The Shadow of Great Britain

638: Chapter 314 Napoleon’s Direct Relatives_3 638: Chapter 314 Napoleon’s Direct Relatives_3 “My God!” Arthur covered his forehead, feigning surprise, “I thought the mess with Portugal and Brazil was chaotic enough, but the Bonaparte family too?”

“There’s nothing serious about it.”

Louis scratched his nose, “You have to understand that the affairs of the nobility are always messy; there are too many interests involved.

To be honest, at times I actually envy the families of commoners; their pretenses are not as abundant as in the court.

I don’t want to deny…

my mother and father’s marriage…

wasn’t very happy, but they were both good parents, just not suited for each other.”

“Hmm…” The Great Dumas suddenly looked strange, twitching at the corners of his mouth.

Arthur gave him a curious glance, “Alexander, what’s the matter?”

“Ah…” The Great Dumas turned his head to the side, pointing to a landscape painting on the wall, “That’s quite a nice painting, I hadn’t noticed it before, the innkeeper has good taste.”

Seeing this, Louis gave Dumas an unpleasant look, although Arthur did not understand why Dumas was laughing, he himself was very clear.

The fat man was doubting his lineage.

Because his mother had maintained a flagrant extramarital affair with Earl Flahaut, Charles Joseph, the streets and alleys of Paris often whispered such rumors—Louis Bonaparte was not of the Bonaparte seed, but bore the blood of the Perigord family.

As for why it was the blood of the Perigord family, it was because the Earl Flahaut had always been considered to be the illegitimate son of Monsieur Talleyrand, the French ambassador.

So, if this was true, then Louis would be Talleyrand’s grandson.

This was something Louis could not accept under any circumstance.

To admit that he was not a noble of the Bonaparte lineage was already unbearable, and if he were to be Talleyrand’s grandson, he would have to dive into the Thames to end his life.

Because of this, the young Louis had confronted his mother several times to ask who his real father was.

And each time, his mother’s answer comforted him; he was a noble of the Bonaparte.

But although she said so, the question of his bloodline was always a knot in his heart.

He would often compare himself with the portraits of his father and uncles, trying to find similarities, but sadly, he looked more like his mother.

Arthur also noticed the emotional changes in Louis.

Since being released from the cells of Scotland Yard, it was the first time he noticed that this young man could be so despondent.

To take care of his feelings, Arthur could only suppress his curiosity and steer the conversation back on track.

“The lover of Napoleon you just mentioned, the Polish lady, was she good?”

Louis, asked by Arthur, had no choice but to put aside the unpleasantness for now: “Madame Marie Valevsky was indeed a very gentle woman, and her fate was far more bitter than my uncle’s first love.

If I remember correctly, she came from the distinguished Raczyński family of Poland and was married off by her family to the powerful Count Walewski of Poland as soon as she came of age…”

“Isn’t that quite good?”

“If you only look at the power, it indeed is.”

Louis began, “But at the time Count Walewski was already over seventy years old, and Madame Valevsky was only eighteen.

Although she was unwilling, she still obeyed her duties as a wife after marriage.

When my uncle invaded Warsaw and fell in love with her at first sight, she was reluctant to violate basic Catholic morals, and she rejected my uncle’s advances many times.”

“Oh, that does seem like a woman with integrity.

But why did she later fall into Napoleon’s embrace?” The Great Dumas exclaimed in surprise.

“Hmm…”

Louis shook his head, “It wasn’t that she threw herself into my uncle’s arms, but rather the Polish people pressed her into Napoleon’s arms.

Since Poland was partitioned by Prussia, Russia, and Austria, they have been trying to restore the Kingdom of Poland.

So, when those Poles realized that Napoleon had fallen in love with Marie, they began to continuously send people to persuade the lady.

All the Polish patriots came out, urging Marie in their letters.

They said, ‘If you were a man, you would give your life for your country.

As a woman, you can make other sacrifices.

Although it will be painful, you must force yourself to do so.’

And even Marie’s husband, Count Walewski, began to persuade her and willingly signed a divorce agreement, voluntarily ceding her to Napoleon.

From this point on, Marie finally began to accept my uncle.

She moved to Paris and bore my uncle a son, and respecting the opinions of the Polish people and Marie, the child was not named Bonaparte but followed the surname of the old count—Valevsky.

My uncle promised Marie that after the restoration of Poland, this child would become the King of Poland.

And Marie’s payback to my uncle was a lifetime of unwavering loyalty, even after Josephine stepped down from being queen, and my uncle decided to marry an Austrian princess, she never uttered a word of complaint or excessive speech.

She really was a very kind and considerate lady, even my mother, as lively and critical as she is, had a very high opinion of her.”

Arthur nodded slightly upon hearing this; he flipped open the title page of “The Memoirs of Napoleon” and pointed to the name on it, “I’ve got a rough idea about Marie.

But her child, the would-be King of Poland, is he in London now?”