Flowers, Swords and France

After saying hello, Duke Treville raised his right hand and motioned for Charles to sit on the seat on his right. "Please take a seat."

Charles walked into the restaurant as usual, and then sat in the middle right position of the long dining table, not far or close to the owner, just the right distance, while Charlotte sat opposite him.

"How have you been lately?" the Duke asked seemingly concerned, but his plain tone lacked the essence of greeting.

"Thank you, very good." Ciel replied in the same tone.

Charlotte greeted and asked the servants to start serving the dishes.

Charles had already made up his mind before he came. No matter what the Duke wanted to talk to him about, whether it was successful or not, he had to eat a good meal first, at least not to make his stomach feel aggrieved - after all, Treville would There are not many opportunities for high-end dinner parties at the Marquis's residence...

Moreover, it seems that Duke Treville did not invite anyone else except Charles tonight, and Charles has a little doubt and expectation in his heart.

It started with an aperitif, with the two downing a bit of brandy, while Charlotte opted for red wine.

The Duke took a sip from his glass and got to the point. "Charlotte told you everything?"

"I don't think she told me everything." Charles' tone was reserved and gentle. "But at least I have learned that she is now an important member of the royal party." Then Ciel raised his head and looked at his cousin, "Maybe you are too?"

The Duke remained completely calm. "What if I say, 'Yes, you're right'?"

"Then I'm not surprised." Charles took another sip of wine.

"Even if I don't say anything, it's normal for Charles to guess it, grandpa..." Charlotte added with a smile, and there was actually a hint of her granddaughter's coquettishness in her tone.

The Duke just shook his head slightly and said nothing.

The next dish was caviar as an appetizer. Charles took a spoonful of it with a fish bone spoon and put it into his mouth. He then held it in his mouth and felt the popping sensation. He swallowed it after a long time.

It seemed that just to wait for Charles to eat, the Duke remained silent. He waited until he finished eating before speaking again.

"It seems that you are also my companion?"

Ciel picked up the napkin and wiped his mouth gently.

"It certainly seems so."

"Humph, that incompetent boy Victor is still doing this job..." the Duke said rather disdainfully. "I knew he wouldn't just accept being lonely."

The two brothers were surprisingly similar in their mutual contempt.

Charles continued to eat his meal, pretending not to hear - he had no interest in arguing with a dying old man.

"Since you can admit it honestly, that's good. I don't have to talk nonsense to you." Duke Treville looked at Charles, "The way you handled the issue of Mademoiselle Leolan before was to show your kindness to me. Bar?"

The servants brought the soup, and Charles gently stirred the soup with a spoon. The spoon hit the inner wall of the porcelain bowl and made a gentle clanking sound.

"Yes, I did have this consideration at the time. However, now it seems that I am afraid that I will not be able to achieve my goal." Charles replied with some regret.

"That's not entirely true." The Duke's answer was beyond Ciel's expectation. Ciel always felt that there was something implicit in his eyes.

"Huh? What do you mean?" he asked in surprise.

The Duke did not answer Charles' question, but glanced at his granddaughter. Charles immediately turned his head and looked at the woman opposite him.

Charlotte also looked at her cousin, and then sighed softly.

"Charle, at this point, I will not say anything to win over you, because it insults you and my own intelligence. However, I don't think this means that there is no relationship between our two factions. There’s room for collaboration.”

Ciel raised his eyebrows slightly. To be honest, before coming to the Duke's Palace for the banquet, he had already discussed it with his grandfather for a long time and considered all possible surnames. Therefore, he was not particularly surprised by the proposal from his grandfather and grandson.

"Cooperation? What do you mean?" Charles asked calmly.

"In many ways," Duke Treville replied.

Next up was the sturgeon.

Charles carefully pressed the round lemon slices a few times with his knife to let the lemon fragrance penetrate into the sturgeon meat, then cut off a small piece and dipped it in the sauce on the side of the plate before eating it.

"You want to cooperate? Cooperation is of course a good thing. We have always been pacifists and advocate unity and common development. You can specify the conditions and requirements, as well as...returns."

