened. She whirled around, her previously downcast eyes lighting up once more. 'So, His Highness likes... no, no, at least he doesn't have a bad impression of me!' she thought.
'That's enough!'
She immediately turned her entire body, lifted her skirt, curtsied, and smiled:
"Thank you for your invitation. I hope you recover quickly. I will pray for you every day."
Perna felt an inexplicable pang in her heart. 'I've known the Crown Prince for so long, yet he's never invited me to see anything...' she thought.
She shook her head again, quickly walking out of the bedchamber, scolding herself: 'Perna! What are you thinking? It's already wonderful to see the Crown Prince regularly and perform his daily check-ups. With your status, how can you harbor any other desires?'
...
Four days later, at the French Guards' main camp.
A Military Police officer with the rank of general handed a stack of documents to the Minister of Justice, saying rather politely, "Baron Breteuil, I believe the review of these individuals is largely complete, wouldn't you agree?"
The latter nodded, signed the documents, and then pressed his signet ring onto them a few times.
The five French Guards officers on these documents, along with the four whose reviews were completed the day before yesterday, were all on duty elsewhere on the day of the Crown Prince's attack. They were largely free of suspicion, so the review process was quick.
Another Military Police officer, somewhat older and with a thick layer of powder on his face, took the documents from his hand and smiled. "Then I will apply to Marquis Saint-Priest shortly to reinstate their positions—oh, and Lieutenant Colonel Aubin and the others from the day before yesterday."
Breteuil and Veaumorel exchanged glances and nodded. "Very well, General d'Astou, I will also report the situation here to Her Majesty the Queen."
Just as General d'Astou was about to hand the documents to his clerk, Breteuil's assistant, holding his hat, hurried over and whispered a few words to the Minister of Justice, then handed him a stack of files.
The latter frowned as he opened the files. After glancing through just a few pages, he pushed them toward d'Astou, cleared his throat, and said, "General, it seems we cannot conclude the review of those individuals just yet."
D'Astou looked at the files in confusion, seeing on the first page: 'Report: Lieutenant Colonel Paul Bertrand d'Aubin embezzled funds for military uniform procurement three years ago.'
The next page contained a report accusing another officer, whose review had been completed the day before yesterday, of having crippled a soldier two years prior.
Six or seven pages in a row were all reports accusing officers they had already reviewed.
He turned to Breteuil, his face dark. "Where did these... these come from?"
"I don't know either. Someone delivered them to my assistant this morning. Regardless, we cannot pretend not to have seen these documents."
In a small office in Paris, more than five kilometers away, Monsieur Desmoulins, the newly appointed captain of the Office of Fair Investigation's Action Team Two, looked at Marat, who was writing furiously, and hesitated:
"M-Monsieur Marat, these things you're writing... there's no evidence for any of them... T-To report them just like this, wouldn't that be... inappropriate?"
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