At 5 p.m., Jero Bonaparte and his party erged from the depths of the forest.
Count Gneer hurried forward to greet them, humbly inquiring about Jero Bonaparte’s hunting results.
"Don’t ntion it! Not a single prey!" Jero Bonaparte shrugged helplessly as he responded to Count Gneer.
"Ah hahaha!" Count Gneer wore an awkward expression, quickly smoothing things over by saying, "Perhaps the ga in the forest has fled elsewhere! Next ti, I’ll lead Your Majesty to another hunting spot where the prey will surely satisfy you!"
"No need! I think this place is pretty good!" Jero Bonaparte shook his head at Count Gneer, then glanced at Elizabeth and Augusta beside him, saying, "If it weren’t for certain people intentionally not wanting to hunt, I’d be returning with a full load now!"
Count Gneer continued to sport a smile that was awkward yet courteous.
Neither His Majesty Emperor Jero Bonaparte, nor Her Majesty Empress Augusta and Empress Elizabeth are persons he could afford to offend, better to quietly remain invisible!
"Forget it! Let’s not talk about this! We should head back!" Jero Bonaparte returned the Lorentz rifle to the Austrian cavalry, saying, "This is a really fine rifle; I hope you cherish it well!"
"I will, Your Majesty!" The Austrian cavalry nodded solemnly in response to Jero Bonaparte.
After that, Jero Bonaparte and the others mounted their horses, and the steeds galloped swiftly, arriving around 5:50 at the Hofburg Palace’s stable.
Upon seeing the arrival of the cavalry, William quickly led his n to greet them.
Jero Bonaparte dismounted, gently stroking his horse, which neighed happily at his touch.
"Good boy!" Jero Bonaparte patted the horse a couple more tis.
"Your Majesty!" William appeared before Jero Bonaparte, respectfully addressing him.
"I leave this horse to you!" Jero Bonaparte handed the horse to William.
"Yes, Your Majesty!" William replied, leading the horse away.
Then Augusta, Elizabeth, Count Gneer, and the Austrian cavalry likewise handed their horses over to the stable staff.
Under the glow of the setting sun, the staff led the horses toward the stables.
anwhile, Jero Bonaparte and his party, guided by Count Gneer, arrived at the side gate of the Hofburg Palace along an avenue lined with pine trees.
Upon entering through the side gate, Jero Bonaparte imdiately encountered Countess Raphaelt.
"Madam Raphaelt, hello!" Jero Bonaparte smiled to Countess Raphaelt, "Are you waiting here especially for us?"
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Countess Raphaelt replied to Jero Bonaparte, "When you arrived near the Hofburg Palace, His Majesty Franz instructed to wait here!"
"Then lead the way!" Jero Bonaparte nodded to Countess Raphaelt.
Under Countess Raphaelt’s guidance, Jero Bonaparte and the others reached Franz Joseph’s study.
Once Jero Bonaparte pushed open the door and entered, Franz Joseph imdiately put down his quill and rose to greet him.
Jero Bonaparte likewise quickened his steps to greet Franz Joseph.
They shook hands, and Franz Joseph was the first to speak, "My brother, how was your outing today?"
"Very nice!" Jero Bonaparte replied insincerely, "The scenery in Vienna truly made Augusta and linger and forget to leave! If ti allowed, I’d really like to stay here for a while!"
"Ah!" Franz Joseph feigned a look of disappointnt, responding to Jero Bonaparte, "Who wouldn’t say the sa! You and your wife’s ti in Vienna is indeed too short!"
After exchanging pleasantries, Franz Joseph began inviting Jero Bonaparte to join him for dinner in the dining room.
"It would be my pleasure!" Jero Bonaparte replied with a smile to Franz Joseph.
Franz Joseph and Jero Bonaparte proceeded together, soon reaching the dining room.
At that mont, seated at the round dining table were Grand Duchess Sophie, Grand Duke Franz Karl, and a rather chubby-looking (bluntly: corpulent, wide-bodied) Cardinal. Upon seeing Franz Joseph and Jero Bonaparte arrive, everyone stood up.
"Please be seated, everyone!" Franz Joseph gestured for them to sit.
Then he introduced the chubby-looking Cardinal to Jero Bonaparte.
"Jero, this is Bishop Angelo Beichu from the Vienna Church!" Franz Joseph said to Jero Bonaparte.
"It is an honor to et you, Your Majesty!" Angelo Becciu rose and bowed slightly to Jero Bonaparte, "Thank you for rescuing the Lord’s lambs from the Russian Empire’s hands!
