Flowers, Swords and France

With an unforgettable sense of satisfaction, Fran, who mocked Laura severely, walked out of the dilapidated chapel leisurely. There was always a chilling sense of oppression coming from behind, and it was obvious that Laura must have been staring at him.

Thinking of this, Fran couldn't help but smile from the heart.

She finally avenged the hatred she had hidden in her heart when she was studying in the studio. Miss de Beauvin, who considered herself noble and dared to disrespect Treville, finally received the small punishment she deserved.

Humph, I vowed back then that I would punish you for your arrogance. Now... please drink the bitter wine that you brewed on your own initiative, hahahaha!

"You seem very happy? Did you enjoy talking to this friend?" Just as she walked out of the chapel with joy, a greeting suddenly reached her ears.

After hearing this greeting, Fran quickly put away her malicious smile, put on her usual gentle, bright and innocent smile, and turned her head to look at this unexpected young man. "Yeah, I haven't seen my friends for a long time. We had a good chat today and I feel like I'm in a much better mood! I've been really depressed lately..."

"How much you have suffered tomorrow, there is not even anyone who can say thoughtful words!" Ezreal Walter, who had been hiding outside the church, sighed, "That person must answer for his evil deeds. Pay the price, I swear!”

Fran's heart became colder as she listened to his sigh.

Because she was worried that Laura would really go crazy and do something stupid that would end her life together. So Fran called this young man who had been very close to her recently beforehand and warned him if anything unexpected happened. After hearing this, he rushed in to save people.

However, apart from being somewhat loyal for unknown reasons, this helper dissatisfied Fran in almost every aspect.

He was so disrespectful to his brother. Although this is very useful now, when the matter is done, he must be punished as he deserves.

Fran told herself secretly.

"Thank you for your help, sir... You have always given me the kindness that I can't repay. I really don't know how to thank you..." She looked at the young man with emotion, "I beg you You, as a noble person, must accept my reward in the future... Please!"

Ezreal was a little embarrassed by Fran's sincere attitude for a while.

"What are you talking about? Isn't it a natural thing for a decent person to do to help children in need like you? I just hate that I can't help you too much. Don't mention anything in return. As long as you Being able to live a happy life without that person's terrible clutches in the future is my reward."

"Do you want me to be an ungrateful person?" Fran looked at Ezreal a little sadly, "No, no! Sir, I also have the right to be a noble person, I implore you. You must accept it. My future reward, although it will certainly not be much..."

"Okay, okay, thank you, miss." Seeing Fran's kindness. Ezreal smiled self-deprecatingly, and then bowed to Fran, "I'm waiting for you to repay the gift you gave me."

"Yes. Please forgive me for not being able to give it to you right now...but I will definitely give it to you." Fran replied seriously. Then, she looked up at the sky again. "It's getting late now. The servant must be impatient with waiting. I have to go back quickly... Sir, I have the audacity to ask you not to forget my instructions later and continue to help this poor man..."

"I will." Ezreal straightened his body and replied, "You can go back as soon as possible. I will take care of everything. Don't worry."

"Then, goodbye..." Fran looked for him, then turned and left.

……………………

It was late at night, and the entire city slowly returned to silence from the hustle and bustle of the day. But at this moment, the lights in the residence of Marquis Treville were still bright.

The master and the young master have just gone out and may come back at any time, so the servants are making preparations to avoid being in a hurry when they come back suddenly.

Dishes in the kitchen are reheated every half hour, and house cleaning is always going on.

In the living room, a middle-aged maid in an apron was absently wiping copper and silver utensils while thinking about something strange that she had encountered today. .

While the cleaning work was still going on unhurriedly, she suddenly felt someone tapping her shoulder.

"Oh, sir! Don't worry, I'll finish wiping this place right away!" She first thought that the housekeeper thought her movements were too slow and was urging her, so she quickly responded.

Then, when she turned around, she found that the person who greeted her was not the housekeeper, "Miss, is it you?"

To her great surprise, the person who tapped her on the shoulder was Mademoiselle de Leolan, the lady's companion.

However, the young lady did not respond to her greeting. She just frowned and looked at her with her lips tightly closed, as if she had a lot of worries in her heart.

