Flowers, Swords and France

Chaos.

There seemed to be some light in front of me, but I couldn't see anything.

My brain was spinning very slowly. I wanted to reach out but couldn't move my hand. I felt as if I was in a white mist, floating in mid-air and unable to reach the ground.

Ah...what time is it now? !

When this thought suddenly came to his mind, Ciel opened his eyes in a daze.

Only then did he realize that his head hurt slightly.

"Ah..." Caught off guard, he softly cried out in pain, and then twisted his body unnaturally.

However, when huge resistance came from his body and hands, he realized that he was entangled with another person at this time.

"Well..." The person who was pulled was still sleeping, and just let out a soft hum.

My dazed mind finally became clearer.

Charlotte...yeah...it's Charlotte!

Charles raised his head slightly and looked at Charlotte, who was sleeping in his arms, and couldn't help but smile.

Because she is still young and has taken good care of herself, Charlotte's face is fair and healthy and rosy, and her golden hair seems to be shining. Under the silk nightgown, half-covered and half-exposed, large areas of skin are unprotected. The land was exposed before Charles's eyes, full of the unique charm of a newlywed wife.

It wasn't until a moment later that Charles allowed himself to look away and looked at the copper cloisonné enamel clock next to him.

"Oh!" After looking at it, Charles couldn't help being surprised again, "Is it already this time?"

He felt slightly anxious, and then gently tried to break away from Charlotte's arms.

However. Although he deliberately lowered his strength, Charlotte was still sensitive to Ciel's movements. Then he slowly opened his eyes.

"Charle?" Charlotte, who had just woken up, called out casually, as if she hadn't yet understood why her husband left her.

"Ah. Charlotte, good morning." Charles smiled and patted her cheek, "I woke up late today..."

"Really...?" Charlotte gradually woke up from her confusion, and then she slightly raised her head and looked at the clock beside the bed, "Isn't it still early?"

"It's getting late." Of course, Charles could understand Charlotte's mood, so he could only lower his head and kiss her forehead with a wry smile, "I have to go to the ministry today, and the minister has some important things to explain to me. "

"Can't you go later?" Charlotte closed her eyes and enjoyed her husband's kiss.

"I can't keep going so late lately. Madam..." Charles replied with a sneer, "People will say I'm neglecting my official duties!"

"Huh! I don't believe it! Who dares to say that to you!" Charlotte frowned and dismissed Ciel's words.

However, despite what she said, she still let go of Ciel slightly.

"Hey, you don't understand. Ridiculing your superiors has been one of the biggest hobbies of officials since ancient times... although they never dare to do it in person." Charles still smiled bitterly, "And I just joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. You can’t go too far, right?”

As he spoke, he moved to the bed and then got out of the bed.

The moment he landed on the ground, he suddenly felt dizzy. It seemed that the world was spinning, and it took a moment before he stood still.

Uh...have you consumed too much recently? Ciel asked himself.

Every night lately since marrying Charlotte. He was faithfully fulfilling his responsibilities as a husband, and it could even be said that he was performing them too much. Busy business during the day. Working hard at night, under attack from two sides. Even Ciel, who had always been energetic and tireless, felt like it was too much.

Ciel continued to smile bitterly in his heart, then unbuttoned his pajamas and began to put on his coat one by one.

Charlotte also got off the bed at this time and gently put on his tie.

"You can rest for a while, Charlotte." After putting on his coat, Charles said to Charlotte considerately. "I'll just go out later."

"How can that be okay? You are leaving, how can I still stay in bed?" Charlotte shook her head, and then tied the tie for Charles, "Okay, you go and wait first, I will wait. Come here in the next minute and you can leave after we finish breakfast - is that okay? Doesn't your minister even want to give you time for breakfast? "

"Okay... okay..." Ciel quickly agreed.

Then, his eyes remained on Charlotte and couldn't turn away.

Because of the activities before going to bed last night, Charlotte's nightgown is now very messy, and a large patch of white and greasy spring light blooms in front of him, and because Charlotte is arranging his clothes, this patch of white and greasy spring light is blooming in front of him. With just the right amount of shaking, coupled with Charlotte's lazy look, he couldn't even move his eyes away...

Do you want to do it again before you leave? A serious thought suddenly flashed through his mind.

Forget it, it's already getting late, and we'll have to delay again. Besides, it’s hard to put clothes in order, but if they are messed up again, it will be troublesome to put them away.

Let's save it until we come back tonight... Ciel sighed with regret in his heart.

Then, he walked out of his bedroom, walked along the corridor and stairs, and came to the dining room.

It must be said that although this grand mansion is even more magnificent than the Duke of Treville's mansion and can greatly satisfy his vanity, it is indeed too big, so that Charles always feels that it takes too much time to walk.

He still needs time to adapt to this new home.

In addition, he has to adapt to more than just the sense of distance.

