Flowers, Swords and France

When it came to naval affairs, Henry, who was originally a little shy, suddenly became very passionate and eloquent, which made Charles unable to say anything for a while, but Charles did not feel uncomfortable because of this. No matter what he was unhappy about, he still wore his usual smile and listened quietly to the other party's tirade.

"...There is no doubt, sir, that Britain now controls the entire ocean and her naval power is unmatched. Although this is sad, we must admit the reality.

Just a few years ago, the British effortlessly dispatched a fleet of 25 battleships - including two battleships with more than 70 guns, carrying 12,000 soldiers, and beat the entire Qing Dynasty to pieces. In the end, the Manchu emperor sued for peace, which secured crucial benefits for Britain... but it was obvious that France could not do this. Now only Britain has military ports and fleets all over the world. I think since Mr. President is full of ambitions, he will definitely not like this situation to continue..."

"Well, Mr. President does want to expand this country's colonial interests, and not just in Africa." Charles nodded and acknowledged the other party's view.

"That would be great," Henry's face flashed with joy, "As long as the president has such an idea, then he will definitely be welcomed by the navy. In this case, I can also find more support from the Bonaparte family. "Suddenly, he felt something moving at the door, so he stopped talking. Before he could walk over to see what was going on, the door opened by itself.

"Ciel, it's me."

Charlotte stood at the door with a sweet smile and greeted him. Because there is no need to notify. So Charlotte walked over directly, which gave Ciel a surprise.

Then, Charlotte, wearing a long silk dress, walked in step by step, looking curiously at Henry next to Charles.

"Char, who is this guest?"

Out of the blue Charlotte. The smile on her face. Coupled with the floral decorations on the skirt, Henry was stunned for a moment, and he was speechless.

"This is our distant relative. Henry, the heir of Count de Lagoche-Treville." Fortunately, Charles solved the problem for him. "Henry, this is the granddaughter of Duke Treville, my Cousin Charlotte." After a pause. Ciel added, "That is, my fiancée."

"It turns out to be the Princess of Treville! No wonder she is so beautiful." After Charles' explanation, Henry immediately reacted and bowed to Charlotte diligently. "I hope I haven't delayed your business. , Miss. "She's really good-looking. Only in the capital can such a beautiful young lady exist, Henry thought to himself. For a moment, he actually became a little jealous of his distant cousin. But of course, this sentiment quickly dissipated.

"Charle, what were you talking about just now? It seemed very lively." Charlotte looked at Henry casually, then smiled politely, and then turned her attention to Charles.

"We were discussing naval affairs just now," Charles pointed to Henry and explained, "Henry is a naval officer and just came to Paris for a visit recently, so we just talked about naval affairs. .”…

Then, Charles briefly recounted to Charlotte the topic that the two people discussed just now. But everyone could tell that this young lady had no interest in the navy at all and just listened perfunctorily.

"So that's it..." After listening, Charlotte raised her eyebrows to show that she understood, and then smiled kindly at Henry, "Since we are relatives, we should help each other. Don’t worry, I’ll ask Charles to help you later. Although he has a little fame now, how can he not help his relatives?”

"Thank you so much, miss." Charlotte said so. Henry was naturally overjoyed and thanked him repeatedly.

"Nothing, nothing," Charlotte just smiled and waved her hands. Then, as if she suddenly remembered something, she looked at Henry again, "By the way, sir, since you are from the navy, have you heard about it? Traveling to the Polynesian Islands?”

"Oh, of course I have heard of it. The Polynesian Islands are located in the southeastern part of the Pacific Ocean, across the sea from the Cook Islands. Many people from the Navy passed there when they cruised in the Pacific. Now I still have friends there..."

Henry answered carefully, wondering in his heart how such a young lady could know the name of an archipelago far away.

"It turns out that this place really exists..." Charlotte also looked very surprised, "I heard it from a Marquis lady when I was chatting with her a few days ago. She said that that place is rich in a kind of black pearls. I thought it was strange at the time, so it left an impression..."

Sure enough... I'll just say it. Henry felt a sudden realization.

Suddenly, his heart moved.

Isn’t this a perfect opportunity to get closer?

"She is right. I have also heard from my colleagues that black pearls are indeed abundant there, and they are very rare things." He suppressed the emotions in his heart and said in as calm a tone as possible, "I used to I also asked my colleagues to bring some back to me when they go over there. If you want them, I can give you a few, right? It would be nice to make them into jewelry."

Of course he hadn't asked for it before, but he definitely had to ask for it now.

"Ah? How can I say that?" Charlotte seemed a little embarrassed.

