"Ah, Holy Mary! Why has such a terrible thing happened..."
The Sicilian princess covered her mouth in shock, wanting to look out the window but too afraid to even lift her head, huddling in the corner of her seat, incessantly crying, "His Highness the Crown Prince was attacked because he came to pick me up; it's all my fault... Wuu... It's all because of me..."
Next to her, Ambassador Timothy warily glanced outside, swiftly drew the curtains, and then handed a handkerchief to the princess, admonishing her in a somewhat agitated, low voice, "Your Highness, please stay calm, this has nothing to do with you."
Having a handkerchief to wipe away her tears made Maria cry even more fiercely, "What will I do if His Highness the Crown Prince has an accident?"
"No, that won't happen," Timothy said hurriedly, trying to reassure her, "Listening to those gunshots, they should've been fired from a long distance. Even if the Crown Prince was hit, it shouldn't be fatal."
"Really?" Maria recalled the physics she had studied, nodded slightly, her crying gradually turning into sobs, "May God protect the Crown Prince..." Explore more adventures at m,v l'-NovelFire
But then another thought popped into her head—having just arrived in Paris, and the Crown Prince was attacked, could this leave a bad impression on him? Would Queen Mary blame her for this incident? Perhaps she would be sent back to Sicily immediately...
Thinking of this, she started sobbing again.
At that moment, centered around Joseph's carriage, a crowd of two to three hundred people had gathered. The shouts of people, the neighing of horses, coupled with the occasional gunfire, had turned the scene into utter chaos.
Since the imperial physicians hadn't come along—no one had anticipated the need for a doctor in receiving a "marriage prospect"—a military doctor from the French Royal Guard had been brought over by a cavalry officer.
That officer dismounted the doctor from his horse, pointed toward the Crown Prince's carriage, and urgently shouted, "That's the one, quickly!"
The military doctor hastened onto the carriage and asked Eman, "Where is the injury?"
"I don't know," the latter replied, looking completely panicked.
The military doctor prayed inwardly, hoping desperately not to have the Crown Prince die on his watch...
Outside the carriage, Besanval rode up as well, observing the chaotic scene around him. He wanted to turn the Crown Prince's carriage around to avoid danger but was also worried that it would delay his medical treatment, leaving him at a loss as to what to do.
Not far away, in a farmhouse, a French Royal Guard lieutenant was the first to rush to the attic, only to find two dead bodies lying on the floor.
He immediately ordered his men to search the area.
Soon, the soldiers reported back that no others were found.
The lieutenant confirmed it himself and then reported the situation to Adrien waiting outside. Afterward, Adrien sent the orderly officer to signal that the attackers had been killed.
With the rise of a uniquely rhythmic bugle sound, the troops of the French Royal Guard gradually ceased their aimless shooting and began to form ranks under the command of their officers.
Upon hearing that the assailant had been captured, Besanval hurriedly ordered the Crown Prince's and the princess's carriages to return to the Palace of Versailles immediately.𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦
He personally led over two hundred cavalrymen, with a grave expression, escorting them all the way.
...
In the Palace of Versailles, Queen Mary, in full regalia, hummed a tune while admiring her new wig in the mirror, when Countess Debreninac burst in with a pallid face, rushing forward.
Queen Mary was about to ask why her lady-in-waiting was acting so rudely today when the latter urgently reported, "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince's convoy was ambushed on the way! It's said... His Highness is injured!"
Queen Mary's eyes widened, she froze for a second, then suddenly swayed and fainted.
After a while, the Queen was eventually awakened by the offensive smell of smelling salts from the Imperial Physician's hand.
She pushed the physician's hand away forcefully and looked through her attendants for the Countess Debreninac, "Where's Joseph? How is he?"
The lady-in-waiting hastened to support her and spoke softly, "Your Majesty, the latest news that has come back is that the Prince is not in any life-threatening danger. The Royal Guard's military doctor has already treated his wounds. He should arrive at the Palace of Versailles in about two more hours."
"Are you sure? No life-threatening danger?" Queen Mary didn't care about the wig askew on her head, clutching the hand of her lady-in-waiting tightly, her eyes not blinking as she stared at her.
"Yes."
"Thank God! Amen!" The Queen made the sign of the cross over her chest, took a few deep breaths, and then struggled to her feet, supported by others, her steps unsteady as she walked toward the Versailles Palace Square. Meanwhile, she ordered loudly, "Quick, have Doctor Grusais go to Paris to treat the Crown Prince on the way..."
