Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 230 The marriage cannot be concluded due to religious issues
"But, Sylvia, this is not a reason. After all, we liked each other when we met."

Solovyov is obviously not the kind of stud type protagonist. So far, only Silvia and Louisa have appeared by his side. Louisa is the queen of Russia. Although they can be lovers, they can't be together. Silvia is more special to him.

She was even more beautiful than when she was a young girl. Italian girls were always beautiful, and they tried to keep a distance.

But when she saw her Michele, she couldn't hide her love in her eyes, and there was still a spark of love between them.

"Be my wife, and we'll go to the countryside in Ryazan, where we have an estate, and we can live a carefree life with our daughter, and then we'll..."

"But you know why Prince Dolgorukov came abroad. The marriage of a guards officer like you will involve religious beliefs. I will not convert from Catholicism to Orthodoxy, but if you convert..."

"It's nothing more than religion. The French even had a high priest of the 'Church of Reason'. What's more, the Italians originally believed in the polytheism of Greece and Rome."

"But your future, Michele. I love you, but I don't want to let this hinder you. If you were just an ordinary young officer, it would be fine. With just this face, we can settle down anywhere after you retire. But you are a person with ideas, and I know you still want to do something. I can always be your lover, and I can come to your side to take care of you if you need, but as your wife, I can't give you much help. Count Lita's words... Although he is such a romantic person, but according to your words, he has double standards."

"Is it really not possible?"

Solovyov held Sylvia in his arms, and her touch was always wonderful, and even more gentle and beautiful, but so thoughtful of him.

"You are only 21 years old, but you are already a lieutenant colonel in the Guards, and you have a bright future without relying on your family background. It will be more beneficial for you to marry a young, well-off, wealthy and beautiful bride."

"how about you?"

"If I am with you, I can help you with many things. When I am not with you, I can help you get information. Prince Borghese is going to Paris. If I am in his official residence, will it be helpful to you?"

But Solovyov's greatest strength is that he will take responsibility if someone sleeps with him, especially since the two of them could not forget each other even though they had only been together for a few days.

"I"

"Michele, don't say anything else. I will not change my religious beliefs. If you become a general or governor one day, it will not be good for you, but we can still be together if you come to France and Italy. The wife you will marry in the future can only be Russian, and you have no intention of changing your camp. Most Russians are so stubborn that they will never learn from the Germans to change their camp."

Italians, in fact, don't like German-speaking Germans very much. Silvia went to Florence from her home near Milan when she was pregnant, and then became a housekeeper in Prince Borghese's house.

Prince Borghese went to Paris for some political purposes.

"But I brought my wife with me?"

"Then you can sneak over to my place, like now, just the two of us."

"Although we are all young, we are not so immature anymore."

"But I don't think you will be so accurate every time, right?"

"From a religious perspective, Sylvia, this depends on God's will. From a medical perspective, it still depends on whether our physical characteristics can be combined. It is a bit dangerous. When I was on duty in the palace, I saw the current Queen Mother Maria and Queen Elizabeth giving birth. Everyone was very nervous. In Russia, the more people know about the pain of a woman giving birth, the more pain she may suffer."

"That's a Russian rural superstition, right? Even God wouldn't say that. Come over here. The child will sleep very deeply at night. This night belongs to the two of us."

"Sylvia."

"Michele"

Solovyov's current residence in Prince Dolgorukov is actually separate from the prince's family, so it doesn't matter if he returns later. Besides, Sylvia is really attractive, and they have been intimate before, which is a reunion of old lovers, so it's not surprising that something happens.

But Sylvia's behavior was indeed strange. Solovyov had seriously considered it before proposing to make her his wife. After all, it would be difficult for them to meet again. The nature of his work made it difficult for him to go to Italy. He had thought about this issue when they were reunited this time.

Even if the other party refused, it’s not a bad thing that both parties will continue to keep in touch.

As for the next morning, Solovyov and Silvia were still together, walking together in the streets of Saint-Tropez, as they had done in Milan.

"Sylvia, how do you plan your route when you return to Rome this time?"

"We're taking a boat back from Genoa. I think you should talk to the prince about changing the itinerary. Florence is the only place worth visiting, but that's only from a cultural perspective. It would be more interesting to visit the Eternal City. Besides, he's a Catholic, and I know that."

"I am also interested in going to Rome with you, but you have to take into account that the prince and his family are not in a hurry. Their trip is mainly for sightseeing, not traveling."

"You can come with me, we are in Rome."

Although they are not husband and wife, they look like a family of three.

"A journey just for us and the kids?"

"That prince should be able to see that, and you accompany me to Rome, just as an inspection of the city, okay?"

"I am willing to go with you, but you must make it clear with Prince Vasili that we should travel together from Paris."

Of course, the prince, who had always been a calm person, also knew that they must have had good memories when they were young.

"Go, Misha. The girl rejected your proposal because of religion. Sometimes it's like this. If you convert, you will have no future. She is not like an old man like me. But the girl, like Katya in my family, takes religious issues very seriously. While you are still young and old lovers, go to Rome and have fun."

Prince Vasily knew one thing clearly: people like Solovyov were rare among young people, and all the young men in St. Petersburg were aiming for the Sea King.

