Granville's estate

A 27-year-old young man commented on another 29-year-old young man as a "young man". This is really a dumbfounding thing. Louis guessed that Calliste probably stayed with His Royal Highness Artois for a long time. That's why he subconsciously commented on that Misar conductor.

"His age doesn't affect my evaluation of him." Callister said, he still had that arrogant tone, but because of his small mistake, Louis' mood became a lot easier, and he didn't Stuck on this small problem, just smiled and continued to watch the handover of the conductor on the stage.

After a pretty good performance—yes, even a simple switch between conductors, the very gifted Missard conductor can turn it into a pretty catchy one—the Mr. Misar began to direct his orchestra to play the Quadrille; his conducting style was more radical than that of the previous conductor, and as the rhythmic dance music played, it was like being enchanted by a witch. , the people participating in the masquerade ball in the lobby on the first floor immediately fell into a frightening carnival that was about to burn.

No educated and respectable person who has not seen a masquerade ball at the Misard Opera House can hardly imagine such a frenzied and terrifying scene: a huge fanatic crowd of two or 3000 people danced to the beat of the music in very rough They danced the Quadrille, some with disheveled hair, shaking their heads from side to side, jumping up and down among the crowd like a ball of will-o'-the-wisp; some men who wanted to attract everyone's attention directly jumped over the railing and jumped onto the dance floor, forcing The people next to him had to back away; some deliberately bumped into the women around him, knocked them down to the ground, and then rolled on the ground holding these women like a boa constrictor entangled its prey; there was laughter and noise everywhere. Screams, at the edge of the dance floor, a dozen men, women, women in man's dress and men in woman's dress rolled into a ball amidst pushing and shoving, and some even lay down on the floor directly, letting Strangers in colorful costumes kissed their bare arms and necks.

"Hi!"

Someone in the crowd shouted, and the sound was like the roar of a wild animal.

"Hi!"

This is the response of others. Even Louis, who was watching from the box on the third floor, could hear the vulgar and warm cheers very clearly. In the middle of the cheers, there were also obscene jokes and women's screams. Voice.

At this time, the first floor of the Misard Opera House has become a seething world, a flowing vortex like a melting pot: people in strange costumes are everywhere, they are spinning, crowded, pushing, like a colorful Currents collided, merged, and parted again; everything boiled, the invisible fire of lust and emotion kindled, burned, extinguished, and erupted anew with mighty lava.

All the people attending the masquerade party, no matter men, women, old people, young people, or the rich people who come here to see the strange things, or the factory workers who have managed to scrape together enough money to buy a ticket, and those who need to worry about tomorrow's bread The poor, all swaying their bodies under the command of the music, embraced the object of their fancy whether they wanted to dance or not; as the music changed from Quadrille to Gallop, this indulgence became Some men walked back and forth on the edge of the dance floor like lions patrolling their territory. As long as they saw a woman they liked, they would go up and hug them tightly, and the women would fly from one place to another like bees flying among flowers. handed over from one hand to another.

It was a world Louis had never seen, a ball quite different from the courteous aristocratic balls in the suburbs of Saint-Germain: seething, indulgent, revelry, vulgar to the point of obscenity, but alive; here is In a wild and ignorant world, people have become unscrupulous because of disguised clothing and masks.Those masks erased all distinctions of identity and status, and they could make an upper-class woman in a silk domino cloak dance a quadrille with a poor college student in the Latin Quarter, or make an impossible A seamstress who is dowry and cannot expect a decent marriage has a pleasant encounter with a nobleman who owns a luxurious mansion on the Avenue d'Andan, and even a liberal-minded foreigner living in the suburbs of Saint-Honoré and a resident. Come and have a friendly chat with the Parisian petty bourgeois who most reverence kings and nobles in the Marais!

Louis was amazed to look at this seething strange world from the box on the third floor. He was attracted by this kind of carnival scene that was absolutely impossible to see in Magon. At the same time, he also wanted to find Alred and Margaret's figure unknowingly leaned out from the window of the box to a dangerous point, until she was pulled back by Callisto who was standing beside him.

"Be careful!" the Viscount said, he grabbed Louis' arm, his tone was a bit harsh, but it could not be called a reprimand: "This is on the third floor, if you fall down, it's not a joke!"

After regaining his senses, Louis realized how dangerous his actions just now were, and he was also taken aback.