"Can you...can you spare some time? I have something to ask you." After hesitating for a moment, she told the servant her request.

"Okay, miss." Although she was very confused, the servant obeyed the request.

Soon, they came to the storage room next to the living room.

As soon as the door was closed, Miss de Leoran looked at the maid with a serious face.

"You accompanied the young lady out today, right?"

After hearing the young lady's question, the maid's heart tightened.

"Yes, young lady." After hesitating for a moment, she nodded.

"I heard that the young lady was going out to meet a friend, right..." After getting confirmation, Mary looked at the maid with a more severe look, "So, did you find anything unusual?"

The maid's face was full of hesitation.

Is it necessary for me to tell her these things? If I tell her. I'm afraid the young lady will be angry... After all, the young lady has ignored her now.

Moreover. She also has a very bad impression of this young lady.

In the servants' gossip, everyone said that this Miss de Leoran was a very cunning and unscrupulous person. Seeing that she lost to the young lady, she deliberately went to flatter the gentleman. It is precisely because of this serious deviation from the facts that the maid's attitude towards Mary is somewhat disrespectful.

Recently, the lady did not take her with her when she went out, but preferred to take the maid with her, which was obviously a proof of indifference.

Thinking of this, the maid looked at Mary with a hint of contempt. "Nothing unusual, Miss... I don't know what I have that is worth your serious questioning."

"Oh, really...?" Perhaps because of being irritated by this kind of look, Mary's eyes suddenly became a little scary. "Then, I will tell the gentleman according to your answer. If he comes to question you next, I hope you can give the same answer."

Mary's looming threat made the maid lose her composure immediately. She dared to lie to the lady, but she would never lie in front of the master. If the lady really moved the gentleman over, the consequences would be too terrible for her.

Really shameless, thinking that she could ignore everyone by relying on the gentleman! The maid's heart was suddenly full of anger. But there was nothing she could do.

"No...Miss, please don't do this. Actually, I found some strange things, but Miss didn't let me say it..." She hurriedly shouted to Mary who was turning around to leave.

Then. She told Mary everything she saw. "The lady went out today, saying that she was meeting a friend, but she didn't tell everyone what friend she was meeting. After taking me to a small church, she left us outside. She told us not to go in, and then she went in alone..."

Then. The servant's expression suddenly became very strange, "Not long after, just when we were anxious to go in and take a look, the lady finally came out, and then... then... I saw that there seemed to be a figure next to her. She had been talking to that person, and that person... seemed to be a young man, so... so... I suspect..."

Speaking of this, perhaps because of something, she stopped talking.

The servant saw the conversation between Fran and Ezreal, and came up with a seemingly strange but reasonable guess.

But for Mary, it was impossible for her to think in that direction...

Okay, it turned out to be a trick! She thought to herself

Then, she began to guess who this "young man" was.

Was it Lola dressed as a man?

No, no, given the current situation, Fran would not want to meet her alone... It should be someone else.

Then, who should it be?

Given Fran's social circle, she should not know too many people. At least, Mary, who is always by her side, should have an impression.

Mary began to fall into thought, trying to guess who this person should be.

After a moment, Mary had a flash of inspiration.

It was that Ezreal Walter! It must be him!

In the midst of the ambiguous chaos, Mary suddenly had a flash of inspiration in her mind, and she thought of someone.

With this flash of inspiration, the voice and smile of this young man slowly emerged in her mind - although she had only met him a few times, the young man's handsome appearance and that kind of nonchalant demeanor left a deep impression on her.

In her impression, he had been approaching the Treville family for some unknown purpose, and had approached Fran several times, until he was scolded by the master in person and ordered to never contact Fran again, and he temporarily disappeared.

Unexpectedly... after being threatened by the master, this guy actually had the courage to come again... He really didn't know how to live or die.

Surprised and angry, Mary couldn't help but frown slightly.

The master was still too kind. If this guy who didn't know what was good for him was given some color earlier, how could he cause so much trouble? When she thought of this, Mary couldn't help but feel a little resentful towards Charles.

However... Fortunately, it was discovered early now, and there is still time to remedy it. After a moment, Mary calmed down again.

