Flowers, Swords and France

With the advent of autumn, the historic Henry IV Middle School has once again celebrated its annual school anniversary.

Although it is still a long time before the school anniversary is held, the school gate is already bustling with students and parents everywhere, and everyone is talking and laughing loudly with each other, so that this ancient and often silent school, At this time, it was as lively as a market. Henry IV Middle School is a high school where the children of powerful people gather. The school rules and regulations are usually very strict and can even be said to be a bit rigid. Lively scenes like this are very rare.

In this lively scene like a hive, Charles walked leisurely on the road in the school as before, without being disturbed at all by this different hustle and bustle.

Underneath the polite surface, there is an almost imperceptible arrogance, as if the smile is saying 'I respect you, but in fact I am higher than you'.

A young man of seventeen or eighteen years old will naturally always have this air of fearlessness. Even if there are some treachery and accidents due to his two lives, the pride in his heart has not been damaged at all.

Perhaps this is also the magnanimity deliberately cultivated by the Marquis of Treville.

However, he was not exactly the same as usual.

Today, he is not wearing the school's black uniform, but is wearing more retro Baroque clothing. He is wearing a blue velvet jacket and loose loose trousers. The gilded buttons are shiny, and the wide sleeves are embroidered with lace. The colorful and colorful patterns make this handsome and gentle boy even more handsome.

And in his right hand, he held a little girl who looked to be twelve or thirteen years old.

This little girl has fair skin and no blemishes, and her facial features are very delicate and well-defined. The eyebrows are long and the bridge of the nose is high and straight. Her blue eyes sparkled, and she wore a wide-brimmed bonnet decorated with lace. The long golden shawl hair poured down from the edge of the hat, shining brightly in the morning sun.

With such an appearance, almost everyone who saw her had no doubt that she would grow into a great beauty in the future.

At this time, she carefully held Charles's hand, and while following Charles, she kept looking around, curiously looking at the appearance of the middle school, as if she was so excited that she could come to such a lively place. Cheeks flushed.

"How's it going? Isn't it nice here?" After walking for a while. Ciel lowered his head and asked his sister.

"Yes, great! It's hard to imagine that you can spend every day in such an interesting place!" The little girl responded enthusiastically to her brother, "It's so novel here."

"But if you stayed here every day, you wouldn't think so. It's just a flat place." The young man waved his hand nonchalantly. "But today, I can show you around this place."

"Thank you!" Full of excitement, Fran respectfully thanked her brother again.

"It's nothing. This is the reward you deserve." Charles replied with a smile, then stretched out his left hand and pinched his sister's face, "You must be serious in the future!"

"Yeah... I will." Because my brother behaved so intimately in public. So Fran's face turned even crimson, but she didn't avoid it, she just lowered her gaze shyly. "Don't worry, I will definitely become the best painter. I will never let you down!"

Fran has been making rapid progress recently. So Charles was very happy. Therefore, at his sister's request, as a reward, Charles decided to bring his sister to the school for a visit during the school anniversary.

Although students' families can come to the school together during the school anniversary, it is usually the students' parents or brothers who come, and it is very rare to bring a child. However, Ciel, who was known as an excellent student and had left a good impression on his teachers, got the permission without much effort.

"Hey, it doesn't have to be so serious..." Charles shook his head again. He continued to pinch Fran's face, "Anyway, as long as you work hard, it's not that important whether it's the best or not."

I will be the best if it makes you happy. Ciel did not feel the determination hidden in his sister's heart.

Along the way, many people were looking at Fran next to him. It was obvious that these young people were amazed by her amazing beauty. Although Charles pretended not to care on the surface, he was secretly proud of his sister receiving so much attention. .

However, because Charles is usually very popular in school, many students also say hello to Charles and wish him success this afternoon.

Yes, there will be a swordsmanship competition today. As one of the best students in this course in the school, Ciel naturally wants to participate and takes first place as his main goal.

"You seem to be very popular with your classmates?" Fran glanced at Ciel with hidden admiration, "They all hope you can win! You must feel good, right?"

