sovbooks 018. A bad sign
018. A bad sign
Sofia and her mother encountered Sergei walking towards them in the corridor.
"Duke!" Sophia waved her hand.
"You look beautiful today, Princess!" Sergei praised without reservation.
"I am beautiful every day, but thank you for your compliment, Your Highness!" Sophia bowed.
Sergei looked at Johanna: "You look better today...you must be cold."
Having lost an argument with her daughter, Johanna gave him a hard time and warned her daughter in front of him, "Don't flirt with the Duke, it's too dangerous!"
She also spoke frankly with Sergei.
"Duke, you need a more experienced and reliable lover!"
Sergei smiled but said nothing.
Sofia retorted, not one to indulge her mother: "You're so encouraging, Mother. Is there anyone more reliable than your daughter?"
The three arrived at the fruit banquet.
Long tables were arranged in a circle, with exquisite glassware on checkered tablecloths, watermelons from Astrakhan, grapes from Ukraine... and an unlimited supply of fine wine.
The guests gathered together, filled with laughter and joy.
Upon seeing Peter in the distance, Sophia hurried over: "Greetings, Your Highness!"
Peter glanced at the other person, initially not wanting to acknowledge him, but Naryshkin winked at him, so he could only nod reluctantly.
"It's really cold today."
"But it's beautiful, we should walk together." (in German) Sofia tried to please him in German.
"Don't speak German!" Peter suddenly shouted.
Sofia quickly explained, "But my Russian is terrible."
"My aunt forbids us from speaking German." Peter glanced in the direction of Queen Elizabeth.
"Cheer up, she won't listen to us," Sofia said, making up an excuse.
Peter scoffed, "She'll see it. She can read lips and has the eyesight of a raptor! You're incredibly stupid!"
Sofia proactively extended her fair and slender hand.
Peter looked at her, took out white gloves from his pocket and made her put them on. Sophia happily put on the gloves, and only then did Peter reluctantly take her hand.
Johanna hurried to Naryshkin's side: "Does Your Highness like Frederica?"
Naryshkin smiled: "Clearly, Your Highness is very satisfied."
Johanna's eyebrows danced with delight: "Then would you like to enjoy some delicious Russian wine with me?"
Naryshkin extended his hand: "Of course."
Johanna placed her hand on his, and Naryshkin led Johanna away, not forgetting to turn back and wink at Sergei, which made Sergei roll his eyes.
"Does this guy actually take pride in that?"
He then looked at Sophia and Peter in the distance, his gaze becoming indifferent, as indifferent as a stagnant pool in a mountain stream.
He knew that it would take a long time for him to temper his mindset.
"Sergei."
Razumovsky, standing in the distance beside Elizabeth, called out to him.
"Your Majesty, Count." Sergei strode up to them.
Razumovsky's words were full of admiration: "The painter you recommended has the hands of God. His Majesty is very satisfied with his paintings. Hofmall will be the court painter from today onwards."
"It is an honor to serve Your Majesty." Sergei bowed.
Only at this moment did Hofmall's fate become clear, and he breathed a sigh of relief.
Indeed, when he learned that Hofmall had been summoned to paint for Ivan VI, he knew that Hofmall would either be killed to silence him or be kept in the palace and trapped there.
He actually had some confidence that Hofmall would remain in the court.
Elizabeth was a devout Orthodox Christian who would not easily execute anyone. To keep the secret, Hofmall became a court painter and served only Elizabeth.
Sergei thought to himself that he could now give Hofmall the next task—to investigate Lestok's conspiracy.
"In the name of the Queen, the Prussian ambassador requests an audience."
Alexander Shuvalov, the chairman of the special tribunal, walked in, and behind him was Baron Madfield, the Prussian ambassador to Russia.
Without Elizabeth and Razumovsky needing to speak, Sergei stepped aside. As the Empress's courtier, his presence there showed no sign of overstepping his bounds or disrespect.
Madfield bowed in greeting.
"Your Majesty, I humbly request permission to visit Princess Frederica and Lady Johanna to express my heartfelt joy at their arrival."
Elizabeth was scattering birdseed into the birdcage.
