Flowers, Swords and France

As usual, Charles did not go to bed at this time, but sat at his desk, processing today's letters and documents.

The pen in his hand kept sliding on the paper, but his heart did not stay on the paper, but drifted to an unknown place. And because his brows were slightly furrowed, his expression looked a little gloomy and gloomy.

While he was thinking about his thoughts, he wrote some formulaic words in his replies to others. However, it was not until he was about to finish writing that he discovered that the sentences in the letter were completely rambling and off-topic, and the handwriting was extremely messy. He had no choice but to throw the page into the wastebasket with a wry smile. , then picked up a piece of letter paper and started writing.

But as he continued to write, he fell into the same thoughts as before. Finally, he felt annoyed and simply put the letter aside and picked up other documents to read.

Yes, he was in a bad mood at the moment.

His mood became so bad, of course, not * *... just because of the frustration at the internal army meeting in the afternoon - although this matter was irritating, it was expected after all, and it was not enough to make him so Restless, he has unwavering confidence in this. It was the other troubles that really bothered him.

Vaguely, he always felt that a dark shadow was surrounding him recently, making him feel depressed and breathless. However, he couldn't tell exactly what he was worried about.

Because he can't think out the context, he can't draw a conclusion; because he can't draw a conclusion, he can't grasp the situation; and what he hates the most. It is this state of being unable to grasp the situation.

In the complete silence, he was in a daze for a while, and then he couldn't help but smile bitterly.

What am I thinking about? There are still so many things to deal with.

He could only forcefully suppress the annoyance in his heart. Then continue writing.

At this moment, there was a gentle knock on the door.

"Who?" Charles, who was in a bad mood, asked in a bad tone.

"It's me, sir." A low voice answered from outside the door.

Although the sound was somewhat distorted due to the crack in the door, Charles could still tell who it was.

Why did she come running over? Was there an accident? He frowned slightly.

However, we will find out about this later.

Charles received these letters into his box. Then he walked to the door and opened it. "What are you doing here so late?" Charles looked at Mary at the door in confusion, but still stepped away. He let her in and then closed the door again, "Is there anything you want to report to me?".

The Marquis did not answer, but walked step by step to Charles's desk. Don't know why. Charles always felt that he could see the deep tension hidden under the calmness on her face.

"What happened?" He couldn't help but ask again.

This unexpected serious attitude made him feel a little worried.

"Just now... I was with Fran." Mary lowered her gaze, not looking at him at all, and her tone was not as relaxed as before, "We read everything Laura gave her together."

"Oh?" Charles quickly regained his composure after being slightly surprised, "It's so fast. That's really hard on you. Fran can't understand many things. You must have spent a lot of effort, right?"

"Hmm... not bad." Mary smiled reluctantly. "Although it is indeed a bit tiring, it is not particularly hard."

"So, did you find anything wrong?" Charles asked in a low voice, "Or is Fran doing anything special?"

"There's no problem, at least not now. All the accounts are very clear, even we can understand them." Mary shook her head gently, "Fran doesn't behave strangely, everything is normal."…

"Oh, that's good." Charles nodded, and then suddenly became a little strange, "Then if there is nothing important to report to me, why are you coming here so late? It's not very good for others to see it. All right……"

Humph, if someone saw it and reported it to the old guy, he would be even happier. Mary sneered inwardly.

Then, a bright smile appeared on her face.

"Besides this, can't I have other things to tell you?"

Ciel frowned again.

Now he has no intention of playing guessing games with others.

"Then just tell me quickly, I'm pressed for time." He replied rather coldly. "Why are you feeling weird today? You're not usually like this."

It's not because of you. Mary thought.

Although she knew that this matter actually had nothing to do with Ciel, she couldn't help but feel a little resentful towards him in her heart.

This resentment became more serious because of Ciel's cold attitude at this time.

"I have heard some very strange things recently about you, so I plan to confirm it with you." Because of this resentment, Mary's tone also had a chill, "Although I don't really believe it, But because the matter is so important, I just thought it would be better to check with you.”

"What happened?" A bad premonition suddenly arose in Charles's heart.

"It's about Matilda." Mary replied in a low voice, and then glanced at Charles secretly. Sure enough, he found that the other party's color suddenly changed.

With a slight sneer in her heart, she continued, "I...well, I heard some rumors from others, saying that you...that you had an affair with Matilda, well, this is completely baseless. Of course I don’t believe the rumors. It’s just a matter of great importance, so I came here to ask you... Sir, of course it’s not true, right?”