"If I weren't wearing something like this, I would feel better." Ciel raised his eyebrows, trying not to appear too high-profile, "As for the upcoming competition... Anyway, except for a few people, I don’t need to worry about anything else.”

"What's wrong with you dressing like this? I think you're so beautiful! I really wish you could dress like this every day..." Fran asked with confusion.

This kind of shiny seventeenth-century appearance is indeed in line with the aesthetics of a little girl like her.

"As far as I know, people only dressed like this a hundred or two hundred years ago." Charles shrugged regretfully, "If you wear it like this now, you will definitely be laughed to death. It's too tacky."

If you look at it from the perspective of the Louis XIV era, this kind of Baroque clothing is quite good - but times have indeed changed, and this has become ancient costume.

Nowadays, this kind of clothing that has been eliminated by the times makes him feel extremely weird when wearing it, as if he has become an actor on the stage.

"Our ancestors all dressed like this, and no one said anything about them..." Fran pouted, obviously dissatisfied with the cookie-cutter dressing style nowadays.

"You can't say that? Our ancestors still wore wigs at that time. Do you think I can walk around wearing a wig?" Charles joked again.

He was joking though. But Fran seemed to take it seriously.

She opened her eyes wide and looked at her brother intently. Then she stood up slightly on her tiptoes. Then he raised his hand and made some gestures in the air, just like imagining the composition in his mind before painting.

"Even if you wear a wig like them, you will look good!" Finally, she came to a serious conclusion. "If you don't believe it, I will draw a picture for you and you will know then..."

Hey, this kid is too serious, can't he see that I'm joking... Charles felt a little dumbfounded.

"Wow!"

Just when he was about to talk about something else to distract his sister, a shout suddenly sounded next to him.

Attracted by this shout, the Treville brother and sister turned their heads at the same time.

Then, Ciel found out. This was his best friend among his classmates—Albert de Foa Grail. The young man opened his mouth slightly at this time, as if he was stunned by something.

Charles subconsciously took a step forward, blocking his view of Fran.

It was only then that he seemed to come back to his senses, and almost shouted, "Char, is this your sister? You often say that she is very beautiful, and sure enough... it is true!"

"What does it mean? Will I still lie to you?" Charles used a disguised dissatisfaction to cover up his pride and happiness. "Hey, you still said you were my friend. But you still don't believe me?"

"Hey, hey, this is my fault, why don't I admit my mistake? But who told you to brag so exaggeratedly?!" Albert waved his hands with a playful smile, and then looked at Fran carefully. "Yeah. Now it seems that you didn't say anything wrong..."

"Sir...how do you usually mention me to your classmates?" Fran's face turned red, and she protested to her brother pretending to be serious. "How can you joke with them about me?!"

"Don't believe what this bastard said. I only mentioned you to them occasionally when everyone was talking about their family..." I saw Fran looking a little angry. Charles quickly explained to his sister, "Besides, I swear to God, I have only said good things about you, because in fact you are perfect, and I can't say anything bad..."

Under Charles's coaxing efforts, Fran's anger finally slowly disappeared, but the blush still remained on her face. She lowered her head coyly, not sure whether she was dissatisfied or happy.

Albert was still looking at Fran, an energetic young man who had already tasted the pleasures of debauchery for the first time. He was a little confused and fascinated by her charm that was mixed with innocence and cuteness. He suddenly came to Charles's side. In his ear, he made a very serious request to Ciel, "How about you let me go on a date with Miss Treville, and I let you win the next competition?"

"Go away! Do you think I need you to give in? I'll beat you up later!" Charles pushed him away without thinking, "Am I crazy to let someone like you get close to my sister? Let me tell you, from today on, if you dare to come to her again, I will kill you!"

"Hey... don't say it so unhumanly... How can I be so terrible?" Albert, who was sternly rejected by Charles, was obviously very frustrated and sighed softly. However, after all, he was still a young man, and he was very Kuai regained his composure, leaned forward slightly towards Ciel, and made a fencing preparation.

"If you don't want to, forget it. I will knock you down later and let your sister see with her own eyes who is the most powerful hero! Then she will..."