Next to her, Countess Debreninac said, "Your Majesty, the doctors left long ago."
"Good, very good..."
Two hours later, a large troop of cavalrymen escorted the two carriages into the Palace of Versailles.
The nobility, who had been waiting there to welcome the Sicilian princess, were now all concerned about the condition of the Crown Prince. Many young ladies were so worried about the incident involving His Highness that they couldn't stop wiping their tears.
Queen Mary, her wig removed, shook off Countess Debreninac's helping hand and rushed towards the carriage. Louis XVI followed her closely, his expression somber.
The cavalry immediately cleared a path. Through the gaps among the soldiers, the Queen saw the bullet holes in the carriage door, causing her heart to tighten instantly.
As she opened the carriage door, she suddenly felt dizzy—inside, everything was in disarray, splinters were everywhere, along with traces of blood. Her son was leaning against the seat, covered in blood, especially his right arm. Although it had been crudely bandaged, the entire arm was almost soaked with blood.
Of course, she couldn't know that most of it was chicken blood.
"Jo..." As her trembling lips began to speak, tears immediately streamed down her face.
Behind her, Louis XVI stared at his son, with his eyes also reddened.
Doctor Grusais was the first to get out of the carriage, bowed to the Queen and the King, and then comforted them, "Your Majesties, please do not worry. His Highness is only injured and is not in life-threatening danger. He appears to be frightened now and needs to rest as soon as possible."
"Rest? Oh, yes, of course," the Queen nodded subconsciously and instructed Countess Debreninac, "Quickly, take the Crown Prince back to rest."
Joseph was "weakly" helped out of the carriage and then laid back onto the stretcher to be taken to his own bedroom.
The King, the Queen, and a group of nobles immediately followed.
Joseph lay in bed, feigning extreme weakness, his eyes closed as if he were sleeping. The Queen sat by the bed, her head lowered as she stroked her son's arm where it was wrapped with thick bandages—the military doctors had applied nearly a dozen layers at Joseph's repeated request.
She wiped away her tears, regulated her breathing, turned her head to look at the crowd around her, and her voice was filled with chill, "Who can explain to me why things have turned out this way?"
Kesode immediately looked towards General Besanval, who stood at the bedroom door with a pale face. Led by him, the others also turned their gazes to the commander of the French Guards.
Under the scrutiny of everyone, Besanval moved to the middle of the room with difficulty, saluted the King and Queen, and stammered, "Your Majesty, it's... someone fired shots en route..."
Queen Mary glanced at him, "How did the attacker get close?"
"This, I'm not clear about..."
"Not clear?!" The Queen frowned deeply, "How many of the French Guards were in charge of surveillance?"
"Three thousand, Your Majesty."
Queen Mary stood up abruptly, glaring at Besanval with eyes full of fury, and shouted, "Three thousand men! What the hell were you all doing that no one noticed the attack?!"
"Yes, it was..." Besanval's head hung so low it was almost between his knees as he muttered, "My negligence..."
Louis XVI stood up, gently patting his wife's shoulder.
Queen Mary glared fiercely at Besanval once more, then, disregarding him, turned again to the doctor to confirm her son's condition repeatedly before turning to the officials gathered for a visit, "Count Robel, Baron Weymorel, I want you two to start an investigation immediately. I need to know what exactly happened today!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
The head of the Secret Police and the second-in-command of the Queen's Imperial Guard both bowed and accepted the order.
In the time that followed, Louis XVI and Queen Mary stayed beside the Crown Prince's bed, not even taking lunch.
It was only at twilight that Joseph finally "slowly came to."
The Queen immediately grasped her son's left hand and whispered gently, "My dear heart, you're finally awake! How do you feel?"
"God be praised!" Louis XVI also watched his son with intense concern.
In a timely manner, Joseph showed the panic and helplessness fitting for a boy of fourteen, looking pitifully at his parents and frowning, "I feel very weak, and the wound is so painful..."
The Queen was nearly moved to tears again, hurriedly comforting him with a soft voice, "The Lord will protect you, my dear! You will be alright."
Louis XVI then turned a searching gaze to the doctor standing by.
