Flowers, Swords and France

At the urging of the Marquis of Treville, Charles told him as concisely as possible the political situation during his recent absence.

"In other words, no one of us can do anything against the other now?" After listening to Charles's account, the old man sneered and asked, "They actually thought of launching a military coup when we come back!"

"This idea has been rejected by the president. He thinks it's not time yet." Charles replied calmly, "So, we have to play with them slowly..."

"This is a wise decision." The old man nodded, "When I was in Italy, it was obvious when I interacted with the senior officers that they are still hesitant to wait and see. On the contrary, it is the middle and lower-level officers who are eager to see the wave. The Nabal family is back in power, because that means their hopes of becoming generals and nobles will become greater..."

"After all, he has just come back. It's already good to have such results. We still have time anyway." Charles replied.

"That is to say, are you still optimistic that he can finally seize power?" There was something unclear in the old man's tone. "Char, you must also be able to see that, to a certain extent, we can now act independently..."

"Yes, he can successfully seize power. I still think so." Charles nodded, "Is the current situation more difficult than then? I survived it back then, and I will definitely survive it now. I firmly believe that he will always survive." One day I will be able to regain the throne, and it is not far away.”

"Well, since you say so, we might as well continue to be his good servants." The old Marquis shrugged, "But, I have taught you so many times. Loyalty is only effective when it is useful, you Don’t forget this.”

"I won't forget it, don't worry."

"Well, I knew you would definitely remember it." A hint of kindness suddenly appeared on the old man's face, and then he reached out and patted Charles on the shoulder, "My good grandson, you did a great job in this military parade. Thank you for your hard work, you must have spent a lot of energy on it, right?"

"In fact, it doesn't take much time, it just costs some money. But since you and the president are satisfied with the effect, then the money is already worth it. However, at the beginning, some republicans wanted to show off the military parade during the parade. Fortunately, our people learned about the demonstration in advance and dispersed it.”

"Hmph. I really want to see these people! Our troops are fighting bloody battles at the front. They want to cause sabotage at the military parade! If they really dare to come, let's see if the soldiers don't beat them to shame." Old Marquis He was obviously a little unhappy, "These people just don't know what to do."

"The French Republic sent troops to destroy another republic. Of course some people will not understand it, because they put their doctrine above national interests..." Charles smiled and comforted the other party, "You don't have to take them seriously, they are useless. The only thing that’s harmful is just chirping on the side.”

"That's right." The old Marquis also smiled. Then, he seemed to remember something. He looked at Charles again and said, "By the way, regarding the staff matter you mentioned before, I wrote to Mr. President when I was in Italy and told him your idea. This time at the Elysee Palace banquet I talked to him for a while, and he was very interested in this suggestion... Charles, you know what he meant, right?"

"Well, of course I know." Charles nodded, "But even so, we shouldn't deny the positive significance of this matter, right?"

Louis Bonaparte wanted to take the opportunity of establishing the Army General Staff to legitimately take the command of the army into his hands. After hearing the suggestion of the Marquis of Treville, he would naturally be very happy.

"But of course you can see the risks involved, right?" There was some hesitation on the old Marquis's face. "The army has always been unruly and willing to show its independence in front of political leaders. If Mr. President If you intervene rashly, you will definitely encounter a backlash from the army, and it will be bad if it makes everyone unhappy. "

"Even if there are risks, we have to try to do it." Charles replied firmly, "Furthermore, the army is a tool of the country after all, and cannot be detached from the country. This unruly and fierce horse should be tamed for the sake of peace and stability." It should be worth paying any price. At least now, we still have the president to protect us, right?”

The old Marquis looked at his grandson and wanted to say something, but in the end he stopped talking.

Forget it, young people should have some ideals after all.

"Well, since this is your wish, then I will try my best to help you." Finally, he sighed softly, "Char, I heard that Count Dilion has passed away, right? A lot of words "

"Yes, it seems to be a sudden stroke. There was no warning beforehand, and suddenly..."

"After all, he is old! It is not an accident when he dies..." The old Marquis suddenly sighed again, "He is only a few years older than me, and my brother is about the same age as him! I think, we The older generation doesn’t have much time, so I have to hurry up and finish what needs to be done.”