"It is an honor for us naval officers to add more glory to such a beautiful lady. Please don't refuse." Henry bowed again.

"Well... okay, I hope it won't cost you too much." After hesitating for a moment, Charlotte nodded in agreement. Jewelry is so lethal to women.

Then, Charlotte looked at Charles who had been silent, "Charles, Henry is really our good friend..."

"Of course, Miss." Charles nodded.

"Sir. I won't waste Miss Treville's time." After chatting for a few more words, Henry felt that the atmosphere was no longer suitable for him to stay, so he said goodbye. "I'll visit you next time."

He didn't rely on the relationship of several generations ago to hold the confidence of the Treville family. He had thought about giving gifts before, but the two families didn't seem to care, and he didn't know what to give. Now that he can find a breakthrough, he is relieved.

This should be no problem. He thought.

"Well, don't worry, I'll take you to see my friend later." Charles nodded.

"Goodbye, sir, I wish you all the best." Charlotte also nodded to the other party.

………………

After Henry left tactfully, Charlotte sat down next to Charles without hesitation, getting close to him. Then she reached out and straightened Charles' collar.

"Why did you deliberately ask me to help him?" Charles asked softly. "You don't need any pearl necklace, do you?"

Originally, whether to help him or not depends on Charles' mood, and there is no responsibility, but since Charlotte has agreed to accept the gift from this distant relative. Then Charles can only find a way to help him.

"Aren't you the one who decided to help him? I just want him to feel at ease."

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

"Ha..."

"If you just do favors to others without asking for anything in return, others may not be grateful to you, but just feel that they owe you a favor, which is not good. Do you want to be friends with him or be a benefactor?" Charlotte replied with a smile, "Besides, I really want to try the jewelry made of black pearls..."

"This is not for free, I have to help others."

"What's wrong with it? If you help others, others will help you, so the relationship is established. Isn't it much more convenient to ask him for help in the future?" Charlotte adjusted Charles' tie again, "Anyway, this person is also our relative. Who else can we help if not relatives?"

"Well, it's not a big deal anyway, you can do whatever you want." Charles sighed softly. After many years, he didn't plan to say anything more about Charlotte's aristocratic thoughts. "But don't do that in front of other people..."

"Don't worry. Am I the kind of person who can't move when I get a little benefit?" Charlotte knew what Charles wanted to say and interrupted him directly. "I just liked this relative a little bit this time, so I wanted you to help him. Normally, I don't bother to answer someone who wants to ask for help...Okay, let's not worry about him. I have something to ask you."

"What is it?"

"Last time when I was in the countryside, did you come to my house to find my father?"

"Yes, I had to trouble him for something at that time..." Charles admitted it directly, and then told her everything he talked about with his cousin that day.

"No wonder..." Charlotte sighed, "You've caused trouble for my family."

"What do you mean?"

"My brother Eugene doesn't want to be a law enforcement officer. He thinks it's too boring to have a stern face all day long," Charlotte sighed, "so he was unhappy when he heard the arrangement his father made for him."

"Unhappy? Such a lucrative position is not something you can get just by saying it. He has to save more property for himself in the future..." Charles was a little surprised, "Then what does he want to do? No matter how generous the president is, he will not open the treasury for him to choose."

Although the civil law stipulates that the second son has the same inheritance rights as the eldest son, the noble family will certainly try their best to circumvent this law. Therefore, the future of Charlotte's brother is not easy.

"He is still like a teenager, always thinking about useless things like romance and dreams," Charlotte's smile dimmed and she frowned slightly. "After quarreling with his father yesterday, he told me that he wanted to serve in the navy and see the world... Hey, he is really like a child. Is there any better place in the world for him than here?"

No wonder Charlotte is so diligent in helping others. It turns out that she has such considerations.

Although Charlotte spoke of her brother in a dissatisfied tone, her concern for him was still revealed inadvertently.

"What's wrong with boys having dreams? They should go out into the world. I thought about going to the navy to command warships when I was a child!" Charles continued to talk along with Charlotte's meaning, "Besides, he is a nobleman anyway, and the navy can't treat him unfairly."

Although it is already the 19th century, the navy is not much different from the last century. The promotion path of nobles in the navy is still completely different from that of civilians. It is extremely difficult for civilians to rise from sailors to captains, while nobles can become captains at a young age. Senior naval commanders are still controlled by nobles, so even if Charlotte's brother really joins the navy, he can't endure any hardships except for frequent long voyages.

"You have a point..." As expected, after Charles said this, Charlotte was very satisfied and kissed Charles on the cheek, "Well, let's help them..."