Flowers, Swords and France

Charlotte's sudden action made Charlotte even more embarrassed. She didn't expect that in such a serious occasion, Charles would dare to act so wantonly.

However, her exclamation did not cause any disturbance. The two old people looked at her intently, as if they did not see Charles's unserious behavior at all.

Grandpa's majesty made Charlotte secretly frightened, and the touch on her hand made her even more confused. What made her even more panicked was that she found that no matter how she warned herself beforehand, she still couldn't help but want to see it again. Ciel's face.

"What are you doing? Let me go!" In order to cover up the panic, she turned her face away, and then tried hard to pull her hand away, but it had no effect. Charles held it too tightly, and she couldn't pull it out no matter how hard she tried. Don't leave.

This bastard... this bastard... Charlotte felt bitter in her heart. She just kept cursing Charles in her heart, but she didn't dare to make too much noise next to her grandfather.

"Charlotte, I heard that you haven't been feeling well lately. Now that I see it, you seem to be quite energetic... at least more energetic than me." As if he didn't hear his granddaughter's call, Duke Treville said slowly. Asked, "Then, why haven't I seen you these days? Even when Charles came to visit you several times, you refused to receive him. Well, don't move for now and talk to grandpa..."

Grandpa's words made Charlotte give up her plan to break away and glared at Charles fiercely.

"This is my fault, Your Excellency." Charles nodded to Charlotte with a flattering smile while answering Duke Treville's question, "I have done some wrong things recently. It made Charlotte angry. Already..."

"Really? Is that so? This can't be done," the Duke frowned. "You are quite old, so you should be more prudent in doing things. Don't act like a child, causing trouble every three days. Look, now you have experienced the pain, right? Now you have a temper and give everyone You’ve caused so much trouble, shouldn’t you admit your mistake?”

"Yes, I know, I'm sorry..." Charles bowed deeply and showed his apology, "I will apologize to Charlotte properly. Until she is willing to forgive me."

"That makes sense." The Duke nodded slightly, "Charle, you must give way to Charlotte more in the future, otherwise you will end up in such trouble before you get married. After you get married, won't you have to quarrel every day?"

"Of course." Charles replied immediately. "I will never dare to make Charlotte angry again."

"You can't just talk, you must show it with actions, otherwise what's the point of just talking!" The Duke whispered to his grandnephew, and then turned his attention to his granddaughter, "Charlotte. How are you? Is it enough to have been angry for so long? Since Charles has apologized to you so sincerely, please forgive him this time..."

Listening to the singing of these two people, Charlotte felt that the anger in her heart was getting stronger and stronger, and she was almost about to explode loudly. It was with great difficulty that he managed to maintain his composure.

Although Grandpa's words seemed to be blaming Ciel, they were obviously an understatement to excuse Ciel, describing this shameless betrayal as "a child causing trouble"?

Not to mention that his words were secretly accusing him of losing his temper.

If others say so. No matter who it was, she would never accept an attack, but this time the person who stood aside was her grandfather, whom she had loved and admired since she was a child. So even though she was so angry, Charlotte only felt her throat was blocked. I was speechless. In the end, she simply said nothing and looked sideways at Charles to see what more shameless displays he could perform.

With such an understatement, you want to smooth over my anger and make me forget the shame I have suffered? wishful thinking!

"Charlotte, that's it for today. Do you really want to take a gamble and cancel the engagement, making us two brothers sad and bringing shame to the entire family?" Standing silently aside The Marquis of Treville also suddenly spoke, "What Charles did was indeed wrong. , but in the final analysis, he just made some mistakes that young people make. To be honest, who wouldn't make this kind of mistake? What's more, with Ciel's current status, there will always be some chaos. Die likes people around him, and it’s normal for him to be confused for a while..."

His tone was equally understated, suggesting that Ciel had simply made a small mistake in the heat of the moment because he had been seduced.

Of course he would not tell Charlotte that not only did he not take his grandson seriously, he had also deliberately planned to find a lover for his grandson.

Under the eager gazes of the two old men, Charlotte did not answer, but stood quietly, looking at the floor with her head slightly lowered.

In order to prevent herself from having an attack on the spot, she bit her lips hard, leaving shallow tooth marks.

Yes, it was a moment of confusion...an accidental mistake, a trivial matter - that's how everyone sees it, it's just me making trouble over nothing.

She actually knew from the beginning that in the minds of the older generation, this kind of thing was not a big deal.

But...she doesn't care at all what the elders think.

She slowly raised her head and stared at Ciel coldly.

Do you even think so? Is this the excuse you gave yourself...? She seemed to be questioning.

"I made a big mistake, Charlotte." After looking at each other for a moment, Ciel sighed, "I know it may be difficult for you to forgive me now, but I sincerely hope you can continue our relationship. Engagement, spend a lifetime with me, for which I am willing to pay any price, please forgive me."

Listening to Ciel's affectionate plea, Charlotte found that she could not retaliate decisively. She avoided Ciel's sight, but she couldn't pretend to ignore it no matter what.

