Flowers, Swords and France

In the afterglow of the setting sun, Albert de Foa-Gray tidied his appearance at the door of the Chloe Club. In the reflection of the golden glow, the handsome and delicate young man looked like a sculpture of an ancient Greek.

Then, holding his cane, he walked into this famous high society gathering place with a contemptuous demeanor, and was greeted by the doorman.

After the end of the Empire Era, the French upper class had a trend of learning from the British. The new thing called "club" also crossed the narrow English Channel and became a new fashion in France. After the French government officially banned casinos, the men in the upper class cherished these remaining places of entertainment even more.

Seeing someone enter, the guests in the club glanced at him, and then they turned their faces away and continued to do their own things.

Under the cover of a frivolous expression on the surface, Albert carefully observed the people inside with the corner of his eyes, scanning each face.

Then in a corner, he found his target - a young man who looked to be about 26 or 27 years old, short and slightly fat, plain-looking but well-dressed.

Count Louis de Léolan, the eldest son of the Marquis de Léolan and the legal heir to the title, was chatting with his friends and playing whist.

After the collapse of the Napoleonic Empire and the return of the Bourbon dynasty to France with the help of foreign bayonets, the French had an almost subconscious fear of being hostile to Britain, even after the July Monarchy overthrew the rule of the Bourbon elders. The France that had fought the Hundred Years' War with Britain, had led the entire continent to try to destroy Britain, and had fought with the British in the Netherlands, Spain, and Belgium, no longer had the courage to compete with Britain.

British textiles, British ideas, and even British entertainment activities also became popular in France - whist is one example.

Albert pretended to walk slowly towards the corner unintentionally, greeting and joking with people who knew him.

"My friend, once, I made a mistake and made a girl a mother. What's worse, the panic-stricken lady was so stupid as to confess her mistake to her mother. Oh, the poor mother came to me and asked me what to do... Guess what I answered?"

"What to answer?" someone asked.

"But, madam, I am neither a surgeon nor a midwife, what can I do to help?" Albert deliberately answered in a shrill voice.

His ridicule caused a burst of laughter. With the laughter, he walked to the side of Count Leoran without leaving any trace.

"But now, if that lady comes to me again, I don't mind giving the unborn little angel a few large pieces of maltose..."

Albert chatted and joked with others in a low voice, while secretly paying attention to the Count's cards.

He soon came to a conclusion.

His card skills were poor, he had no rules, and he played cards at random. He seemed to be an easy person to deal with.

It seems that the old friend's commission should be completed relatively easily, he thought to himself.

At this moment, as if he was feeling impatient after playing for too long and wanted to go out to relieve himself, Count Leoran stood up and walked towards the bathroom.

Right now.

Albert secretly winked at a young man next to him who seemed to be chatting with someone else.

The young man with a fierce look on his face understood, and then slowly moved his body to block Count Leoran's route of action.

It seemed that the Count had not recovered from playing cards for a long time, and he did not notice that someone was blocking his way, and then the two bumped into each other as expected.

"Sir, be careful!" The young man glared at the Count sternly, and then pushed him away.

The Count shook his head and went straight to the bathroom.

Albert gave the young man an approving look, then found a seat in the corner and sat down, waiting to watch the next good show.

After a while, the Count came out of the bathroom again and walked towards his original seat.

Then... he bumped into the young man again.

"Sir, did you do it on purpose?!" The young man seemed to be irritated, staring at the count with fierce eyes.

"I didn't, it was you who blocked me twice!" The count seemed to be irritated as well, and responded in the same way.

"You mean, is this my responsibility?"

"Isn't it?" The count glared at the other party, then muttered a few words and continued to walk towards his seat.

"Sir, I think you need to apologize to me." The young man looked at the count arrogantly and said.

"Apologize? No, it's your own fault," the count smiled disdainfully, "and do you know who I am?"

"Oh?" The young man shrugged indifferently, "Who are you?"

"I am Count Leoran!" The count answered with an extraordinary look. Then he took out his business card from his pocket and handed it to the other party.

The young man took the business card and looked at it.

The count smiled and was about to leave.

However, the next thing the young man surprised him.

"It's too dirty," the young man said coldly, "It seems you have left it for too long, bring me another one." Then, the young man threw the business card at his feet.

The people around seemed to have noticed something was wrong, and they all looked at this side with hidden eyes and whispered.

The count opened his eyes wide.

This is a provocation, yes, this is a provocation!

