You can absolutely trust my loyalty

Queen Mary paused for a moment upon hearing this, a sense of unease creeping into her heart. Seeing her son's enthusiastic attitude, could it be that he had designs on the Princess of the Two Sicilies?

Oh, by the way, I heard that Maria is also a very intelligent girl, good at astronomy and Mathematics, which may be what attracted Joseph.

She nodded somewhat reluctantly. "That's certainly good, dear, it will let the Two Sicilies Princess feel our warmth and courtesy."

Then she immediately added, "By the way, Clementine will be coming to Paris soon. Are you going too...?"

Joseph immediately smiled and bowed, "Of course, Mother, how could I not go to greet my cousin who has come from afar?"

He certainly didn't mind welcoming the princess a few more times, and this would also cover up his intention to set a trap for Bessonval by welcoming Maria.

The Queen breathed a sigh of relief. Excellent! It turned out her son was only concerned with etiquette, not with the Two Sicilies Princess. Clementine, you'd better work harder and try to win the Crown Prince's heart!

Joseph greeted the Queen and immediately went to the Lord Chamberlain to discuss in detail the ceremonial procedures for welcoming the Two Sicilies Princess and the arrangements along the route.

"Hmm, I think the roadsides here should be adorned with colorful ribbons," Joseph said, pointing to the map. "Otherwise, the bare trees in winter look too monotonous. And these Farmhouse, which the princess can see from her Carriage, all need to be decorated properly."

"Yes, Your Highness, I will obey your orders." The Lord Chamberlain quickly wrote down these requirements.

He knew that the princess who came this time was not simply there for "tourism," but was very likely to become the Crown Prince's fiancée, so it was not surprising that His Highness attached so much importance to it and wanted to make it more grand.

After discussing the ceremony for welcoming the princess with the Lord Chamberlain, Joseph did not return to Paris, but instead went back to the Crown Prince's Palace he had not stayed in for a long time.

He strolled slowly in front of a row of huge arched floor-to-ceiling windows, his gaze sweeping over the Rainbow Light reflected off the Glass. Suddenly, he turned to Kexer beside him and asked, "Viscount Kex, how long have you been my Guard Captain? Seven or eight years, haven't you?"

Kexer was somewhat surprised, and immediately took a few steps closer, saying, "Yes, it's been exactly eight years, Your Highness. I had the honor of becoming your Guard when you were four years old. Two years later, Her Majesty the Queen promoted me to captain."

Joseph turned around. "Therefore, in this world, besides Her King and Her Majesty the Queen, the person I can trust most is you."

Kexer quickly raised his hat and bowed. "God above, you can absolutely trust my loyalty, Your Highness."

Joseph nodded, then looked at him seriously and said, "Jacques, my friend, I am about to face a challenge that will have a huge impact on me. I desperately need your help."

Kexer immediately stood up straight and said firmly, "Your Highness, I will do anything for you, including giving my life!"

Eastern Suburbs of Paris.

Beside the road leading to a nearby town, there is a small mound, Domi, covered with sparse low shrubs.

At that moment, in the bushes, several men dressed in greasy coarse cloth coats and wearing equally dirty felt hats, with various weapons tucked into their waists or backs, were sitting casually on the ground, chatting idly.

"It'll be dark in at most another hour." A bald, middle-aged man fiddling with an axe looked up at the sky and muttered in dissatisfaction, "Looks like we're going to wait for nothing again today."

"Even if he doesn't come today, he'll definitely come tomorrow." The red-haired man next to him rubbed his neck and peered down the mound. "That's Livre away; it's absolutely worth waiting a few more days!"

The man sitting on the far right, with a sinister look in his eyes, suddenly spoke, "Colette, if that person doesn't appear within three days, I'll beat your ass to a pulp with the butt of my gun."

The redhead shuddered and quickly said with a forced smile, "Boss, it's all over town. Baron Jedeon has sold his house and all his land and is going to Paris to marry that widow."

"Oh, I saw Baron Jedeon's Servant loading chests of luggage onto the Carriage outside his courtyard."

A burly man next to him, with a prosthetic left arm and somewhat resembling Captain Hook, immediately nodded. "That guy even put up notices in town recruiting bodyguards; it's obvious he'll be leaving in the next few days."

