Flowers, Swords and France

"Kids, do you want us to play again?"

Under Charles' gaze, Agnes walked step by step into the room and came to the side of the two people. She kept looking at Charles, with the same look in her eyes, as if a cat had seen its favorite prey. Same.

"No, no need..." Ciel instinctively rejected the proposal. "Today I just had itchy hands and competed with Ambassador Bismarck on my skills... I've had enough fun now."

He has suffered enough from studying with this aunt since he was a child. What's more, the last time they met in the countryside, he was beaten to a pulp by Agnes. How dare he dare to fight her again now.

"What? You've had enough fun after just playing for so long? Isn't that bad? Young people should exercise more and not get tired easily." Agnes raised the corners of her mouth slightly, revealing a charming smile, "Come on , let’s play again! It just so happens that I have a little itchiness today.”

"Please spare me!" Charles couldn't help but smile bitterly. In order to change the subject, he simply stretched out his hand to Bismarck, who was still squatting on the ground. "Sir, how are you? Do you feel better?"

"It's much better." Bismarck grabbed Charles's hand and stood up unsteadily. Although he was still a little weak, he looked at Agnes in surprise, "Who is this...?"

"Allow me to introduce you." Charles extended his hand to Agnes, "This is my aunt, Ms. Agnes de Nordrian. She is my mother's sister and the sister of the current Duke Nordrian. . In addition, didn't I tell you before, there was a swordsman who called me swordsmanship when I was a child, she... was this master."

"What?" Bismarck was shocked and looked at Agnes dumbfounded. He really didn't expect that this delicate and frail person could have such ability. He couldn't believe it, but he also knew that this minister was not He would make such a joke for no reason.

"That's amazing." After looking at Agnes for a while, he couldn't help blurting out.

"Aunt Agnes, let me introduce you to you." Charles looked at Agnes again at this time, "This is Mr. Otto von Bismarck, the Prussian ambassador to France. He has just arrived in Paris. He is Prussia's young and promising politician has won the trust of the government..."

"Oh, hello, sir." Agnes nodded directly to Bismarck without listening to Charles' further introduction.

She is not interested in politics or diplomacy, nor does she have any idea of ​​currying favor with any foreign dignitaries, so she doesn't care at all who is the ambassador or minister across from her.

She bent down and picked up the sword that Ambassador Bismarck had dropped on the ground. Then she flicked her wrist slightly, causing the tip of the sword to draw an arc in the air. "Hmm, not a bad weapon."

Then she looked at Bismarck again, "Sir, judging from your profession, your swordsmanship is already good. It seems that you should have worked hard when you were young, but just now you seemed very rusty, your steps were chaotic, and you were confused. There is also a problem with strength.”

As she spoke, she gestured, lowered her shoulders and swiped lightly, and the sword danced like a spiritual snake.

"If you had used this move just now, you would have been able to hold on for a while..."

"Your Excellency, the Minister, is very powerful. I can't beat him." Bismarck couldn't help but smile bitterly. "No matter how hard I try, it's just a waste of time. You have taught a good student!"

Although the feeling of losing was very uncomfortable, Bismarck was a big man after all. He could afford to take it and let it go. He quickly put the unpleasantness of losing behind his mind and felt that this was a good way to bring the two people closer. Opportunity - after all, not every ambassador has the opportunity to have such a confrontation with Minister Treville.

"That's right. No matter how bad my students are, they should still have some skills." Although she seemed to be blaming her, there was a hint of showing off in Agnes' tone, "It's not an injustice for you to lose to him."

Then, she picked up the sword again, and then suddenly took a step forward, and the sword tip stopped in front of Ciel with a strong wind. "Char, come on, let's play again!"

"No... no need..." Ciel waved his hand quickly.

"Don't refuse!" Agnes interrupted him decisively, "Are you going to disobey the teacher's order? Or are you afraid?"

"..." Charles felt a little embarrassed on his face.

