Flowers, Swords and France

[Thanks again to my book friend Dr. Bai Hechou. .]

After visiting the estates of several local families and completing the etiquette requirements, the two young men of the Treville family embarked on their journey home.

"Char, the people here are very hospitable. That's why people from other provinces are better. If there were nothing else, I really want to spend more time here!" In the carriage, enjoying the view of the road Looking at the spring scenery all around, Charlotte always had a smile on her face and snuggled next to Charles.

Charlotte was very happy, because she not only fulfilled her long-cherished wish, she was very angry with the mob who occupied her land, and regained all the land in her manor; she also had fun in the countryside with the people she liked. After a while.

"We still have a lot to do, and of course we can't stay here all the time." Charles replied casually in a low voice, still not looking away from the album in his hand.

In the process of visiting various places, as Charles expected and even expected, the news that "the Duke of Treville's family drove away all the mob" has spread throughout the nearby villages. Although the nobles they met spoke of this matter in a tone of appreciation and admiration, Charles could imagine the extent to which Charlotte's "feat" had caused dissatisfaction among the local farmers. panic.

It would not matter if the peasants remained as politically powerless as ever. But now, thanks to the Revolution and the Constitution of the Republic, they all have votes - and the consequences of this panic will become clear in a few months.

He is looking forward to it.

And the picture album in his hand is another small gain from this far journey - although he doesn't know the purpose of Princess Kadiyang giving such a valuable picture album to him, but when he thought of it, he would give it to Fran. She would definitely like it, so Ciel agreed without any hesitation.

On the road for several hours, because he had nothing to do, he casually took out this picture album and started reading it.

Not only was he admiring the beautiful woman in the painting, he was also thinking about something.

Judging from the age of the person in the painting - the princess - and the inscription on the painting, this should be the work of his father, Edgar de Treville, when he was young, and it was written in before marriage.

Judging from the princess's tone of voice and the expression in the painting, he must have had an extraordinary relationship with the princess back then.

All of a sudden, the simple symbol of "father in this life" in his mind was overwritten by the new impression of "a talented painter, perhaps also uninhibited, and had many romances". Charles. Only then did I realize how little I knew about my parents’ generation, whether it was my parents or others.

What kind of person is he? Ciel couldn't help but feel a little curious in his heart.

Just as he was deep in thought, a sharp pain suddenly came from his arm, making his mind clear again.

"Charle, do these paintings look good?" Charlotte's hand was still on his arm, her tone was very calm, but everyone could feel the anger in it, "You seem to be fascinated by them?"

Well, it is indeed very rude to look at a picture album (or a portrait of another woman!) while a girl is cuddling up to you...

"Ah, sorry!" Charles endured the pain in his arm and smiled flatteringly at Charlotte, "I just thought of something else, my father's matter."

"Is that so?" Charlotte smiled slightly sarcastically, "Then give me this album. I also think these paintings are very good, and they are your father's original works."

"That's not possible," Charles immediately rejected her request, "This is what the princess specified to give to Fran. I have no right to transfer it."

After hearing these words, Charlotte's eyes instantly became a little dim, as if covered with a layer of gray fog.

"It's my sister again..." she muttered softly.

However, she still remembered the serious look on Charles's face when he said, "I won't allow you to speak ill of her in front of me!", so she didn't dare to dwell on this topic any further.

Angrily, she stretched out her hands and twisted them regardless. "You're so annoying!"

"Hey! What are you doing!" Charles shouted in a low voice and struggled quickly, but he did not dare to use too much force, so the two people became entangled like this.

Their fighting soon reached a level that even the coachman in front could hear. But with good professionalism, the driver seemed unaware of everything.

In this way, the two young people continued their way home while fighting constantly.

………………

By the time Ciel returned home, it was already evening. As soon as he got home, he took the album and walked straight to Fran's room.

And his sister, who was currently chatting with her female companion, the Marquis de Leolan, jumped up in surprise when she heard Charles's voice, then ran over to open the door for her brother and took him away. Come in.

"Sir, are you finally back?" There was a hint of joy deep in her cold expression, "Mary has been waiting for you for a long time..."

"You've been waiting for me for a long time? What's the matter?" Charles glanced suspiciously at the Marquis sitting on Fran's bed, then ignored her and took out the picture album hidden behind his back with a smile, a deliberate expression on his face. Put on a serious look. "Miss Treville, I happen to have something to ask you..."

"What?" Fran looked at her brother in surprise, then reached out and took the album he handed over.

"Wow! It's really good!" She exclaimed, then flipped through one page after another, and then raised her head to look at Charles, "Who painted this?"

"You won't think of it..." Charles paused intentionally and said, "This is our father, this is his work when he was young."

Fran exclaimed, then suddenly closed the album and held it in her arms.

"Is this... is this really... dad's work?" Under the shock and joy, her voice changed a little, but she didn't feel it herself.

"Yes." Charles nodded, and then explained, "Well, it's my father's work. When I went out this time, I was visiting an old friend of my father's - well, it's the work in the painting. This lady, of course she is much older now - after she heard that you were very talented in painting, she offered to give you this album as an encouragement..."

"Thank you lady for me, brother..." Fran laughed, but with tears in her eyes, "Thank you too..."

She took the picture album and threw herself into Ciel's arms, expressing her gratitude to her brother in this way.

"It's nothing, it's just a gift that I brought over." Charles smiled, stroking Fran's smooth golden hair, "I knew you would be happy."

"Well, I'm very happy, thank you!" Fran still buried her head in Charles's arms, and her voice became a little muffled because of this, "The painting is indeed very good... My talent is indeed the same as my father's. …”

Only Charles could understand why Fran was so excited—since she was a child, the biggest knot in her heart was that her mother died due to her birth and her father ran away from home. Fran, who has had no parents since she was a child, actually longs for some information about her parents more than anyone else. In this case, how could she not be happy after getting this album?

Read the original text in Liu#9@书/吧!

Seeing his sister so happy, Ciel couldn't help but feel extremely satisfied in his heart.

"Thank you very much, brother, this gift is very good. It smells so good..." Fran murmured again unconsciously, and then she repeated it several times, "It smells so good..."

As she repeated it over and over again, the voice became lower and lower, and became more and more chilly. Obviously, she noticed something special.

Before Ciel could react, Fran suddenly raised her head and stared at her brother calmly. The excitement and excitement a moment ago had all gone. "Brother, you smell so good today! What's going on?"

Charlotte froze immediately, and cold sweat suddenly broke out out of thin air on his back.

Fragrance? Why are there scents on my clothes? What's going on? Where did it come from? I don't use perfume?

After a moment, he had an idea.

He suddenly remembered the fight he had with Charlotte in the carriage on the way back. The fragrance on the clothes, if there is any, must have been picked up at that time.

Too bad! This is trouble!

Charlotte, did you really do this on purpose? No, you must have done it on purpose...! He couldn't help but lament in his heart.

However, now is no longer the time to investigate whether Charlotte is intentional. The most important thing now is to explain to Fran, or to deceive the source of the fragrance. Although I don’t understand why my brother’s matter needs to be explained to my sister, but He always had an ominous feeling that if he kept talking nonsense, he would be in bad luck today.

"Oh? You mean this...it's nothing..." He forced himself to continue smiling, not letting himself show any discomfort, "Didn't I tell you? I ran to that lady's house. After visiting, I got this picture album. Guess what? When she received us, the lady was still making her own floral water! As a result, the fragrance was all over us... Hey, these elders are really weird! But even though it was a little troublesome, I finally got the album.”

"Really? Is there such a thing?" Fran still frowned slightly, obviously she still didn't believe it. "Brother, you won't lie to me, right?"

"Of course, of course it's true! How could I lie to you?" Charles looked serious and upright.

Sorry, this is just a well-intentioned deception. Please forgive me, brother! At the same time, he secretly said something in his heart.

Fran was still looking at Ciel.

…………

"Fran, why did your brother leave me behind when he came back?" Perhaps because she saw that something was wrong with the situation, Miss Marquis came over at the right time, looked at the two brothers and sisters with a chuckle, and pulled her away calmly. Opened the topic. "You just mentioned the picture album, can you show it to me?"

Then, she focused her attention on Ciel.

"Mr. Treville, I'm looking for you today! I've already done a lot of the bond matters you asked me to do for you!"

Well done! Ciel gave her an approving look in return.

With this ability to observe people's emotions, I should accept you as my assistant! (To be continued.)