Flowers, Swords and France

Every day at 6:30 pm, the Marquis Treville and his family would start dinner on time, and today was no exception. However, what is different from usual is that the heir of the old Marquis has not appeared at this table.

Fran sat quietly in her seat, eating dinner with her grandfather. The Marquis de Treville's family has always advocated simplicity, and the old man and the young man both have little appetites, so the meals on the table are very simple.

Compared with eating, the girl's mind was spent on another place - she was worried about her brother. Before starting the meal, she also prayed for her brother according to her recent practice. She firmly believed that her brother would soon be there. It's time to go home.

The expression of the old man matched the calm and slightly melancholy expression of the girl.

The face that was once gentle and a little funny has now become serious and focused. The jokes that the old man often told have disappeared recently, and even his hair has become grayer.

It can be seen that although he has narrowly escaped from the disaster of being defrauded and bankrupted, the mental setback still left some traces on the old man's weather-beaten face.

However, even so, he still maintained the calmness expected of a member of the Treville family, and even seemed a little indifferent.

Therefore, this dinner was just like the recent one, sliding calmly in the silence between the grandfather and grandson, and the atmosphere was dull and somewhat depressing.

Perhaps he felt that it was not good to be so dull, so although he was not very energetic, the old Marquis still managed to cheer up and looked at his precious granddaughter with a forced smile.

"Little beauty, what are you thinking about? Why are you so listless?"

Anyone could tell that the old man's tone was no longer as cheerful as before.

Fran, who was distracted, subconsciously answered her grandfather's question after hearing it.

"Grandpa, I was wondering when my brother would come back...ah!"

When she just said this, she suddenly felt like she wanted to wake up, she exclaimed a little, and suddenly there was a little panic on her face, "I mean...Grandpa...I mean..."

The panicked look of his granddaughter made the old man couldn't help laughing.

"I'm worried about him too, but don't worry too much about it. It's not good for anyone." He looked at Fran gently, "Your brother has grown into a reliable young man and has his own judgment of reading ability. We should all be grateful for his determination and courage. He is a true Treville."

After hearing her grandfather's comfort, Fran lowered her eyes slightly. She felt keenly that her grandfather seemed to know something and didn't want to tell her. Since grandpa refused to say anything, she didn't dare to ask, so she had to stay silent and continue eating her dinner.

"However, Fran, you are also very good, very good." The old Marquis continued, his face was very kind and a little happy, "Now you have become famous, and when I met my old friend, you were still Someone mentioned you! They said I raised a great granddaughter, a future famous painter, hahahaha!”

"Grandpa, please stop saying that! It's so embarrassing!" Fran, whose face was slightly red, retorted quickly, "I just got a little fame... I still have a long way to go..."

"It's not easy to achieve such results at this age and still be so sober and humble, Fran. Keep up the good work!"

There was a sudden voice of encouragement at the door.

Suddenly, both the grandfather and grandson heard the familiar voice from that close relative, and the faces of the old man and the girl were instantly filled with uncontrollable surprise.

As if falling from the sky, Ciel appeared at the door of the restaurant. The smile on his face is not a formulaic smile, but a joy from the heart.

"I'm back." He nodded calmly, and then walked towards his relatives like a person who had gone out this morning and just returned home at night.

The surprise slowly faded from the old man's face, and finally turned into the same indifference as Ciel.

The old Marquis stretched out his hand and pointed to the seat next to him where Charles usually sat.

"You're back? Well it's still early, let's sit down and eat first."

All the deep feelings between grandfather and grandson were finally hidden in these two implicit and plain sentences.

Charles walked to his seat, sat down easily and naturally, and then smiled at his sister sitting opposite him.

Compared to her grandfather, Fran was much more excited. She was very happy at first, and then a little uneasy - after all, the last time her brother came back, didn't he just stay for an hour or two and then leave?

She wanted to remain silent, but in the end her worry for her brother overcame her reserve.

"When do you plan to go out again? After dinner?" She deliberately made her tone very cold, as if she really wanted her brother to leave, but who couldn't hear the true meaning?

"No," Charles replied, still smiling, "I haven't been going out recently, my lovely painter lady..."

