Under the pitch-black starry sky, Camilo Valne and the officials of the Chambery Province stood at the entrance of the Chambéry city area, eagerly awaiting the arrival of Jerome Bonaparte and others. Meanwhile, the National Guard stationed in Chambéry took on the responsibility of guiding the French Army.

Guided by the National Guard in Chambéry, the French Army passed through the entire city of Chambéry and finally settled in the wilderness located to the northwest of the city.

As more and more French Army troops arrived, Camilo Valne’s legs began to tremble uncontrollably due to the excessive fatigue from standing for a long time.

At this moment, a pyramid-shaped cavalry team, holding torches, slowly approached Camilo Valne from afar. Leading this cavalry team was a middle-aged man dressed in a black, buttoned military uniform and wearing a Napoleon hat.

From the authority exuded by this man’s every gesture, Camilo Valne was certain that this should be the Monarch of the French Empire.

Thus, the astute Camilo Valne quickly ordered the provincial officials behind him to stand at attention. Then, he instructed the accompanying band to play the anthem of the First Empire, "The Song of Departure."

Under the night sky, each band member performed their respective role, with notes drifting from their fingertips to Jerome Bonaparte’s ears.

At this moment, riding on his horse, Jerome Bonaparte caught a smile at the corner of his mouth upon hearing "The Song of Departure" from not far away, and couldn’t help but remark, "This governor really knows how to handle things!"

Subsequently, Jerome Bonaparte deliberately slowed his pace, listened to the band’s performance of "The Song of Departure," and when the band’s performance ended, Jerome Bonaparte and his party arrived near Camilo Valne.

Seeing this, Camilo Valne quickly ran to Jerome Bonaparte and bowed to him, saying, "Welcome to Chambéry, esteemed Majesty. On behalf of all the members of the Chambéry city area, I warmly welcome your arrival!"

"Mmm!" Jerome Bonaparte replied lightly, then dismounted.

"Your Majesty, be careful!" Camilo Valne hurriedly ran to Jerome Bonaparte, extending both hands in a gesture of loyal protection. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Jerome Bonaparte, dismounted, glanced at the zealously performing Camilo Valne and smilingly said, "You... are good!"

Camilo Valne bowed modestly, saying, "This is all that I ought to do!"

"By the way, what is your name?" Jerome Bonaparte inquired once more of Camilo Valne.

"Victor Camilo Valne. Your Majesty, you can just call me Valne!" Camilo Valne replied to Jerome Bonaparte.

"Mmm! I got it!" Jerome Bonaparte nodded again at Camilo Valne, then extended his hand to him, saying, "Governor Valne, it’s a pleasure to meet you in Chambéry!"

Camilo Valne quickly extended his hand to shake with Jerome Bonaparte, then bowed his head slightly and said, "Your Majesty, it is my greatest honor to meet you in Chambéry!"

Looking at the ingratiating attitude of Camilo Valne before him, Jerome Bonaparte couldn’t help but think to himself: Rest assured, we will have plenty of opportunities to meet in the future!

Afterwards, Jerome Bonaparte had a brief chat with Camilo Valne, and from Valne, Jerome Bonaparte learned that those standing behind Valne were all officials of the Chambery government. Jerome Bonaparte then shook hands with them one by one.

These provincial officials, who rarely interacted with Cabinet Ministers, had even less experience of shaking hands with the ruler of a country.

Let alone, shaking hands with a Monarch of a country far exceeding the Sardinian Kingdom; thus, every one of them displayed a trace of excitement in their eyes while shaking hands with Jerome Bonaparte, with some even too excited to speak a complete sentence.

After encouraging each official of the Chambéry region with a few simple words, Jerome Bonaparte pointed to the stars in the sky and jokingly said to Camilo Valne, "Our Mr. Valne wouldn’t be planning to have me, a guest from a foreign land, stay in the wilderness, would he!"

Camilo Valne quickly responded to Jerome Bonaparte, saying, "Your Majesty, of course not!

I have already prepared accommodations for you!"

"Great!" Jerome Bonaparte replied again in a joking tone to Camilo Valne, "We won’t have to stay in the wilderness!"

Next, Jerome Bonaparte ordered Trocch to settle the troops stationed near Chambéry, while he and some members of the General Staff entered Chambéry with Camilo Valne.

