Flowers, Swords and France

When Charles arrived at the Italian Theater, it was already dark, but the theater was brightly lit with lights, making it not much different from daytime. There were countless actors singing loudly on the stage. He walked straight up the side stairs, and then, led by the waiter, walked into one of the boxes.

In the box, Charlotte was dressed in gorgeous clothes as usual, holding her gold-plated telescope in her hand wearing silk gloves, and quietly watching the performances of the actors on the stage. When she heard the movement at the door, Charlotte, who was watching the show, suddenly turned her head around, and when she saw clearly that it was Ciel, she laughed happily.

"Char, you're finally here!" She walked over happily, then took his hand and led him to look at the stage again, "I've been waiting for you for a long time!"

Then she proudly pointed the telescope directly at the theater stage.

"This is really nice, isn't it? There is a new drama being performed today, called "The Female Adventurer". It's really nice!"

["The Adventurer" is a masterpiece of a comedy of manners by the famous French playwright Guillaume-Victor Augière. It was staged in 1848 and received great acclaim at the time.

Ciel followed her hand and looked forward. However, although he tried hard to see the actors on the stage clearly, in front of him, there were gorgeous costumes in the boxes everywhere, a gleam of jewels, and the reflection of diamonds from everywhere made it impossible for him to see the stage clearly. People's performances - but he didn't care much about these things since he had traveled to this world for so many years. Somehow, he still had no feeling for opera.

"Yeah, it's nice." He politely agreed with Charlotte.

And at this time. Countless eyes, overt or covert, were also focused on it, as if this was the real stage, and everyone was guessing who the young man who could attend the event together with the Duchess of Treville, the darling of the social scene, was. Holy, after all, in the past, this lady almost never awarded this honor to any suitor.

The intersection of these eyes made Ciel feel quite uncomfortable - maybe this was Charlotte's purpose.

"Are they here?" Charles asked in a low voice to get rid of this vague embarrassment.

"Here we come." Charlotte suddenly stopped the smile on her face and frowned slightly. "I hope they never come..."

Then, she pointed secretly with her hand.

Following her line of sight, Charles finally found a box opposite. The figure of Mademoiselle de Beauvin.

She was dressed fashionably and expensively as usual, with a valuable diamond pendant on her chest.

Then, he noticed that she was also looking at the box, so he smiled friendly at her.

"Look at her demeanor. What's the difference between her and the country bumpkins from other provinces? As I see it. Even if His Majesty the King was so merciful that he gave one of their families the title of baron, this family would never be able to get rid of the earthy smell of Normandy for several lifetimes. Son..." Charlotte smiled and looked across the way, while mocking Mademoiselle de Beauvin opposite. "Many people think that just because they have a title, they are called nobles. This kind of stupidity is really hard to laugh at..."

After a hundred years, the only thing left for the old nobles to laugh at the new nobles was their grace. No matter how reluctant she was, Princess Charlotte de Treville could only endure it and entertain these guests hospitably. family. Because it's part of the whole deal.

Mademoiselle de Beauvin had now entered society for the first time, but had always suffered from the inability to enter the most demanding and closed circles. She is a famous lady from a famous social circle. The hospitality of the Princess de Treville would be the necessary ladder for her to enter these circles. so. When preparing to lend money to Charles, the baron specifically asked Charlotte to help as much as possible so that his daughter could be as smooth as possible in the social world.

"You don't have to be so unhappy." Charles smiled and comforted her, "Anyway, just standing with her for a while and saying a few words is nothing to lose."

"Who said there is no loss? Every time I stand with them for an extra minute, I feel out of breath!" Charlotte retorted with some annoyance, and then she glanced at Charles angrily, "Also, don't say such things. Isn’t it about you? Isn’t this all your fault?”

"It's us." Ciel replied seriously, correcting her mistake.

"It's good that you know."

In front of everyone, Charlotte reached out her hand and pinched Ciel's face affectionately. That kind of smile that comes from the heart cannot be faked. "Don't worry, I know what's appropriate. No matter how disgusting I am, I will still smile at them. For our happiness, even if my hands are covered with mud, I am willing to do it... Who told me to choose such a bastard? "

At this moment, Charles seemed to hear the vague sighs echoing in the theater, as if people were deploring the fact that another famous star in the social world had taken over.