Her brother's answer made her so happy that she forgot to refute his teasing later. In order to hide her joy, Fran quickly lowered her head and continued to drink the pea and bacon soup in front of her.

After Charles returned home, although the restaurant quickly returned to silence, the atmosphere was completely different from the dull and depressing one just now.

This is the affection between close relatives.

Soon, the three of them finished their dinner. According to their original routine, Fran would immediately return to her bedroom, but today she seemed a little hesitant, as if she had something on her mind.

Seeing what his sister was thinking, Charles asked immediately.

"What's wrong, Fran, do you have anything to say to me?"

Fran blinked shyly, but after hesitating for a moment, she still said it.

"Brother, Ms. Adelaide came to our studio a while ago and saw our works. She praised me very much..."

"Congratulations." Charles replied with a smile.

"...Then, she wanted to invite me to the court in a while to attend the banquet held by Prince Jules Verre and paint a few scenes for her..." Fran continued in a low voice.

"Ah?"

Although he had already known that Ms. Adelaide seemed to like his sister very much, this extraordinary favor still surprised Charles. This kind of favor is really enviable no matter how you look at it, right?

But despite his surprise, he still smiled and encouraged his lucky sister.

"Oh, that's great, Fran. It's not a hundred years ago now. Our chance to enter the palace is really rare. You have to seize it and take it as a way to relax!"

Looking at his sister sitting in her seat with her head up, Charles subconsciously stood up in an instant, and then stretched out his hand to touch her golden hair as he did in the past, but... when he was halfway, he stopped.

The original text is available at Six # 9 @Books/Bar!

Just a few days ago, it was these hands that strangled a man with a bow tie without hesitation, a former comrade, just because they felt the need to kill him.

In the future, it will definitely kill more people.

Do I really want to use these hands to dirty my sister? My beloved sister?

Charles' hand moved forward a few centimeters, but finally withdrew it dejectedly.

This is the price, he smiled bitterly and laughed at himself.

Even so, he did not regret it for a second.

He quickly withdrew his hand, pretending that he was just taking a plate, and then sat down again naturally. He was careful not to let anyone see his abnormality, which was his greatest insistence in front of his sister.

Then, he saw Fran's hesitant look.

"What's wrong, is there anything else?" He asked in surprise.

"Yes, there is one more thing..." Fran seemed even more hesitant, and hesitated for a few seconds before finally saying, "Ms. Adelaide also said that if you want to go to the palace to take a look, you can also be included in the invitation list... She also said, 'A young man named Treville is qualified to come to the palace to take a look...', so she asked me to ask you..."

After hearing this, the smile on Charles' face instantly disappeared, and then he and the old marquis looked at each other and found that the other's expression was the same as his own - surprise with some doubts.

Fran looked at her brother and waited quietly for his answer.

When she heard Lady Adelaide's proposal, Fran knew vaguely that her brother might not want to see the world in the palace, so she was so hesitant when she conveyed it. But the desire in the girl's heart, "Let my brother witness my most glorious moment!", still made her muster up the last hope and speak it out.

Let my brother decide for himself, she thought.

What does an enemy of the king do in the palace? Charles subconsciously wanted to refuse.

But his sister's expectant eyes made him not directly express this refusal. He just replied tactfully, "Oh, okay, I will consider it, if I have time. Thank the lady for me..."

His answer was very tactful, but Fran, who had been with him for many years, could certainly understand what her brother meant. Although she was a little disappointed, she did not seem very disappointed. After all, her brother's reaction was also within her expectations. She just nodded gently and sighed a little in her heart.

"I understand what you mean, brother. I will tell the lady when the time comes."

Then, Fran bowed to her brother and grandfather, then turned and walked out of her living room and walked towards her room.

After Fran left, the old marquis looked at Charles with a complicated look in his eyes.

After so many things happened, it was the first time that the two of them were alone in a room like this.

"Come to my room and we'll have a good talk." The old man suddenly sighed.

Charles nodded.

"Okay."

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"Hurry up! Hurry up!" Charlotte in the carriage, regardless of her demeanor and etiquette, kept urging her coachman to speed up, making him very nervous. The carriage rushed to the Marquis of Treville's house at a very fast speed. (To be continued.)