Before the morning mist cleared, Schönbrunn Palace began the send-off ceremony.

It was Marie Antoinette's last morning in Vienna as an Austrian princess.

The sun has just risen, and the surrounding flowers and plants have not yet fully awakened, and you can see scattered dew drops gently sliding from among the green leaves.

At this time, people have already woken up early and arrived at the gates of Schönbrunn Palace on the western outskirts of the city to bid farewell to their princess, the ambassador of peace.

After the farewell ceremony in the main hall, Marie Antoinette, a fourteen-year-old girl, embraced her parents one last time and boarded a carriage decorated with flowers and jewels.

——and since then embarked on his own destiny.

In addition to hundreds of cavalry and guards, there were also various maids and attendants, doctors, barbers, confessors, court secretaries, etc., as well as some noblewomen and officials who saw them off.

The head of the security guard was the princess's brother, Prince Holder himself.

He was dressed exceptionally formally today, meticulously directing the march of the troops.

Prince Kautz and the envoy of Dulfort followed on horseback.

The Carlos sisters and Elena rode in a carriage that Mr. Holder had arranged for them.

Originally, Elena wanted to ride a horse.

"It's unladylike." Holder insisted that the three of them get in the car.

"Is this your attitude of asking people to do things?" Elena wanted to get angry, but was stopped by Bella.

After all, Anna is not old enough to ride a horse. Bella and Elena also didn't want to leave it alone in the car.

"Now, I'm talking Bella." Elena looked out the window at the line and asked, "How do you know that the Duke of Durfo is safe and sound?"

"It's not that hard." Bella replied, "It's us who complicate things."

"Huh?"

"What happened at the banquet that day was really unnatural, like a deliberate play."

"Did you show us the acting?"

"To be exact, for the would-be 'actors'."

"Potential actors?"

"As you said, there are not a few people who want to take action against the French envoy, and no matter how vigilant they are, if they carry out tighter security measures, they will inevitably slip through the net. So, they came up with a strategy to prioritize the attack. To put it bluntly, it's a 'disguise' trick."

"Disguise?"

"That's right. Imagine if you were trying to get rid of someone. Whatever the reason, but before you act, someone is the first to do it. So what do you do next?"

"I'm ......," Elena replied after a moment's thought, "since someone has already done it, I don't have to do it again?"

"That's right." Bella continued, "In this world, the only people who don't have to worry about being assassinated are the ones who have already been killed."

"But in that case, you can't rule out the threat, huh?"

"No, actually, the threat is gone."

"Huh?"

"You know, politics is a very delicate thing. There are no absolute friends or enemies, only common interests. In other words, whoever wants to attack the envoy for marriage, as long as he does not act, or does not succeed, it can be regarded as if it did not happen. In this case, it doesn't matter who the other party is, because the main purpose is to let the princess marry peacefully in order to strengthen the alliance between the two countries, and it is also within the scope of duty to ensure the safety of the other party's envoy. The rest doesn't matter."

"That's why they directed and acted in such a play?"

No wonder Mr. Holder investigates, but there are no clues.

In fact, there is no clue, which is the biggest clue in itself.

"It seems that Empress Teresa is indeed a brilliant statesman." Bella said.

"So what?" "Even if you're right, as the leader of a nation, she might do a good job. But as a mother, she was a failure!"

No worthy mother is willing to push her daughter into the fire pit.

Even if it's for the good of the family.

"You're right." Bella does not intend to deny Elena's point of view, "As a woman, she chose to be a monarch before she chose to be a mother. That's probably the cruelty of politics as well."

They were now beginning to understand Mr. Holder's thoughts.

The procession slowly passed through Upper Austria and Bavaria. The towering Alps always accompany them through the hills and forests.

Everywhere they went, local city and town residents greeted them with flowers and celebrations.

In this way, they trekked all the way to Strasbourg on the Franco-Austrian border.

The guards of the two countries will complete the handover of the bride here.

They built several wooden houses on the banks of the Rhine. It is flanked by reception rooms for the rest and business of the entourage on both sides, and in the middle is a magnificent hall.

After a brief ceremony, the fourteen-year-old girl reluctantly bid farewell to her brother and her motherland.

Then, slowly walk into the middle hall.

Here, Marie Antoinette will complete her transformation from an Austrian princess to a French dauphess.

Nothing from her homeland, whether it is jewelry, clothes, shoes, socks, including the pet dog she has been with for many years, cannot be left behind.

The young maiden, in this gloomy room, was stripped naked in the presence of all the Austrian maids, and then the French noblewoman's representative dressed her in the new dress she had brought from Paris, from the inside out.

Nothing is allowed to remain as a memorial.

From then on, she will say goodbye to everything Austria and her past.

Let the queen set foot on a foreign land.

Prince Holder represented the Austrian army and was therefore not able to cross the border. The guards behind will be all in the hands of the French.

He could only watch his sister disappear on the other side of the Rhine.

None of the carriages in the queue can cross this boundary.

However, only one exception is made.

Sister Carlos and Elena are state guests, not belonging to either party, and are free to cross borders and set foot on any land as guests.

Louis XV was also happy to invite the two families to the wedding of their grandsons.

Therefore, with the special passage permit, the three ladies did not encounter any obstacles.

That's why Mr. Holder commissioned them.

Holder hopes that the three Elena can take his place and send his sister to Paris safely.

Although there should be no problems in terms of security, it is inevitable to feel uneasy when walking in a foreign territory surrounded by a group of strange people and things. Although the three of them have only been with Anthony for a few days, they are relatively close people.

"The sister will get rid of you." Holder said sincerely.