His Excellency the Count of Grandet

After a while, the king also came down from upstairs, and the banquet officially began.The delicacies, clothes and temples look very grand and lively.

This is a good time for socializing. Everyone is looking for opportunities to make friends with people they think are useful, and Shire is one of them.

Logically speaking, an earl has not reached the point where he can be sought after by everyone, especially there are quite a lot of nobles in France.Because the aristocratic system in France is different from that in England.Except for the royal family, only the eldest son in the UK can inherit the title of nobility; while the requirements in France are much looser, and nephews and nieces have the right to inherit titles.In this way, fewer titles will be abolished due to extinction, and more titles will remain.

That is why the assassinated second son of Count Artois was a duke—the duke of Berry was a title he inherited from his aunt.

But even if it is the same earl, the gold content is different.

There are many sources of earl titles, the most important way is inheritance, purchase or award.

Inherited ones, such as the Count of Artois, are the most powerful among them, because his blood makes him the closest to the throne.If the family declines during the revolution, even a higher title of Marquis is nothing, such as Mr. de Aubrion, the valet of the Earl of Artois.The poorest nobles even need to go to the fields to farm by themselves.

If you buy it, it's basically useless.Apart from being honored as the Earl, there are quite few other privileges.According to people's usual classification, this type is "robed nobles", without any advantages in blood and origin.

Finally, there are honors.There are a variety of reasons for awarding honors, such as meritorious service in the army, being considered to have made contributions to the country, etc., can be awarded by obtaining the Order of the Knights.They also belong to the "nobles in robes", but at least relying on their own efforts to obtain titles, there are always merits.A typical example is the Duke of Decaz, and then there is Shire.

It's one thing to be an earl, quite another to be a rich earl!

Charles exudes these two smells at the same time, so it is natural to attract people's attention, and there are always people willing to chat with him.It has to be said that Alphonse's prediction makes sense——

Most of the gossip content is about sisters, daughters, nieces, and granddaughters, so blind people can't figure out what they mean, right?

Ciel had a headache and felt yesterday recurring.Thinking back to when he was mediating in various receptions, he was like this, he had to put on a perfect and thoughtful smile to push away all kinds of people who wanted to marry a certain female relative in the family to him.

Sure enough, throughout the ages, the relationship between in-laws is the never outdated means of wooing!

Under such circumstances, when Charles heard the royal servant whispering to him that the Duke of Richelieu had invited him, he nodded decisively.Just kidding, if this continues, the woman who wants to be his wife should have a reinforcement row!

The Duke of Richelieu is the successor after the Duke of Decaz.When he was young, he lived in Russia, served in the Russian army, and had a good relationship with Tsar Alexander I.

It is precisely because of this relationship that after Napoleon's defeat, he successfully softened the attitude of the Holy Alliance through Alexander I and saved France from greater losses.He is the successor of the chairman of the Council of Ministers. It is hard to say that Louis XVIII did not consider the factors of the two-pronged approach of Britain and Russia.

These things are just background; for the point now is that the Duke of Richelieu is among a circle of people who are destined not to welcome Charles—

The King's younger brother, the Count of Artois, the Count of Villers, the Minister-at-Large, and Louis VI, Prince of Condé, Henry de Bourbon!

They are all die-hard royalists... This dinner is really not a good one!

Charles still had his usual smiling expression on his face, but he had already planned quickly in his heart: the Duke of Richelieu must be just a springboard; then, what do the royalists want to say to him?

"Our young Earl, it's really not easy to meet you!" Duke Richelieu had already opened his mouth when Charles was two steps away, "Everyone wants to know you, so I have to honestly line up !"

Speaking of which, the Duke of Richelieu and the Duke of Decaz have somewhat similar temperaments, but their positions are different.Compared with the constitutional stance of the Duke of Decaz, the Duke of Richelieu, who once fought against Napoleon, is obviously more popular with the royalists.

"You terrify me, Your Excellency the Duke." Charles approached and bowed slightly. "Thanks to His Majesty's grace, I should naturally be more diligent. How dare I keep you and all distinguished gentlemen waiting for so long?"

Duke Richelieu laughed. "Before today, I thought that their compliments to you were exaggerated, but it was not until I saw you, such a young and promising gentleman, that I deeply understood that everything happens because of them." Makes sense!"

"You are ridiculous." Charles said politely.Then he turned to the Comte de Artois and Comte de Villers in due course, and greeted them.

