Flowers, Swords and France

After many days of continuous rain, the weather is rarely sunny. .

After briefly washing up, Ciel walked downstairs and prepared to go to the restaurant for breakfast.

What was different from usual was that he was not wearing a dark formal suit as usual today. He was wearing a blue coat with the shiny golden buttons neatly buttoned one by one.

That's right, what Charles is wearing now is the uniform of the National Guard.

This uniform was specially made by Charlotte from a tailor as an early birthday gift for him.

When he walked to the restaurant, as usual, his sister Fran and Fran's female companion Mary were already sitting there early.

"Good morning, Mr. Treville." The two of them greeted Charles at the same time.

"Good morning, two beautiful ladies." Charles also smiled and nodded, saying hello to them.

Today is the day for another daily training of their National Guard unit, so Charles also put on his military uniform and prepared to go to the assembly area.

Due to the recent current situation, the National Guard has assembled and trained much more frequently than usual. Therefore, Charles, who had just entered, already knew almost everyone in his unit - of course, his The surname and the cousin who was a senior military officer also played a big role.

I have to say that even though it was not the first time, Ciel, who was wearing military uniform, still seemed to surprise the two girls. They glanced at him several times while eating breakfast.

"Does it look good?" Charles, who was in a good mood, asked as if he was joking.

Even though he was usually very calm, Ciel today couldn't help but show off the indescribable, arrogant air that men wear when they put on uniforms.

"Yeah! It's very beautiful!" Miss Marquis de Léoland quickly replied.

In this city that prides itself on elegance or arty elegance, so many people think that wearing military uniforms is more respectable than civilian clothes! Moreover, in this era, there are still so many people who think that as long as they are fully armed, they will make a good impression on girls! Unexpectedly, even a young man like Mr. Treville is not exempt from vulgarity! Oh, it’s true!

She sighed silently in her mind.

However, despite this, Mr. Treville does still look good when he puts on this suit, but he is different from those fat-headed fools...

While the Marquis was still immersed in her own thoughts, Fran suddenly spoke.

She sat upright in her seat and looked at her brother with a smile.

"Sir, are you going out later?"

"Well, yes." Charles nodded, "I'll leave as soon as I finish eating. We have to meet at ten in the morning. If you're late, it's not a joke... What, what can I do for you? "

"It's nothing important." Fran's fair face was filled with a cheerful smile, "I just want to delay you for a few minutes."

"If it's only a few minutes, then of course there's no problem..." Ciel replied doubtfully.

Perhaps because of her increasing age, Fran has been much more well-behaved than usual recently, and she smiles more and more when talking to Ciel. The slightly rebellious mood in the past seems to be less and less now. While Ciel felt happy about this, sometimes he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.

Well, everyone will grow up, even his sister - in the end, he comforted himself like this.

He finished his meal quickly and looked at his sister.

"Then, we don't need to waste time, let's start now!" Fran took a pamphlet from the seat next to her and put it on the dining table.

Then, she stood up, opened the booklet, pointed to a written record on it, and then looked at her brother.

"I took a look yesterday, and the records here seem to be wrong. They don't match the general accounts..." She read out one of the accounts carefully, "I did the math and found that there should be too many records here, but I don't know. Which amount is it..."

"Oh? Is that so?" Charles was a little surprised, then reached out and took the account book, and then he counted by himself relying on his memory and the numbers on the account.

"You're right, I made a mistake here." After calculating for a while, he smiled apologetically at Fran, "This expenditure of 460 francs, but I was in a hurry that day, so I wrote it down casually. It’s 640...I’m sorry for making you worry so much.”

"It's okay. It didn't bring any loss to our family anyway, right? I'm just looking for it now so that I can make a general account..." Fran still smiled, "And you are usually so busy, it is inevitable that you will make some mistakes. …”

"Oh, thank you!" Charles was a little flattered by Fran's rare comfort. He couldn't help but reached out and patted Fran's head. "You can say that, it really makes me happy."

"Don't worry!" Fran did not break away from his hand, but looked at her brother confidently, "I will handle these family accounts for you from now on. Anyway, I am usually free and don't have much to do. , there will be no mistakes in keeping it!”

