The Shadow of Great Britain

Of course, Thiers’s dream of becoming Prime Minister didn’t last long, as he hurriedly stepped down six months later.

The reason was that Thiers suggested to King Louis Philippe to follow Britain’s constitutional monarchy and allow the Prime Minister and Cabinet to handle foreign and military affairs fully.

Regarding Thiers’s fanciful suggestion, Louis Philippe, who initially planned to use him as a puppet, unsurprisingly rejected it outright, insisting that France was not Britain, and the two countries’ situations were different. France’s own brand of constitutional monarchy stipulated that the king was the one who formulated foreign policy and was the highest commander of the military.

Anyone who’s been in a relationship knows that once such a question is asked, regardless of the outcome, the relationship between the two is destined to shatter.

Feeling he had no other choice, Thiers could only resign from the position of Prime Minister, reluctantly handing over the coveted role to the conservative monarchist Louis-Mathieu Molé.

As Victor reached this point, he couldn’t help but chuckle: ”I heard that Prince Talleyrand once told His Majesty the King, ’You can never truly accomplish Thiers, but he will become an excellent tool. However, he is the kind of man who must have his desires satisfied to be utilized, yet he is never satisfied. The greatest misfortune for you and him is that you cannot make him a Cardinal.’ Looking at it now, the old man really got it right.”

Arthur glanced down from the balcony on the second floor. Their timing was perfect, as Victor led them upstairs, the orchestra in the theater had started a low-key prelude.

The candelabras below were lit one by one, reflecting on the frescoes of the dome, making the entire Italian Opera House look like a delicate jewelry box.

”We got lucky tonight,” Victor lowered his voice, raised an eyebrow with familiar satisfaction: ”This is the real splendor of Paris. The tickets for Miss Grisi’s ’Norma’ have been speculated to sky-high prices, but it doesn’t matter. We have reserved box tickets.”

When Victor opened the door of the box, the opulent atmosphere hit them in the face.

The heavy velvet curtains separated the noise; inside was another world.

The gold-trimmed armchairs, the light reflected from silver candelabras, just right on a few prepared ice buckets.

”Come on, calm your nerves first.” Victor flicked his wrist, opening two bottles of Bordeaux. The amber liquid swirled in the glass, exuding a sweet and strong aroma.

He handed the wine glasses to Arthur and Eld, then took a sip himself, letting out a satisfied breath: ”If you ask me, after a busy day, nothing beats a chilled Bordeaux to unwind.”

Eld couldn’t help but wipe his face with his hand: ”Damn Paris... In London, maybe at most, we’d order a few pints of beer and some roast in the theater bar, nowhere you drink such stuff during a show. Damn, even the lights are so showy. Arthur, look at those girls.”

Arthur leaned back on the sofa, took a sip of wine, and turned his gaze to Victor: ”Brother, you didn’t drag me here today just to have us listen to Miss Grisi sing, did you?”

”Right!” Eld, who had been suppressing his excitement all the way here, hurriedly asked as he saw Arthur opening up the topic: ”Is there no other entertainment?”

Victor squinted his eyes, speaking with a cheerful tone: ”As expected, I knew I couldn’t fool you two.”

Arthur leaned forward slightly, changing the topic: ”You kept mentioning Mr. Talleyrand earlier... was it him who sent you?”

Victor laughed heartily: ”Exactly, there are too many people around him, plus his health is not good, so it’s inconvenient for him to invite you personally. So, he thought of me, an old dog who handled some dirty work for him. Don’t worry, it’s not a bad thing. You probably know, he doesn’t have much capacity to do evil now, nor the intent. You might not know, he’s started believing in God again, so... he just wants to invite you to his residence at Concorde Square to taste the work of the best chef in Paris, Anthony Careem.”

Talleyrand’s invitation to Arthur for a meal was not something Arthur doubted.

After all, when Talleyrand was working in London, he often bragged to Arthur about his Valence Castle and his castle’s head chef, Anthony Careem.

Of course, this wasn’t entirely just boasting, as Careem had served not only as Talleyrand’s head chef but also worked for the Tsar of Russia, Alexander I, and King George IV of Britain. Even across the English Channel, Arthur had heard of his reputation as ”the King of Chefs, the Chef of Kings.”

Even beyond the dining aspect, saying that Talleyrand has no capacity or intent for wrongdoing, Arthur could barely comprehend.

However, the claim that Talleyrand has begun to believe in God again is a bit...

After all, everyone knows, Talleyrand, this former Bishop, had been excommunicated by the Pope himself back in those days.

He even made numerous discordant remarks about religion, such as saying religion is meant to regulate the ignorant. Or, that the Bishop’s identity for him is just like clothes, whether he wears it or takes it off makes no difference.

”If it is truly as you say, that Mr. Talleyrand has started believing in God again.” Arthur chuckled softly: ”Then perhaps I really should go see him, after all, he’s already sensing that he’s about to go to Hell.”