CHAPTER 627: CHAPTER 618 GROWTH

As soon as Jerome Bonaparte finished speaking, Saint Arnaud immediately retorted tactfully, "Your Majesty, I do not believe this is God’s doing; our army is the key driving force behind the Russian Empire’s fall from grace!"

"You’re right!" Jerome Bonaparte nodded and then swiftly shifted his tone to argue, "But how do you know God wasn’t secretly hastening the decline of the Russian Empire? Our world is built on a multitude of coincidences! Any small change can transform the entire situation! So, Saint Arno, you must believe that miracles exist in this world!"

Jerome Bonaparte’s encouragement did not improve Marshal Saint Arnaud’s mood. He knew that the likelihood of waiting for a miracle was almost zero.

"Let’s hope so!" Marshal Saint Arnaud let out a wry smile and then asked Jerome Bonaparte why he had appeared in Constantinople.

Jerome Bonaparte was stunned for a few seconds before asking Marshal Saint Arnaud, "Didn’t Valvesky tell you?"

"Valvesky Envoy did not tell me!" Marshal Saint Arnaud shook his head and responded to Jerome Bonaparte.

Subsequently, Jerome Bonaparte turned his gaze towards Valvesky, who immediately apologized to Jerome Bonaparte, explaining that he had been too busy with official duties and forgot to report to Marshal Saint Arnaud.

"You, you! I don’t even know what to say to you!" Jerome Bonaparte first rebuked him and then explained to Marshal Saint Arnaud, "The main purpose of my arrival in Constantinople this time is to bestow the honors due to those soldiers who fought valiantly for the French Empire."

Marshal Saint Arnaud also recalled that the Ministry of War requested a list of meritorious officers from their Near Eastern operations. They submitted their names with great anticipation, hoping the Ministry of War would award them medals; however, the Ministry was slow to respond.

In stark contrast to the French Empire’s Ministry of War was the British War Department; their Minister of War immediately, upon receiving Lagren’s award list, granted Commander Largren the rank of Marshal by the Queen’s order, and subordinates like Earl of Cambridge, Count Lungan, and Duke of Cardigan were also awarded medals of various levels.

However, since Commander Largren was conducting operations on the Crimea Peninsula, Britain would dispatch an envoy to personally award him the Marshal’s Staff and medals.

Moreover, the Minister of War of the Sardinian Kingdom, a junior ally of the French Empire, was also given the title of Marshal by the Sardinian Kingdom.

Of course, his title as Marshal was even more inflated than Commander Largren’s.

Seeing Britain and Sardinia commencing their awarding actions, the French Empire’s Ministry of War remained inactive, prompting the French Army in the Crimea Peninsula to write numerous letters complaining about the Ministry’s procrastination.

It was the Ministry of War that initially requested them to submit a list of award recipients, yet they became the last nation to award honors.

It turned out that the Emperor himself would bestow the honors!

"Your Majesty, on behalf of the soldiers on the Crimea Peninsula, I thank you for your arrival!" Marshal Saint Arnaud immediately expressed his gratitude to Jerome Bonaparte.

"Bestowing honors upon those deserving is what I, as a monarch, should do; there’s no need for thanks!" Jerome Bonaparte, fully aware of the principle of "honors and authority should not be delegated to others," shook his head and responded lightly to Marshal Saint Arnaud, then continued to converse with him.

The two engaged in conversation for about two hours, during which Jerome Bonaparte, through Marshal Saint Arnaud, learned about the conditions and morale of the French army on the Crimea Peninsula.

However, during Jerome Bonaparte’s conversation with Saint Arno, Marshal Saint Arnaud consistently hinted that he hoped to return to the Crimea Peninsula to contribute his efforts to the Empire!

Jerome Bonaparte, on his part, gave various perfunctory responses to Marshal Saint Arnaud, while also hoping Marshal Saint Arnaud would return to Paris for treatment, a suggestion that was decisively refused by Marshal Saint Arnaud.

Throughout the conversation, Jerome Bonaparte and Saint Arnaud could not reach any consensus on this issue.

"We can discuss this matter at a later time. The most important thing now is..."

Just as Jerome Bonaparte was changing the subject, the sound of a door opening came from behind him, followed by a surprised voice, "Your Majesty!!!!"

To Jerome Bonaparte, this voice was all too familiar!

Indeed, the person standing at the door was Vilnius with a kerosene lamp.