You have already been provoked like this. If you shrink any further, you will probably be laughed at. Even if you lose, you can't be embarrassed, especially you can't be embarrassed in front of others.

After hesitating for a moment, he had no choice but to pick up the sword again angrily. "Then please be gentle!"

"Hahahaha!" Agnes couldn't help laughing, "Of course! Let's get started!"

As soon as she finished speaking, she swung the sword in her hand and slashed directly at Ciel's shoulder. Although she looked thin, the movement was so fast that Bismarck felt that his eyes were dazzled.

Ciel, who was the first to bear the brunt, hurriedly put his sword in front of him to block the vicious blow. The force of the attack was so strong that he felt his hands were numb and he involuntarily took a few steps back. Agnes's strength is not strong, but she is extremely skilled in using her body to sprint, which greatly increases the impact.

After Ciel stepped back, his pace began to become more unsteady, and Agnes certainly seized this opportunity and continued to launch attacks, which made him feel miserable and could only struggle to hold on while being suppressed. .

In his opinion, Agnes's movements were light and dexterous, and had an indescribable sense of elegance. It didn't look like she was nearly forty years old at all. Although her strength was slightly lacking, with the help of her skills, she could still resist him. It was very hard, and it was difficult to even mount a decent counterattack.

Originally, he planned to use procrastination to slowly consume Agnes's energy, survive this round of attacks, and then counterattack, but what surprised him was that Agnes' attacks seemed to be endless, suppressing her all the time. Instead, it left him suffocated, and even his breathing was not smooth.

He felt that this was not the solution, so he decided to fight back forcefully. He shouted, then forcibly struck Agnes's sword with his sword, and then took advantage of the brief pause to rush forward suddenly and raise his hand. He raised his sword and hit Agnes hard on the shoulder.

However, Agnes, who was a little sluggish, suddenly stepped aside, and then swung her sword directly to his shoulder at a speed that was difficult for him to see clearly. Charles had to stop his attack and then stepped aside. let.

However, at this moment, Agnes suddenly stood still, quickly stopped her body, then twisted her waist and swung her sword heavily, using the strength of her waist, the tip of the sword tore open the air, and with a low sound of wind, she quickly Scanned towards him.

With a deep muffled sound, the sword hit his chest and abdomen hard, causing him so much pain that he almost dropped the sword in his hand, staggered backwards, and his door was completely opened.

At this time, Agnes still didn't stop. She leaned forward again, and then used the tip of the sword to hit Charles hard on the right rib - the same part where he had just hit Ambassador Bismarck's body.

The same attack, of course, brought the same pain. Ciel could no longer hold on and dropped the sword on the ground, completely declaring his failure.

"Ah!" He squatted down, holding his chest, feeling like tears were about to flow down his face. "I surrender...stop fighting, aunt!"

"It's even worse than I expected." Agnes finally stopped and put her sword on the ground, stopping her attack. "Char, you have been too wasteful these years."

Agnes, who had regained her composure, had returned to her gentle and thin appearance. She could not tell that she had such agile movements just now. If she had not seen all this with her own eyes, I am afraid no one would have believed that she could actually move her body. The weapons in his hands are handled so skillfully.

"I...I...how can I have so much time to practice..." Charles smiled bitterly and replied while panting. Now he only felt pain all over his body, especially his chest, which was so numb that he could hardly stand still.

"If you don't have the ability, don't make fun of yourself! Don't you know the risks?" Agnes scolded him, and then walked up to him, "Really, you still have to be so brave at this age. Douxun, have you forgotten your identity? "There are many people in the world who can defeat you. "

As she spoke, she leaned down to support Ciel, rubbed his chest, and then pulled him up.

"Really, you are a man with a wife and son, but you still have to fight with others with a sword. What do you want others to do if something unexpected happens? When you become a minister, you still have to fight with others. How can there be such a joke in the world? I think you are a little carried away..."

