Life of Being a Crown Prince in France

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Clearly, Baron Walter had used some means to entangle the Delvaux family’s fortune in a lawsuit, leaving Camellia immediately penniless. And she had no relatives or friends—or, if she did it was doubtful anyone would dare to take her in under the threat of Walter.

So, she would have no choice but to compromise with that scoundrel.

The corners of Joseph’s mouth lifted in a cold smile. He had previously disdained to pay any attention to that Walter, but now the man had brazenly sought to provoke him.

Well then, it was time to teach him a lesson.

He walked over to Camellia and whispered words of comfort:

"Rest assured, I will not allow Madame Delvaux’s reputation to be tarnished. And those who have falsely accused her will receive the punishment they deserve."

As for how to handle the situation, such trivial matters were not worth his personal effort; he would just let Kaunitz take care of it.

The next morning, the court officials from Schonbrunn Palace came to Joseph’s room, and respectfully invited him to a farewell banquet held by His Majesty the Emperor at noon.

"I appreciate His Majesty’s kind offer, but I’m afraid I’ll need to stay in Vienna a bit longer."

The court official left, puzzled, and after a short while, the Austrian Minister of State Kaunitz, along with Baron Ferrari, Baron Tugut, and other ministers, hurried over.

After exchanging formalities, Kaunitz asked anxiously:

"Your Highness, you were scheduled to return to Paris tonight. May I inquire as to why you have changed your plans?"

He had reason to be anxious. Austria had just resolved to make a big move in Silesia, and the front lines were eagerly awaiting reinforcements from the French Army, but the Crown Prince of France needed to take the "Vienna Special Agreement" back home before the French forces could depart.

Joseph replied with a stern face,

"As you know, Madame Delvaux has just passed away, and there have been slanderous accusations of her involvement in a fraud case. I must wait until the truth of this matter is uncovered before I can return with peace of mind."

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

The wet nurse of Queen Mary? Kaunitz frowned immediately. Although a wet nurse’s background was usually not very high, sometimes they could form deep emotional bonds with the children they took care of, which could indeed be troublesome.

He quickly signaled to Joseph:

"Your Highness, please return to Paris first, and I assure you that I will provide a satisfactory response."

"No, I will wait for the results here," replied Joseph calmly.

Seeing his firm attitude, Kaunitz had no choice but to leave, immediately summoning the officer responsible for the case—he had already learned the general situation from the servants of the Crown Prince.

He cursed inwardly, wondering which fool had delayed the Silesian situation over some fraud case.

After inquiring about the case details, Kaunitz wasted no time and went to find the head of the Secret Police, Marquis Hartman, to help investigate the matter.

With the involvement of the Secret Police, the officer quickly implicated the Captain of the Court Guard, Marquis de Vilhona. The Secret Police also traced the matter to Judge Meyer, who presided over the fraud case.

The so-called fraud case was hastily concocted, with evidence conflicting throughout, and after just one day of interrogation by the Secret Police, from the "victim" of the fraud to the judge, everyone told the truth.

Of course, this was because the State Minister had intervened; otherwise, such a baseless accusation could have resulted in the seizure of all of Camellia’s assets.

The false accuser was thrown into jail, and the judge quickly dropped the case. Kaunitz, bubbling with excitement, went to tell Joseph the good news, but the latter still showed no inclination to return to Paris.

With great frustration, Kaunitz reported the situation to Leopold II, who was also quite distressed and ordered Marquis Hartman to re-examine the case.

The Secret Police immediately cracked down hard on all those involved in the affair.

When the Captain of the Court Guard and the judge learned that Leopold II had personally inquired into the matter, they were momentarily stunned—the girl was merely a low-ranking noblewoman, so how had the Crown Prince been alerted?!1

They dared not conceal the truth any longer—for a few thousand florins, jeopardizing their careers was not worth it—they immediately gave up Baron Walter.

Baron Walter, who was flirting with women at a noble’s ball, was seized by the Imperial Guard dispatched by His Majesty the Emperor—due to the suddenness of the event and the communication standards of the time, he had yet to receive news of his case being overturned.

After Leopold II learned the full story, he fiercely scolded his brother-in-law and then sent Kaunitz to fetch the Crown Prince of France.

When Joseph entered Leopold II’s reception room, he saw a nobleman in his twenties with a lecherous appearance, tremblingly standing to one side with his head lowered.

After exchanging greetings with Leopold II, the latter immediately struck Walter’s back with his cane and shouted,

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

Joseph, however, raised his hand to stop him,

"Your Majesty, I was not involved in this case, there’s no need for an apology to me. I believe Austria has laws to judge charges of slander, fabricating evidence, and bribery. Oh, and the victim of his slander was a respectable noblewoman, who, moreover, had already passed from this world."

Leopold II looked toward his judicial advisor, who hastily stepped forward and said,

"Your Majesty, if the charges pointed out by His Royal Highness are proven, then Baron Walter will be sentenced to 20 years in prison, and a compensation double the amount of the slander."

Joseph nodded in satisfaction,

"Praise be to Austria’s judicial fairness, I think this resolution is quite appropriate."

Baron Walter immediately turned pale with fright, turned around, and knelt before Leopold II, pleading,

"Your Majesty, I was wrong, I am willing to pay the compensation, please don’t throw me in jail, I beg of you…"

The more arrogant and domineering a person is on normal days, the more cowardly they become when facing adversity.

Leopold II glanced at Joseph, who was studying the frescoes on the ceiling, and with a reluctant grit of his teeth—for the situation in Silesia, he could only sacrifice this good-for-nothing brother-in-law.

"Guards, take Baron Walter…"

Before he could finish, his wife, Ludovica, hurriedly entered through a side door, curtsied to him and Joseph, and then started to openly wipe her tears,

"Fred made a foolish mistake, please give him another chance, Your Highness. I am willing to compensate the Delvaux family 80,000 florins for this."

The inheritance left by Madame Delvaux was about 60,000 livres, which equated to 25,000 florins. Her offer of triple compensation came across as "full" of sincerity.

Seeing that Joseph was unmoved, she bit her lip and said,

"100,000 florins should be enough to restore Madame Delvaux’s honor… Your Highness, please be merciful…"

Joseph exhaled, knowing that even if Walter was thrown into prison, given his status, he would most likely be secretly released as soon as Joseph left Vienna. It was better to secure some practical benefits for Camellia.

"150,000 florins, plus a public apology to Madame Delvaux in the newspaper."

Before Ludovica could respond, Leopold II immediately nodded and said,

"Thank you for your magnanimity, Your Royal Highness. We will proceed as you have said."

Joseph was taken aback for a moment. How come it felt like he was getting less?

1 For the benefit of readers who might have forgotten the background: Leopold II is the younger brother of Joseph II. Since the latter had no offspring, according to the line of succession, Leopold II is currently the Austrian Crown Prince and the designated successor as Emperor of the Holy Rome. Meanwhile, Leopold II is also the Grand Duke of Tuscany, hence others also address him as "Your Majesty".

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