Chapter 23 Vacation in Corfu

　　The next morning, as it was just getting light, Constantine's new attendant, Captain Schmidt, informed that Corfu had arrived.

　　When boarding the ship yesterday, Constantine was caught off guard by seeing Schmidt carrying two large suitcases.

　　From Schmidt came the words of George I: "The journey of studying in Germany begins now. Your luggage is in the suitcase."

　　The sudden attack of George I gave Constantine the illusion of being swept out.

　　······

　　When Schmidt said that the island of Corfu has arrived, Constantine, who was neatly dressed, came to the deck of the cruise ship. I saw an island covered in green, seagulls humming, and between the blue sea and the green land, there was Yellow beach.

　　Looking along the beach towards the island, I saw a low-rise building full of Corfu style, white stone overlaid walls, red tiles, and the blue sea, bright and distinct colors, bringing The strong sense of visual color impact attracts people's attention strongly.

　　The remaining night is lingering, giving all people a pleasing beauty, a hazy layer of veil.

　　Constantine opened his hands, stretched his waist, and took a deep breath of fresh air, feeling refreshed and transparent.

　　"What a beautiful view," said William behind him.

　　While the two were watching the beautiful scenery, Schmidt informed them that a carriage came to visit and said that a guest invited them to come.

　　Constantine, who was confused, looked at William, who was going to happily, and had to go with him.

　　"William. Where are we going? Who invited us?" Constantine, who was sitting in the luxury carriage, asked William, who admired the beauty outside the car window.

　　"The place we are going is Achillion Palace," William replied without looking back.

　　Constantine suddenly realized that this was the elder George I was talking about.

　　The famous Princess Sissi, the queen of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

　　The horse-drawn carriage carried Constantine and William along the country road, and came to a white palace shaded by greenery.

　　"Welcome to Achilles Palace", the Queen of the Austrian Palace standing in the courtyard, the Queen Elizabeth (Sissi) in a gorgeous dress, welcomed the two guests warmly.

　　Constantine stroked his chest with his left hand, took off his hat with his right hand, and baggage to her Majesty the Queen.

　　Although she is 45 years old, the queen who is known for her beauty and is known as the most beautiful queen in Europe still has her demeanor.

　　With thick and shiny long hair, fair skin, and a tall figure of 1.70 meters, he is like a god of beauty Aphrodite.

"Your beauty overshadows the flowers, honorable Majesty Queen Elizabeth", Constantine respectfully said, but for any woman, you can always please her by saying that she is beautiful, especially a beautiful woman.

　　"Thank you, Constantine," Queen Elizabeth responded with a smile, apparently Constantine's compliments made her very useful.

　　At this moment, a young man walked out of the hall and came to William to say hello.

　　Obviously the two knew each other.

　　"Constantine, this is my son, Rudolph," Elizabeth introduced Constantine's doubts.

　　"Rudolph, this is Constantine"

　　The two saluted each other.

　　Rudolf, that is the crown prince of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

　　Because it was still early, Queen Elizabeth was very interested, and a visitor came to her door today.

　　Therefore, I personally introduced the Palace of Achilles to William and Constantine, a beautiful palace that I personally participated in the design.

　　First, the courtyard of the Muse facing the sea, the courtyard facing the sea, with green trees.

　　The corridors in the courtyard are supported by Greek-style pillars. In front of each pillar stands a beautiful Muse. The goddess has a graceful body and a calm face.

　　This palace is called the Palace of Achilles because of the Achilles murals that often appear in decorative paintings.

　　The oil painting "Achilles on a chariot", the white marble statue "Dying Achilles", and the bronze statue "Achilles the Victory" fully demonstrate the strength and beauty of Achilles.

　　"Your Majesty, you have designed a beautiful palace", William admired, and William also likes beautiful and gorgeous buildings.

　　The famous queen, because she couldn't stand the strict Vienna court, could only use travels around the world to relieve her depressed mood.

　　Queen Elizabeth advocated ancient Greek culture and came to Corfu every year to learn Greek.

　　I am very happy to see that William likes his palace.

　　As the three of them were visiting the courtyard, a maid came and said, "Your Majesty the Queen, lunch is ready, and His Royal Highness asked me to invite guests."

　　Elizabeth led the two to the restaurant, and the four sat down around a round table.

　　The servants took turns serving the dishes.

　　"William, Constantine, What do you think of the current trend of liberalism among the nobility? ", Rudolph asked suddenly.

　　This question is very abrupt, because according to the dining etiquette of European aristocrats, some light-hearted topics should be discussed, and politics, sex, and health should not be discussed at the table.

　　Constantine and William could only look at the mistress, Queen Elizabeth.

The queen shrugged, which meant that the topic could continue.

　　Rudolph and his mother, Queen Elizabeth, are both liberals.

　　In the aristocratic class before the nineteenth century, in the marriage conditions of the two sides, the most important thing is blood, the second most important is property, the least important is appearance, and the most insignificant is affection.

　　This aristocratic tradition, which violated human nature, was challenged at the end of the 19th century.

　　The 19th century was an era of rapid development of science and technology, social economy, and cultural ethics. After the baptism of the first and second industrial revolutions in Europe, the rapid increase in production capacity and rapid economic development led to tremendous changes in the social outlook.

　　What followed was the phenomenon of intermarriage between nobles and concubines more and more, and the decadent notion of nobility that violated human nature became more and more unpopular.

　　The mother and son in front of them are the victims of this concept.

　　Although the love story between Princess Sissi and the emperor is widely circulated, Princess Sissi is a tragic figure.

　　Princess Sissi, who grew up in a more enlightened and popular family, is at odds with the strict court life.

　　Rudolph committed suicide for freedom of love.

　　At the end of the 19th century, there was a trend of liberalism. Those American tycoons, through their successful efforts in the New World, held large sums of wealth, but their social status was not high. In the eyes of European aristocrats, they were a group of uncultured people. The nouveau riche, full of contempt, there is no place for such a person in aristocratic gatherings.

　　So those rich people put the opportunity to improve their social status on the nobles.

　　The most famous example is Jenny Jerome, the mother of British Prime Minister Churchill.