Duke Treville took another sip of wine. "Return, of course, we all pay attention to giving and giving back."

Charlotte still had that smile on her face that Ciel was so familiar with.

"Char, I mentioned to you before that our organization suffered a major blow because of the big traitor, right?"

"That seems to be the case."

"The traitor, after our verification, was confirmed to be the Duke of Praslin." Charlotte's smile did not change at all.

"Is it him?" Charles suddenly felt his mouth was dry, and he quickly took a sip of wine to moisten his throat. "Could it be that...?"

"Have you seen the flyers about him recently?" Charlotte smiled. "The leaflet is right. The gentleman did not commit suicide, but died unexpectedly."

Well, of course I have read it, and I wrote it!

But Charles was not stupid enough to stand up and "admit the crime". He just listened quietly.

"But, the gentleman was not killed by the old man Soult as the leaflet said, but by our people..."

"Yes, that's right, his recent "suicide" was the result of our action. The traitor got what he deserved." The Duke of Treville gave a direct answer. He didn't say that it was actually his granddaughter who led the people to do it.

Good guy! Really daring!

Charles quickly regained his composure, and then secretly praised his two relatives and his fellow royalists in his heart.

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

He took another bite of sturgeon. "Then, congratulations."

Charlotte shook her head, "This is just a post-mortem compensation. For the losses we suffered, the death of Duke Prasla can only be regarded as a consolation that is better than nothing. However, huge losses have been caused, and a large part of them may never be recovered."

Charles nodded, and then he was a little confused.

Why did they tell me this? What good would it do for them to let me know that they are now suffering from huge setbacks and difficulties?

"So, what are you going to do?" He looked at the Duke and went straight to the point. "What exactly do you mean by cooperation?"

The Duke and Charlotte fell into a brief silence, and the servants brought the roasted venison at this time.

Charles carefully cut a piece of venison into small pieces without panic, and then put it into his mouth, and then wiped his mouth with a napkin.

Under the current situation, it is obvious that he should not be anxious.

Looking at Charles, who obviously did not intend to speak, the Duke and Charlotte looked at each other.

"So-called cooperation is, of course, a two-way effort. I won't ask you to do anything unilaterally." The old duke spoke again, "I'll put forward my request now: we need your help to get this old guy Soult off the stage."

"Huh?!" Charles exclaimed. "Really? Get rid of Soult?!"

No wonder Charles was so moved.

For a long time, the former imperial marshal and current prime minister, the Duke of Dalmatia, has always been a mountain in front of the Bonapartists. His coldness, agility, severity and decisiveness have always frightened his enemies, and made the Bonapartists secretly admire him while hating him.

If there is any way to get Marshal Soult, the prime minister of the current dynasty and the mortal enemy of all the rebels, off the stage, this will definitely be a great thing that will make the Bonapartists cheer and tell each other.

Calm down! Be calm!

After a moment, Charles finally calmed down in this great shock.

"It sounds very tempting, but how do you plan to make it happen? And why do you come to us?" Charles asked softly.

A trace of impatience and anger suddenly flashed across the Duke of Treville's calm face, which seemed to never be moved.

"If it weren't for that traitor, that damn traitor, who made us lose so many people, do you think we need to go to you? That idiot who can't even manage his own wife ruined my big plan!"

Charles was not moved by the other party's anger and continued to look at him.

"Charlotte can talk to you in detail about the specific issues later." The Duke quickly regained his original composure, "You just need to answer me now, are you interested in this proposal?"

"Very interested." Charles answered immediately. "Very interested."

"Then are you qualified to make decisions on behalf of that side?" The Duke continued to ask.

"I think so." Charles answered vaguely, and then picked up the hawthorn fruit that had just been delivered and put it into his mouth. "I am very willing to listen to your plans and plans."

"Then I sincerely hope that you can enjoy a pleasant dinner here." The Duke seemed to be in a bad mood and stood up to say goodbye.

"Well, I assure you that I ate happily and was full." Charles ate another piece of venison.

The Duke of Treville's face suddenly became uglier, and Charlotte couldn't help laughing.