"Thank you." "Maybe we'll meet again when we get to Rome. If we meet again, it will be after Christmas."

The old man also understood a lot. After all, when these nobles were in their twenties and thirties, they often saw Prince Potemkin entering and leaving the Queen's court and tent.

Moreover, the prince also attempted to have an affair with Prince Dolgorukov's wife, but whether he would succeed in the end depended on the woman's attitude.

It was somewhat interesting that such a thing happened, especially with a young foreign noble girl, but the prince did not notice the appearance of Sylvia's daughter, otherwise he would know everything.

Although Solovyov injured his arm, he recovered quickly and the stitches were removed when he arrived in Lyon. The scar was not very good-looking, but it was covered with clothes so it could not be seen.

Silvia was very satisfied that her Michele could spend some time alone with her. Although she was devout in her faith, she did things more like the ancient polytheistic way, rather than the way advocated by Catholicism in recent years.

There's nothing we can do about it. Who can blame Italy for the constant weird things happening there?

"It's really hard for me to say what your beliefs are."

Solovyov seemed to have met a believer in Venus. Think about what Caesar was like, and what Octavian did behind the scenes while promoting morality on the surface.

"The Visconti family, could they have any relationship with Venus? The Visconti family I know are either philanthropic or loyal like you, but you are really strange. I want you to be my wife, and my family is not bad."

"But I don't intend to change my faith. I've told you that. If you change your faith, I don't think anyone in Petersburg will agree. And as an 'inventor', although others don't know, I know that you have a lot of mechanical ideas, just like a living Leonardo da Vinci."

"Oh, I'm not that amazing. It's just that I'm exposed to a lot of knowledge every day. Besides, there are some things I'm not so good at."

"Like what?"

"Although I know the principle of the steam engine, how to make the high-pressure steam engine more efficient is a problem. I came to Europe to see the research results of steam engines in France and Britain."

Sylvia was fine managing the household finances, but asking her to listen to mechanical questions was like listening to a foreign language.

"What are you talking about? I know about steam engines, but what do you want to do with such a big thing?"

"Of course it's shipbuilding. About 20 years ago, when the hot air balloon first appeared in France, someone invented the steamboat. However, due to lack of funds and obstruction from the French Academy of Sciences, the research was ultimately not completed. The Marquis went into exile abroad after the Revolution, and he worked with me in St. Petersburg to study the latest type of steamboat, which is driven by a steam engine and paddle wheels and can travel on the water without the help of wind or manpower."

"It sounds impressive, but Petersburg is so far away from Paris and Rome, we hardly heard any news."

Normally speaking, if there is any movement in Russia, it should be reported to us quickly, even if the distance is long.

However, the display at the Tauride Palace and the navigation test on the Neva River did not seem to spread to Western European countries.

However, there is some movement in the UK and the US, which will soon spread to all parts of the world.

Is this perhaps the power of media education? What is even more bizarre is that Fulton’s steamboat was not even among the top three, and was even second in the United States, but people still believe that all practical steamboats were invented by him.

It was obviously the unlucky American inventor and the Scottish engineer who helped him who chose to engage in water transportation next to the busiest road. It was because of this weird behavior of transporting coal from Jiaozuo to Datong that they failed, right?
"That sounds interesting. Although I don't understand mechanics, I can still find a way to help you get some information. What do you think? And I will be active near Paris in the future. I will know everything that happens in France!"

At this point, Sylvia held her daughter and rubbed her against Solovyov's arms.

"Michele, let me help you fulfill some of your wishes!"

"Forget about collecting intelligence. I will be satisfied as long as you live a happy and peaceful life with Octavia. I am now very worried that France will fight with Britain again. Once the war starts, the whole of Europe will not be at peace. If that happens, I will still have to go to the battlefield as a soldier."

His wish was that his relatives were safe. No one would land in St. Petersburg for a hundred years. It was very safe there. Moreover, Louisa and Svetlana were in the palace. As long as Alexander's rule continued, nothing would happen.

Instead, he was very worried about Italy where Silvia and her daughter were. In fact, he hoped for world peace rather than going out to fight. If he relied on invention patents and route franchises, he would be able to accumulate huge wealth very quickly. Fighting a war was just a preparation for being involved in it.

If he had been born in the Queen's era, he might have found a reason to retire.

But starting from Paul, Russian officers, especially Guards officers, who had particularly outstanding skills, would probably be kept in the army to shine even if they had legitimate reasons for retirement.

Especially for an inventor like him who has tinkered with many things, the fact that he has transformed all the known technologies into physical objects makes him unlikely to retire even if he becomes the chief engineer (equivalent to the rank of general) in the Russian army.

What's more, he has practical combat experience in front-line troops, so he cannot be let go.

"You have to be careful, Michele. I know about the war between France and Austria in Italy. They fought back and forth several times."

"That time in between, I met you."

"This is our luck and misfortune. Peace is better."

"Let's not talk about that for now. We are going to Rome. After we get to Genoa, we will take a boat there."

What is this? Is this a Roman Holiday?

Solovyov was very much looking forward to it, but he was also a little worried because he would not take any protective measures when having close contact with Sylvia. He hoped that Sylvia had not miscalculated her menstrual cycle.

(End of this chapter)