Flowers, Swords and France

The Duke of Treville, who looked very unhappy, left quickly, and only two people were left sitting face to face in the restaurant.

But the dinner continued.

Next was the highlight of the dinner, when the servants finally brought up the fat goose liver. Charles, who had a rare opportunity to beat the local tyrants, was of course honest and unceremonious, and ate it piece by piece.

Charlotte, like before, didn't eat much, just quietly looking at the young man opposite. Her right hand gently fiddled with a strand of her golden hair, and a faint smile appeared on her face.

After Charles had eaten for a while, Charlotte spoke.

"Charles, you still like to tell jokes like before... Grandpa rarely gets so angry that he loses his temper..."

Charles smiled in return.

"I'm afraid this is mainly because of the major setback you suffered before, which made him feel bad."

"Ah..." Charlotte sighed softly, "Major setback... Indeed, when Grandpa received the report of the crossfire that night, he was so angry that he overturned his desk..."

It seems that this blow is really big enough to make the Duke of Treville, who always keeps his emotions, so angry. However, Charles was of course very happy.

However, judging from the time, his previous visit to the Duke of Treville was just a few days after the search and crossfire incident, and the Duke of Treville at this time had no abnormalities at all, and even no emotional fluctuations. Charles thought that this skill of nourishing qi was worth learning.

After sighing, Charlotte stopped talking and did not even move the tableware. She just continued to watch Charles eat quietly. For a while, except for the sound of Charles' tableware colliding and the servants' carefully lowered footsteps, the restaurant fell into a strange silence.

After this silence lasted for a while, even Charles, who was thick-skinned, could not stand it. "Don't you have something important to tell me? About cooperation."

"Enjoy your meal first and we'll talk later. We still have plenty of time today, no rush." ​​Charlotte still smiled, "We in the Treville family are very careful about hospitality, even to our relatives, although it's a pity that this relative didn't receive us with the same enthusiasm..."

Charles followed suit and ate a few more slices of foie gras before speaking again.

"Now I've almost finished eating, you can talk."

"You're really not polite at all." Charlotte shook her head gently, with helplessness and a hint of hidden joy in her smile.

"Let's get to the point, how are you going to bring down Mr. Soult?" Charles asked calmly.

"You're still an impatient person." Charlotte nodded with a smile.

Then, the atmosphere of the entire restaurant seemed to change. She was still the same woman in gorgeous clothes, and she was still smiling, but the sharpness in her eyes seemed to make the temperature around her drop a little.

This is Charlotte who is serious.

Emotions are emotions, and careers are careers. It seems that the other side also knows the difference.

"You must know that although my grandfather rejected the current government's invitation to work many times, he still has good relations with many of them, right?"

This opening remark was a bit abrupt, which made Charles hesitate for a moment, but he soon changed his mind.

The Duke of Treville has retired from the government since the July Revolution, and has repeatedly declined the invitation of the current government, but he has close contacts with some powerful people. Why is this?

At first, Charles thought that this was just a means for a retired old politician to maintain his influence, but now it seems to have a completely different meaning.

Either to spy on political intelligence, or to incite those who are wavering, or both. It seems that this is the main motivation for the Duke of Treville to maintain close contact with senior politicians after semi-seclusion.

Thinking of this, Charles nodded and waited for his cousin to continue.

Charlotte finally started eating. She slowly spread the foie gras on the bread and gently put it into her mouth with a fork. She spoke only after she finished eating.

"Our King hates his Prime Minister. Although he usually hides it well, Grandpa can see it. This is the most basic premise for us to overthrow him."

"But from my personal point of view, our King, or this dynasty, is very dependent on Mr. Soult." Charles calmly put forward his opinion.

"Your opinion is very correct. However..." Charlotte replied with a smile, "It is precisely because our King relies on him that he hates him. Monarchs often hate the person they rely on, and this is not uncommon-because the existence of this person will make the monarch appear to be just a foil. Every monarch who is not smart enough will hate himself to be a foil..."

"And smart monarchs understand the benefits of hiding behind the scenes." Charles added this sentence.

"That's right."

The two smiled at each other at the same time.

In the past, they talked about ancient and modern times, China and foreign countries like this.

Charle continued to eat a piece of foie gras. This kind of talk really whetted his appetite.

"In other words, in fact, our King actually dislikes his Prime Minister because he has too much influence and power?"

"That's right." Charlotte smiled and nodded.

Ciel thought about it carefully, and then he accepted this statement. After all, it was not uncommon for powerful officials to be suspected by monarchs in ancient and modern times. "Then, with this background, how should we further develop it?"

Charlotte looked at Ciel gently.

"If you have been relying on another person, no matter how much you hate him, the monarch may not abandon him, right? Just like Louis XIII and his prime minister, Cardinal Richelieu."

