Flowers, Swords and France

The autumn morning came much later than before, but it was just as clear.

Under the blue sky, the sun shone down from the sky, shining into every corner of this recently renovated mansion.

In this mansion, led by the servants, Miss Marie de Léoran walked to a room on the second floor.

She was slender, with golden hair combed into a new popular hairstyle, hanging on both sides. She was wearing a Persian silk dressing gown, and the dense pleats could not cover her slender and graceful figure. Through this flower-like embroidered silk, her snow-white skin was set off by the gorgeous white hollow lace on her shoulders. The eyes covered by thick eyelashes, in a frown and a smile, revealed an expression that could dig deep but could not show emotions.

Until this moment, she didn't know what kind of experience was waiting for her next.

Because of this, although she was a little nervous, she was more relaxed, as if she was just taking a morning walk.

Soon, she came to the room! Wan! Shu! Bar! .nsb.

"I'm here, Your Excellency the Marquis." As soon as she came in, she set her sights on the Marquis de Treville who was sitting at the table, her face was full of friendly smiles, and then she saluted him, "Is there anything you want to call me over for?" What did he want to say to me? While maintaining a polite smile. The Marquis was also full of doubts.

"Oh, here you are, Mary." The Marquis de Treville also greeted her with a smile. Then he motioned her to sit opposite him, "Actually, there's nothing, I just want to ask if you are okay recently?"

"Ah, thank you, we are fine." Mary was certainly not naive enough to think that the other party was just concerned about her. She followed the other party's instructions and sat down opposite the Marquis. "Flan has been doing well recently, and is much more energetic than before. She has been seizing the time to learn things. She really wants to help everyone. , ..."

"Oh, that's great." The old marquis nodded with satisfaction. "Thank you, Miss, it's a good thing that you are by her side. My granddaughter can feel better."

"You are flattering me." Mary still smiled, "She is my good friend, I am just doing my best to do what I should do." What does he mean by this? Mary was even more confused, but she didn't think much about it. She also stretched out her hand and gently shook the old marquis's hand, "It's my honor, sir."

The old man's slightly withered and rough hand and the girl's slender and white hand held together. It was such a pleasant scene, but it seemed like two swordsmen greeting each other before taking action.

After letting go of his hand, the old marquis fell into a brief contemplation, and then raised his head to look at Mary.

"I talked to you when you came to my house just now. Do you remember?"

"Yes, of course I remember," Mary nodded, "You told me some things about your war and other things."

"Yes, and I was very satisfied with your response at that time, so we accepted you." The old marquis smiled and nodded, "Now it seems that I should be grateful for this decision. You have helped a lot with both Charles and Fran, Mary, I really admire you."...

What is this doing? Mary is still confused.

"Please don't say that. I just ran errands and didn't help much." She still had a smile on her face. "Besides, I also learned a lot from you, and Charles also helped me a lot. If it weren't for the help of your family at the beginning, I wouldn't know what to do..."

"This world is so chaotic, everyone should help each other!" The old marquis laughed, "Anyway, you are one of our family's closest friends, aren't you?"

"I feel extremely honored and happy about this." Mary looked at the old marquis sincerely.

"...So, are you willing to become closer to our family?"

A sudden sentence came into Mary's ears.

What does this mean? Is this the reason why he came here today? Mary's heart trembled.

"You...what do you mean by this?" She tried to pretend to be confused and looked at the old man curiously.

"My meaning is very simple." The smile on the old marquis's face was suddenly mixed with an indescribable look, "Girl, you are Charles' close assistant and one of the most trusted people in our family, so why can't you be closer to Charles?"

Marie was stunned.

However, the ruthless words continued. "You understand what I mean? I hope you can get along well with my grandson, and I can give you anything I can as a reward."

What nonsense is this!

If that person didn't have a fiancée, it would be fine, but now that it's like this, why should I throw myself into his arms?

This... old bastard, what does he think of me? A tutor to sleep with?

A feeling of being severely humiliated made Mary's face suddenly blush.

"You... you really thought of it." Her tone was no longer respectful, and her smile was gone, "But I don't want to do this. I think my current state is very good and there is no need to go any further, sir."

"Does that mean you don't agree?" The old Marquis made a serious face.