Under the guidance of Camilo Valne, Jerome Bonaparte and others led their horses into the Chambéry city area.

At the fork in the road on the edge of the city, a splendidly decorated carriage was parked, and behind this carriage followed more than a dozen carts lined up neatly in two rows.

"Your Majesty, please get in the carriage!" Camilo Valne bowed slightly to Jerome Bonaparte in response.

"Very well!" Jerome Bonaparte nodded, gently stroked the horse, and then handed the horse over to the nearby general with a word of caution, "Take good care of my horse!"

"Rest assured, Your Majesty!" The colonel selected by Jerome Bonaparte straightened up and responded in a firm tone.

Jerome Bonaparte nodded slightly, then said to Camilo Valne, "Let’s go!"

With Camilo Valne leading the way, next to Jerome Bonaparte’s carriage, Valne personally opened the carriage door for Jerome Bonaparte, "Please, Your Majesty!"

Jerome Bonaparte took a step forward and entered the carriage.

Just as Camilo Valne was about to close the carriage door, Jerome Bonaparte, inside, smiled and asked Camilo Valne, "Mr. Valne, aren’t you joining me in this carriage?"

Valne shook his head and pointed firmly at the carriage behind Jerome Bonaparte, saying, "Only the monarch can ride with the monarch, so please allow me to follow behind you!"

"Very well then!" Jerome Bonaparte shrugged and watched as Camilo Valne closed the carriage door.

The rest of the personnel, organized by Camilo Valne, either boarded the carriages or rode the horses, and soon, everyone was ready.

Jerome Bonaparte’s carriage slowly traveled through the middle path between two rows of carriages. Once it reached the middle, the remaining carriages began to move forward.

The carriage carrying Jerome Bonaparte, protected by more than ten other carriages, proceeded toward the destination designated by Camilo Valne.

After the carriage traveled for quite a distance, it finally reached the vicinity of the location designated by Camilo Valne.

The carriage protecting Jerome Bonaparte gradually slowed down, and once Jerome Bonaparte’s carriage moved to the front, it also began to slow down.

At that moment, a palace building appeared in front of Jerome Bonaparte.

"Is this... the old palace of the Savoy Duchy?" Jerome Bonaparte murmured softly from inside the carriage.

Based on his impression of the architecture in Chambéry (mostly low houses), this palace was likely the old palace of the Savoy Duchy.

The carriage stopped in front of the suspected old palace of the Savoy Duchy. Before Jerome Bonaparte could open the carriage door, a figure appeared around his carriage to open the door for him.

"Your Majesty!" The gentleman in front of him spoke fluent Parisian to Jerome Bonaparte.

"Who are you?" Jerome Bonaparte curiously examined the person before him; this was the first time this year he had heard the Paris accent outside Paris.

"Your Majesty, please allow me to introduce myself! My name is Victor Wilson, and my hometown is in Seine Province (Paris)." Wilson responded politely to Jerome Bonaparte.

No wonder this gentleman could speak with a Paris accent; it turns out he is a native Parisian.

"How does a Parisian end up here!" Jerome Bonaparte curiously inquired of Wilson.

Before Wilson could respond, Camilo Valne quickly answered Jerome Bonaparte, "Your Majesty, Mr. Wilson is the owner of this palace and also runs a wealthy bank in Chambéry!"

"A wealthy bank?" Jerome Bonaparte once again glanced at Victor Wilson, then smiled and said to him, "Mr. Wilson, since you are a native Parisian and also a banker!

I suppose we must have met before!"

"Your Majesty, I once had the honor of receiving your invitation to the Tuileries Palace!" Victor Wilson eagerly mentioned to Jerome Bonaparte.

Jerome Bonaparte thought carefully for a moment, and a vague figure appeared in his mind. However, this figure did not match Wilson, and he apologized to Victor Wilson, "I’m sorry, it might be because it was so long ago, I’ve forgotten! Could you remind me when you attended?"

Wilson’s gaze dimmed slightly, and he shook his head, replying to Jerome Bonaparte, "Your Majesty, these are past events from years ago!

Since you’ve forgotten, then let’s leave it at that! May I now have the privilege of showing you around this palace?"

"As you wish!"