"Camellia," Bazel gripped the girl's shoulders tightly, staring into her exquisitely beautiful amethyst eyes with a serious tone, "you must go to Paris! Not only must you go, but you should do everything in your power to get close to the Crown Prince."
Camellia was clearly surprised, nervously responding, "Why... Why? Moreover, I couldn't possibly come into contact with the Crown Prince..."
"Please trust your teacher!" Bazel sounded as if he was giving her one last lesson, his expression extremely serious, "You just need to find a way to stay by the side of the Queen of France. Becoming her lady-in-waiting might not be possible, but becoming a maid should be achievable—you are very familiar with Vienna's court etiquette, and Her Majesty will surely take a liking to you.
"The Crown Prince is bound to visit the Queen often, which means you will get to see him regularly. You need to first understand his habits and preferences, starting with something as simple as greeting him, and try to converse with him more.
"You are so beautiful that no one would refuse to speak with you."
Stunned, Camellia looked at Bazel, her mentor and friend, "What are you talking about? This is completely unthinkable..."
Yet Bazel did not hesitate, "You must play to your strengths, I mean, even in the Palace of Versailles, you are the most striking girl among all! You must captivate the Crown Prince, be more proactive… No, no, what's more important is to be measured, not let him think you are too forward, give him a natural feeling. Oh, I know it's difficult, you don't have such experience, but you can ask the noblewomen of Versailles for advice, they are very skilled in this. Of course, you'll need to give them some benefits, be willing to spend money..."
The music teacher spoke with rising enthusiasm, "Once those techniques start to work, well, when the relationship between you and the Crown Prince becomes very 'harmonious,' you must seize the opportunity—to become his mistress!"
Camellia felt as if she had been stung by a bee, forcefully breaking free from Bazel's hands, her face as red as the twilight sky, staring at the ground and shaking her head incessantly, "Please stop... How could this be possible? I can't..."
"No, you can!" Bazel exclaimed, "This is an opportunity many people only dream of, it's the destiny bestowed upon you by God.
"Trust me! You must do this!"
In a panic, the girl tossed her cup of cocoa on the table and backed away repeatedly. She had always trusted her teacher, never going wrong following his guidance, but in this moment, she did not know if she should listen to him.
"I... I came to say goodbye to you." She suddenly remembered the purpose of her visit, retreating to the door, her back to Bazel until she found the doorknob, then continuing, "I will write to you, you are always my most trusted friend, may God bless you. Now, I think I should go."
After she spoke, she pulled the door open forcefully and fled Bazel's villa without looking back.
Bazel extended his hand towards her retreating figure but then retracted it, trembling. His eyes reddening, he muttered quietly, "Will we meet again? My Camellia... Oh, no, it is better not to.
"I hope you will live happily in Paris, I hope you find happiness! You must be happy!
"But without you, how am I to go on living..."
He saw the girl seemingly look back at him before boarding the carriage and immediately waved to her, "Go on, Camellia, to His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince. It's okay, smile, that's it! Smile!"
Camellia boarded the carriage, feeling extremely confused inside. Mr. Bazel had said it was her destiny, the fate of becoming that man's mistress...
She couldn't help but picture the handsome face of the Crown Prince of France, her body trembling slightly, cheeks flushing. Indeed, as her teacher had said, so many girls dreamed of winning his favor. Could it really be that she should do the same?
The teacher had never deceived herself, and the decisions she had made for herself had never been wrong...
As she returned home lost in thought, it was almost twilight.
From afar, she saw the gates of the manor wide open—there should have been no one there—and she said to the French servant anxiously, "Mr. Eric, it seems someone has come to our house?"
The carriage stopped at a distance, and Eric got down by himself to check the situation at the manor. Moments later, several men dressed in the court guard uniforms were seen pushing him out, shouting something loudly.
Camellia could only faintly hear the words "fraud" and "seizure"...
In a luxurious villa to the southwest of Vienna, Baron Walter, with a heavily made-up woman in his arms, raised his glass towards the others and boasted proudly, "That old bastard has finally died. Haha, God, you finally remembered to take her away. And now I can finally get my hands on that lovely little skylark."
On the sofa, a portly young nobleman toyed with the chest of the woman beside him and teased deliberately, "Fred, I bet Miss Camellia will still reject you, just like before, haha."
The other nobles also showed smiles.
Walter pushed the woman clinging to him away with disdain and said, "I've already had Judge Meyer and Marquis de Vilhona arrange everything. There's no way she can refuse me this time."
"We'll see," he patted the cushion next to him, boasting, "In at most half a month, or even by next week, you'll see my little sweet treat sitting right here."
The other nobles began to roar with laughter, even cracking a few risqué jokes to congratulate Walter on his impending success.
"Hmm, I'll have to take her to that 'party' at the end of the month." Walter stroked his chin, revealing a lascivious grin, "The Buckhouse guys will surely be green with envy, haha."
While Walter was boasting to his cronies, Joseph was in his room on the second floor of Schonbrunn Palace, frowning at his servant Eric, "You're saying that the court guard has seized the Delvaux family manor?"
The latter nodded, "Yes, Your Highness, they said that Madame Delvaux was involved in a fraud case before she passed away. Not only the manor but also three hectares of property in the northern outskirts of Vienna have been seized."
The law enforcement responsibilities in this era were very blurred, with the military being an important part of law enforcement, while the police usually only dealt with cases involving commoners. The fact that the court guard was used indicated that the fraud case was very serious.
On the side, Camellia, who had been calmed down by the maid, burst into tears again upon hearing this news.
Joseph's face darkened, he knew that his mother often gave her nurse a sum of money each year, at least four to five thousand livres. Over the years, just this money would have been enough for the Delvaux family to buy the manor and that bit of property, so there was no need for her to commit any fraud.
Eric continued, "Oh, right, Your Highness, those court guards also mentioned that a Baron Walter knows about the relevant evidence."
As soon as Joseph heard the name Walter, he immediately understood the situation.
"It's indeed that guy causing trouble!"