"If you beat him, I will hate you to death!" Just when Albert was still thinking about it, Fran suddenly spoke and looked at Albert very seriously, "But I am sure that you will not be able to beat him. ”

"Well……"

Such ruthless words made Albert feel at a loss for a moment. He looked at Charles, then at Fran, and his movements stopped there ridiculously, looking embarrassed and ridiculous.

"Pfft hahahaha..." Charles couldn't help laughing, "Do you understand now? Even my sister can tell who is strong and who is weak."

"She is being partial. I will let you know how powerful I am later!" Albert stood up straight again angrily, then scratched his head and looked at Fran with a forced smile. "My lovely Miss de Treville. I'm not bragging. I'm famous as a swordsman in school. There are few classmates who can beat me. Your brother is pretty good. But he's still a little behind me. We have competed so many times, and he always loses more than he wins..."

"Hmph." Seeing that Albert still behaved like this, Fran snorted, then turned her face away, and simply stopped talking to this impolite young man.

"You brothers and sisters have a deep relationship..." Albert could only shake his head and sighed softly.

Maybe he was secretly lamenting that he had such a bad relationship with his family members.

When he thought of this, Charles suddenly thought of his aunt Agnes, who had suddenly said goodbye to him a while ago and said she was going away, and then he became slightly melancholy.

I don’t know how Agnes is doing outside now?

never mind. There's no point thinking about it now.

"Okay, see you later. I'll take her to visit the school building first." In order to prevent his good mood from being completely ruined, Charles said goodbye to Albert, then took Fran and left.

Just like that, the brother and sister held hands again and started walking around the campus as if no one else was around.

Fran looked around the school building curiously, but always focused on her brother from time to time.

When he arrived in front of the school where classes were held on weekdays, Ciel stopped.

This masonry building has weathered the elements over the years. It has an old blue-gray color, and a lot of moss has appeared on the corners of the walls and the gaps between the bricks, but it still looks very delicate and elegant.

Read the original text in Liu#9@书/吧!

Because everyone was already preparing to attend the school anniversary, there was no one around. This silent scene was quite consistent with normal times, and Charles finally felt relieved.

"Well... take a look here. Didn't you say you want to go back and draw some paintings? You can include this place." Charles stretched out his hand. Pointing to this teaching building, "You don't usually have the chance to come in here. If you have a rare opportunity, don't forget to leave some souvenirs."

"Yes. Thank you." Fran nodded and thanked Ciel, then raised her head and looked at the school.

Unexpectedly, she took off her hat, and the sun covered by thick clouds only cast a thin shadow on the ground. She looked ahead intently, her hair swaying gently in the breeze, and her young body seemed to It is also integrated into this scene.

Ciel quietly admired the scene, waiting for her to tell her to change places.

However, Fran's sudden words were completely different from what he expected.

"By the way, it seems that you haven't gone to see Charlotte recently...did you have a quarrel with her?"

Because she was facing the school building, Charles did not notice that at this moment, her expression and tone did not look like a child at all. Instead, she had many worries that were not for her age.

"Well, I had a fight with her recently, so she refused to come to see me and was still angry." After being stunned for a moment, Charles replied with a little regret, "It's not like you don't know that she has a bad temper. Very, she always likes to ask me to listen to her. If I don’t obey at once, she will get angry with me - she goes back and forth so many times.”

"If that's the case, then don't see her, so as not to get angry all the time." Fran frowned slightly, inadvertently showing some sophistication that is rare for children of this age, "Every time I see you, I don't The way you deal with her patiently makes me feel bad for you... Why do you have to do this? "

"There's no need to be so exaggerated..." Charles smiled bitterly, "Charlotte is just spoiled by her parents and is used to bossing around. In fact, speaking of it, she has restrained herself a lot towards us. ah."

Hearing her brother's excuse for Charlotte, Fran's childish face was now filled with dark clouds.