Fortunately, a sudden knock on the door freed Charles from his embarrassment. The rising star of society, Mademoiselle Lola de Beauvin, came in together.

As soon as she came in, she nodded calmly to Charlotte, "Thank you for the hospitality."

Then she turned to look at Charles, "Mr. Treville, don't worry, the money you need has been approved and you can pick it up right away."

"Thank you very much." Charles nodded quickly to thank the other party.

"What a beautiful person!" Charlotte sighed with a smile, as if she was not the one who was full of contempt for the Bowen family just now. "Come, let's watch the play together. Today's play is very good. …”

"Yes, I think so," Laura replied in a low voice, as if she really cared about what the show was about. Then, the two of them walked to the edge of the box to watch the play, and then accepted the baptism of sight together. This is a necessary display of the upper class society. This society likes to stand high and be admired and judged by others, but regards being approachable as a devaluation.

Charlotte hid all her resentment and hatred towards the Bowen family in her heart. She talked cordially with Laura, discussed the plot of the play, and laughed from time to time, as if she and Laura had been friends for many years. .

As for Laura, although her face remained calm as usual, she could not hide the excitement in her heart. She celebrated her success by talking and laughing.

A daughter of a Norman countryman would always be very excited to be able to reach the top of the social scene like this.

"Even without the help of blood, money has brought me here." She thought to herself, "Dad, thank you, he is a rare great man in the new era. I must become such a person."

Charles stood nearby, chiming in attentively, adding a few wisecracks from time to time to liven up the atmosphere. Although this task was somewhat difficult, he never left the box in a state of silence.

At this moment, Charles suddenly found someone greeting him.

He nodded slightly to the opposite side, then said something to Charlotte, then turned and left the box and walked over there. Now there were only two ladies left in the box.

Read the original text in Liu#9@书/吧!

Although Charlotte still pretended to be happy and kept talking and laughing with Laura, she inevitably became cold.

Miss de Beauvant also stood in the box and looked at the stage quietly, without any expression.

The two of them remained silent, and the awkward silence inevitably enveloped the entire box.

While looking at the stage, Charlotte estimated the time in her mind, planning to send this hateful Bowen away after completing the task.

"You must be very impatient, right? Miss de Treville?" After a moment, Laura said, "I'm not an idiot like my brother. I can see that he hates us very much, just because it's still useful. We, that’s why we are greeted with a smile.”

Charlotte didn't answer.

"It doesn't matter, I've long been used to your attitude." Laura continued, but her tone became colder, "We each get what we need. At least, they are willing to deal with us on the surface."

After another moment of silence, Charlotte looked at Laura hesitantly, and then her smile gradually changed to a sneer. Now that the disguise has been seen through, she doesn't bother to pretend anymore.

"My dear friend, if you want to stand out in society, you must first learn not to tell the truth..." she retorted with a hint of sarcasm. "Nothing hurts more emotionally than the truth."

"Really?" Laura was still looking at the stage, "But sometimes I just can't help but say, I can't help it, how can a country guy understand the rules of such a person?"

This taunt caused a flash of anger in Charlotte's heart.

Due to old grudges, Charlotte's hatred for Baron de Beauvin's family is deeply buried in her heart, and I am afraid she will never be able to get rid of it in her lifetime. Even if this amount is added now, it will not be more.

Suddenly, under this mixture of anger and hatred, Charlotte suddenly thought of an interesting idea.

"My friend, now that I have reached this age, I think I have understood almost all the things that I should understand..." She smiled implicitly, "I would like to give you a cautious advice, you must show your face now, The status she won - because she is still the only daughter of Baron de Beauvin and will marry in a few years. If you get married and change your surname, you will have to endure loneliness, because no one will expect to get a large dowry from here at that time... Unless Maurice is gone, the De-Beauvan family's family fortune will not be all. Must it be his? Good boy, take a look at the situation, save more money while you are young, and don’t waste it too much..."

Then she stopped talking and just looked at the stage with a smile on her face.

If you want to continue to be rich and prosperous, "unless Morris is gone." She implicitly hinted at the other party, but seemed to say nothing.

With an aria, the performance of the play ended, and there were waves of applause and cheers everywhere. (To be continued...)