Although the atmosphere at this time was not tense, Ciel's heart was beating wildly.

What's going on? Where did she learn these things?

Also, who else knows besides her?

All kinds of thoughts came to him, making his already groggy mind even more confusing.

Maybe she just heard some speculative rumors and couldn't let her see the clues.

"Of course this is a baseless rumor!" he immediately replied loudly. He forced himself to remain calm on the surface, "Where did you hear such a thing? This is slander!"

"I'm just telling you, it's true..." Mary breathed a sigh of relief. He seemed to relax and said, "That's good."

"Who told you?" Charles asked immediately.

"It's a friend. She also heard rumors from others." Mary lied without changing her face. "Since your transfer happened, everyone has been a little curious about your relationship with the Dilion family. , so some people have published such rumors in private... Well, sir, please don't mind, after all, you can get this honor at such a young age, I'm afraid there are many people who are dissatisfied that they just use this method. Just attacking you."

"Humph, these despicable villains!" Charles couldn't help but yelled angrily, "It's because of these villains who are running rampant that France today is full of jealousy and slander."

then. Ciel looked at Mary again. "Well, Fran...Has Fran heard this rumor?"

"Of course not! How could I tell her such a rumor?" Mary immediately replied, "Don't worry, I will never let you and Fran be harmed by such slanderous rumors... This is what I should do. of."

Her tone was long, with a vague hint.

In other words, even if it was true, she would not tell Fran, let alone Charlotte - Ciel understood what she meant in an instant.

It seemed that she didn't believe it as much as she said. But just be skeptical, Ciel made up his mind.

"Thank you. Mary," Charles sighed longly, "I need your help for many things. It's a pity that I didn't repay you well."

Then he reached out his hand and expressed his gratitude to her for keeping the secret.

"You have given me enough in return." Mary whispered, then stretched out her hand to hold it with his, feeling the heat coming from his palm. "I just hope you don't abandon me as your assistant. That's enough."

"Of course not. I am very satisfied with your expression." Charles quickly replied with a smile, "I sincerely hope that you can continue our cooperation."

During a handshake, the two reached a tacit understanding on this topic.

"Speaking of which, sir, you seem to be very worried today." Mary looked at Charles with concern, "Did you encounter any trouble?".

"Well, yes." Charles nodded simply, "People will always encounter some troubles in their careers."

"So, what kind of trouble is it? Can you tell me about it?". Mary moved closer to Charles unknowingly, "I think I might be able to help you a little?"

"Oh, don't mention it! They are all troublesome things." When he mentioned this, Charles couldn't help but feel very heartbroken again, "Thank you for your kindness, but you can't help with the ministry's affairs. These Qiu Ba None of them are easy to mess with, it’s very troublesome! You should just follow my original arrangements and take care of things now.”

"I don't agree with what you say. Do you still think that we girls can't do anything now? Don't underestimate us!" As if he was aroused to be competitive, Mary looked at Charles rather forcefully, "Just tell me, can't you? If I really can't help, it won't do any harm to you, right?"

"Okay, okay..." Under the other party's eager gaze, Ciel could only sigh.

Anyway, you are free, so just talk to her about this kind of thing, just to relieve your mood.

So, he told Mary about his current troubles in the War Department - of course, he couldn't tell about Agnes and others.

"In other words, you wanted to recommend a weapon to the army, but it was blocked by the department responsible for purchasing weapons." After listening to Charles's account, Mary quickly understood the annoyance faced by Charles. "So, your idea cannot be realized now and it has been stuck here?"

"Well, your description is very accurate. This is the actual situation." Charles nodded simply, "So, you can understand my feelings, right?"

"Well, I understand." Mary sighed. "I finally wanted to do something for the country, but was blocked by a group of stubborn people. This feeling is really uncomfortable... However, Mr. Treville, even in Under this situation, you have not lost your enthusiasm and determination to serve the country. This is the most touching thing. If every young noble in our country were as worried about national affairs, the country would not be what it is today. It looks like this..."

"Uh... Okay, actually it's not bad." This slightly excessive compliment made Ciel feel a little embarrassed. Wasn't she really being sarcastic?

Read the original article in Liu#9@书/吧!

"Hahahaha..." Seeing Ciel's embarrassed look. Mary couldn't help laughing, "Okay, I was just joking."

Her silver bell-like laughter. It also relaxed the slightly tense atmosphere just now. At least Ciel felt a lot more relaxed.