Because in theory, although they are not familiar with each other, they still know each other.It is absolutely impossible for an arrogant person like Earl Artois to take the initiative to get close. For the sake of the atmosphere of the conversation, and in order not to leave a worse impression on the other party because of this, he is the only one who takes the initiative to show his affection first.

Have to say, this is the right choice.Because the Count of Artois nodded, and the Count of Villers introduced: "This is His Excellency Prince Condé, you may have heard of it."

He said so, and Charles naturally made a very positive second opinion.Then there was another round of pleasantries, full of the flashy rhetoric peculiar to this era.If it were someone else, they might not be able to hold it anymore, but fortunately, Charles has always been very patient.

"You seem to be a good young man with a bright future," Duke Richelieu said after ten minutes. "The future of our country depends on people like you!"

"That's right." Prince Condé, who has been seldom saying a word, took up the conversation, "I think I have understood why His Majesty loves you."

Prince Kong Dai is already old, whether it is his appearance or his tone, he already has a kind of coolness that is fading away from the west, a kind of frustration that will never grow again after the plants wither——

The hairline in front of his forehead can no longer be described as dangerous, and his hair is all combed back, and most of the exposed forehead is full of wrinkles, so his face is very long and his chin is very pointed; and because he has a long nose with a curved bridge With a long hooked nose and deeply drooping eye bags, it is very similar to the gloomy style of Count Artois.

It has to be emphasized that this is really not just the similarity in appearance.Because the second son of the Earl of Artois was assassinated at the beginning of this year, his only son was killed by people sent by Napoleon more than ten years ago-the reason is very simple. A way to kill all those who are likely to inherit the throne of Louis XVI.

From the point of view of murdering his son, Prince Kong Dai is undoubtedly at odds with the republicans.

So, Prince Condé, what does this mean?Charles turned around.

Logically speaking, he felt that there was nothing in him that could be seen or appreciated by the royalists.It's not like he became an earl, and the other party thinks he can win over, right?What's more, the Earl of Artois is known as someone who would rather log than be a British constitutional monarch, so he looks down on him every minute!

"That's all His Majesty's kindness and generosity." Charles said, but his heart was full of question marks.Is it the other party's purpose to confuse him?

"Tonight, there are not many people who can participate in the Eucharistic Blessing Ceremony in the palace." Count Villers said, seemingly unintentionally, "This is a great honor."

"Isn't the truth the same as what you said?" Xia Er said, immediately thinking of the religious sect.

Although he is an atheist, the general environment believes in Catholicism, so he does as the Romans do, at least on the surface, there is nothing wrong with it.It was impossible to memorize the teachings, but he had already memorized the prayers for the blessing of the Eucharist—no matter what, there was no problem in the palace!

So, the point of this topic... Isn't it him?

"At least, we can all participate." Count Villers said again. "In this respect, we are all the same innocent lamb." Lamb is a self-proclaimed, corresponding to God; the same lamb, the same God, that is, the same belief.

"Compared to some people who are overwhelmed," Count Artois finally said, with strong sarcasm in his tone, "we should let them withdraw their hands and go back where they came from!"

scare?

Charles reacted to this.Before the Earl of Artois said these words, if someone told him that James' forces might unite with the royalists, he might really believe it.But now he realized that he still underestimated the degree of stubbornness of Count Artois; or to be precise, the degree of religious fanaticism——

Protestant guys dare to go wild on Catholic territory?

Foreigners, heretics!

Heretics should be burned!

Thinking of this, a trace of cold sweat oozes from Charles' back.Although it is a good thing that the royalists have strong hostility to the British, they will not face a united opponent, but in case something happens...

His relationship with Victor must never be made public!

In an instant, Ciel was completely firm in this thought.If he now knew that someone unexpected had already guessed their relationship, he couldn't help turning pale.Worst of all, there's more than one!

However, the current Charles is still ignorant.

"Who says no?" He calmed down and replied, intending to more completely cut off the possibility of James turning over in France. "If you have to go to various countries, the things you seek will more or less damage the legitimate rights and interests of the local people. Otherwise, what can they get?" He fired a map cannon decisively, and almost said, "It's not my race." must be different".

Count Artois began to think that Charles's words were too pleasant, at least he must be a smart person who knows the times.This eased his original attitude a lot, thinking that not everyone is as smelly and hard as Victor.Although he firmly believes that the king has absolute power, this does not mean that he wants to take over a poor and chaotic France.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if someone like Shire under his command would earn money for him?