At this moment, Vilnius had just completed her rounds of all the hospital beds, ensuring there were no other issues, and she brought the kerosene lamp to Marshal Saint Arnaud’s room to remind him to rest early!

When Vilnius pushed open the door, she saw someone in the room she never expected!

"You... Aren’t you supposed to be in Paris right now? Why are you here?" Vilnius’s curved brows revealed sheer joy.

Meeting Jerome Bonaparte in such a setting was something she had never anticipated.

Jerome Bonaparte turned his gaze towards Valvesky, his eyes showing a hint of displeasure as if questioning Valvesky about what was going on.

"Your Majesty, it was my oversight!" Valvesky immediately apologized to Jerome Bonaparte.

So, Valvesky explained to Vilnius why Jerome Bonaparte was here.

"Now you understand!" Jerome Bonaparte responded to Vilnius.

"I understand, Your Majesty!" Vilnius immediately grasped the situation.

Subsequently, Vilnius inquired about how Marshal Saint Arno was feeling.

"The situation is quite alright at the moment!" Marshal Saint Arno shrugged, pretending to be relaxed as he answered.

"In that case, you should rest early! Staying up late isn’t good for your health now!" Vilnius once again advised Marshal Saint Arno, also subtly suggesting that Jerome Bonaparte and Valvesky should not disturb Marshal Saint Arno’s rest.

Receiving Vilnius’s hint, Jerome Bonaparte immediately took his leave from Marshal Saint Arno.

"Your Majesty, Envoy Valvesky, be careful on your way back! I won’t see you off!" Marshal Saint Arno replied to Jerome Bonaparte.

After Jerome Bonaparte and Valvesky left Saint Arno’s hospital room, Marshal Saint Arno slowly maneuvered himself from the chair back to the bed and pulled the quilt over himself.

Still standing in the hospital room, Vilnius walked swiftly to the table with the kerosene lamp, extinguished it, and held it in hand as she left.

As Vilnius left Marshal Saint Arno’s room and was about to return to her bedroom, Jerome Bonaparte’s hand drooped onto Vilnius’s shoulder.

This startled Vilnius, causing her to almost scream, but Jerome Bonaparte quickly covered her mouth and whispered, "Shh! Lower your voice; you wouldn’t want to disturb them either, right?"

Upon seeing that the hand’s owner was Jerome Bonaparte, Vilnius’s frightened heart finally calmed, and she nodded in response.

Jerome Bonaparte slowly released Vilnius’s mouth, and the two stood together, gazing at each other for a while, seeing mutual affection in each other’s eyes!

Even though they were separated by thousands of miles, this affection would never vanish and would even grow stronger because of the distance, causing more longing.

After a little while, Vilnius leaned closer to Jerome Bonaparte, burying herself in Jerome Bonaparte’s chest.

"Give me the kerosene lamp!" Jerome Bonaparte said as he took the kerosene lamp from Vilnius’s hand.

With her hands freed, Vilnius hugged Jerome Bonaparte tightly, resting her head on Jerome Bonaparte’s chest, remaining silent for a long time.

"You’ve worked hard! Have you been very tired recently?" Jerome Bonaparte said to Vilnius.

"Actually, it’s nothing," Vilnius replied to Jerome Bonaparte, "I just need to check all the wards once more, and then I can rest!"

"Check all the wards?" Jerome Bonaparte smacked his lips, realizing this was a considerable "project," which would take at least an hour.

It was already 11 p.m., meaning Vilnius would have to work until past midnight before she could sleep.

"I’ll go with you!" Jerome Bonaparte said to Vilnius.

"How can that be!" Vilnius shook her head in response.

"Why not?" Jerome Bonaparte retorted, "Is it just because I’m the Emperor?"

"Yes!" Vilnius nodded in response.

"Then I’m not the Emperor now! I’m Jerome Bonaparte, so that should be alright!" Jerome Bonaparte blinked gently as he spoke.

Unable to resist Jerome Bonaparte, Vilnius had to agree, and the two of them, hand in hand, each carrying a kerosene lamp, inspected the wards.

In most of the wards they checked, the soldiers and officers had fallen asleep; only a few soldiers were still awake and, upon seeing Jerome Bonaparte, subconsciously took him for a hospital doctor.

After checking all the beds, Jerome Bonaparte and Vilnius together arrived at her bedroom. The whole room was much simpler compared to her time in Paris, with just a bed, a desk, a kerosene lamp, and a heap of medical records and patient information, forming the entirety of the room.

"You live here?"