Before he could finish speaking, he heard a hurried whisper from the top of the mound, "Quick! That guy's here!"

The men, who had been so listless just moments before, sprang to their feet. The sinister-looking man gestured to his subordinates, "As agreed before, make your move!"

"Yes, boss."

The group split up and headed toward the road below the mound, while the nearly 200-pound man on top of the mound, who was keeping watch, pulled hard on the rope in his hand.

Dozens of pre-prepared giant logs immediately rolled down with a rumble, blocking the road, which was Domi.

The Carriage, which had been moving leisurely forward, suddenly came to a screeching halt. Both drivers were so frightened that they jumped off their seats and fled into the distant woods.

The sinister-looking man fired another shot at the Carriage, then led his men to surround the two Carriage, shouting smugly, "Baron Jedeon, we are just a bunch of poor people. We hope you can be generous and leave some Silver Coin. Otherwise, we'll just have to give you a few cuts and then take the money ourselves."

He was about to open the car door when he suddenly heard a gunshot behind him.

He felt as if a giant hammer had struck his back, and he lunged violently at the Carriage. Then he saw that the carriage had turned red—it was his blood.

The other bandits were startled and hurriedly turned around, only to find two Pistol sticking out of the Carriage and pressed against the backs of Captain Hook and the bald man. At the same time, several armed men sprang out from the bushes on both sides of the road.

The fat man's pleas for mercy came from the top of the mound. Several bandits turned around and saw a short man, who looked like an ordinary farmer, brandishing Pistol, leading him down.

Before long, apart from the dead leader, the other four bandits had their weapons confiscated, guns pointed at their heads, and were crouching tremblingly on the open ground by the roadside.

A Carriage approached from afar and stopped beside the group. Fouche opened the door and stepped out. In order to capture these bandits alive, he had personally led his men to this small town, fabricating the story of Baron Jedeon, and finally waited for the "fish" to take the bait.

Fouche pulled out his Pistol and toyed with it, his deadpan eyes sweeping over the bandits. He snorted, "Hmm, the Blood Blade Bandit Gang, is it?"

The fat man who had been keeping watch was so frightened that he started crying, "Let me go! I can tell you where your boss hid the money..."

The bald man glared at him, his neck stiff, and said, "That's right! We are the Blood Blade Gang. Getting caught by the army is just our bad luck."

At that time in France, everyone assumed that only the army could deal with a vicious gang like the Blood Blade Gang; the Police were simply no match for them.

Prosper, holding a gun, shook his head and sneered, "Who said we're an army?"

"We're from the Lakeview Gang," Fouche continued. "We have a big job coming up, so we need some men."

The Blood Blade Gang members breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this; it seemed they wouldn't be sent to the gallows. They all looked up at Fouche and said, "We're willing to join."

"I'll join too."

"And me..."

Fouche scoffed, "However, I only need two people. We'll see who's more capable."

As he spoke, he threw the two daggers on the ground, his eyes filled with excitement and madness.

The bald man and the red-haired man reacted the fastest, immediately leaping forward, grabbing daggers from the ground, and stabbing their two accomplices without hesitation.

Southern Suburbs of Paris.

The trees lining the main road leading into the city were draped with colorful ribbons, making them look like beautiful coral growing there.

In the distance, scattered Farmhouse are painted in beautiful white and gold, like treasure chests adorning the coral reefs.

Along the more than forty -Domi avenue between the coral and the treasure chest, a French Guard soldier with a rifle stood every five or six meters. The guard line stretched from the outskirts all the way to the city of Paris.

Two days ago, this place was already under martial law, but Bessonval still patiently led officers to check this four- Lieue stretch of road again and again— the Princess of the Two Sicilies was coming tomorrow, and according to the arrangements of the Versailles Palace, the Crown Prince was also to come here to greet the princess, so there could be no mistakes.

Just then, a group of Craftsman carrying Paint and brushes, led by French Guard soldiers, headed toward a Farmhouse on the east side.

Bessonval casually asked the officer beside him, "Who are those people?"

The latter hurriedly replied, "General, they are Craftsman from the Versailles Palace. Their credentials have been strictly checked; there's no problem. They always say this or that isn't perfect enough, and they're decorating everywhere. In my opinion, they're just trying to embezzle more funds."