"So as you can see, there are just so many troubles," Ciel shrugged. "But. I will eventually find a way to solve it."…

"Yes. You will definitely be able to find a way to solve it." Mary still had the same smile on her face. "And, maybe I can really help you..."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Charles was a little surprised.

What relationship can she have with the Army?

"Although I have nothing to do with those soldiers, I still have other ways!" As if she could see what Charles was thinking, Mary smiled even deeper, "Although I don't know Mr. de Treveaux, but perhaps I can let you touch the Marquis de Treveaux?"

"Huh? Really?". Charles suddenly felt happy and quickly looked up at her.

"Come to think of it. He is a distant relative of mine! Moreover, his daughter and I are also friends. I can get some information from her and see if I can get you close to the Marquis. As long as you can persuade him to let him If I help you, Mr. de Treveaux will be easier to talk to, right?"

"Well, that's right! That's it!" Charles couldn't help but clapped his hands, "Mary, just do as you say? Please."

"But there's no way I can guarantee success, right?"

"It doesn't matter, as long as you can give it a try." Charles smiled and nodded.

"Well look, how can I help you?". Mary looked at him mockingly.

"Well, I was wrong. I'm sorry, I underestimated you, Mary." Charles immediately apologized to her.

"You should have figured it out a long time ago." Mary continued to smile.

"Thank you for your help. I really appreciate it." Charles stood up and thanked her seriously. "Whether this can be done or not, I will always thank you for your help."

"So how are you going to express your gratitude? Verbally?". Mary raised her eyebrows and asked directly.

"Of course it's not just words. Tell me, what reward do you want?"

Charles had a vague feeling that Mary had changed something, and she suddenly became more joking.

Although he didn't know what happened to make her suddenly change like this, but in his recent gloomy mood, he was happy to chat with her more happily.

"Then..." Mary pondered for a moment, then suddenly raised her head and looked at Charles. "Just tell me, are you satisfied with my assistance? Don't be stingy with compliments, I can bear it..."

oh? Just say nice things? This is no piece of cake.

"Miss de Leoland, as I have always said, you are my capable and excellent assistant, a person who has given me a lot of help, and an indispensable member of our cause. Your wisdom and efforts, I can't help but be impressed." Charles replied pretending to be serious, "I hope you can continue to give us the same help in the future, thank you, madam."

"That sounds really good..." Mary took a deep breath, and then looked at Charles again, "Then, will you abandon me for no reason? While I am still serving you loyally?"

"Oh, of course not, who would do such a thing!" Charles replied half seriously and half jokingly, "Wouldn't it be extremely stupid to throw away an assistant like you for no reason? In fact, On the contrary, I want to pray that you will continue to work hard for our cause in the future..."

After hearing this answer from Charles, Mary stared at Charles and suddenly became motionless.

This strange look made Ciel not know how to deal with it.

"Mary?" He kept still while exploring the other person in a low voice.

Suddenly, he noticed that the corners of Mary's eyes were exposed, twinkling like bright stars.

Hey, there’s no need to be so moved, right? Is this just a polite comment?

Starlight slowly flowed down her cheeks, and then dripped onto the chair.

"Mary? What's wrong?" Charles asked with concern.

"Nothing...nothing, sir." Mary replied in a low voice, as if holding back tears, "I'm just so happy...it's great to be able to follow you. Thank God, after being abandoned by my loved ones, After that, I can still find a new destination and new companions..."

She suddenly stood up and threw herself into Ciel's arms.

"I'm so happy! Please let me do whatever you want for once, okay?".

As she spoke, her tears flowed uncontrollably, and finally they seemed to overflow, making Ciel's clothes wet.

"Hey, don't cry! Girl!"

The way she was sobbing secretly made Charles feel a little pity.

Yes, it was not easy for her after being abandoned by her family.

With this thought, Ciel did not push her away and allowed her to cry in his arms.

"Sir, tell me, you are like family and you will never abandon me casually, okay?".

"Of course, don't worry, Marie, as long as we continue to cooperate, I will never abandon you." Charles said quickly.

"Thank you, sir." Marie closed her eyes with a satisfied smile.

No matter in any era, tears are always one of a woman's best weapons.

In the dim candlelight, Charles stroked her blonde hair like coaxing a child, and inadvertently, her hand also touched Charles' back, as if hugging him.

It seems that he has no aversion to me.

Marie's heart flashed with joy.

Then, you can't escape.

Chapter 51?? The first battle was a success.

Chapter 51?? The first battle was a success,: