"Your Majesty! Please be decent! The Count of Dilliion finally woke up His Majesty, who was on the verge of madness.

After a convulsive frenzy, the king inhaled a few breaths violently, and finally reluctantly regained his last calm. Then he looked at the old earl viciously and asked aloud.

"Am I the privilege, then, of knowing who it is that has given me the ultimatum to a king? Who is it that intends to drive a king out of his kingdom? ”

"It's a group, a new French government, Your Majesty." The Comte de Dieuillon replied, "A new government that is about to be introduced, by consensus of all the classes of France." ”

The king's face twitched, apparently sneering at something, "All classes? Do you think of yourself as a people? What do you have to do with those food and clothing mobs at my door? How dare you, shameless traitors, claim to be the representative of France? ”

"The people always need some representation, not us have to be someone else. All things considered, let's represent it. ”

The Count ignored the king's sarcasm and replied with detached sincerity, as if he really did not feel that there was anything wrong with a nobleman like himself and some other bourgeoisie representing the people.

"So, who are you going to put in this position, and who are you going to take my place?" His Majesty the King asked again.

"Mr. de Leer." The Count replied.

[Jacques-Charles-Dupont-de-lEure, born in Normandy in 1767.] He was a lawyer at first, then a politician, and politically republican. Opposition to the July Dynasty. 】

The king frowned, and then remembered who this guy really was. Then, his face became extremely strange, and at the end he erupted into a hysterical laugh.

"Haha You've got a good guy! Such a person can actually come and replace me, hahaha! What are you kidding by letting such an incompetent person succeed me as the new ruler of France. He'll have to fuck off in a few months! You're just using him as a puppet, aren't you? What exactly do you want to do? ”

"I can't comment on your question, because I don't know how long he will be head of the provisional government, maybe a few months." The Count's voice was still so cold. "But. At the very least, we can guarantee that we can save your life and that of your family, and even your and your family's possessions in France, as long as you choose to abdicate peacefully today. You can keep your dignity. Isn't that enough to show our sincerity? Do you have to choose that unseemly way? ”

The king frowned again. Obviously, he was already very tempted by the condition offered by the other party.

After a moment, he spoke again, still with some hesitation in his tone.

"On what basis should I believe you? Don't forget, next will be a republic, and that will be the world of the mob! Do you think that a guy born into the nobility like you can pretend to be a representative of the people in it? It's a joke! ”

"Of course not, Your Majesty." The Count's answer made him speechless for a moment.

However, you have also forgotten one fact. A very concise fact. ”

"What?"

"It is true that France is about to undergo an ordeal. Become a damned republic for the time being. But...... I am convinced that this will not be a catastrophe for us...... It was just a temporary accident. The Earl continued, in a detached tone, "I am afraid you also know that there are two kinds of republicans in the world: one is the dreamer who wants that there will be no king in the world, and that everyone will have equal access to one country; The other also wants that there will be no king, but that the country will be ruled by their groups and classes – careerists. Although the demands are somewhat similar, they are two completely different people in the final analysis. The latter hates the former the most, so they will avenge you, they will go and sweep away these mobs and radicals, you can rest assured! ”

His answer made the king a little suspicious.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I mean, there's no going to be any revolution," a hint of cunning flashed in the count's eyes, "and soon, it's going to be over, though on the surface it may struggle for a long time." ”

"It's over?" The king couldn't help but repeat it.

"Yes, this riot was just an accidental episode, and it is true that it will cause some tragedy, but in the end France will return to its original track - to become a monarchy again, and we will only have to watch the situation evolve and wait for that day...... It doesn't matter if it is necessary to bleed the elated rioters of today...... Or rather, it's better that way. ”

"You took refuge with the Bourbons?" His Majesty finally understood something.

"No, Your Majesty, you need to use your imagination a little more." The count's rigid face finally showed a little smile at this moment, "Who else is suitable to be the monarch of France...... ”

"Bonaparte......" the king finally understood, and he cried out the word through gritted teeth......

Then he shouted again, "So you took refuge in them? ”

Anger surged back into his heart, but with it a deeper sense of powerlessness.

He understood that now that he was powerless, what could he do if he knew everything?

"I didn't talk about taking refuge, I just made a choice. Again, you have a choice to make now...... Is it to depart with our respect with dignity? Or will they continue to resist and bring an unknowable end to the Orleans? You should be able to trust us by now, right? Personally, I advise you to stop making unnecessary resistance. Although the Earl's tone was flat, the threat in it was already clear, "Please make a decision quickly, Your Majesty." Now, you only have five and a half hours left. ”

"You!"

"If you have made the decision to abdicate peacefully, please go to the Hôtel de Ville de Paris as soon as possible and swear your abdication to all the people of France, after which a new provisional government of France will be formed." The Count decided not to go around in circles, and told the whole story of the predetermined disposition of the king by a group of men, "Then we will send someone to escort you and your family out of France and bound for England, where you will be safely protected from all the troubles of France, and I am afraid that it will be a good thing for you?" ”

As he narrates, Count Delier suddenly feels a subtle feeling.

Eighteen years ago, Louis Philippe treated the Bourbons like this, and eighteen years later, it was finally his turn to accept this fate. Fate, how unpredictable!

"Please make a decision as soon as possible!" Leaving behind that little futile thought, the Count urged again, and then, ignoring the king's reaction, turned away. He understood that this gentleman had also withdrawn from the stage of his history and could no longer play any role.

Looking at the count's back as he departed, the king moved his mouth, but at last he did not shout anything.

What's the point of forcibly keeping him behind?

In this way, he let the Count of Dillion go.

Then, he forced himself to get back to his feet, and then dragged his tired body out of the window, quietly watching everything outside the window. The ragged mob was cheering, ready to launch a general assault on the palace.

The decision has already been made, and in fact there is nothing to think about.

But there were still a few hours, plenty of time, and plenty of time to go back and see the land he had ruled—he knew in his heart that whether he agreed or not to the advice of the Count of Dilillion, he would never have the chance to set foot in it again in his life.

His dynasty died like this, his time was over, and even if he was unwilling to do so now, he had to admit this reality.

However, looking out the window at the mob, he still had an indescribable anger.

"I didn't die at your hands!" As if to justify someone, His Majesty the King muttered aloud to himself.

Yes, his dynasty died not at the hands of these mobs outside the window, but at the hands of the armies that did not move or even defected, at the hands of the National Guard, at the hands of the bourgeoisie, the aristocracy and the bureaucracy who betrayed him.

But so what?

It's time to wrap up.

He didn't want to resist anymore, one person couldn't be the enemy of the whole country.

He looked up at the still gloomy sky, cast his gaze on the endless firmament, and then, as if he had seen several apparitions, apparitions of the most important people in his life.

"Father, I'm sorry...... I failed......" The seventy-five-year-old man suddenly cried out like a child, choked up and apologized to his father, who had unfortunately fallen in the Revolution, and apologized for losing the ambition of his father and son to seize the throne for two generations.

The apparition of the father was as stern and reproachful as it had been sixty years ago.

He closed his eyes and didn't dare to look at them anymore, tears in his eyes.

"It's okay, brother." Suddenly, he seemed to hear something again.

"Adelaide, Adelaide!" He opened his eyes again, and then looked anxiously at the sky again, where his sister was smiling at him, her lips twitching, and she was talking about something.

"If fate once again imposes calamity on our family after I have passed, please don't lose hope, please take care of yourself and live well! I will bless you well there, may God bless you! ”

"I can wait a long time over there, don't rush to come to me......"

A sentence echoed in his ears again.

"Have you thought of this day a long time ago......" he sighed sadly, tears sliding down his cheeks again. (To be continued......)