Ciel wanted to comfort him, but the old man glared back. "What? You still want to say some boring words to comfort me? There is no need. I have experienced enough in my life. As long as you all have a good life, I will be very satisfied. If you really sympathize with me, you would have done it earlier. Marrying Charlotte will allow me to see my great-grandson before I die.”

"Uh..." Charles' face suddenly became a little embarrassed, "As long as I finish all these things at hand, I will soon..."

"Hahahaha, this is such a good thing, don't drag it out like you don't want to," the old man couldn't help laughing when he saw his grandson's embarrassed look, "Okay, now that you have made an appointment, I I won’t rush you, just get it done as soon as possible.”

"Well, I can't wait long." Ciel nodded.

Then, he turned and looked at the clock by the fireplace. It was already close to early morning.

There is nothing more to say, let the old man take a rest first.

"I heard that Fran almost fell off a horse a while ago? Fortunately, it's okay. I'm relieved to see you today..." Just when he was about to leave. The old Marquis suddenly asked, "Charles, take more care of your sister. She is already pitiful, but don't let her suffer again..."

"It was just an accident, and I was very worried at the time. Don't worry, I will never let her suffer any injustice." Charles thought about it at this moment, and felt a little frightened in his heart, "Speaking of it, that day was really thrilling, but it was okay The horse just ran to Princess Kadiyan’s manor after being frightened, otherwise it would be really unpredictable. I will definitely be more careful in the future.”

What Ciel didn't expect was after hearing the title of Princess Kadiyan. The old Marquis's face suddenly became very ugly, and his breathing became short, "Princess Kadiyang? Where is she?"

"Yes..." Ciel nodded, a little surprised by the other party's reaction. "The princess seems to have been living in seclusion there for many years. She has never been interested in world affairs. I only visited her twice after arriving there."

The whole room fell silent.

"What a strange fate. I never expected that she would be the one to save Alice's daughter..." After a long time, the old man sighed. "So she has been hiding in the countryside for more than ten years? Oh, I don't blame her. Why did she suffer such a crime..."...

That princess turned out to be really deeply involved with her family. Ciel was a little amazed in his heart.

Honestly. He had already been curious about his father and the princess, but when he was about to ask. A very strange and dangerous premonition suddenly arose in his heart, and he couldn't ask about it.

After being entangled with curiosity and fear for a while, he finally reluctantly asked the doubts in his heart.

"That princess, uh... has a close relationship with... and her father," he said carefully, "I think she seems to be very familiar with her father, and... she also has many portraits given to her by her father. ”

"He only knows how to draw, this bitch." The old Marquis suddenly cursed.

Then, he glanced at Ciel again, "It seems that you know a lot of things, have you said them all? It seems that you have been wondering about many words for a long time."

"I don't know much," Charles smiled bitterly and shook his head. "I only know that my father had a close relationship with the princess when he was young. He might even...well, have that kind of relationship. Moreover, I also know that the princess has An illegitimate child. Therefore, I have been wondering in my heart for a long time whether it could be..."

"You are right." The old Marquis interrupted him directly, "They do have an illegitimate child."

…………

After his suspicion was confirmed, Charles was speechless for a while.

Finally, he barely suppressed the emotions in his heart and asked softly. "Are you older than me or younger than me?"

It's not that he really cares whether the other person is an older brother or a younger brother. He mainly wants to know whether the illegitimate child was created by his father after his marriage.

The old Marquis glanced at Charles with a wry smile, and then answered.

"No need to beat around the bush, I don't know much about this matter. However, judging from his description, it should...should indeed be born after his marriage."

Ciel couldn't help but take a deep breath.

This is really...

He tried hard to recall what his parents looked like in this life, but found that his childhood memories had long been blurred, and he couldn't recall the two people's daily interactions.

Were they happy or unhappy back then? Judging from the truth that has been unearthed, it probably...is really not that good.

Charles suddenly felt empty in his heart and didn't know what to say.

