Flowers, Swords and France

It was already late at night, and darkness had ruled the entire city.

Although many places in the city were places for drinking and fireworks all night long, there were still many places that had already fallen into a deep sleep.

In a quiet and deserted block in the Latin Quarter, a carriage was traveling through the dark streets.

Such an action in the middle of the night seemed unusual, and the carriage was moving very slowly, and the driver was very careful not to let the horse make any noise, which added a bit of sneakiness to the carriage.

As the carriage moved to more and more remote places, the pedestrians on the street became sparser and sparser, until they finally disappeared; and the light on the street became smaller and smaller, making the carriage look like it had entered a dark cave that could swallow everything.

Finally, the carriage stopped in the middle of a dilapidated and gloomy old house.

This old house is probably the last remnant of the Bourbon era. It is only because the landlords are trying to squeeze the rent from the tenants that they can barely survive. However, it is precisely because of the poor living environment that no one can be seen here even in the morning, let alone at this time.

The tall and magnificent houses in the distance form a sharp contrast with this place, and cast a permanent shadow on this area. The dark and cold air brought by poverty, coupled with these mottled walls, turned those old houses into underground cemeteries, more like tombs for living people. Judging from her figure and clothes, she seems to be a woman, but because the black curtain is too heavy, her figure is blurred. She is wearing a black skirt. She also wears a hat on her head, and a veil hangs down from the front of the hat, covering the whole person tightly.

No matter from which aspect, this carriage and this woman exude a strange and mysterious atmosphere.

As if she was hesitating about something, after getting off the carriage. The woman stood quietly for a while, and then she moved forward after a while. Then, she walked to a tattered wooden door that almost made people doubt whether it could still be used.

The woman was not busy knocking on the door, but looked around for a while, and after making sure that no one was paying attention to her, she gently raised her hand.

"Bang, bang, bang" The sound of her knocking on the door was so light that it could not be heard at all not far away.

There was no echo.

In the silence for a moment, she seemed to be a little nervous, so that she put her hands together and placed them on her chest.

Fortunately, just when her mood fell to the bottom. Suddenly, a low shout came from the door. It was his voice, thank God... The woman seemed to take a long breath, and then put her hand down again.

"It's me, Edgar." She answered in a low voice.

Then, the door opened.

With the help of the sparse starlight, she found that the person standing at the door was the one she had been worried about for a long time.

"Edgar, why did you suddenly change places!" After suddenly relaxing in her heart, she couldn't help complaining.

Although she looked like she was blaming, there was an indescribable excitement on her face. "And we've moved to this kind of place!"

However, at this moment. She found that the other party was holding a gun in his hand

"Edgar!" She took a deep breath and couldn't help but screamed, "What's going on!"

"Shh...be quiet, Freya..." The man on the other side looked a little nervous, but after confirming that there was no one else outside, he put down his hand holding the gun. And the other hand suddenly put his arm around the woman's shoulders and pulled her into his arms. "Let's go. Let's go in and talk."

When she was just pulled by this hand, the woman struggled for a while. But she couldn't beat the other party's strength, so she had to obey, and then they walked in together.

Everything in this broken house is of course very consistent with its appearance. The curtains in each room are blackened by smoke and ash, and the wood that no one disposes of everywhere is obviously almost never cleaned. And in a few sloppy rooms, there are some canvases and paints, which add a bit to the mess.

Led by the man, they walked into a small alley.

"Froya, look, this is my studio now, what do you think?" He smiled and spread his hands as if joking.

The woman lifted the veil on her hat and scanned the environment of the room.

This alley, needless to say, is as dirty and dilapidated as other rooms, but slightly more spacious. There are few furnitures, and they are as bleak and dilapidated as the room. The room is messy everywhere, old socks are hung on the back of the chair with horsehair cushions, and dust has reinterpreted the pattern on the chair. And in the center of the alley, there is a desk full of cracks, and there is an oil lamp on it, which is emitting dim and blurred light. On the table, there is a canvas, which has been stained with silk lines by paint. Obviously, before being disturbed, the resident was painting impromptu.

With the help of this half-bright light, the appearance of the man is also fully revealed.

Unlike the poor image of the room, he wears a dark coat made of British fabric and a rather stylish low bow tie. Judging from his appearance, he is about forty years old.

He had a parted hair that covered his ears, and under the light, it showed a dull golden color. His face had a little yellow from years of running around, and there were a few wrinkles at the corners of his eyes and forehead because of his age, but it was square and very clean, with sharp edges and corners as if it was carefully carved. It can be seen that he was a handsome man when he was young, and even now he still retains a bit of handsomeness.

Even more impressive is his pair of bright light blue eyes embedded in the oval eye sockets. These eyes are particularly bright and seem to have a faint sense of melancholy. This melancholy expression can just inspire a large number of women's... protective desire from motherhood. It was precisely because of this expression and his wonderful painting skills that he was able to be successful in the social circle and made so many people crazy about him.

And after time carved a few rounds of marks on his face, this melancholy was added a little more.

At least. He brought an indescribable touch to the visiting women.

"Why do you let yourself live in such a place?" Seeing the other person in such a bad environment, the woman suddenly felt sad, and then looked at the other person with some pain. "Are you short of money? Why didn't you tell me?"

"No, Freya, don't worry about me." After getting rid of the tension at the beginning, the man's voice became much softer and more pleasant, "You gave me so much money last time, and you are not short of money now."

