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Chapter 156: Winning and Losing
🕑 Added 2024-12-24 23:13:20 +0000 UTCChapter 156: Winning and Losing
In another box on the second floor of the auction hall, Princess Maria immediately recognized Clementine's voice when she placed her first bid—it was hard not to, given how often that chirping voice echoed through Versailles.
Maria hadn't expected Clementine to compete with her for the necklace, but then she quickly understood—Clementine had come to Paris to compete with her for something much more important: him.
As Maria gazed at the "Wish Upon a Star" necklace that the Prince had worn, she suddenly felt that this might be a preview of their greater battle. Whoever won the necklace would win him.
The thought flashed through her mind, and a determined look appeared in her eyes. She leaned toward her maid and whispered, "300,000 livres."
Her maid nodded and called out the bid to the auctioneer.
A few noble ladies from Versailles had also recognized the "Wish Upon a Star" necklace from the Prince's portrait and were eager to join the bidding. However, before they could even react, the price had already skyrocketed, leaving them to abandon their plans.
Of course, Clementine was not one to give up.
"350,000!" She widened her eyes and raised the bid by 50,000.
"400,000," Maria's maid responded almost immediately.
"500,000!"
"550,000."
Just as Clementine was about to raise her bid again, she froze—she realized she was running out of money.
After all, she was only ten years old and only had her yearly allowance and the 200,000 livres her father had given her for this trip to Paris. Her "total assets" amounted to just 560,000.
She didn't have enough to raise the bid by another 50,000.
"560,000 livres!" She gritted her teeth and called out her maximum bid.
Maria heard Clementine raise the bid by only 10,000, and she felt a wave of relief. She signaled to her maid, "600,000."
At fifteen, Maria already had her own estate and a fishing village, making her far wealthier than the little girl. She was confident that she had won this battle for the necklace.
Sure enough, after her maid called out "600,000," the auction hall fell silent.
Clementine was so frustrated that she could only stomp her feet, helplessly listening as the auctioneer announced, "600,000 livres, going once."
She bit her lip, tears welling up in her eyes. For some reason, she had a sinking feeling that losing the "Wish Upon a Star" meant losing the Prince.
"Oh, my dear, what's wrong?" Queen Marie noticed her niece's trembling shoulders and quickly asked, concerned. She then saw Clementine's red, tear-filled eyes.
"Do you really want that necklace?" She pointed to the "Wish Upon a Star" displayed in the auction hall and suddenly paused. The necklace looked familiar... Of course, it was the one from the portrait!
The Queen instantly understood why her niece was so determined to win the bid.
Clementine, feeling wronged, nodded vigorously at her aunt.
"600,000 livres, going twice."
Queen Marie smiled gently and said, "My dear, keep bidding. No matter the price, I'll pay for it."
"Really?!" Clementine's face lit up with joy. When the Queen nodded, she quickly wiped away her tears and interrupted the auctioneer, shouting, "Wait! 650,000!"
With Queen Marie's support, Clementine easily secured the necklace in the end.
When the auction manager respectfully presented the "Wish Upon a Star" in their box, Clementine eagerly grabbed the necklace, pressing it against her chest and savoring its cool touch. She then turned to the Queen, curtsying and smiling sweetly, "Thank you so much, my dearest aunt! I love you so much!"
However, just as she happily lifted the necklace to show it to the Queen, it snagged on a gem sewn into her dress.
The sharp edge of the gem snapped the delicate string, and with a loud clatter, dozens of glittering diamonds scattered across the floor.
Clementine instinctively reached out to catch the falling jewels, but her hands grasped nothing[Note 1].
For a moment, she was stunned, and then she burst into tears, wailing, "Why? Why am I always so unlucky?!"
Several maids immediately dropped to the floor, carefully searching for the diamonds.
Queen Marie was shocked but quickly regained her composure, gently embracing her niece and soothing her with soft words.
It took a long time for Clementine to calm down, and even though the auction house assured her repeatedly that the necklace could be fully restored, she couldn't shake her sadness.
As she quietly followed Queen Marie out of the east wing of the Tuileries Palace, Clementine couldn't help but feel downcast. She had won the necklace, but it had broken so easily. She felt a hollow sense of defeat.
Meanwhile, in a corner of the hallway in the east wing, Princess Maria bit her lip hard, feeling all her strength drain away.
She had seen clearly that Clementine had left with Queen Marie. The reason Clementine had managed to win the necklace after nearly running out of money was now obvious.
Maria felt empty inside. It was clear to her now—Clementine, not she, was the Queen's chosen bride for the Prince.
If that were the case, then even if the Prince favored her, he would eventually be forced to marry the other girl.
It dawned on her that she had lost from the very beginning.
Taking a deep breath, Maria turned to her maid and said, "Alisa, let's go home…"
The next morning, Princess Maria's carriage rolled along the King's Road in the southern outskirts of Paris, bathed in the golden light of dawn.
Not long ago, the Prince had led thousands of soldiers to greet her arrival on this very road. But now, she was leaving alone. The Prince had offered to see her off, but she refused—crying in front of him would be too undignified.
The morning sun cast long shadows from the carriage, like a hand desperately reaching back toward Paris but unable to grasp anything.
Inside the carriage, Maria hesitated for a long time before placing the letter she had written back on the table.
The unsealed corner of the envelope revealed her neat, elegant handwriting: Dear Prince, the days I spent in Paris have been the happiest of my life. I pray to God every moment, wishing my life could forever stay in that moment when we danced together on the carousel! Though it's only a dream, I at least have these precious memories. When I return to Sicily, I will pray for your health day and night, and I wish you and the Grand Duchess of Tuscany…
She had cried as she wrote the letter last night, intending to have her maid deliver it to Joseph this morning. But at the last moment, she changed her mind.
Perhaps it was better for these thoughts to remain a secret, buried deep in her heart, rather than burden him with them.
…
In an office on the second floor of the Tuileries Palace, Joseph was reviewing the financial report from Fashion Week that Viscount Flesselles had delivered.
The report was quite thick, and after flipping through several pages without finding a total, Joseph looked up at the head of the Fashion Week organizing committee.
It seemed the Viscount anticipated his question, as he quickly said, "Ah, Your Highness, the total income for these past few days is 4.62 million livres, with expenditures of 310,000 livres."
End of Chapter
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