Flowers, Swords and France

After the Russian Minister, Count Litvinsky, left Charles's reception room with a satisfied mood, Charles still stayed in the reception room, recording the various talking points between him and the Ambassador today.

And that's certainly not his main business today.

Just as he was scribbling on the paper, the door of the reception room was opened again, and then the sound of gentle footsteps sounded from far to near.

Charles stopped writing, then raised his head slightly, looked at the person, and then looked back again.

"Well, it's here so soon." Because he summoned it himself, he was not surprised by the visitor. "Sit down."

"Good morning, sir." The visitor greeted him immediately. Her tone sounded lively and full of energy.

"Good morning, Mary." Charles greeted her without raising his head.

Today, Mary is wearing a thick gray fur robe, with a relaxed and happy smile on her face. Her mood is not affected at all by the cold wind along the way, making people feel like they are taking a breath of spring breeze.

She is indeed feeling very proud now, because Laura has been in bad luck recently.

Laura's misfortune made her happy, but this pleasure was not just psychological.

After Laura was detained, in order to avoid being suspected by interested parties, Baron de Beauvain still kept secret everything he had done to his daughter. Instead, he ordered those who were present that day to keep silent.

And this caused a problem, because Laura could no longer do her previous affairs.

The day Fran learned the news, she asked her close friend Mary to take over Laura's temporary responsibility for her work, especially the work within the Railway Federation, in order to repay her friend's previous loyalty and help to her.

Considering that if Mary took over, the shady transactions between herself and the Bowen family would continue to live in darkness, Charles agreed to this condition after some consideration.

Then, in accordance with Charles's request, Baron de Beauvain also agreed to let Mary temporarily serve as his client to replace his newly-born (actually already imprisoned) daughter Laura to perform Laura's previous duties here. ——No matter what his considerations were, this approach undoubtedly increased Ciel's influence in this private organization.

The one who benefited the most was naturally Mary. She took advantage of this sudden opportunity and became an influential figure. In order to prevent herself from becoming a puppet, she has recently been working hard to collect materials and information that Laura left before, hoping to get the work at hand on track as soon as possible. She is very diligent.

However, although she was triumphant, Mary's mind had not been dazzled yet. She understood that everything she got now came from the favor and care of the Treville family. Her foundation was very weak, and she did not have many close friends and relatives. Pawns are available, so if you want to maintain your current status, you must continue to loyally follow the Treville family.

She even needs to show more loyalty, because her current position is likely to arouse the suspicion of betrayal and defection to the De-Beauvan family in the minds of interested people.

Therefore, although she can be said to be extremely busy now, Mary still insists on retaining her title of "Private Secretary to Marshal Treville" and continues to serve the marshal. Moreover, she often visits Charles at home, euphemistically calling it reporting work, but in fact The above is also to show one's loyalty - and at the same time to show to the outside world that one has won the trust and importance of the minister, to increase one's deterrence.

Although he felt that it was unnecessary for Mary to be so cautious, Charles was still very happy for her good behavior - after all, who doesn't like people who are loyal to him?

"Sir, I worked so hard to get here today. I almost couldn't get out!" Because there was a fireplace burning in the living room, Mary took off her coat and put it on the hanger next to her. She even complained to her benefactor, “Hey, it’s not an easy task to clean up Laura’s mess!”

Laura has an arrogant personality, and has been raised to have a domineering temperament since she was a child. She did not change her personality even when she came out to help her father. Therefore, she often made others dissatisfied in the federation. When she was there, these People could only dare to be angry but dare not speak out because of her family background, but now that she had temporarily retired due to childbirth, these people began to retaliate intentionally or unintentionally for the wrongs they had suffered before, thus causing Mary a lot of trouble.

"There are some problems with Laura's character, but she is still very serious and rigorous in her work, so she shouldn't make any big mistakes." Charles said as he finished writing his notes, and then carefully sealed the notes got up. "So, if anyone tries to use this opportunity to cause you unnecessary trouble, just tell me and I will make them understand."

"You are usually so busy, how can I dare to trouble you to come forward in person... As long as you have these words, things will be much easier to handle! I will use your instructions to beat this group of people. I don't think they dare to I don't care about you." Seeing that my plan has been realized. , the smile on Mary's face became even thicker, "In addition, Laura did one thing well. The documents and data she recorded were very detailed and carefully filed. She also wrote special records for many things, so I was able to figure out the situation quickly..."

Although she was mocking Laura just now, because Charles spoke for Laura now, she immediately changed her tune and thought about Laura's benefits.

She has always been a very smart person, so even if Fran did not reveal the whole situation to her, she quickly guessed a series of things that happened after Laura gave birth, and naturally understood that she was now giving birth to Charles. Laura, a daughter, had a different status in Ciel's mind.

However, because of this, she also felt a little more jealous of Laura in her heart. Whether in terms of her own interests or emotions, she only hopes that Laura will continue to be locked up by her father in secret.

"It would be great if you could get started as soon as possible. Our affairs are complicated now, so we really can't make any mistakes." After Charles finished his morning work, he also breathed a sigh of relief, "By the way, you have been to the Baron these days. Have you ever talked about what I told you recently?"

"I've been there several times, and I've naturally talked to him about that matter." Mary nodded, and then because she was afraid of Charles's misunderstanding, she immediately explained, "But we didn't discuss it in detail, and we didn't talk about it in detail. Discuss work matters more, because...because I am still responsible for you, I can't tell others all your intentions."

"Hey, there's no need for this, Mary. I've seen your loyalty all along. Don't worry, I'm not a narrow-minded person." Charles couldn't help but laugh, "Since you're taking over from Ro Then you should do what she did. If her father wants to ask you, you should answer everything within the scope of your duties. We will not be suspicious of you, otherwise we will not let you Go and replace her."

Then, he paused again, and then continued, "However, this current situation is indeed very difficult for you. Besides, you can't keep Laura's position forever... Well, as long as you do your job well now, Then I will let you regain your rightful place as an independent person in the future, Mary."

"Thank you!" After receiving Ciel's personal promise, Mary was very happy and could almost be said to be filled with gratitude. "Sir... don't worry. As long as you tell me anything, I will resolutely implement it without hesitation. No one else will have any influence on me."

She now took Laura's place of authority. Although she was successful for a while, she still felt that she was not very reliable in her heart. The dual identity involved with the two families of Bowen and Treville was also a bit embarrassing, which also made her understand that this would definitely not happen. For a long time, because substitution is just substitution after all.

After tasting the taste of power and wealth, how many people are willing to give up? So what she is most anxious about now is how to please Ciel, so that her "acting" position can be converted into a full-time position, and she can have the power and influence she has now for a long time - and on this issue, Ciel's promise just now is tantamount to Giving her reassurance, he had made it clear that as long as she remained loyal to the Treville family, she would get the rewards she wanted, just like she had always done.

However, Mary also heard a hint of something else in Ciel's words.

"Do you think Laura will come out in the near future?" Although she knew it was not a good thing to ask, she still couldn't help asking.

"It's probably unlikely in the near future, but... I think the situation won't always be like this. Although the Baron is still angry now, it may not be possible in the future." Charles pondered for a moment, "I will persuade the Baron later. Maybe he will change his mind..."

In other words, will there be a day when Laura will come out?

What a shame.

Mary sighed with a little disappointment in her heart, but she still maintained calm on the surface.

"Have you told me everything I told you?" Charles changed the subject again, "So what does the Baron mean?"

"He's not particularly opposed to it..." Mary became serious again, "But he didn't directly support it either. I think he just wants to see what happens when the time comes."