While saying this, he stroked the other person's hair, as if he was very intimate.

As if he found that the other person's actions were too intimate. The woman nervously broke free from his arms, stepped back, and then continued to look at him with that kind of concerned eyes.

"If that's the case, why do you have to live in this place? Is there nowhere else to go?" She suddenly lowered her head, "If it really doesn't work. Just go to Kadiyang Mansion. I'll let the servants let you in. Anyway, no one lives there now..."

"No one will be watching you if you live here... Froya..." The middle-aged man smiled and shrugged, "If I ran to your place, I would have been discovered long ago..."

"What do you mean? Is someone watching you? Is it a robber? Or someone else?" The middle-aged woman was surprised.

Then, her eyes drifted to the pistol that the middle-aged man put on the table, and she became more worried, "Did you run here because someone was chasing you? Who is it? What's going on?"

Because the other party didn't answer. She became more and more anxious, and finally tears oozed from the corners of her eyes, "Edgar. Why don't you tell me anything? You just came back so suddenly..."

"I'm just afraid that you're worrying in vain. It's okay, Freya." The middle-aged man still kept smiling, and then slowly approached the other party, "Some things are caused by me because of myself. Then I can only bear the consequences myself. I will be fine. It's just a small problem."

I still don't understand it at all... The lady looked up at the other party, but he didn't say anything. He just stared at her. For a while, the two of them looked at each other, not knowing what to say.

Finally, she sighed dejectedly, "So, how long do you plan to stay this time when you return to China?"

"I'm not sure about this, but I think I'll stay for a few more months, um, it should be a few more months." The man nodded gently, then reached out and held the other party's hand, "Come, come and see the painting I just drew."

The original text is in Liu # 9 @book/bar!

Before the other party agreed, he pulled her over.

"What is this...?" After seeing the outline of the painting clearly, she let out a surprised cry.

"Well, this is you." The middle-aged man held her right hand, and then slid together on the unpainted part of the canvas, "Look, this flawless face, this thoughtful expression, this slender and graceful figure... Isn't it you, Freya? Look at this dress, it's the dress you wore when we first met, right? I still remember the flower decoration you wore on it..."

"Yes, it's me..." As the other party explained, the woman's face turned red with excitement - which woman doesn't like such enthusiastic praise? She would be dazzled by these words back then, and now she can't escape it naturally.

But after a moment, her expression became gloomy again, "But now I am old, Edgar, and I am no longer as beautiful as I was back then."

"No, you are still as beautiful as you were back then, Freya." The middle-aged man reached out his hand and stroked her cheek, then took off her hat and put it aside casually, "Time can never wear away my attachment to you, so I came back."

Although she knew that these words were not entirely true, Freya's heart - or Princess Kadiyang's - still trembled uncontrollably, and the hand that slowly slid across her face seemed to emit a strange heat as it slid, as if it could burn everything.

Under the gaze of those blue eyes, she felt her face burning with blood and passion, and everything seemed to have returned to the past... No.

"No! Stop it! Edgar!" As if she had woken up from a dream, she suddenly stepped back quickly and left the hand.

"What's wrong?" The man looked at her in surprise.

"Stop it, it won't work! We are already this age, and we can no longer act recklessly... Moreover, and... we committed such sins back then, we shouldn't do this again!" It seemed as if something had been given to him. Touched, tears slowly slid down her face, as if she remembered many past events, "Edgar, from now on we will treat each other like friends. Everything in the past will only be sealed in our memories, and we will never see it again." Don’t make any more mistakes.”

As she spoke, she cried, "I came here this time just because you suddenly changed your address, so I wanted to confirm your safety. I have no other intention. Edgar, I have to say goodbye. If anything happens in the future, Just write to me and tell me.”…

Still unchanged after all these years, still so naive... The middle-aged man sneered in his heart, what kind of friendship can a man and a woman have?

While sneering in his heart, his face tensed up, his eyelids drooped slightly, and his serious face became more melancholy.

"Hey, I know...how do I deserve your care? People like me must have been left behind by you long ago..." He shook his head sadly, like a poet chanting It’s the same as, “It doesn’t matter. When I see you are doing well, I just Everything is satisfied. I will not disturb you in the future. I will pray for you in a corner where no one is paying attention to me all my life. Okay, Froya, please go first. When I fulfill my wish, I will disappear voluntarily. , will not cause any hindrance to you, I wish you happiness..."

After hearing his implicitly accusatory lament, the princess panicked a little and looked at him blankly, as if she wanted to explain something.

"No, Edgar, that's not what I meant! Why did I think so? What I meant was just... let's not go overboard in the future... just... but..."

Seeing her in such a panic, the middle-aged man felt reassured - it was indeed the same as before.

"So, aren't you going to forget me?" He looked at the princess sadly.

"No, how is that possible!"

"That's great..." He smiled with relief as he moved closer to Princess Kadiyang, then put his arms around her shoulders again and looked at her seriously, "During this period, I have been I’m thinking of you all the time and wish I could stay by your side, Froya!”

As if she couldn't bear the sight, the princess closed her eyes. "But……"

Who cares about you?

The middle-aged man's face naturally moved closer.

However, just when the two lips were about to touch each other again, there was suddenly a soft sound from the door.

Damn it!

His body froze.