And in this case, he had to challenge the duel. A young man, a young French man, could not stand such public humiliation and had to wash it with blood. If he backed down this time, he would surely lose his reputation.

But... to bet everything on this bad boy who came out of nowhere... This was simply crazy!

The Count was now in a state of confusion. He wanted to challenge the bastard who offended him, but he couldn't say it.

"What? Sir, shouldn't you bring me another business card?" The young man still refused to give in, but raised his voice.

More and more people looked at this side.

Cold sweat appeared on the Count's forehead. He looked at his original seat, but found that none of his card friends were willing to make eye contact with him - they also found something wrong and dared not wade into the muddy water.

"Sir..." The mockery in the young man's eyes became more and more intense.

Let's fight!

The Count made up his mind and prepared to challenge him to a duel.

"My friends, what are you doing?" A gentle voice suddenly interrupted.

Instinctively, the Count looked in the direction of the voice.

The original text is available at 6 # 9 @Books/Bar!

A well-dressed, gentle and handsome young man came over with a perfect smile, shining with the glory of a savior under the light of the crystal chandelier.

After a moment, he remembered who the other person was.

"Albert..." He greeted the other person with a trembling voice.

Albert came over, then picked up the business card on the ground inconspicuously and put it in his pocket.

"Louis, Leonce, excuse me, I seemed to be a little unhappy when I saw you just now..." He still looked at the two with that perfect smile, "What's going on?"

"We just bumped into each other twice by accident..." The Count answered quickly.

He knew this person! It seems that he can help me out!

The Count's heart gradually stabilized.

"He bumped into me, but said it was my fault." The young man replied in a still gloomy tone.

"Oh, I thought it was a big deal, but it turned out to be such a small matter!" Albert's tone was extremely light, "Is it worth arguing about such a thing?"

"He has to apologize to me!" The young man was still relentless.

"For the sake of our friendship, the two of you should not quarrel over such a small matter. Isn't it better for everyone to have fun together?" Albert patted the young man's shoulder, then looked at the count.

The young man's tense face slowly relaxed.

"Huh, okay, for your sake."

Albert took one hand each of the two people with his left and right hands. "Come on, it's a rare opportunity for everyone to meet, let's have a drink together!" Then he said to the count with a smile, "This is my friend Leonce, he used to serve in North Africa, and his gun is really accurate! I also made an appointment with him to go hunting in the countryside when we have the chance in a while!"

The count's face froze, and then he breathed a sigh of relief.

Saved.

The three of them found a place and sat down together. Albert ordered a few bottles of whiskey and toasted each other.

It seemed that they were in a bad mood. After drinking a few glasses, the young man left quickly, and then only Albert and the count were left to toast each other.

They were chatting while drinking.

For some reason, after the topic was changed several times, the two talked about marriage.

"My friend, I heard that you are getting married recently? And you are marrying the daughter of the Duke of Treville! I really envy you. You got a large dowry this time, right?... Come on, drink..."

The count drank another glass and didn't know how much he drank. He just drank one glass after another, and his tongue was a little knotted.

"My friend... I... I have... what is there to envy... I married a wife... but I didn't... I didn't bring a dowry of one sou..."

"Huh?" Albert exclaimed, and then questioned in a tone of 'you got the advantage and still act cute', "Are you kidding me...?"

"How could I... How could I lie to you, my friend..." The count's eyes were empty and hazy, "This is... This is a deal..."

"Deal?"

"My aunt... My aunt..."

"Aunt?"

"My aunt died... She had no children... Her property should have been... should have been passed on to me... But... But... But she made a will and gave it all... All to my little sister... Damn... When the notary read out this will, my father... My mother... And... And me, I was just... I was just... I was going crazy!"

"How much is it?"

"How much is it exactly... I... I don't know... But, but it should be quite a lot..." Under the influence of alcohol, Count Leoran could no longer speak clearly, and Albert had to work hard to hear it clearly. "My aunt, her...her husband...bought a large amount of bonds before he passed away, and then...then there was compensation from the government...that was also a large amount...if you add it all up..."

[In 1825, the extreme conservatives who controlled the regime issued a decree to compensate the nobles who suffered losses during the Great Revolution, totaling 1 billion francs. This fund was supported by the national treasury, and the government also lowered the interest rate of the national debt to raise funds, which directly angered the vast bourgeoisie in France and became a major fuse for the revolution a few years later. This decree is considered one of the stupidest political decisions during the Bourbon Restoration. ]

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