This is not a big lie. After studying for almost a month, she now has a basic grasp of the financial situation of the Marquis Treville family and has a better understanding of their family finances.

"Haha, that's great!" Charles laughed, and then wiped her head, "Miss Treville, then everything will be left to you!"

"Okay..." Fran closed her eyes slightly, enjoying her brother's praise.

If she can't be replaced, then... she won't have to be married.

The girl thought to herself.

………………

After breakfast, Charles walked out of the mansion and walked towards the carriage he had prepared in the stable.

"Mr. Treville!" He suddenly heard a greeting from behind.

He looked back quickly.

"Ms. de-Leoran?" He was a little surprised, "What do you want?"

Marie was standing on the steps, looking at Charles who had already walked down the steps. It seemed that she had trotted over, and the face of the Marquis was a little flushed. After she took a breath, her complexion slowly recovered.

"There is something I want to tell you. I'll tell you while you're here."

"Oh, of course, go ahead." Charles nodded, then smiled and joked, "Did I miscalculate the amount of your commission before?"

"No, no, no, that's not the case! You've always been very caring to me, and I didn't miscalculate..." Marie shook her head quickly, "It's something else."

The original text is available at 6 # 9 @Book/Bar!

"What is that?"

"It's about the National Guard."

"Oh?" Charles perked up when he heard this, "Then please go ahead."

"Mr. Treville, although I don't go out much on weekdays, I can hear some rumors anyway; besides, you've been training so many times in military uniform recently..." Marie looked at Charles, her expression a little nervous, "I heard that there will be bloodshed in Paris soon..."

"Maybe." After a moment of silence, Charles answered.

Then, he continued, "But don't worry, at least here, you are absolutely safe, no one can hurt you."

"Thank you again for your help..." Marie suddenly knelt down and saluted, "But, I am more worried about my parents than myself. So, I would like to ask you, if you can help, try to protect them secretly for me."

Then, she smiled bitterly again, "It's ridiculous, right? They treated me like that, and I still did this... Mr. Treville, this is just my unilateral request. If it is inconvenient for you, just pretend I didn't say it! I think about it carefully, they should be fine..."

"You are right. Even if there is chaos, the neighborhood where your home lives will be protected by the Self-Defense Forces, so it should be fine." Charles nodded and agreed with her opinion, "But I will help you pay attention. If you really encounter danger and I can help, then don't worry, I will help."

"Thank you so much!" Marie was overjoyed when she heard it. "Don't worry, I will pay you..."

"Puff..." Charles couldn't help laughing, "This time it's free."

Then, both of them couldn't help laughing.

After laughing for a while, Mary looked at Charles again, her expression suddenly flickered, as if she wanted to say something but stopped.

"Anything else?" Charles was a little strange.

"Mr. Treville..." After hesitating for a moment, Mary finally made up her mind.

She glanced at Charles carefully, as if to confirm his mood.

"Do you think Fran has been a little strange recently-since that day, Miss Treville visited..."

"Strange?" Charles was slightly startled, then frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"As an outsider, maybe I shouldn't say more..." Mary's face was full of hesitation, "But I really think you should pay more attention to your sister... I know you care a lot, but not that kind of care."

"That kind of care?"

"You care about whether she has enough food and clothes, whether she lacks pocket money, whether she has done her homework well... These are all concerns, all good, but have you ignored her own thoughts?" Mary lowered her voice, "Since that day, she has been very unhappy, but she has been forcing herself to be happy with you... Can't you really see it?"

"How could it be?!" Charles was really surprised.

"You'd better pay more attention to her. This is my advice. For her, this is the greatest comfort. She is a child who lacks a sense of security. I am sure that in her heart, no one will be more important than you. I am her close friend, I can see it." Mary closed her eyes slightly and gave her advice, "I know you are usually very busy, but even if you are busy, you can't be completely free, right?"

Charles listened blankly without saying a word.

The Marquis’s face was filled with smiles again.

“Okay, I have said everything I want to say. Have a safe trip!” (To be continued.)