plumnovel 020. As great as Peter the Great
020. As great as Peter the Great
The Royal Theatre.
"Daughter, you've been behaving very badly lately! I can smell men's cologne on you!"
Still holding the clown mask, Felice dragged his daughter Gemma to a secluded corner.
"Father, I have to go, I have somewhere to go!" Gemma seemed very anxious.
"I saw it all, Gemma! Stay away from Counselor Lestoc, he's a womanizer, a bastard! He could crush us like ants!" Felice pleaded with her daughter.
"He's not like that, Father! Don't think like that, I have to go!"
Gemma overcame her father's obstruction and left.
Felice stood there in frustration, angrily pounding his fists against the wall.
"Banging up a wall to vent your anger won't solve anything," a voice came from behind the curtain.
"Who! Who's there!" Felice suddenly turned his head.
Sergei emerged from behind the curtain and was horrified to see Felice, the newcomer.
"Duke Saltykov!"
"Your daughter is having an affair with Lestok. If this gets to the secret committee, I think you know the consequences. Most importantly, Shuvalov really enjoys prying things out of women," Sergei said slowly.
Felice's face turned deathly pale.
"No! Your Grace, please don't do this! My daughter has been bewitched by Lestoker; she is a sincere and kind child—"
Sergei raised his hand to interrupt the other party.
From their conversation, he had already sensed Gemma's deep affection for Lestoker.
This is also the most troublesome problem right now – being obsessed with love is the most troublesome thing.
Therefore, Sergei changed his approach and decided to start with Gemma's father.
"Of course I know that Lestoker seduced your daughter, but Lestoker has a thousand ways to clear himself of any involvement, and if necessary, he will make you and your daughter disappear from this world." Sergei walked to the window.
Felice knelt down behind him with a thud.
"Your Highness! If you would spare my daughter, I would give you my life without complaint!"
Sergei turned to look at him: "What would I do with your life? What value do your and your daughter's lives have to me?"
Felice looked desperate.
Sergei then changed the subject: "However, your daughter is taking care of Princess Frederica. I have a relationship with the Grand Duke, and Frederica is his fiancée. Now that I've seen it, it's hard for me to stand by and watch her die."
Upon hearing that things had taken a turn for the better, Felicie almost collapsed in front of Sergei's boots.
"I beg you! Your Highness! I'm willing to go through fire and water for you if it means saving my daughter!"
"Get up. We need to discuss this matter carefully. Your performance is coming up soon. The Grand Duke is inside. Don't let him notice anything amiss."
"Yes."
Felice bowed and left in haste.
Having temporarily subdued Felice, Sergei was in a good mood. He didn't go to see the play; Peter was with Naryshkin. He headed towards the gallery, where Sofia was.
"I thought you would be very disappointed if the Grand Duke didn't allow you to go to the play with him."
Sofia turned around and was pleasantly surprised to see Sergei.
"Your Highness! You're completely unnecessary. I'm starting to understand the Grand Duke's temperament. Has the Grand Duke finished watching the play?"
Sergei shook his head.
"Then I'll wander around a bit longer; there are so many beautiful paintings here!"
I'll go with you.
"good!"
The gallery was not far from the Jordan Stairs. In addition to the exquisite paintings, it also displayed some fine objects. Sergei explained them to Sofia one by one, and the latter couldn't help but marvel at his extensive knowledge.
In a separate exhibition room, portraits of Russian monarchs hang on the walls, including Ivan V, Catherine I, and others...
"Peter the Great!"
Sofia walked up to the portrait hanging in the center, her blue eyes filled with undisguised admiration and adoration. She even mimicked the pose of Peter the Great in the portrait.
Take a step forward, head held high and chest out!
The sunlight streaming in through the arched window fell perfectly on her profile.
Sergei stared at Sophia in the radiant light, somewhat lost in thought.
"Even their expressions are so similar."
After Sofia imitated Peter the Great's movements, she turned to face the portrait and bowed.
Sergei asked meaningfully, "If someone in the future could be as great and accomplished as Peter the Great, who do you think that person would be?"
Sofia was intrigued by this question: "Is it the Grand Duke?"
Sergei smiled.
Sophia chuckled at her own answer; she had already discerned that Peter lacked any of the Emperor's virtues. She then guessed, "So, it's Queen Elizabeth?"
Sergei smiled and shook his head.
Sofia then stated definitively, "That's my child!"
Sergei shook his head again.
Unable to contain her curiosity and eager to know the answer, Sofia shook Sergei's arm: "Then who is it?"
"You," Sergei replied earnestly.
Sofia was taken aback, then laughed, because she thought it was a joke Sergei was playing on her.
"Don't joke around, how could it be me? How could I possibly become emperor—you're not serious, Your Highness?"
Seeing Sergei's serious expression, Sofia's smile gradually froze.
A hint of fear and panic had already appeared on her face.
Although she was only 15 years old, she knew that there was only one way for her to sit in that position—like Elizabeth, to seize the throne through a coup!
Seeing Sofia's frightened expression, Sergei suddenly smiled.
"Of course it's a joke."
"You're so wicked, Your Highness! You scared me half to death! This is a huge joke!" Sophia patted her chest as if she had escaped death.
"You were scared, weren't you?" Sergei said with a triumphant air.
"Yes, you really scared me!"
"Ha ha!"
"Duke, you're still laughing!"
A palace beside the Fontanka River at dusk.
This was a gift to Lestorc after Elizabeth's coup and accession to the throne; it was Lestorc's mansion.
At his desk, the Marquis de Laschetadi (the French ambassador) wrote to Louis XV: Your Majesty, I urgently inform you that Lestoc and I have taken emergency measures to remove the main obstacle to our plans—Frédérica. The position next to the Crown Prince will soon be vacant.
After finishing his letter, he put down his pen and went to the window. In the room diagonally opposite, Lestoker and Gemma were passionately kissing.
Lestoker presented Gemma with an exquisite corsage: "This is a gift for you, my beauty. Please don't be sad, I will find a way to deal with your father."
Gemma shook her head in frustration.
"The Italian won't get over it so quickly. Most importantly, he's tired of performing. He dreams of saving enough money to leave here and go to Naples. He hates snow."
Lestoker kissed her forehead.
"He earns a considerable income here and lives in the Winter Palace."
"Here, he's just a clown for people's entertainment, and I'll leave with him." Gemma was heartbroken.
"I'll help you, but you have to help me too!"
Lestoker handed the small glass bottle to Gemma, who looked surprised. Lestoker then kissed her lips.
"I love you, my dearest!"
Lestoker unbuttoned Gemma's clothes...