Flowers, Swords and France

He got to know her.

He and she got to know each other.

He had a love affair with her.

Then he had an argument with her.

Then he separated from her.

Almost every love that ends in separation completes its lifespan through these five steps. All that needs to be filled in is the specific content.

However, he and she are cousins. However, although they are cousins, he and she were born less than a month apart, and they are basically young people of the same age.

Of course, no matter how big the age gap is, if it were in the 21st century, I'm afraid this would be an obvious illegal act... Oh no, even in China of this era, having a romantic relationship between cousins ​​is still an appalling crime.

However, in Europe of this era, in order to maintain the bloodline, in order to prevent family property from being leaked due to dowry, or for other reasons, or even just for the convenience of marriage, it is not uncommon for cousins ​​to fall in love and even get married. Nothing new. Apart from anything else, wasn't Her Royal Highness Louis XVI's eldest princess married to her own cousin, the son of Louis XVI's biological brother, Count Artois? If the Wang family is like this, why should the nobles and commoners below have any scruples?

However, he and she eventually broke up.

It's not because Ciel has any moral barriers, nor is it because he is afraid of affecting the physical and mental health of the next generation of the Treville family - well, it should be said that Ciel is actually a little scared, but the main reason is not this. .

Anyway, to put it simply, Charles once had a crush on his cousin Charlotte, but it was over.

At least Ciel himself thought everything was over.

However, when that smooth and delicate hand touched his forehead, he still forgot to avoid it, and even became a little distracted.

Fortunately, both ears can still faithfully transmit the words they receive.

"I deliberately mentioned the engagement to my grandfather. If no one came to stop it, I would eventually break it off. However, I am very happy that you really stood up and ruined this marriage... Ciel, I am really happy..."

"Grandpa said you did a great job. You have both courage and brains. You have become a real Treville..."

"I know, you are unwilling and dare not come to see me, so I came directly here today. Charles, how are you doing recently?"

Are you okay? Are you okay? Are you okay?

The sincere and concerned greeting made Ciel wake up.

It's all over, isn't it?

The smile returned to his face, and he turned his head slightly away from Charlotte's caress.

"Oh, thank you for your concern, I'm still fine."

The title he used was still the respectful yet distant "you".

The hand was slowly withdrawn, but the inexplicable smile still remained on that beautiful face.

Then, she stepped back slightly, and sat down opposite Ciel, at one end of the black piece on the chessboard. "You're still the same." She looked at the chessboard and seemed to have something else in mind.

"Not bad," Charles replied shortly, and then he glanced at his sister inquiringly. "What brings you here today?"

"Can't I come over to see you if I don't have anything else to do?" Charlotte still smiled.

Charles didn't answer.

Charlotte sighed softly.

"Well, I do have one other thing besides coming to see you."

"So, what is it?" Charles asked with great interest on the surface, but in his heart he was planning to instruct his servants to declare his absence when Charlotte came to visit him in the future.

Charlotte raised her head and looked at Charles. The subtle smile on her face was still there, but there was some indescribable solemnity in it.

"Charles, I have just returned from a trip to Austria."

Although after their separation two years ago, Charles never took the initiative to care about Charlotte, nor did he specifically inquire about her schedule, but Charles vaguely thought about it, and indeed had some impressions, as if he had heard about her. I recently went on a relaxing trip. Nowadays, people often travel to Italy or Austria. This is not surprising and does not matter.

"Oh, I hope you had fun," he responded politely and distantly.

Charlotte lowered her eyes, seeming to be thinking about something, but suddenly she raised her eyes again, which made Charles's heart tremble. At this moment, Charles finally remembered that the girl from the Treville family also had the surname Treville after all.

"I was in Vienna..." She stared at Charles closely. "I have an audience with Her Royal Highness the Princess."

[After the July coup of 1830, the Bourbon royal family was expelled from France. They fled first to England, then to the Austrian Empire, first living in Gorizia. In 1844, Louis-Antoine, the eldest son of Charles X and leader of the Bourbon royal family, died of illness, and his widow (the eldest princess) moved to Frodov Castle on the outskirts of Vienna. 】

Ciel couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth, and then he looked back at the other person with sharp eyes.

Charlotte's eyebrows arched with laughter. "Are you surprised?"

The heavy breathing lasted only for a moment, and Ciel regained his composure.

"Don't put yourself in danger, you're just a girl!"

"Being loyal to the Bourbon royal family who is already in the coffin? How crazy! Is there any more ridiculous move than this?"

"If you join the royal party, we can only be enemies, you know."

Should I say this?

No, it's no longer necessary, these words have already been said at that time.

Now that things have evolved to what they are now, there is only one answer that Ciel can think of.

"No surprise. I'm just curious why you came here to tell me this. Aren't you afraid that I would report you?"

"Report?" As if she heard something funny, Charlotte covered her mouth with her right hand and laughed softly. "Will you denounce me? A Bonapartist denounces a Royalist?"