Only Ciel could hear her quiet complaint, and the touch on her chest made him feel much better.

It turns out she came to teach me a lesson for this... He suddenly understood why Agnes was so cruel to him.

It seems like he wants to teach me a lesson.

"I understand, thank you..." He quickly said to the other party, "Actually, it was just a random idea... Because I had a good conversation with Ambassador Bismarck, so I wanted to compare notes for fun. I would never do anything to others. It will be done, don’t worry.”

"Not even if it's a sudden thought." Agnes said with a serious face, "You have to remember that you are not alone now. You can be brave, but you should not take the initiative to take risks."

After a pause, she added in a low voice, "If there is someone who needs to be killed, I won't be as sloppy as you... If you let me come, two or three times will be enough. Keep him cool."

Ciel was stunned again.

It was obvious that Agnes had seen the strong hostility towards Bismarck hidden in his heart from the fight between the two of them just now, and she also hinted that she could do it for him.

This made him both touched and worried.

He was touched that Agnes was willing to help him do such a thing, but of course he was worried that Agnes would be too active and actually take action.

"No, he is the ambassador of a foreign country. We cannot endanger his safety... You don't have to worry about him. I have ways to deal with him." Charles quickly stopped the other party, "But thank you anyway, I... I really I'm glad you treated me like this."

"Hey, is this kid really beaten stupid!?" Agnes couldn't help laughing again, "I beat you like this and you still thank me!"

"If I can be supported by you like this, I will feel very comfortable even if I am beaten once." Ciel replied.

Agnes felt a little embarrassed now. She found that the two of them were almost touching each other. She wanted to take back her hand supporting Charles, but she was afraid that he would not be able to stand, so in the end she had to knock him on the head with her hand. . "Why, are you still doing this to your aunt? Are you really not afraid of being beaten to death?"

Bismarck, who was not far away, had been watching the two men talking and laughing. Although he could not hear what they said just now, it was obvious that they were not angry because of the fight. It was obvious that they had a very good relationship.

He had completely recovered from the blow just now, and his mind was refocused. He watched the movements of the opposite side closely and indifferently.

Agnes's performance just now really surprised him. He never thought that a woman who looked so quiet and delicate could be so terrible when she started fighting. She beat Minister Treville without any chance to fight back. You know, this minister was one of the first-class swordsmen he had ever seen in his life, and he had just defeated him.

The most terrifying thing was that he had never heard of such a powerful swordsman before, which showed that the hidden power of this young man should not be underestimated.

It was not surprising that a wealthy family like the Treville family secretly hid some lackey killers. In the Middle Ages, the great nobles were already like this, but it was unexpected that there would be such a swordsman that people could hardly be on guard against in advance.

Could there be more powerful killers hidden in secret? He couldn't help thinking in his heart, and then subconsciously glanced around. The dull air couldn't give him any answer.

The original text is in the six # 9 @book/bar!

In any case, this shows that Minister Treville is a person worth his effort to make friends with.

At the same time, another idea suddenly flashed through his mind.

When introducing just now, he heard the minister directly call the woman "Ms.", and she also used her surname. It seems that she is not married yet, which is a bit unusual.

With a heart full of doubts, Bismarck stared at the opposite side quietly.

They are really a little too close.

"Sorry, sir, I hope I didn't give you a bad impression this time..." After a long while, Charles finally recovered completely and walked in front of Bismarck with a smile again. "Please believe me, you are the first guest I have invited to compete in swordsmanship, because you have ignited my passion for fighting."

"If you want to maintain friendship between men, swords are more effective than anything else." Bismarck nodded, not looking angry at all, "Your Excellency, don't worry, I am very satisfied with your hospitality... Of course, we should not compete like this next time, it is very laborious."

"Haha... Don't worry, this is the last time, we don't need to use this to decide the winner in the future." Charles laughed, "Let's go to dinner."