"Why, you lost it so quickly? Wasn't it quite exciting just now?" The old Marquis was keenly aware of his grandson's mood, so he smiled and joked, "Don't worry, what if there is an illegitimate child? He can't take away your family property. It is natural that an illegitimate child does not have any rights. Even when Jesus came Don’t you have to find a legal father for yourself in the mortal world?”

"I'm not worried about this..." Charles shook his head bitterly, "Forget it, it's getting late, you should have a good rest."

Then he stood up and prepared to leave.

"No, Charles, keep sitting for a while." The old man suddenly stopped him, and then sighed, "Forget it, you have grown so big, it's time for me to tell you all those things. , you can’t bury all your secrets in a coffin..."

Seeing the old man's strange expression, Ciel suddenly felt a more intense sense of fear.

"What secret?" he asked solemnly.

His grandfather lowered his head slightly, and sighed again after a moment. "Your mother died because of your father."

"What!" Ciel exclaimed because he was too rude. "What's going on?"

Read the original text in Liu#9@书/吧!

"What's going on...?" The old man smiled bitterly, "I don't even understand what's going on today!"

Then he lowered his voice and began to speak.

"That was more than ten years ago." His tone was filled with sighs and a kind of indifference typical of an old man. "At that time, your mother was about to give birth while pregnant with Fran. Of course, I didn't know that at that time. The child was a boy or a girl. I was just very happy to have a grandchild until...until that night..."...

"What happened that night?" Charles asked quickly.

"That was a long time ago, but it seems like it was yesterday. I still often recall what I saw that night. Yes, it was a terrible disaster!"

Charles didn't dare to speak anymore. Just a pounding heart. Waiting for the old man's narration.

"That night, there was nothing unexpected. I was catching up with friends outside and then ran back. Then, I was getting ready to go to bed under the care of the servants, but... not long after, I vaguely heard a noise. and a quarrel, and then another scream. Yes, I soon discovered, it was your mother's cry.

That was 1832. Not long after Louis-Philippe usurped the throne, the whole country was not at peace. Of course I didn't dare to take it lightly when I heard such a noise. I quickly got up and ran towards your mother's bedroom. result……"

The old man closed his eyes slightly.

"As soon as I opened the door, I saw Alice lying on the carpet next to the bed. She seemed to be unconscious. Moreover, the carpet was stained with blood... You don't know how terrifying this scene was at the time. Man, I’ve been through mountains of corpses and seas of blood, and I couldn’t help but feel terrified.”

When Charles heard this, his heart suddenly became tense.

"Then, I saw your father. He was slumped on the ground, as if he had lost his soul, and his face was as white as a dead man. Only after seeing me coming did he come back to his senses, and then trembled Trembling, he kept telling me that he didn't mean it "Bah, what's the use of saying this at that time?" Because he recalled this unpleasant past, the old Marquis' face became extremely ugly, "He said he didn't mean it, and I believe it, because he looked like that at that time, Doesn’t he look like someone who can do great things? Bah, trash!”

"What's going on?!" Charles forgot to calm down for a moment and asked quickly.

"What else could happen?" The old Marquis smiled bitterly, "Alice didn't know what happened. She found out about your father and the princess's illegitimate child, and thought that your father had betrayed her, so she had a big fight with him. , during the quarrel, he pushed her away unintentionally, and the result was like this Of course, he told me this afterward. How could I have the time to listen to this? I immediately asked the servant to find a doctor, but... But everything was over and I couldn't save the child. I could only save the child. …God, you can’t imagine how I felt at that time!”

"So, my mother's miscarriage was not an accident, but a human fault?" Charles asked softly with a calm attitude that even surprised him, "It was precisely because of my father's fault that she Will die?"

"Yes, that's it. Without his push, how could your mother die?" The old Marquis nodded slowly, "Having said that, it was fortunate that our family was very poor at the time and there were not many servants in the family, so Only a few people know about this. If it were today, huh, he wouldn't be able to get away with it even if he wanted to. "

"Then...then you let him go?" Charles asked tremblingly.

