Life of Being a Crown Prince in France

The anticipated loud bang did not occur.

Bazel and Baron Walter looked at the pistol at the same time, then both realized—it had not fired.

Although modern flintlock guns were quite refined, the flint could still occasionally fail to spark upon striking the frizzen, resulting in a certain probability that no sparks would enter the pan. This caused the firing rate of flintlock guns to never surpass 90%.

And Bazel had encountered that unfortunate 10%.

Baron Walter hesitated for a moment then pulled a nearby maid toward him, while he turned and ran into the house, simultaneously screaming at the top of his lungs:

"Help! Someone is trying to kill me!"

Annoyed, Bazel cleared the frizzen and cocked the flint again, but as he raised the gun once more, he saw the terrified Fanny standing in the way of the scoundrel.

Not wanting to accidentally harm the woman, he stepped forward and pushed her aside, only to see Baron Walter overturn the table and take cover behind it.

At the entrance of the corridor, Baron Walter’s bodyguard, hearing the cries for help, hurried over.

As he rounded the doorway, he immediately saw a man with a gun approaching the overturned wooden table, while his master’s shoes peeped out from under the table’s edge.

The bodyguard deftly pulled a dagger from his waist and threw it at Bazel.

At the same time, the music teacher had finally reached the table—pointing the gun downwards, he forcefully pulled the trigger.

However, with a soft "puff," something threw him off balance slightly as his pistol blew flames, sending a bullet grazing past Baron Walter’s thigh and striking the liquor cabinet behind him.

Wood chips flew everywhere, and Baron Walter cried out in agony.

A hint of joy flashed across Bazel’s face, but then he felt a sharp pain in his back, and his body drained of all strength, he fell to the side.

His vision blurred, he vaguely saw the scoundrel covered in blood and incessantly screaming.

"The flower of Vienna, the devil has been killed by me..." his body spasmed, and though few words formed on his lips, "I love you, may you be free..."

The bodyguard swiftly moved in, glanced at the knife in the assassin’s back, and feeling the pulse in his carotid artery, confirmed that he was dead, then approached Baron Walter leaning in the corner:

"Where are you hurt?"

"No, I don’t know, it hurts so much! I’ve been shot! Ah, ah—"

The bodyguard straightened him up, inspected him carefully, confirming only some splinters had embedded in his waist and legs, and a wooden piece had pierced his palm—there were no lethal injuries, he then heaved a sigh of relief.

Schonbrunn Palace.

Emperor Joseph II on the sickbed, upon hearing the words of his brother Leopold II whispered in his ear, suddenly opened his eyes wide, struggling desperately to sit up.

The attending doctor immediately supported him, just to hear the Emperor, who had not spoken for almost a week, strainedly say:

"Good! Good! Legnica, banquet, I..."

Leopold II hurriedly responded:

"Your Majesty, are you planning to hold a banquet to celebrate the recapture of Legnica?"

Joseph II weakly nodded, while attempting to raise his hand:

"Commend... Lacy..."

"Yes, Your Majesty, I have already sent Marshal Lacy’s Order of Commendation to the front line," Leopold II said. "Currently, nearly 70,000 Allied Forces are fiercely attacking the fortress of Breslau."

"Good, good!" A smile filled Joseph II’s pale face. "I want Silesia..."

As he spoke, he seemed to have exhausted all his strength and leaned sleepily against the doctor.

The latter hurriedly checked the Emperor’s pulse, nodding to Leopold II:

"His Majesty is just too weak. Perhaps, I should perform a bloodletting treatment on him."

"Then I leave it entirely in your hands."

...

In a suite on the second floor of Schonbrunn Palace, Ludovica, wife of the Austrian Crown Prince, looked with heartache at her brother wrapped in bandages, especially his left hand, which now had only two fingers left, the rest amputated by doctors.

Suddenly, cheers surged from outside the window, causing Baron Walter to turn his head:

"Cousin, what are they doing?"

"They seem to be celebrating the great victory at Legnica," Ludovica said. "I heard Marshal Lacy won a significant battle there, annihilating nearly 2,000 enemy troops, and now his forces have nearly reached Breslau."

Walter, clutching his wounded side, exclaimed incredulously, "How is that possible? Just last week, wasn’t it reported that the situation in Silesia was unfavorable, and that the Prussian lines had been breached... How come?"

"Marshal Lacy’s report stated that the French Army suddenly appeared on the flank of the Prussian offensive line and divided the enemy..."

Walter paused suddenly, then anxiously asked, "Weren’t the French forces surrounded at Oberon?"

"Who knows? They just suddenly broke through."

Walter grabbed her arm urgently, "So, the Crown Prince of France wasn’t captured?"

"No," Ludovica pursed her lips, "His Majesty even had someone write a letter to express his gratitude to him."

Walter’s eyes suddenly widened, "So it was him..."

"Who? What are you talking about?"

"That assassin mentioned him at the time. I thought he had been captured or killed, so I didn’t pay attention."

Walter’s expression turned fearful, "Now it seems that assassin was sent by him! Yes, that woman must have wanted revenge on me and asked him to kill me..."

Ludovica looked at him nervously, "Who exactly are you talking about?"

"The Crown Prince of France!"

...

City of Liegnitz.

Joseph was comfortably watching the Austrian troops changing guard when Bertier hurried towards him, saluting and saying:

"Your Highness, Marshal Lacy has sent a batch of supplies for the troops, and some women... also, he has requested our presence in Breslau as soon as possible."

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He lowered his voice:

"From what I’ve heard, his offensive there is not going very well."

Joseph nodded:

"Please reply to Marshal Lacy, thanking him for the supplies. As for going to Breslau..."

He paused to remember the date, now it was February, although he couldn’t remember the exact date of Joseph II’s death, it must be nearing.

"Tell him our army has been engaged in prolonged battles and needs half a month to recuperate. After that, we will immediately proceed to reinforce him."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Bertier was about to turn away when Joseph called out to him:

"Oh, and please relay a secret order to General Kellermann to pack up the baggage train and be ready to return to France at any moment."

Currently, more than half of Kellermann’s 30,000 French troops were accompanying Marshal Lacy in attacking Breslau.

"Ah?" Bertier appeared surprised, "May I know the reason for this?"

Joseph slightly smiled, "We cannot get too deeply entrenched in Silesia. It is time to leave."

Bertier was shocked, "Your Highness, but this will severely impact the Franco-Austrian Alliance."

"Please do not worry, I will handle the diplomatic aspects."

...

England.

London.

Council Hall of St. James’s Palace.

James Fox, leader of the Whig Party, with both hands pressed on the table, loudly declared:

"France has effectively entered the war! They have over 50,000 troops in Silesia. It is now time to fulfill our military obligations to our Prussian allies!"

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