"I think so too."

The corners of Charlotte's mouth turned up slightly again, forming a perfect smile.

"Ciel, how do you think a monarch should abandon someone he has always relied on?"

Ciel thought carefully before answering.

"There are two situations. One is that he feels that everything has been achieved and he no longer needs this person..."

"The other situation is that he feels that the person he relies on is powerless and has failed him, so he hates this person even more." Charlotte gently picked up what Charles said.

"We can't do the former..." Ciel continued.

"But we can do the latter."

"Oh, I understand." Ciel nodded. "You mean to create unrest, make His Majesty the King more suspicious and disappointed in Sirte, and finally replace him."

Charlotte shook her head, then answered. "It's more than that, Ciel."

"Oh?" Charles felt a little curious. "Is there anything else?"

Charlotte's smile became thicker, with a hint of mystery and obscurity.

"Suppose... Charles, I mean what if... Suppose you are the second most powerful person in a country's government, have been the foreign minister for seven years, are trusted by the king and respected by your colleagues, and then the person above you has always been How would you feel if I'm still in front of you all day long and show no signs of dying of old age...?"

Ciel narrowed his eyes slightly.

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

He understood that Charlotte's assumption was not about him but about someone else, but he still followed Charlotte's tone.

"Oh, if it were me, I'd probably be very impatient."

"Will you find a way to remove the stone above?" Charlotte asked.

"Maybe."

Charlotte spread her hands. "So that's basically it."

"So, what you are saying is that Mr. Charles is impatient and plans to pull Surr down?" Charles said with a hint of suspicion in his tone, "Then he came to the royal party for help? "

"That's not the case, no matter how stupid that gentleman is, he will never reach this point." Charlotte smiled and shook her head, "He is just secretly contacting some influential members of the House of Representatives and the House of Lords. He planned to use them to attack in a roundabout way, launch an attack at the same time, and fan the flames in front of His Majesty the King, so that Sirte would lose the capital and opportunity to continue to occupy that position in a short period of time. However, unfortunately, among the people he contacted, Some of Char are our secret members."

"So you are planning to help him?" Charles continued.

"Yes, it is always easiest to break into a fortress from the inside. It is not easy to get helpers who don't know it to do it together, so why not do it? After getting rid of Mr. Soult, that gentleman will be easier to deal with. "More." Charlotte raised her eyebrows slightly, as if she was just talking about which dress to buy.

Ciel pondered for a few seconds.

"what to do?"

"The Duke of Treville has contacted that gentleman."

Seemingly seeing Ciel's expression, Charlotte made a gesture. "Of course, the contact was made through a reliable member of ours, and the other party didn't know about it - although my grandfather has never been exposed, his political leanings are relatively obvious, which can easily arouse the suspicion of the gentleman, and thus the previous efforts will be wasted. "

"Very good." Ciel approved.

"That person of ours promised to help him. What he meant was to create a few controllable incidents in and near the royal capital in order to provide his people with an excuse to attack the prime minister..."

"Controllable?" Charles repeated.

"If the trouble is too big, it is not the prime minister but the entire cabinet who should be held responsible. This is easy to understand."

"Then what exactly does he plan to do? Also, how should we cooperate and intervene?"

"It's still unclear. Our person does not have the full trust of the other party, and the other party is probably in the preparation stage." Charlotte smiled bitterly and shook her head. "Grandpa asked you to come here so that everyone can establish a preliminary relationship first." If the cooperation intention can be negotiated, make preparations early, so as not to be unable to do anything due to rush when the matter comes. "

"A very far-sighted idea." Ciel nodded and admitted.

Then he ate the last piece of foie gras. "I will convey this to the people on our side. Personally, I agree with this cooperation."

"That's great." Charlotte smiled happily. "It seems that this dinner is well worth the invitation."

"So, is there anything else you want to say?" Charles was about to leave. He wanted to go back and digest what he got today - not just the food, but also discuss the next arrangements with his grandfather.

"There is one more, Ciel." Charlotte's voice suddenly changed a little. "It's my personal matter."

"What?"

Charlotte's eyes were filled with a warm smile again, and the sharp Charlotte just now seemed to be just an illusion.

"Promise me that we will never attack each other, just the two of us, okay?"

Ciel lowered his eyes.

No, it's not two years ago now. What have both of us become? Even what were we talking about just now? We are no longer the same as before.

"Charlotte, at our age, can we still believe in other people's promises? Even if I promise you, what's the point?"

"What if I am willing to believe?" Charlotte smiled.

Charles also smiled. "What if I am unwilling to promise? I personally don't want us to draw swords against each other, but if the day comes when I have to do it, I will have to do it. Do you understand? What about you? Will you do it?"

Charlotte's smile gradually became a little bitter and inexplicable.

"Maybe?"