"I'm sorry, I can't see it for a while." Louis said, because he was scared, he could feel his heart beating, and even the palms of his hands were sweating: "I saw some people who didn't dance ...Wouldn't the magistrates of Paris, the policemen, and the judges find this a matter of immorality?"

When he said this, because of his commanding position, Louis could see many lovers in the corridor on the second floor. The women were lying on the ground, using the man's thigh as a pillow to talk about love. Love, and some even kissed each other while standing - this scene of shocking scenes was simply beyond what he could imagine for a person who used to live in the town of Magong, which strictly abided by religious rules and regulations. The most immoral limit.

Callister sized Louie up, making sure he was just a little spooked and unhurt before letting him go.

"This kind of masquerade ball is actually nothing new. The earliest masquerade ball was allowed to be held in the opera house was the Duke of Orleans, the regent in the era of Louis XV, but it was canceled later." The viscount said, he is rare Patiently explained to Louis the origin of this masquerade ball more than 100 years ago: "Misal used this reason to lobby the officials. The king knew that Misal was going to hold a masquerade ball in his opera house. I didn’t say anything when I was there, so that the city officials wouldn’t stop me, but His Royal Highness the Count of Artois doesn’t like this kind of dance very much.”

"Why doesn't His Royal Highness the Count of Artois like this masquerade ball?" Louis asked, and as soon as he uttered the words, he felt that he had asked a stupid question-the answer lies in the behavior of those people who are unscrupulous under the cover of costumes Is it right? Your Highness must not like the Misal Opera House because of these completely unethical and precepts!

The viscount glanced at him, but he didn't laugh at Louis' innocence, but the answer he gave was beyond Louis' expectations.

"Your Highness doesn't like anything that will damage the dignity of the royal family and nobles. In the past, masquerade balls in opera houses were held for nobles, and all the people who participated were nobles, but now they have become masquerade balls for common people. Of course, His Highness doesn't like it."

"But the lady I met just now is definitely not an ordinary commoner." Louis said, he bet that the lady dressed as a forest goblin he met in the lobby on the first floor before was definitely not an ordinary woman, even a very The oldest one may be a very noble noble lady, because her dress and accent are clearly of the upper class.

"There are some nobles who like to seek excitement, and they will go to this kind of place in disguise to find their prey." The Viscount said, it seems that he actually knows the real identity of the lady, but he did not say it: "But this way Come on, Your Highness doesn't like this Masar's masquerade even more, after all, nobles and commoners are mixed together, it's really indecent."

"So, if His Royal Highness the Count of Artois becomes our king, we may never see such an amazing ball tonight again?"

"Based on what I know about Your Highness, this is not impossible."

"That doesn't sound like good news, especially for Mr. Misar."

Louis glanced at the conductor Misard who was passionately conducting his orchestra on the stage. The conductor was concentrating on the beat of the music, unaware that once His Royal Highness the Count of Artois became King of France, he would have to face The question of whether this grand masquerade can continue to exist.

"I don't think this is bad news. If this kind of masquerade is really banned, it will save a lot of unnecessary trouble." Callister said while pointing to the side near here on the first floor. In the corner of the dance floor, the women who fell after being chased by men as prey: "This kind of dance was originally prepared for the nobles, so this kind of romantic habit will be left-if you have been staying on the first floor just now If not, the current situation will not be any better than theirs."

"Sir, I don't agree with what you say."

Hearing that he compared himself to those weak women who participated in masquerade balls, Louis protested unconvinced: "No matter what, I'm still a man, and I won't be like a girl who can't refuse other people's invitations."

"Ah, come on!" said the Viscount, his tone was a little arrogant: "You don't know how to refuse a woman at all, even the lady's invitation just now, you couldn't shirk it, let alone face those women. The inferior people who don't listen to you."

This is simply an evaluation that Louis can't refute - after careful calculation, he was able to get away from the forest goblin because of Callister's arrival. In this way, Louis can only admit that what the viscount said is quite reasonable that's it.

They watched the grandest and most bizarre scene of the masquerade ball in the entire Misard Opera House in the box on the third floor. Even though they were still worried about the whereabouts of Alred and Marguerite, for Louis, this was definitely a One of the most unforgettable memories of his life, and it is as impressive as the most magnificent Brumaire Ball of the Vicomtesse de Bougogne.

When the hour hand of Louis' pocket watch was about to point to twelve o'clock in the evening, the attendant sent by Callister finally brought them an accurate news.

"Sir, we have Miss Margaret Labdin and her friends in the prop room behind the stage."