"An ambiguous attitude is enough. Baron de Beauvain has a high prestige. As long as he doesn't clearly object, I don't think many people will stand up to oppose me - even if they do, I can easily deal with it." Er sneered slightly, "I'm going to have a showdown with them today. I hope they will be more sensible."

"But... most people are not that rational." Mary was not as optimistic as Charles. "From my point of view, there should be many people who will object... After all, the move is so big and involves the interests of too many people."

Yes, Ciel is indeed preparing to make a big move.

The empire is about to be thrown into the war, which will naturally cost countless money. In the past few years, the empire has spent a lot of money on construction-especially the railway construction led by Charles. It can be said that it is heavily in debt. If everything is If this is not done, the railway debt coupled with a large amount of war expenses can be said to put the empire's finances into crisis, and even risk being in danger.

Therefore, Charles decided to suspend the repayment of all due railway bonds from the moment the war broke out, and only paid the due interest. Other repayment matters "will be discussed after the war is over."

It is conceivable that this will naturally cause great repercussions, but Ciel is not afraid.

"We don't allow them to object, and the Empire doesn't need them to object!" Charles answered without hesitation, "The current Empire is different from the previous dynasties. You know, we are an elected emperor and government! The people elected His Majesty, so we represent the people! Who dares to go against the people? If anyone does so, he will be a sinner of the Empire."

The original text can be read in Liu # 9 @shu/ba!

"Maybe someone will file a lawsuit in court." Mary was not as optimistic as Charles. "If it is dragged into legal affairs, it will be troublesome... Don't forget that these things cannot be publicized to the outside world."

"Don't think that the law can be their shield." Charles did not worry about this at all. "Today, in the Empire, His Majesty is the law! And in my department, it is the king's law! I carefully built this system to execute my own will, isn't it for today? If anyone dares to oppose me on this matter, then he will suffer the consequences. You can tell those people this and let them understand the truth."

When he said this proudly, Marie was looking at him all the time. This is the Charles she likes to see.

"Puff..." Finally she couldn't help laughing, "Sir, you are always charming at this time."

"I have it at other times." Charles couldn't help but joked with her.

"By the way, who was the old man I saw when I came in just now?" Marie asked suddenly.

"It's the Russian envoy. He came to show me goodwill." Charles answered very calmly, "He hopes that our two countries can forget the previous unpleasantness and embark on the road of cooperation."

"Then you will definitely refuse him?" Marie frowned. "After all, you are already making such preparations..."

"No... I am very happy to tell him that I love Russia and hope to gain his friendship." Charles laughed, "I also plan to introduce him to see His Majesty to make the relationship between the two countries friendly..."

Marie opened her eyes wide, looked at Charles, and then understood instantly.

"You are really..." She stopped talking halfway.

"What is it really?" Charles couldn't help asking.

"It's so bad that it makes people excited!" Marie's face suddenly turned red.

Then, she suddenly stood up, then leaned on the desk, looking at Charles face to face, "Sir... Do you remember what you promised me? Now, that promise has not been fulfilled..."

Charles immediately remembered what she was referring to.

Then he was a little embarrassed.

"Can't I have what Laura can have?" Marie's face turned redder, and her voice became softer. "Sir, do you want to repay your loyalty in this way?"

It's not that she is so innocent, but she knows that Charles is very fond of this.

"I... I remember..." Under her gaze, Charles was a little incoherent, no longer arrogant.

Because, he really fell for it.

"But, you know... I'm so busy, and... damn, this is my home..."

"Then you won't be at home all the time? Aren't we going out later..." Mary deliberately added a little charm, and her voice was so sweet that it was hard to control herself.

In fact, she didn't really want to have a child now - now that she had just got such an important position, if she suddenly got pregnant, how could she do anything? Everything she had finally got would be gone.

But it was really fun for her to tease Charles.

But for Charles, it was not so fun.

Because, at this moment, the door suddenly opened again.

"Charles..." Charlotte's greeting was immediately interrupted. (~^~)