In just a moment, Mary carefully assessed the situation.

Although this old bastard is old, he has been a soldier after all. Maybe he still has some brute strength now, and there may be strong servants waiting outside, but at least he can't fall out now.

Then use another method. At least get out of this damn room first, and then run as far away from here as you can.

There was no need for any preparation at all. Tears suddenly welled up from her eyes, and then dripped down her smooth face to the ground, leaving two tear marks.

"Who do you think I am?" Mary asked, sobbing. "You...you think that since I am under someone else's care, I have no freedom? Do you think you can do whatever you want with me? I...I..."

Her uncontrollable anger made her forget her usual etiquette and retorted angrily at the old man in front of her. Tears kept flowing from the corners of her eyes. Staring at the other party with a shy and resentful look is enough to make most hard-hearted people feel pity.

However, it is a pity. The person in front of her was not Ciel. He is not a young aristocrat like Albert who still has some romantic feelings in his heart, but a Marquis de Treville who has already seen all kinds of women in the social arena.

After various affairs in his early years, such an old nobleman could no longer be touched by any performance of a woman. In the upper class society, he was used to seeing too many sarcasm hidden in smiles and seeing too many packages. In the bitterness in tears, I am used to seeing too many unscrupulous souls under the delicate appearance, so. Neither smiles nor tears could make him break his calmness - they were just different disguises of the same soul.

"medicine."

The Marquis received a curiously simple answer.

"What do you mean?" She raised her head and looked at the old Marquis.

"What I mean is very simple. I don't treat you as a wretch who can be manipulated at will. On the contrary, I value you very much, that's why I made such a serious proposal to you." The old man said calmly, "My grandson He is seriously ill and needs treatment, and I think you are a good candidate to cure him.”

After hearing what the old man said, Mary's anger just now was replaced by doubt and anxiety.

"If you get sick, wouldn't it be better to just call a doctor? I've never studied medicine? Since it's a serious illness, why are you still wasting your time here?"

"His disease cannot be cured by doctors. It's such a pity." The old man sighed, with unconcealable sadness in his tone, "He had a crazy disease, so he fell in love!"

"In love?" Mary gasped, "Did he fall in love with someone? Why didn't I know?"

"My grandson has fallen in love with Mademoiselle de Dillion, your former classmate, who seems to be called Matilda." The old Marquis frowned and replied, "And he seems to be in deep trouble. , He didn’t even listen to my advice.”

"Matilda!" Mary exclaimed. "This...how is this possible?"

"What, do you think I'm joking with you? I don't want this to be true!" The old Marquis sighed again, "But there's no way, it's true."

Mary looked at the old man in disbelief, but there was no trace of lying on his face.

I really didn’t expect that Matilda, who looked so reserved, would actually do such a thing silently! Why?

Oh, no wonder her father survived the storm before. It turned out that she did this kind of thing to persuade Charles to help. How pitiful... After a while, Mary came to a logical conclusion that was contrary to the facts. .

"Even if he really falls in love with someone, is it his freedom and right? You have no right to interfere! Not to mention, what does this have to do with illness?"

"When an aspiring young man falls in love, this is a disease that needs treatment." The old Marquis replied coldly, "So, I want to find a treatment drug for him to wake him up from the disease."

Read the original text in Liu#9@书/吧!

Mary opened her eyes wide and looked at the old man in front of her with dumbfounded eyes. Her originally beautiful face suddenly became a little distorted. The heart-wrenching pain made her almost breathless.

Ignoring Mary's state, the old man continued.

"Miss, I have been observing for a long time. You are a smart person and know what you want." Marquis Treville looked at Mary calmly, "In this case, why do we still deliberately act in circles like in social circles? Everyone Wouldn't it be best to spread things out?

"Then you haven't considered my idea? Why should I do this?" Mary sneered, "Do you think I have to do this?"

"I don't think this is the only way you can go. But I don't think it's a bad way for you - if not a better way. I know that you are not short of money, even if you leave our house today. You can live without worries about food and clothing in the future, but that's all for you. Is that enough? If that were enough, wouldn't you try your best to get into our house? In that case, why not do it to the end? What you can get with Fran, you can get more with Ciel. Is that much?" Mary still stared at him, but he didn't seem to notice.