"Then you...are you still going to endure it?" She asked with a slight trembling, "Can you bear to stay with someone like her all the time? If it were me, I wouldn't be able to bear it...after all, their family is rich. , looks down on our family and always likes to treat us as servants... Our family has never taken anything from her family, I really don’t know why she is so arrogant to you! "

"If you always say bad things about her behind her back like this, she will definitely hate you if she finds out." Charles still smiled bitterly, "Besides, although our family does not have much money now - the future is not certain, this The world is changing very quickly.”

Just when Fran felt cold, Ciel suddenly sighed again.

"However, I won't beg her for mercy this time. It's really boring to keep doing this. Forget it, let her do whatever she likes. We'll talk about it then. Let's not bring up this topic now. I'm obviously bringing you here to play today. of……"

Although Ciel wanted to change the topic, Fran seemed to still want to hold on to it, and she was obviously much more excited.

"Huh? Are you telling the truth? That's great... What a pity. I heard grandpa say... He plans to let you marry her in a few years... If you leave her, it will be terrible Don’t you have anyone to marry?” After a moment, she asked again hesitantly, as if she was worried about her brother.

"Hey, why do you ask about so many things?" Charles couldn't help but sigh, and then reached out and patted his sister's forehead. "Okay, don't worry so much. I haven't thought about that kind of thing now. How can I make you look like my sister? Besides, people don't have to get married."

In the second half of his sentence, he sounded a little angry, and he was obviously still a little angry at Charlotte.

"Well, you're right, so what if you don't get married?" How could I know. His words received a very solemn response from his sister, "You will still be the most outstanding person in this country. And I... and I..."

After sighing for a long time, Fran, whose face was flushed, finally whispered the next words.

"And I... I can stay with you all my life... As long as we stay together, what else is there to worry about? No matter whether we are poor or rich. We already have everything..."

After hearing Fran's words, Ciel was a little shocked at first and blinked. After a while. He laughed as if he heard something funny.

"Ha. I'm so happy that you can say such things! Thank you. Thank you for your thoughtfulness." Charles smiled and bent over his sister, "What kind of rare treasures should I use to repay you?" What about this kind of loyalty?”

Children's jokes are always so easy to make people happy. Almost every daughter will say similar things to her father. It's a pity that in the eyes of this child who lost his father since he was a child, he has already replaced his father's role.

I hope that when they reach the age of getting married, they can still maintain half of the brother-sister relationship they have now - then the careful care they have given to their sisters for so many years will be in vain.

Her brother's casual attitude made Fran a little angry.

"You...you...why don't you believe it? I'm serious..." She tapped her feet uneasily, as if she was considering how to convey her feelings to her brother.

"Well, okay, I understand." After laughing for a while, Charles returned to seriousness. He took his sister's hand again, and then solemnly made a promise to her, "I will take care of you for the rest of my life."

As soon as he finished speaking, Fran's deep breathing sound could be heard clearly even by Ciel behind her.

The huge ecstasy instantly swallowed up her still young heart.

She had no time to distinguish how different the meanings of the two people's words were.

"You...you said this..." she said tremblingly, as if relieved, "This is what you promised me! You must not forget your promise!"

"Yes, I promise you." Charles promised again. "Look at what you said so seriously. Is there anything I've promised you that I haven't done since I was a kid?"

"Yeah...yeah...that's it. Then come here, I have something to tell you privately." Fran suddenly turned her head, although there were tears in the corners of her eyes, she was smiling all over her face. "A very important thing."

"What's going on?"

Although Ciel was a little surprised, he still agreed with a wry smile.

Then, he walked next to his sister, bent down, and put his ear to her mouth. "Okay, can we talk now? I'd like to know what interesting things you can tell me... uh..."

At this moment, Fran suddenly stretched out her arms and hugged him tightly.

Before Ciel could react, her face was tightly close to her brother's, and then she kissed Ciel's cheek gently.

After leaving a wet lip mark on Ciel's cheek, he closed his eyes and whispered softly in his brother's ear.

"I like you."

Then, full of excitement, she hugged the astonished Ciel tightly. (To be continued...)

ps: Looks like you're late...

But better late than never...

Thank you two young masters~~