The doctor, somewhat helplessly, approached and said, "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince's wound has been meticulously treated, now all he can do is rest quietly. As for the pain, perhaps His Highness could take some Dover Powder."
At the mention of Dover Powder, Joseph's eyelid twitched—the "Dover Powder" was a commonly used painkiller made from opium, not exactly a trifling matter.
```
He hurriedly changed the subject, looking terrified as he said to Queen Mary, "Mother, that bullet flew right between Count Eman and me. If it had been half a foot off, it would have hit my heart..."
Queen Mary and Louis XVI were both deeply shaken when they heard this and repeatedly comforted their son.
Count Eman added "insult to injury" by saying, "Your Majesty, although the bullet did not hit His Highness, the splinters from the carriage were also very dangerous. Look, the wound on His Highness is from the splinter that was ejected."
"Luckily we had God's protection, otherwise if a piece of wood had pierced His Highness's eye or something, the consequences would have been too dreadful to imagine!"
Joseph and his servant exchanged an imperceptible glance, silently applauding each other's performances.
It wasn't until late at night that Queen Mary and Louis XVI left the Crown Prince's sleeping quarters, still not having recovered from the shock.
The next morning at ten o'clock, all the Cabinet Ministers were summoned to the conference hall. Before the Queen lay several sketches. Count Robel was at her side, narrating the investigation findings related to yesterday's assassination attempt.
"This is a British-made 1742 flintlock gun bullet," Robel pointed to a sketch of the carriage interior, "fired through the door and finally stopped by a post on the other side of the carriage. Judging by the penetrating power, it must have been shot from quite a distance away."
Anyone investigating would certainly arrive at the same conclusion.
Because the marks on the carriage were indeed made by a 1742 flintlock gun, fired by Kesode's own hand, who carefully adjusted the amount of gunpowder to ensure the power was just right.
Afterward, he used wax to seal the door and carriage's damaged areas and painted over them. From the outside, it was very difficult to notice. When the "assailant's" gunfire was heard, Joseph removed the wax, replacing it with previously collected bullets and wood splinters, recreating the scene of the shooting.
"What was the identity of the perpetrator?" Brian asked, frowning.
"They were two gang members," Robel gestured to a sketch of the perpetrators' bodies, "called the Blood Blade Gang. They have committed multiple crimes recently, robbing people on the road and have killed seven or eight people."
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Baron Weymorel, captain of the Queen's guard, added from the side, "Your Majesty, we have thoroughly compared the bulletins and brought in police from Moretrowan Town for identification, leaving no doubt they were members of the gang."
Justice Minister Baron Breti was puzzled, "How did they get close to the convoy?"
Robel pointed to a map and explained, "They must have slipped through the farmland from the east, then took advantage of a lapse in the Imperial Guard's vigilance to sneak into a farmhouse."
He and Weymorel were previously perplexed; the farmhouse was more than three hundred paces from the fields, and at the time, at least ten Imperial Guard soldiers should have had sight of the place.
After much discussion, they could only attribute it to General Besanval's negligence, such as gaps in the patrol arrangement or lack of discipline among the soldiers, perhaps even sleeping on duty.
No one would have guessed that the attackers were brought to the scene by the biggest victim himself.
Robel continued reporting the investigation findings, "Then those two killed the soldiers guarding the farmhouse and hid in the attic. When the convoy passed by, they shot at the Crown Prince with their gun."
"Upon hearing the gunshot, the Imperial Guard fired at the attic, killing the assailants on the spot," Weymorel added.
After a moment of contemplation, the Justice Minister wondered, "Why did those two guys want to assassinate the Crown Prince?"
"Hmph, obviously someone paid them a lot of money to do it," Mono snorted coldly, "There are too many plotters who want to ruin the future of France."
Brian pondered, "Or perhaps, they intended to assassinate Princess Maria, but due to the great distance, the bullet went off course."
If it was as he suggested, the assassins' objective would be to provoke a war between two countries. Regardless, the consequences of this attack were extremely serious.
Queen Mary closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and spoke, "It seems the course of events is quite clear now. Count Robel, please continue your investigation into the mastermind behind this."
She then looked at Breti, "Now, I want to know, what punishment will the Imperial Guard, especially General Besanval, who was responsible for protecting the Crown Prince's convoy, face?"
After pondering, Breti carefully responded, "Your Majesty, I believe General Besanval has been grossly negligent in his duties and should be dismissed and exiled."