God will forever bless you and your descendants!"
"Bishop Becciu, thank you for your blessing!" Jero Bonaparte also responded to Angelo Becciu in a respectful tone, "Rescuing Poland is indeed the responsibility and duty of us Catholic Great Powers!
I am very glad to contribute a part to spreading the glory of the Lord!
God has entrusted the crown to the Bonaparte Clan, and the Bonaparte Clan has the obligation to uphold the Lord’s splendor in this world!"
"Your Majesty, what you said was wonderful!" Angelo Becciu responded with a face full of emotion, "If this world could have more monarchs like yourself, then I believe the Lord’s glory would certainly spread across the globe!"
As Angelo Becciu and Jero Bonaparte were complinting each other, Franz Joseph couldn’t help but clear his throat, "Ahem... ahem."
Angelo Becciu, realizing this, quickly said to Jero Bonaparte, "Your Majesty, I am sorry!"
"It’s nothing!" Jero Bonaparte shook his head, "Please, take a seat!"
Angelo Becciu sat down again, and Jero Bonaparte and the others also took their seats.
After dinner started, the usually silent Empress Dowager Sophie first spoke to Jero Bonaparte, "Jero... may I call you that?"
"Of course, Madam Sophie," Jero Bonaparte softly replied.
"I deeply apologize for what happened yesterday at Hofburg Palace!" Empress Dowager Sophie apologized to Jero Bonaparte, "Ultimately, it was because I did not manage my subordinates well that it turned into such a situation! Please forgive !"
"Madam Sophie, you don’t need to apologize to !" Jero Bonaparte hurriedly responded to Grand Duchess Sophie, "Instead, I should apologize to you, yesterday at Hofburg Palace I was also a bit too impulsive!
Please do not punish Madam Anastasi too severely!"
"Jero, the servants who make mistakes should be punished! Only in this way can rules be established in the court, to discipline those who are unwilling to follow the rules!" Empress Dowager Sophie said this while subconsciously glancing at Elizabeth.
It was apparent that the Empress Dowager Sophie’s initial discontent with Elizabeth had not faded but was gradually intensifying.
"Madam, excessive rules will not only fail to ensure compliance but will breed rebellion! I know the Habsburg court, as an ancient court nearly a thousand years old, must have many rules, but I believe we should still appropriately relax them a bit!" Jero Bonaparte earnestly persuaded Empress Dowager Sophie.
"Thank you for your suggestion!" Empress Dowager Sophie clearly had no intention of heeding his advice.
"Enough! Everyone, let’s stop talking and start eating!" Franz Joseph spoke again, fearing a repeat of the previous day’s incident.
The attendants served plates of cooked pork knuckles, and a bright smile quickly appeared on Elizabeth’s face because the preparation of these knuckles hailed from Bavaria.
In other words, Franz Joseph brought Bavarian delicacies to the table for her.
However, Empress Dowager Sophie was clearly a bit displeased; she discovered that her son had already started to develop disobedient thoughts.
But because Jero Bonaparte and the others were present, Empress Dowager Sophie clearly couldn’t lose her temper.
"Pork knuckles from Bavaria, I hope you all will be satisfied!" Franz Joseph smiled and responded to everyone present.
Everyone looked at the pork knuckles on their plates and quickly used their knives and forks to enjoy them.
After demolishing the pork knuckles, local Austrian delicacies were then served up.
Everyone began to taste each type of food in turn, simultaneously drinking Bavarian dark beer (which Empress Dowager Sophie did not partake in).
The dinner concluded after just forty minutes, with Empress Dowager Sophie reluctantly bidding farewell to Jero Bonaparte.
Angelo Becciu also shook hands with Jero Bonaparte, hoping he would visit the Vienna Church the next day!
Franz Joseph stopped Jero Bonaparte and said to him, "Jero, I have sothing I want to discuss with you! Could you join in the study?"
"Of course!" Jero Bonaparte decisively nodded in response to Franz Joseph.
The two arrived at the study side by side, sitting formally face to face under the light of candles hanging from a crystal chandelier.
"Franz, what is it you need to discuss with ?" Jero Bonaparte inquired of Franz Joseph.
"I’ve heard you’re looking for laborers to go to Algeria, is that correct?" Franz Joseph did not directly respond to Jero Bonaparte but instead asked a question in return.
"Indeed!" Jero Bonaparte nodded in response to Franz Joseph: "We have too few people on that land in Algeria and need more to open up the area! Are you interested too?"
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