Flowers, Swords and France

Under the cover of people specially arranged by Emperor Franz-Josef, in the middle of the night, the carriage carrying the Treville couple quietly arrived at the outskirts of Schonbrunn Palace, and then the couple changed to a carriage The carriage returned to the palace, ending their secret visit and successfully completing the purpose of the couple's trip.

Yes, their visit was very successful. Charlotte saw Her Royal Highness the Princess for the last time and successfully delayed the deadline for her family to pay off their debts to a few years later. Essentially, their visit was complete when they returned to Schönbrunn Palace.

Of course, on the surface, their visit would continue for a while longer.

Since being intimidated by Charles, Emperor Franz-Josef has been busy discussing countermeasures with his ministers to deal with the upcoming European crisis, so he has rarely come out to receive Charles, but he still did the etiquette he should have That was enough, he allowed Charles to have unhindered access to the palace.

Since Charlotte was in low spirits and needed to rest as a pregnant woman, she usually just stayed in her room to rest, while Charles passed the time by attending court banquets.

What makes Charles quite disappointed is that he has been in the palace banquets several times, but he has never been able to find the Princess Elizabeth. Ever since the ball, he has been looking for opportunities to meet her again. We talked, but never got the chance.

He made insinuations, but others couldn't give him much information other than telling him that the princess was always with the emperor, so he had no choice but to suppress his depression and chat with others at the palace banquet. To pass the time.

However, since the big news happened during the last dance, no young ladies or young ladies came to talk to him. He also knew what was going on and only talked with the French Embassy staff and Austrian officials.

He did the same at this banquet. Charles talked with several young Austrian and French diplomats about his experiences at the British World's Fair. In order to promote himself, he deliberately and vividly described the grand scene of the Crystal Palace at that time. These diplomats were fascinated by the courtesy they received from the British Queen and his wife.

Just when he was talking enthusiastically, he suddenly noticed that the eyes of these young people became a little strange, and there was a strange sound behind him.

He immediately turned his head and looked back. However, he found a woman standing not far behind him, looking at him.

This woman looks very young, tall, with a high nose bridge and thin eyebrows that are long and slanted. Appears cold and unkind. She was wearing a dark black dress, and her dark brown curly hair hung down from her temples, hanging on both sides, just covering her collarbones. She was holding a wine glass in her right hand, as if she had just walked over.

After Ciel discovered her, she raised the wine glass in her hand and shook it gently towards Ciel.

Is this person looking for me? Am I wrong?

Ciel turned around to see if he was wrong, but everyone looked at him strangely.

"I don't know her," Charles said immediately and subconsciously.

Everyone's eyes became even stranger.

"Okay, sorry. I'll excuse you." In order to prevent their thoughts from becoming more and more unbearable, Ciel simply chose to leave.

Charles picked up his wine glass and walked to the lady's side.

"If I understand correctly, miss, are you calling me?"

"You understand correctly, sir," the voice was clear, but calm, without much enthusiasm. "I am indeed looking for you."

Then, she turned around and left. "Please come with me. It's not convenient to talk here."

Ciel didn't know why, but he followed her anyway.

She took Charles to a corner where no one was paying attention, and then sat down gently. "Sir. I'm sorry to come to you in this way, but please understand that I can't find a better way now."

"I suppose you have something to tell me?"

"That's right." She nodded, "And I guarantee this is a topic that interests you."

"What's the topic?" Charles gradually recovered from his surprise. He sat upright calmly, then looked up at the other person. "I can't guarantee that I'm interested in your topic."

When trading. It is necessary to make every effort to belittle the opponent's trading items, and Ciel habitually adopts this attitude.

The other party did not answer immediately, but looked at him leisurely.

Just when Ciel was a little impatient, she suddenly chuckled.

"Do you always interact with others with this pretentious attitude? Haha, it's so funny. No wonder people say that French people are all roosters... so similar!"

Ugh! Charles almost spat out the wine in his mouth. Over the years, he had always been able to chat and laugh with the emperor and queen. How had he ever received such ridicule?

"Did you call me here just to say something like this and humiliate me? Miss, if that's the case, you're too boring." He barely maintained his composure, "I think, as the emperor of your country, As a guest, I deserve the most basic respect.”

"One thing I must point out is that having power does not necessarily mean you will gain respect, sir." The lady looked at Charles with a very cold expression, "If a person gains it by launching a coup and waving a butcher knife against the people, If he has power, then he doesn’t deserve people’s respect.”

"I didn't do those things to gain people's respect, Miss." Charles responded to her with the same indifferent expression, "In fact, I think it doesn't matter what people think of me. What matters is that I walk in my path. On the path I want to take.”

"You have indeed embarked on a very dangerous path, and you may one day drag the whole of Europe into terror." She still looked dissatisfied and contemptuous, "As far as I am concerned, you have now It has caused great harm to the peace of Europe. The newspapers say that you came here unexpectedly to win over our country against the Russians.”

"Today's newspapers dare to say anything and slander anyone for the sake of sales!" Charles shrugged, with a dissatisfied look on his face, "I ask you not to look at the world based on the assumptions in the newspapers, Miss. I am here for Peace and friendship between our country and yours. By the way, what’s your name?”

"My name is Angela, and my full name is Fenacea Angela von Streim." The lady replied rather coldly, acquiescing to Ciel's efforts to change the subject. "But I guess that's not important to you."

Then, she pondered for a moment. "First of all, let me introduce you in detail. I am a court lady serving Her Majesty the Queen Mother, and my father is a diplomat. Well... in fact. At the ball where you were awarded the honor and made an appearance, We were all there and saw your performance.”