Let's do it according to the method agreed with Matilda before, and find a way to catch this guy and interrogate him. See what Fran is secretly planning... No matter what, she must not succeed!

In an instant. Mary thought of all these things and had come up with a plan, but there was no sign of anything strange on her face.

"Okay, I know everything you said, don't worry, everything will be handled by me now, no one will blame you anymore." After calming the other party's uneasy mood with a pleasant expression, Mary immediately changed her mind. He returned a serious face. "However, you must remember that this is related to the reputation of the young lady, so what you said to me must not be leaked to anyone. Otherwise... I think you can know the consequences, right?"

Being frightened by Mary, the servant turned pale with fear, and hurriedly promised Mary that he would never talk nonsense and would definitely keep the secret.

Seeing that the other party was so obedient, Mary nodded with satisfaction. She was very happy that she not only got the information she wanted, but also established authority over the other person in one fell swoop - this person would never dare to disrespect her in any way in the future.

"Okay, I've asked everything I want to ask." Although she was very happy in her heart, she was still serious on the surface. "You can stay here and clean up first. I'm going to report back to sir."

Having said that, she has no intention of actually reporting it to Ciel now - either out of persistence in her promise or out of stupid pride. She just didn't want to do it.

The relieved maid thanked her repeatedly, but she turned a deaf ear and left the storage room.

Read the original text in Liu#9@书/吧!

Mary was in a great mood. Finally I found a clue as to what I should do next.

As far as she could see now, it was the interests of the Shire - and indeed the Treville family. It is the protection of her own interests, no matter from any aspect. She should take the initiative to maintain all of this and never break it easily because of someone's willfulness.

After getting Matilda's support, she is now a hundred times more confident and convinced that with her own talents, she is never afraid to confront anyone.

Just when she was about to go upstairs to her bedroom to rest for a while with this relaxed mood, she suddenly felt a chill that made her whole body uncomfortable.

She looked up and suddenly her eyes widened.

Because that Miss Treville was standing by the railing on the second floor, looking down at her.

In the dim candlelight, her beautiful face was covered with a layer of shadow, making her look almost ferocious.

For no reason, Mary felt panicked in her heart.

Calm, calm! Never show weakness to her!

She yelled at herself in her heart, and finally managed to stop herself from showing any fear.

Then, she bowed gracefully to Fran. "Good evening, miss."

However, her salute received no response, and Fran's face only showed a sneer full of anger because of betrayal.

"Look at your style, do you really think of yourself as a hostess?"

"Then you are wrong to blame me, miss. I never thought of it that way..." Mary replied calmly, "This is an honor I cannot bear."

"I'm glad you can face reality, then..." Fran was still sneering, "When will you give up your wild thoughts of competing with me?"

Although the tone was unpleasant, anyone could tell that Fran really wanted her to change her mind, submit to her again, and reconcile with herself - for her, this was a rare expression of friendship.

"Never." Mary looked up at Fran, but her eyes were full of determination, "If I give up this idea, it will be tantamount to throwing away the value of my entire life... I can't do this."

Such a flat refusal made Fran finally become angry.

"So, for this ridiculous self-esteem, you are actually willing to abandon our friendship and find ways to climb into his bed! Isn't this also shameless?"

"In my current situation, if I want to compete with you, Laura, or even Matilda, I can't do it on my own... God has naturally created a gap for us. You are born with With a surname that is superior to mine and a stronger kinship than my parents, I Either you have to surrender to fate, or you have to find a way to get rid of all this." Mary stared at Fran and said word by word, "Okay, I admit that I am shameless, but am I in this situation? In my position, do you have any other better options?”

Then, a mocking smile appeared on her face. "Besides, is this an age that talks about shame? When you followed Laura and murdered her brother, did you think about any shame? I am very grateful that you value me, but it is a pity... I would rather I bow before your brother and am not willing to be your obedient slave. I think you can understand my feelings after all."

"I don't understand, and I don't want to understand..." Fran replied coldly, "I only know. You abandoned my friendship, betrayed my help, and chose to be my enemy!"

"It's okay if you want to think so, but as far as I'm concerned, I still have respect and affection for you." Then, Mary suddenly smiled, "Now that you blame me for offending you, maybe one day. You still have to Thank me? Who can tell the future..."

