Flowers, Swords and France

When night was about to fall, Charles walked out of the Tuileries Palace slowly, under the envious eyes of the guards.

He was indeed very satisfied with today's audience - although Louis Bonaparte did not explicitly approve of his suggestion, he had no intention of convincing Louis Bonaparte today, as long as he was willing to listen carefully and give a noncommittal answer, and Charles did get this answer.

Then it was obvious that, as expected before, he had a good chance of getting this done, adding a helper to himself in the royal family, and bringing the young man Jerome Bonaparte into his party. Although it might offend Joseph Bonaparte and his son, their relationship was not good anyway, so what if he offended them more?

With this relaxed and happy mood, he walked out of the palace gate under the guidance of his attendants, and then prepared to get on his carriage.

However, when he just walked to the side of the carriage, the coachman came to his side with a nervous look and reported to Charles the news he had just received.

After hearing his report, Charles opened his eyes in disbelief.

The Duke of Treville suddenly fell seriously ill. According to the doctor's judgment, he was irreversible and was now in his last moments.

"What... God." Charles cried out in shock, "Grandpa... Grandpa knows?"

"The master already knows, and he sent someone to inform you." The coachman replied respectfully, "He has rushed over and told you to go to the Duke of Treville's mansion immediately after the audience."

Grandpa has passed away? That's a place he hasn't been to for many years... It seems that it's really the last moment.

"Then don't waste time, go quickly!" Charles, who had just woken up from a dream, jumped into the carriage and urged the carriage to go quickly.

The carriage sped all the way in Paris and soon took him to the Duke of Treville's mansion.

Because he knew that the matter was urgent, Charles' carriage drove directly into the gate without passing the message and stopped in the front yard. Then, Charles hurriedly walked out of the carriage and walked up the steps step by step to the mansion above.

The Duke's house was in a panic at this time, and the servants all looked anxious. They just barely maintained their last calm. It seemed that everyone knew that the master was dying.

In fact, Charles was not as panicked as they were.

To be honest, he was mentally prepared. After all, before he went abroad. The Duke of Treville was already in very poor health and was always bedridden. Although he didn't say it at the time, he felt that the other party might not live long, so he was not very surprised now. Besides. The Duke of Treville and he were not particularly close.

What really worried him was Charlotte.

Since his grandfather and himself had been notified, Charlotte must have been notified, and she must have rushed over from home - God, how sad Charlotte must be!

Thinking of his wife's mood at the moment, Charles couldn't help but feel a little nervous, thinking about how to comfort her.

So, as soon as he entered the mansion, he ordered the servants to take him to the Duke's bedroom.

When the door was opened, everyone's eyes were focused on him.

Sure enough, Grandpa and Charlotte were already here. Not only them, but also the little Duke of Treville and Charlotte's two brothers Philippe and Eugene were here, and everyone gathered around the big bed where the Duke was lying.

Although it was just a glimpse, Charles soon discovered that they all had tears in their eyes, but they were all trying hard not to cry.

Following their line of sight, Charles saw the Duke lying there.

His face showed the kind of dead gray that is unique to people who have been ill for a long time. His face was full of wrinkles, and even his beard was completely white. His body had become very thin because of the illness for many days, and there was no spirit in his eyes. Obviously, this person has completely withered from spirit to body.

At this time, as if because of hearing footsteps, the Duke gently moved his head, and his already scattered eyes slightly focused on him.

The old man and the young man looked at each other silently. After a moment, as if he was stung by the youthful energy, the Duke of Treville slowly closed his eyes and seemed to fall asleep again.

"I'm sorry, I'm late." Seeing the Duke had fallen into such a state, Charles felt a slight pain in his heart. Then he bowed apologetically and walked to the bed.

"Charles, Charles!" Charlotte's nose was sour, and then she quickly grabbed her husband's arm and buried her head in Charles' shoulder to prevent herself from crying out loud.

When Charlotte leaned on his shoulder and sobbed slightly, Charles was also very sad and patted her back gently.

In this family, she had the strongest feelings for her grandfather, so when the end came, I'm afraid no one would be more sad than her.

"There will always be such a day, okay, Lolotte, don't cry." He lowered his head and whispered in Charlotte's ear.

"I know... I know..." Charlotte answered while sobbing constantly, and her tears soon soaked her clothes.

Infected by her sobs, the Duke of Treville and his two sons also started crying. For a moment, the whole bedroom was filled with wailing sounds, which made people feel sad.

Although he could legitimately become the new generation of Duke of Treville after his father's death, Charles's cousin was still crying from the bottom of his heart, with tears flowing down his cheeks.

This kind of pain is not only due to the natural love between father and son, but also probably due to the fear that after his father leaves, he will no longer be able to enjoy the life where he only needs to obey orders... After the Duke left, he never People can guide their own direction, but they need to sail their own ships.