When the breakfast was served on the table, Charles put down the newspaper in his hand, picked up some and ate it casually, and felt that it was a bit unpalatable.

I don't know if it is considered a lady's style. After marrying Charles, Charlotte really fulfilled her promise and really brought a chef from her mother's family to cook for her and her husband.

This made Charles suffer. He had to adapt himself to the new taste brought by this chef - it's not that the food made by this chef is not good, it's just that the taste is different from the food he had eaten for more than 20 years.

Fortunately, Charles didn't pay much attention to the desire for food. Therefore, he still managed to come through, and always pretended that the food was delicious in front of Charlotte who was full of expectations.

However. After the wedding, dining was not a complete chore for Charles. Charlotte gave him another kind of compensation - every morning and evening, she would personally brew coffee for Charles, and let Charles drink it with her full of love - even if it was not from the perspective of a husband but from the perspective of objective judgment, the coffee brewed by Charlotte was quite good.

While Charles was eating breakfast, Charlotte, who had already dressed up, walked into the restaurant with a smile on her face, and then brought a cup of coffee she brewed to Charles. "Charles, drink it while it's hot!"

"Oh, thank you, Charlotte." Charles nodded to his wife with gratitude, then picked up the cup and sipped it one sip at a time.

The original text is available at Six # 9 @Books/Bar!

"Well, today's coffee is better than usual!"

"That's because today's coffee beans are very good..." Charlotte answered with a smile, while eating breakfast, "I asked someone to bring it from Africa."

"Really? Charlotte, you've worked so hard."

"It doesn't matter, as long as you like it." Charlotte looked at Charles with a smile, "I asked someone to bring back a lot this time. If you like this flavor, we'll drink more of it in the future."

"Okay, okay!"

It's certainly not a wife's duty to make coffee for her husband, but Charlotte never gets tired of it.

Just like most aristocratic families. Charlotte's parents have lived in separate rooms for many years, and their relationship is very weak. Except for necessary courtesy occasions, they hardly see each other. It can even be said that they really "respect each other like guests." Perhaps it is because of her parents' teachings that Charlotte attaches great importance to this aspect. Trying every means to add some ties between the couple.

And Charles, of course, can understand and cooperate with his wife's ideas.

A tender and sweet breakfast between the newlyweds. Finally, it ended in a happy atmosphere.

"Goodbye, Charlotte," Charles, who had packed up, kissed Charlotte's forehead and walked out of the restaurant quickly.

……………………

Breakfast gave Charles new energy, and he quickly got on the carriage and left his home.

But now, his office is no longer the Ministry of War, but the Ministry of Foreign Affairs office building located at the Quai d'Orsay in the 7th arrondissement of Paris.

When Mr. Treville, who was deeply favored by the president and powerful, appeared in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs office building, the surrounding staff saluted him one after another, and Charles, who was in a hurry, just nodded to them casually and walked all the way to the minister's office.

Because he had received the schedule long ago, the minister's private secretary quickly took Charles into the minister's office.

"Oh, Charles! You are finally here! I have been waiting for you for a long time."

When he found Charles' arrival, the current Foreign Minister, Marquis Turgot, greeted Charles with a smile.

"Sorry, Minister, I'm late because... because of something at home." Charles bowed to him with a smile, "Please don't take it to heart..."

"Oh! How could I take it to heart? After all, you are a newly married young man. I can understand, and everyone can understand." The minister smiled and waved his hand, motioning Charles to come to him.

Although there was some ridicule in his tone, the elegant, white-haired old marquis teased and ridiculed in a measured way, which made Charles only feel funny, and did not feel any offensive.

However, it was obvious that the main reason why he was not angry with Charles was not because Charles was young or newly married, but because he could not afford to offend Charles at all.

This marquis was indeed born to be a diplomat... Charles thought without malice under his happy smile.

As Louis Bonaparte said, in Europe at this time, even until the beginning of the 20th century, diplomacy was the inherent territory of the nobles. Not to mention feudal monarchies like Russia and Austria, even France, where the idea of ​​equality is very strong, is also the case.

In today's diplomatic circles, those who can be sent to those big countries as envoys and can be promoted first must be of noble origin.

So, in a sense, Louis-Bonaparte's appointment of Charles, who came from a famous family like Treville, as a senior official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was not a random appointment.

"Minister, I wonder what you want to tell me today?" Charles quickly put aside his distracting thoughts and asked the Marquis directly.

"Oh, nothing, just some necessary matters." The minister waved his hand and motioned Charles to sit down first, "Some matters about your visit in a few days..."

"My visit to the UK?" Charles was a little surprised, and then sat down quickly.

In a few days, he and his wife will go to the UK to attend the wedding of the British Princess and the nephew of the Prussian King - although he is the nephew, because the king has no heir, his father Prince William is the king's natural heir, so he is actually the Prussian prince.

"Please tell me, sir." (To be continued..)