Ciel didn't smile, but gently put the chess piece he had just moved back to its original position. "I still don't understand why you came to me."

Charlotte watched Ciel slowly clearing the chessboard, with a rare look of anxiety in her eyes.

"Char, are you really not thinking about it anymore? We are short of available talents...and if you succeed, think about what kind of reward you can get? With your intelligence, your future prospects..."

Looking at Ciel's eyes, she understood that this time's persuasion was still meaningless and useless. She sighed again.

"I got a lot of instructions and reminders from the eldest princess, and I conveyed them to our people after returning home."

"For example?" Charles suddenly became interested - paying attention to the work of his peers is a necessary professional quality.

Read the original text in Liu#9@书/吧!

"Of course I can't tell you this unless you agree to follow us." Charlotte's smile had a cunning look, and it was a bit naughty as a girl, but the smile faded quickly. "Unexpectedly, something big happened later."

"What happened?" Charles looked at Charlotte who was unusually solemn.

"Our people held a secret meeting in a secret stronghold near Battinoglis Street to convey the latest instructions. As a result...it was discovered by the political ax people, and the military and police conducted a massive manhunt..." Charlotte Azure There was a sense of sadness in his eyes, "Many of our people were arrested, and some were killed... Of course, some people escaped..."

"Oh, that's really a pity..." Charles said sympathetically, but there was always a trace of schadenfreude that couldn't be hidden in it - when hearing that their peers suffered disaster, people would always feel a little schadenfreude while feeling sad about the death of rabbits and foxes. At the same time, he suddenly realized that during the secret meeting that day, the gun battle that occurred nearby was the exchange of fire between the military police and the royal party.

"So are you okay?"

After noticing Ciel's subconscious change of address, Charlotte's face flashed with joy. "Except for a few people, I never contact anyone else in the organization, and I usually pay attention to secrecy. This time, it took a long time to confirm before coming out again. It should be fine. Besides, this time due to the efforts of other people to protect me, Most of the important people have fled, and there is no way to implicate them..."

"Oh, that's good." Realizing that he had lost his temper, Charles quickly changed back to his polite and distant tone. "Lucky for you."

"I have to admit, although fortunately no greater losses were caused, our vitality was severely damaged this time..." Charlotte shook her head slightly, "What's even more frightening is that this time the ax was carried out in several locations at the same time. Yes, they launched attacks on people in our organization at the same time in several places in Paris and other provinces... Charles, I believe you can understand what this means, right?"

"This means there is a traitor among you?"

Charlotte nodded slightly.

"I'm afraid the level is not low yet."

"That's how it should be."

"My matter shouldn't matter yet, but..."

Charlotte suddenly squeezed Charles' hand.

"Char, I came here specifically to remind you, be careful! We all know that this dynasty is approaching the end of its rope, but because of this, the political ax will be even crazier, and he may attack you at any time. , you must be careful! You are not like me. I am only responsible for delivering messages and then coming up with ideas later, but you...you have always been..."

Her hands squeezed tightly.

"Of course I will be careful." After waiting for a while, Ciel slowly answered. "You should be careful too."

"I will too." Charlotte smiled. "But, you have to think more about yourself. I have two brothers. They were not involved in the conspiracy. Even if I am caught, they will not be implicated. But what about you? If you are caught, who will take care of Fran? ? Do you plan to let Fran inherit your ideals and career? "

"Of course not." Ciel replied solemnly. "I will never allow Fran to get involved in these things. There are enough conspirators and lunatics in the Treville family!"

"Crazy? I didn't expect you to think of you and us like this." Charlotte smiled bitterly again, "But so what? Everyone knows that, just like on the chessboard, the one closest to the king is always crazy."

[This is a pun proverb. In French, fou means both "phase" in chess and "madman". 】

"Bang!"

The door made a loud noise and was kicked open.

"Flan?" The two siblings were startled at the same time, and then Charlotte quickly withdrew her hand.

Fran held the tea and walked to the middle of the table without leaving a trace, just blocking the sight of her brother and cousin.

"Sister Charlotte, why didn't you say hello when you came to my house? I haven't seen you for so long, and I really miss you..." She faced Charlotte with a sweet smile, and then put the tea in front of her. . "Come on, let's have a cup of tea to quench your thirst first?"

Her tone was brisk and cheerful, completely in line with the art of hospitality.

However, with her back to Charles, there was no smile in her eyes, and her sharp gaze only showed questioning.

Why did you come here! What did you do just now?

Charlotte was stunned for a moment, and then an almost identical smile appeared on her face.

She suddenly stood up and gently hugged Fran.

"Fran, my dear sister... I haven't seen you for two years, and you look much better. Well, you've grown taller, which really makes your sister happy..."

A fifteen-year-old girl and a twenty-year-old girl, with very similar but slightly different faces, seemed to have similar expressions at this moment. Could this also be due to the same Treville bloodline?

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