Bessonval nodded, his face stern, and said, "We can't be careless; we must keep a close eye on everyone."

"Yes, General."

As they were talking, they saw several officers leading twenty or thirty soldiers whose uniforms were noticeably more imposing and straighter French Guard, walking towards them.

"Imperial Guards?"

Bessonval frowned, but when the man got closer, he could see him clearly. He quickly put on a smile, raised his hat, and greeted him, "Viscount Kex, what brings you here?"

Seated on his horse, Kexer returned the greeting by raising his hat. "It's a pleasure to meet you, General Bessonval. You know, I can't afford to make a mistake on that occasion tomorrow, so I need to familiarize myself with the surroundings beforehand."

"Who says otherwise?" Bessonval laughed. "Look, I've been here more than a dozen times today."

Kexer looked at the wasteland on both sides of the road. "Oh, I'll go take a look over there. You continue with your work. I'll treat you to drinks after we've finished welcoming the princess."

"Ha, I look forward to your invitation."

The two passed each other, and Kexer seemed very serious, carefully examining both sides of the road several times with his men.

The officer beside Bessonval glanced at Kexer's retreating figure and scoffed, "Hmph, all that pretense. Our men are everywhere here, what's there to see?"

Bessonval waved his hand dismissively. "It's normal for the Crown Prince's Guard to conduct routine checks when he's coming here."

On the other side, Kexer's party passed by a thicket of bushes, while seven or eight court Paint walked towards them.

Upon seeing the appearance of the lead Paint, Kexer quickly reined in his horse and gestured behind him. A burly soldier with a high nose immediately nodded to him and led the other two into the bushes.

Kexer's group stopped in place, completely obscuring the three figures.

The soldier with the high nose and his two subordinates quickly took off their Military Uniform, revealing the Paint's clothes they had already put on underneath, with a few traces of paint still on them.

The three Military Uniform into an empty Paint, handed their weapons to the soldiers behind Kexer, then picked up the Paint and followed the Paint into the distance, seemingly oblivious to their presence.

Kexer, on the other hand, acted as if nothing had happened, circled the area a few times, and then returned the way he came.

No French Guard officer or soldier noticed that three people were missing from the twenty-odd Crown Prince's Royal Guards.

The Paint walked with great interest toward a Farmhouse not far away.

Within the ranks, a red-haired man nervously looked around and whispered to the high-nosed "Paint" beside him, "Boss, why are there so many soldiers? What are we going to do? Is it dangerous?"

The man with the high nose bridge smiled easily, "You're new here, so you don't know the strength of our Lakeview Gang. Let me tell you, half of these soldiers around here are our men."

As he spoke, he waved to a soldier in the distance. The soldier waved back perfunctorily and smiled in response. These Craftsman were all from the Versailles Palace; who knew which important figure they might be working for? So, the lower-ranking soldiers, adhering to the principle of not offending them if possible, treated them with great courtesy.

"They really are one of us," exclaimed the unsuspecting middle-aged "Paint" beside him.

If you take off his felt hat, you'll find that he's actually bald.

Yes, this person and the red-haired man are indeed surviving members of the Blood Blade Gang. The high-nosed man leading them is Kexer's confidant, Odorik Odoric.

Because the matter was too important, Joseph didn't even involve Fouche. After Fouché captured the Blood Blade Gang members, he handed them over to Kexer, Kexer then took charge of everything.

The red-haired man was still uneasy. "Boss, what exactly are we going to do this time?"

Odorik replied according to the "script": "Robbery. Tomorrow a Nobility will be passing through here with several carts of gold; it's money from the Discount Bank. They have some connections with the military and have hired these soldiers as bodyguards."

"But little did he know, our boss had powerful backers who had already placed our people into the army."

"You all saw it just now, nobody questioned us at all."

He continued to encourage the two bandits, "Besides, our job is just to keep watch from a distance. Once we've stolen the gold, we'll hide in the woods behind there. There's no risk involved, and we'll get at least seven or eight Livre."

As they spoke, the Paint arrived at the Farmhouse. The owner of the house had long been "invited" elsewhere by the French Guard, leaving only a soldier to guard it.

The Paint greeted the guards and then scattered to get to work.

Meanwhile, Odorik, accompanied by two "henchmen," casually slipped into the attic and hid in a wooden cabinet.

(End of this chapter)

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