"snort……"

Just when Fran was about to say something, the door suddenly opened, and Charles and the Marquis of Treville came back talking and laughing.

The old marquis was a little tired, so his valet helped him to the restaurant to rest and eat something, while Charles was going to go back to his bedroom.

When he came to the stairs, he was shocked to find that his sister was confronting Mary, as if they were arguing about something.

"Good evening, both of you..." he asked with a smile, "What happened just now?"

Flan ignored him. She just rolled her eyes and turned to her bedroom.

This ruthless treatment made Charles quite embarrassed. He turned his head to look at Mary, as if he wanted to get some information from her.

I tried every means to clear the way for you and eliminate terrible disasters, but you are so leisurely... Thinking of this, Mary couldn't help but feel a little angry.

Although she knew that Charles really couldn't help her much without knowing it, she couldn't help but feel a little angry.

"Looks like everything is going well for you?"

"Yes, everything is going well..." Although still a little surprised, Charles immediately answered, "Charlotte finally changed her mind, I spent a lot of money..."

"Oh, really? It's great to see that everything is going well for you..." Mary showed a flat smile on her face and interrupted Charles' words, and then the next words seemed to be bitten out from between her teeth, "I wish you and that lady a smooth marriage, sir."

If she respected Fran with a little jealousy and heartache, she only had jealousy for Charlotte - she didn't make any efforts, but in the end she could get everything as a matter of course. Is there anything more annoying in the world than this?

What made her more uncomfortable than jealousy was that her current unclear status still needed to rely on the approval of the future Mrs. Treville - at least the acquiescence - to be firmly preserved.

"What's wrong, Marie?" Charles asked hurriedly because he could see the insincerity in Marie's tone, "Is there anything that makes you unhappy?"

"No, I'm very happy, sir..." Marie answered in an obviously unhappy tone, "Why should I be unhappy? You are about to enter the sacred marriage hall with Miss Treville, and the Treville family will be more prosperous... and I will have another mistress... Oh no, it's hard to say whether he is willing to be my mistress at that time. Am I being too complacent when I say this, sir?"

"Oh... So you are worried about this?" After hearing this sour tone, Charles finally came back to his senses.

That's right, in her situation, she should worry about her future. Why didn't I think of it before?

Judging from Charlotte's usual temperament, it is really doubtful whether she can accept this secretary staying by her side.

Then, he couldn't help but look at Marie with some guilt.

Although she devoted herself to him perhaps because of her grandfather's instigation, rather than her infatuation with him, no matter what the reason, she has followed him now, and she has helped him do so many things, so he really has no reason to abandon her.

"Don't worry," thinking of this, he gave Mary a direct response, "whether I am married or unmarried, you will get the respect you deserve in the Treville family. I said that I will never abandon my own people."

"Really?" Mary opened her eyes wide and looked at Charles, as if to observe whether he was sincere, "If... I mean, if the lady wants to force you to kick me out in the future, will you do it?"

"You are my reliable assistant, helping me do so many things, Charlotte will not be ignorant of the general situation." Although he said so, Charles was still a little worried in his heart, and he was not sure about Charlotte's thoughts.

Under Mary's still suspicious eyes, Charles suddenly felt a sense of irritation in his heart.

Do I need others to approve who I should hire as my secretary and assistant? Shouldn't I make my own decisions for my career? Even Charlotte can't tell me what to do in everything.

"Even if she doesn't know the big picture, I have the right to make arrangements for my career! You are my assistant, and you can continue if you want, that's it." Charles answered firmly.

Then, he added another reminder, "But you must also show enough respect to her, respect her as much as you respect me, and don't be disrespectful to her, understand?"

This kind of guarantee is enough... Seeing the determination on Charles' face, Mary also breathed a sigh of relief, confirming that she would never be kicked out and work in vain.

However, she only listened to the first half of Charles's advice.

It doesn't matter, if necessary, I will flatter her, even if I have to kowtow... But don't expect me to respect her. Mary thought. In her heart, she was still indignant about her own and even Fran's failure.

I won't be convinced by her.

"As you say, sir." With a gentle smile, Mary bowed to Charles lightly. (To be continued...)