Charles really didn't plan to play with the other party like this again. He also knew that winning in swordsmanship didn't mean much, because for a country or an army, personal courage was not of much value, and the victory or defeat of two people could only be resolved by the fighting of hundreds of thousands of troops.

However, this victory still brought him a great psychological advantage, which made him very happy, and even made him walk a little lighter.

Sometimes men should be willful a few times, he thought.

And when they arrived at the restaurant, Charlotte had arranged dinner.

"What did you do just now?" Seeing the two men in disheveled clothes, she couldn't help but be surprised, "Why are you dressed like this?"

"We just had a fight." Charles replied with a smile, "This has enhanced our friendship..."

"What are you crazy about again!" Charlotte interrupted him loudly, and then walked in front of him, obviously a little panicked, "Why did you fight with the guests? Are you not injured...?"

While speaking, she also stroked Charles' clothes with her hands to make sure he was not injured.

"I'm fine..." Charles shrugged, "We were really just having a friendly fight."

"Really, you're so old and still doing ridiculous things!" After making sure that her husband was fine, Charlotte finally put her mind at ease, and then scolded her husband again, "Can't you be serious once in a while!"

"Okay, okay, Charlotte, I'm just playing occasionally..." Charles coaxed her, "Don't lose your temper, others are still watching."

"If you're afraid that I'll lose my temper, don't make trouble!" Charlotte scolded him again.

However, she finally restrained herself, gave him a look that said "I'll deal with you later", and sat back down angrily.

While the couple was bickering, Agnes watched them and couldn't help but giggle, looking very happy about their relationship.

Knowing that Charles and the Prussian ambassador had something to discuss, Charlotte and Agnes quickly finished their meal and left the restaurant. Charlotte brought her two baby sons to the playroom upstairs specially opened for the little ones, and Agnes followed.

"Aunt Agnes, what do you want to talk to me about this time?" she asked.

"I need a favor from you now." Agnes whispered, "To be more precise, it's my brother who needs a favor from you."

"Your brother?" Charlotte was stunned for a moment before she realized who she was talking about. "What does Duke Norderien want to talk to us about?"

The Duke is Charles' uncle, but the two families have not been in contact with each other for a long time because of some things. Charlotte is an arrogant person, so after marrying Charles, she has no intention of humble herself to repair the relationship between the two families, so they still have no contact, which is why she is a little curious.

"What else can be done..." Agnes smiled bitterly, "People find relatives who have not been in contact with each other for many years. Generally speaking, it can only be for money."

"Want to borrow money?" Charlotte understood somewhat.

So, she sneered.

"In Paris, it's easy to talk about anything except borrowing money. Besides, didn't Charles already give him a large sum of money?"

Just a few years ago, Charles wrote an IOU to his uncle in order to smooth things over with his mother. Later, he kept his promise and gave the other party a large sum of money. This feeling of being blackmailed was unbearable for Charlotte. , so I have always been worried about it.

"He has been speculating recently and lost a lot. I don't think he has that ability." Agnes sighed. "So he panicked and came to ask me for help..."

"Where do you have the money? He's looking for you just because he's looking for us." Charlotte said coldly, "This guy really wants to borrow money and he won't come directly to him!"

"If he came by himself, I'm afraid you wouldn't even want to see him." Agnes still smiled bitterly, not showing her usual high spirits at all.

After all, he still has some attachment to his family, and even if his family treats him badly, he still wants to help.

Charlotte understood.

Although she hated that uncle, if it was Agnes, the situation would be different.

"How much does he want to borrow?"

"If it was a small amount, he wouldn't come to beg me." Agnes was still very depressed. "I'm afraid it must be in the millions. He has to make up for the shortfall."

"Does he really think we are his cash cow?" Charlotte frowned.

It took her a while to recover from her anger. "Agnes, for you, I am willing to lend it to them...but they must have a token."

"Token?" Agnes was a little confused.

"Property, fields, whatever, give me a mortgage." Charlotte said coldly, "If I think it's enough, he can get the money."