"When I thought of giving Charles some sedatives, I thought of you. As I said, this is a confirmation of you. You are very good-looking, at least to me, you are no worse than Miss Dillion. You, you We all know what we want, and we can completely satisfy it. It’s much better and safer than the unpredictable Dilion family, isn’t it?

"That is to say. You want me to be the intermediary to pull Charles out of his obsession with Matilda?" After a moment of silence, Mary asked coldly.

"Ah, you are such a smart boy!" The old Marquis nodded immediately, "With such a mind, am I still afraid that I won't be able to do it?"

Mary still looked at him coldly and didn't answer.

"Think about it carefully, Mary, you are a smart child. Use your reason to think about it." The old Marquis looked at her with earnestness and continued to persuade. "If you just want a peaceful life in the future, you can have it now, and you don't need our family; but if you want prosperity and wealth, how many other places can you find besides us in the future? And you won't be able to have it at that time. Do you need to pay such a price? I think you won’t deceive yourself.”

Mary lowered her gaze slightly and did not answer.

It seems that the other party has made it very clear that if he does not agree to this condition, he must leave here and leave the Treville branch that has become a wealthy family - either leave and live in the corner, or do as he says .

Originally she only thought that she could achieve her goal by influencing Fran, but now it seemed that it was an extravagant hope that was unreasonable... She smiled bitterly in her heart.

"To be honest, my grandson is actually pretty good, right? I'm not bragging." At this moment, Treville's words kept passing by his ears, terrifyingly calm, "I think you There's nothing wrong with this, right? It's just a price you have to pay, and in return... I've already told you, I can give you anything. As for Charles, you don’t know that he is a very generous person to his own people. If you can really..., is there anything you can’t get? No matter how you look at it, I don’t think my proposal is deliberately belittling you. On the contrary, I entrust you with this task because I think it is too difficult.”

"Doesn't he have a fiancée of his own? Why don't you just let the princess handle it herself?" Mary retorted reluctantly.

The Marquis of Treville did not answer, but looked at her quietly, letting her feel how stupid this proposal was.

Mary lowered her gaze again and looked at the waxed floor.

After the initial anger was washed away, reason regained the upper hand in this beautiful head. Although her face was stained with tears and full of pain and confusion, her mind was spinning rapidly at this time, thinking.

In fact, this proposal was not as bad as she thought... Such a thought suddenly flashed through her mind.

If it could really be done, why would I have to endure being bossed around by anyone, even my best friends?

Moreover, Mr. Charles de Treville is not a completely unacceptable candidate.

"Of course, this task is also very difficult. After all, Miss Dillion has a close relationship with him. I'm afraid it may not be possible for you to intervene rashly..." Marquis Treville sighed.

Old bastard, do you think it makes sense to deliberately provoke me?

"Then... aren't you worried about me?" Suddenly, Mary raised her head and looked at the old Marquis with challenge, "What if he becomes obsessed with me instead? Find a new dose. Medicine? That’s really busy for you..."

The old man was stunned by this gaze that contained challenge and ridicule, and then he laughed.

Have you entered the state so quickly?

"Then I will congratulate you on your success. After all, your interests and our interests are one." He smiled while looking at his almost transparent white hands on the armrest. "You are controllable and have a mind. I don't need to worry about you."…

Under the sunlight that leaked from the edge of the window, the tips of the slender fingers were slightly raised, and the pink almond nails sparkled as if they were inlaid with gems.

The room fell into silence again.

"How is it, Mary? Can you agree to my request?" After a while, the Marquis of Treville asked in a low voice.

But Mary just stood up gently and saluted the old man.

"Your proposal is too important. I want to think about it again, okay?"

"Oh, of course. No one asked you to make a decision now. But I think you'd better reply to me quickly so that I can make other preparations." The old Marquis nodded.

Mary didn't answer any more, but turned around and left the room, as if she didn't want to look at the old man again.

The old Marquis sat on a chair and looked at her leaving figure.

He knew these women too well - for them, didn't consideration mean acceptance? I just need some time to give myself a reason.

"And it will be found soon." Based on his many years of experience in high society, Marquis Treville whispered to himself.