"Of course not!" the old Marquis replied displeasedly, "I gave him two ways at that time, either like a decent person, face everything he has done, bear all the consequences, surrender honestly, and go Accept the punishment. If it doesn't work, just use a gun to kill yourself. This way you won't lose anything. Reputation; or, you have to live peacefully like a real member of the Treville family and pretend that nothing happened! What's the big deal about killing someone? So what if it's his own wife? It’s already been done, so what’s the use of hesitating?

"Is no one suspicious? You did something like this..." Charles' tone became more and more nervous, "You protected him like this. If you were traced at that time, I'm afraid..."

"Oh, of course some people have doubts. But what's the use of doubts? We say she had an accidental miscarriage, who can refute it? Who can provide evidence? Anyway, Alice herself can't get up to correct us... Hey, her mother-in-law had some doubts that this accident was not an accident, but they couldn't do much with us, so they had no choice but to cut off contact with us..." The old Marquis smiled bitterly again, but his tone suddenly became much lighter, as if because of the revelation. It's like keeping a secret and taking away a heavy burden from my heart. "Char. What else could I have done at that time? Send my only son to a prison cell? Let members of the Treville family go to court?"

As he spoke, the old Marquis coughed violently, and he was wheezing very hard. Apparently, after so many years, he was still very emotional when he mentioned it.

Ciel lowered his head, not knowing how to answer. No wonder my grandpa’s family has never had any contact with the Marquis de Treville’s family for many years. It's almost as if there is no such relative. It stands to reason that no matter how dissatisfied this marriage is, you won't do it so well. It turns out that it is because of this reason...well, I can't blame others for this.

Hey, what does this mean? It's so troublesome. For a moment, Charles's heart was filled with an inexplicable anxiety.

"Charle, I have said it a long time ago. You have to be a real man and never imitate your father. That damn thing broke my heart!" The old Marquis coughed again, "I'm not I'm angry that he was confused for a moment and ended up making a big mistake. What disappoints me the most is not this, but... it's your father's subsequent actions.

Think about it, my brother and I tried our best to help him cover up, how much effort we spent? How much effort did we put in to prevent his huge mistake from becoming a scandal that shocked the social world, but what about him? He was so devastated that I even helped him with his wife's funeral. Not long after, he ran away... What kind of thing is this? Pooh! There is no sense of manliness at all! He acted neither like a decent man nor like Treville, he chose to run away! I actually have such a son! Damn it, I really shouldn't have asked him to learn how to draw! Damn painting, damn art! Those who engage in art will only be sentimental, and no one will be a hero when trouble comes! Pooh! So I never asked you to learn painting or music again. I finally understand that all men should stay away from those ghost things. They are of no use except to please the ladies! "

Ciel had not listened to the complaints of the elderly at all. He was already very upset at the moment.

It only took him a few minutes to learn that he had a half-brother he had never met; he also learned that his "father" was the culprit that indirectly caused the death of his "mother".

Oh my gosh! What is this thing called?

Even Ciel, who had always been calm and composed, couldn't help but feel confused at the moment.

It would be great if I didn’t ask anything and didn’t know anything! he thought helplessly.

"He...where is he now?" After a long time, Charles finally asked.

"I don't know. I have never looked for him. This person is not worth wasting my energy on. I might as well just disappear." The old man replied decisively with a kind of anger, "After he left, I never cared about him anymore." Let him die. Anyway, as long as there are two of you, I won't be able to survive. Let him die!"

Then, he slowly calmed down and looked at Ciel emotionally, "Ciel, now that I have told you everything, to be honest, I feel a lot more relaxed. Remember, this is something only we can know. Secret, remember, don’t tell Fran, she is already pitiful enough.”

"Of course I won't tell her." Ciel smiled bitterly. "Don't worry, I wish I never knew about this."

After he finished speaking, both of them fell silent again, feeling like they didn't know what to say anymore.

"Hey, forget it, it's been so many years, leave him alone." Finally, the old man broke the dead silence. "Isn't it great now?"

Then, he patted Ciel's shoulder heavily, "Ciel, now you have your life, don't let the shadow of the past affect you anymore, live your life well..."

I hope so... Ciel could only sigh in his heart.

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