"Baron, you are free to visit the princess and the princess's wife as you please. You do not need my permission, nor is there any need for you to brave the cold to come here."
Having received permission, Madfield bowed again and walked toward Johanna in the distance.
"Alexander, how are things going?" Elizabeth asked.
Shuvalov stepped forward and took out a piece of paper.
"Your Majesty, it's all arranged. Someone will be keeping an eye on the princess and the princess's wife every day. Here's today's record."
Elizabeth glanced at the note and couldn't help but smile.
"Look, even the princess has such doubts. Young girls always have such a pure heart."
The note read: Why did the Empress call me a gift to King Frederick?
"Not only do we need to keep an eye on them, but also on Baron Madfield (the Prussian ambassador), Marquis de Laschetadier (the French ambassador), and other foreign envoys. They are all the ones who love to gather secrets for their kings," Elizabeth instructed Shuvalov.
Shuvalov nodded in agreement.
Elizabeth then looked at Sergei behind her, her smile carrying a deeper meaning.
"Saltikov, your admiration for the princess makes you suitable to stay by her side, but your philandering is a harm to the Grand Duke. However, you don't have this worry with the Princess. For the sake of Russia's stability, the Grand Duke understands your predicament. You should communicate with them more."
Sergei nodded in acknowledgment: "I am willing to serve Russia and His Majesty!"
He was overjoyed.
Elizabeth's words gave him the right to meet with Sophia at any time, and he could feel that he was increasingly valued by Elizabeth.
However, there is a problem that must be solved—Elizabeth is showing signs of wanting him to seduce Sophia!
After leaving Elizabeth, Sergei walked toward Sofia and Peter.
A variety of royal pastries were laid out on the table. Sophia picked one up, took a small silver cup, and ate the first bite with a spoon. Her blue eyes lit up.
"It's delicious! What is this?"
Peter ignored Sofia's question and looked around. Not seeing his hound, he couldn't help but whisper a question to Naryshkin.
"Your Highness, His Majesty forbids your hounds from entering this area," Naryshkin replied.
"This is a dessert made from oranges," Sergei said, walking up behind Sofia.
Sofia, seeing the other person, exclaimed with delight, "I've never eaten oranges prepared this way before. Do Russia also produce oranges?"
"It was shipped from Portugal," Sergei explained with a smile.
"I love eating this." Sofia made no attempt to hide her love for oranges.
Peter interrupted their conversation: "Sergei, do you have any way to let me see my dog right now? My aunt won't let my dog attend the party; it's against me!"
Sergei felt someone gently tugging at his clothes; it was Sofia. He understood the look in her eyes.
"Your Highness, if I may be so bold as to suggest it, you may take the princess to visit Peter the Great's palace."
"Peter the Great's palace? That must be very interesting!" Sofia quickly replied, giving Sergei a grateful look.
Peter wasn't interested, and he didn't want to go with Sophia: "It's just a small house, nothing special. I've never been there myself."
"What about the Academy of Sciences? I study philosophy and physics," Sophia pressed.
Sergei chimed in, "There's an art gallery over there, belonging to the Academy of Sciences, which contains well-preserved monsters."
Peter's interest was immediately piqued: "And the dried devil!"
"A devil?" Sophia exclaimed in surprise.
"That's right, and it even has horns and a tail!" Peter said, getting more and more excited.
Seeing the Grand Duke's enthusiasm, Sophia was overjoyed: "I want to see the devil!"
Peter's face suddenly turned cold, and his smile became somewhat sinister: "You want to see? There's a whole bunch right here!"
As he spoke, he took a few steps and shouted loudly to the guests attending the banquet.
"I'm talking to you! You devils!"
In an instant, all the laughter and cheers around us disappeared.
The scene was eerily quiet; everyone looked at the Grand Duke, yet no one dared to utter a sound—even though they had been humiliated.
Sofia was also startled by Peter's appearance. She stood there and subconsciously looked at Sergei, who shook his head slightly at her.
Upon seeing his aunt looking this way from afar, Peter's arrogance vanished instantly, transforming him from a wolf into a sheep, and he abandoned Sergei and Sofia, running away.