"Then what?" Charles ignored the other party's hidden sarcasm and asked directly.

"Although I have been serving Her Majesty the Queen Mother and staying in this palace, I still have some brains. I know that you are a big shot, and I think what the newspaper said is true - you are here to deal with Russia. People came here." She lowered her voice slightly, "And my father has been in frequent contact with Russians recently... Although he has not told me about work, I can find some clues. Do you want to know?"

Does she have news about the Russians? Charles's heart trembled, and all the previous anger was forgotten.

"I want to know, miss, please tell me."

"I knew you would say that." The woman had a smile on her face as if her plan had succeeded. "The Russians have been warning our Ministry of Foreign Affairs, asking them not to listen to your instigation and join the anti-Russian front. "

"That's not surprising to me," Charles replied calmly. "The Russians will definitely be worried about me, but they will be proven wrong."

"Who knows whether they are wrong or not. In short, they are planning to let our country stand on the same front with them to jointly deter you -" she deliberately lengthened her voice, "They plan to encourage us to go to war with the Turks and tell us Said that if we have the desire to expand our influence elsewhere, they can provide the necessary support. So, overall, these conditions are very tempting, and our Majesty is also hesitant. After all, the Russians have been our benefactors recently. ”

"What?" Charles was shocked.

Not only for the actions of the Russians, but also for the actions of this man.

Read the original text in Liu#9@书/吧!

It is normal for the Russians to want to win over the Austrians now. But this is undoubtedly a state secret, and she told me such a state secret without caring?

"That's almost the situation, so you see, we don't actually have no choice here." She spread her hands, "His Majesty the Emperor is obviously still hesitating. Should he support your side or that side? You It may take other efforts to impress him. In addition, Prime Minister Schwarzenberg’s idea is to ask you to withdraw your support for the Kingdom of Sardinia in exchange for our neutrality.”

"I understand, thank you." Charles pondered for a long time, then nodded.

To be honest, he is not worried about Franz-Josef being driven insane, not because he is "well versed in history", but because Britain and France have put too much pressure on him, and he will not dare to stand with the Russians and become enemies of the two countries. With this confidence - of course, the pace needs to be changed in the future, and the Austrians cannot be pushed too hard.

His brain was running at high speed, and the way he looked at this woman changed a little. "Okay, thank you, um... Miss von Stemrei, I am very grateful for your help to me, and I hope to do everything I can to repay you."

"Of course I'm looking for you in return." Although Charles mispronounced her name, the lady didn't care. "I'm not telling you this to make friends with you, but to make friends with you." Get some help from you."

"Then please tell me, what do you want in return?" Charles straightened his back unconsciously.

To be honest, he was also very curious about what this young lady who looked like she was from a noble family would betray her country for--yes, what she told him was already in the category of betrayal.

Is it to pay off gambling debts? Or for a lover? Many reveries suddenly flashed through his mind.

"Actually, what I want is very simple..." Because she was a little excited, the lady's voice rarely trembled. "I like French literature very much. To be honest, I have probably read more French novels than you or most of them." Most French people have many, and I have several favorite authors. I would like to ask you... to find their signatures and manuscripts for my collection."

"Uh...?" Charles became more and more shocked.

Just for this, a person would betray his country?

"I have been staying in the palace on weekdays, and I don't know many French people. I finally found such an opportunity, and I can't miss it." She replied plausibly, "Okay, Mr. de Treville. I I have given you such news, and you have to repay me. I want the manuscripts of the late Mr. de Balzac and Mr. Hugo who is still in Belgium. You have to get them for me. Well... I also want the manuscripts of Stendhal. "

She kept saying names, and Charles kept nodding. Anyway, there are a lot of these things in France, and even if they are rare, you can buy them with a little money. To be honest, he still couldn't figure out how someone could betray the country for this. He could only say that his personal world view was different.

"By the way, I also want the manuscript of the author who wrote "The Commoner Queen". I don't know the name of that author. You have to investigate it for me." After a moment of silence, she suddenly thought of another thing.

"'Common Queen'?" Ciel raised his head in confusion, his voice slightly changed.

"Well, this is a novel. It describes the story of Madame Du Barry. It is very interesting. Especially the confrontation between that lady and the Duke of Choiseul and the Duke of Orleans. She mocked the two noblemen with superficial respect. The passage is so interesting, I have reviewed it many times!" The woman was obviously a little excited, and then she looked at Charles with confusion, "By the way, do you know who Madame Du Barry is?"

"I think I know." Ciel's face still looked a little weird.

"Well, that's it. You probably don't know the name of this author. He has written novels under multiple pen names, but has been silent in the past few years. I think since you are powerful in France, you can help me find it. He wants to get the manuscript and enrich my collection." She continued her instructions, "I believe you can accomplish this."

"I can." Ciel nodded.

Because... it was written by him in his early years, and he has plenty of manuscripts.

"You're not lying to me, are you?" Seeing Charles's straightforward appearance, she became suspicious.

"Since I promised you, I can do it." Charles looked at the other party seriously, "I have done many bad things and even killed people, but I promise you, I always keep what I say, and as long as I do Never break a promise.”

His words were so contagious that Angela immediately believed them.

"Great, thank you. I finally found the right person!" She thanked Charles instead, completely unaware that Charles made a profit in this transaction. "As a bonus, I can do one more thing for you. , Is there anything you want to give to the princess? I can help you..." (~^~)

PS: By the way, tomorrow is April Fool’s Day...