That feeling is like a person being suddenly thrown into the cold wind from a comfortable bedroom, and the confusion is full of fear and uneasiness.

What about grandpa? He should be equally sad, right?

This thought flashed through Ciel's mind, and then he looked at his grandfather worriedly.

The old man's hair was completely gray and his face was also full of wrinkles. He was staring at the Duke. He looked as exhausted as his brother lying on the bed, and no longer had his usual vigor.

He stood beside the bed and gently grasped the Duke's thin and wrinkled right hand.

Although he didn't cry loudly, tears slowly overflowed from the corners of his eyes. The uncontrollable trembling of his hands showed how agitated his mood was at this time.

Worried that the old man would be too sad, Charles gently patted Charlotte's back again and then let go of her. He walked gently to the old man's side.

"Grandpa..." He wanted to comfort him, but couldn't. In the end, he could only look at the other party with worry.

"I'm fine, don't worry." The old man shook his head as if waking up from a dream.

then. He wiped his tears with his sleeves, then looked around the bedroom with tearful eyes.

"I'm back after all..."

Charles just grabbed the old man's hand and let him continue.

"This is my home, where your great-grandmother brought me into the world. When the Revolution broke out, your great-grandfather bid farewell to us here, allowing us to escape the clutches of the mob - until the return of Bourbon At that time, with the favor of Louis XVI, the mansion was returned to Philippe, and then he renovated and expanded it." His voice was very trembling, as if his whole body was being dragged back into his memories. "But I haven't set foot here for fifty years, fifty years! How many times can a person have fifty years..."

Read the original text in Liu#9@书/吧!

As he spoke, the old man's tears slowly flowed down again, "Fortunately, my child, you don't have to endure this kind of thing anymore. Our brothers have struggled for so many years, and finally you have everything again... …At least our efforts are worth it.”

He raised his brother's hand and brought it to Ciel.

"Charles, thank him. Without Philip, I would not have survived that terrible storm, and you would not have come to this world. He risked his own life and took me out of the country. I thought again He tried his best to make a living to support me. God knows how much he suffered for me at that time... I will never be able to repay his kindness to me." He murmured to himself, as if to himself. Say the same thing, "We have to be conscientious to a few people in our lives."

Ciel obeyed his grandfather's will. I held the Duke's already wrinkled hand and felt the extremely weak pulse. My heart was filled with emotion and I almost cried.

Only then did he discover that the Duke had a fleur-de-lys-shaped badge on his clothes.

During a serious illness, clothes are very light. This should be something the patient specifically requested to wear when he was dying...

Even if he admits the fact that the lily has faded, he is still a royalist in his heart. The Duke is a Duke after all... Ciel couldn't help but smile bitterly in his heart.

However, looking at it from another perspective, even if he is reluctant to let go of the old glory and privileges, he can still face the reality and arrange the family business step by step according to the situation. Isn't this considered a skill?

Let him be buried with this badge... just like in the past. Ciel sighed inwardly.

At this moment, the Duke slowly opened his eyes again.

His hands were already wet with his brother's tears, but he didn't even notice.

"Victor, don't be sad, people will have this day eventually." He reluctantly cheered up and said in an extremely weak voice, "I'll go there first and help you check the situation. If it's not good there, you can Find a way to get to heaven.”

The Duke, who had always been serious, made such a joke in the last moments of his life. Charles and his grandfather were stunned.

"Say something stupid, you can go to heaven!" After reacting, Marquis Treville burst into tears.

"It's the same everywhere, it won't be worse than that time. We all got over it when it was so bad, right?" The Duke shook his head slightly and showed a very weak smile. "So what are you worried about?"

Then, he turned his gaze slightly and looked at Ciel, who was standing silently aside, "Sorry, I originally planned to leave after Charlotte gave birth... but now... it seems that it's too late."

Ciel just sighed and didn't answer.

"Promise me to take good care of Charlotte and her children." A trace of blood suddenly flashed on the Duke's face.

Is this the final flashback? Ciel felt a chill in his heart and quickly held his hand, listening to his last words.

"She is my wife, of course I will take good care of her." He answered as a matter of course.

"I believe you." The Duke sighed.

Then, he gently waved his hand and called his beloved granddaughter over.

"Grandpa..." Charlotte shed tears and held his hand tightly, as if she wanted to use this method to retain her grandfather in front of God's messenger.

Charles had never seen Charlotte so sad. The pride of the past had disappeared, leaving only pain and sorrow.

"Sorry, child... I can't make it after all." The Duke sighed softly, "However, although I can't witness the birth of your child, I have been bored in the hospital bed during this period, so I thought of some names for your child. If it is a boy, it will be called Clovis, and if it is a girl, it will be called Claire-these are the names used by our ancestors, okay?"

"Okay, Grandpa, do as you say!" Charlotte agreed without hesitation.

"Good child!" The Duke breathed a sigh of relief, as if he had fulfilled a great wish. (~^~)