The warmth coming from the palm of my hand finally turned into endless pain and sorrow.

"Do you still want to deceive me?" Finally, she asked in a low voice. "No...that's enough. Leave these words to others. I don't want to be fooled anymore, and I don't want to hear it anymore. There is no need for you to suffer and stay with someone you don't love..."

"No. I said that sincerely." Charles quickly grabbed Charlotte's hand, fearing that she would suddenly walk away. "You said that I married you for your dowry or for something else. This is totally wrong! In front of these two old people today. I can tell you that I am married to you, or you I have no interest in my family's property at all. I can make a contract and you will have no rights over your dowry, your property, or even I have the right to control all my property! In addition, I can also tell you that I will never marry casually just to please others, Lolot, don’t forget that I proposed to you! I want to marry you just because I love you, yes... I love you, I have always loved you, that’s why I want to marry you!”

This sudden and fierce confession stunned almost everyone. The three elders of the Treville family all looked at each other, watching the usually calm Ciel suddenly roar like crazy.

"You're really not ashamed. At this age, you still talk about whether you love or not in front of a woman." Marquis Treville lightly shrugged, and then made a slightly teasing comment in his heart.

However, judging from his experience. Girls fall for this all the time.

It seems that his grandson is still a person with the blood of Treville after all, and he can learn some things without a teacher after all... He thought with a little relief.

Just as the Marquis of Treville expected. Charlotte was shocked by Ciel's sudden confession, and her eyes widened slightly. Ciel looked at him in surprise, as if judging how sincere his words were.

Reason told her that maybe this was another piece of rhetoric coming from this person. However, there was a little bit of luck in her heart, but she couldn't help but think that Charles might be sincere.

If you want to marry me neither for money nor to please the old man, then there is only one reason left to propose... She thought silently in her heart.

No, it's still hard to believe.

The sudden suspicion dispelled this reverie in her mind. She was so hurt by Ciel that she could no longer trust him the way she once did.

I had believed in his promise before, succumbed to his opinions again and again, catered to his interests again and again... but in the end, all I got was shameless betrayal.

She felt that she no longer had the confidence to believe it anymore.

However, her momentary wavering was completely caught by Ciel.

Charlotte... loves me so deeply... An inexplicable touch filled Charles's heart.

It was a real feeling of guilt.

"Charlotte, if I told you how I came here recently, you would definitely not believe it, but I really live in a state of fear, deeply afraid that you will abandon me and destroy the vow we have made since childhood... …Didn’t we plan to shine together from the beginning? How could you start from such a glorious thing? How about escaping in front of the business?" After talking about the Treville family's business, he unintentionally changed his tone, low and affectionate, "There happened to be two old people present today, please allow me to make a few digressions. Well... our family has been through a lot of hardships, and we finally took advantage of the changing situation to climb back to the top. , we have paid amazing efforts and costs, so... we should never have to endure any waves now. Do you really have the heart to watch it be humiliated because of our momentary anger? Charlotte, I believe it, no? No one loves this family more than you do. This family name deserves to be cherished by each of us and its glory. We need to work together to protect it. I am very happy... I am really happy that I can combine with you and continue this surname - we are both descendants of the Treville family, and our combination is better than Philip or Ou. Ren’s future marriage will be more representative of Treville’s glory, won’t it?”

To be fair, as a time traveler, Charles does not have such a strong sense of family, and is even more uninterested in the so-called "Glory of Treville". But since Charlotte is the most susceptible to this, he doesn't mind showing off. It’s time.

Just as Ciel expected, after hearing Ciel's words, Charlotte was obviously touched. She looked at him uneasily, and then at her grandfather.

"That's right, Charles." At this moment, Duke Treville suddenly spoke. He agreed with Charles's words, "Both of us brothers suffered a lot in the revolution, and then we had to pretend to be good for our future. We parted ways, so we were worried about it all the time, for fear that after we passed away, Our descendants are strangers, and the Treville family has been torn apart. It is because of this consideration that Victor and I made this marriage contract to reunite the family and unite in this turbulent era. Cut off the thorns, survive all the terrible storms, and stand proudly in the world!"

Read the original text in Liu#9@书/吧!

Then, he looked at Charlotte again, managed to muster the strength from his sick body, and continued speaking word by word.

"So...Charlotte, you should understand. You are not only marrying for yourself, but also for the Treville family. This is why I made such a will. Do you understand? I want you to The two continue the blood of our two brothers and protect this family, and you... I know you. You love this family from the bottom of your heart, not because of how good a life it can give you, but because of this surname. By yourself! So how can you abandon everything you hold dear and choose to escape alone?”

"No...no...I didn't...how could I abandon the family?" The Duke's accusation made Charlotte almost at a loss as she defended incoherently. "I never thought about it!"

No accusation could hurt Charlotte's heart more than the Duke's. How could she not love this family?

"That's right, I plan to hand over the family's property to you after you get married. And you heard what Charles just said, right? He also plans to hand over his property to you to control..." The Duke Suddenly he raised his head and looked at his brother, "Victor. Do you have any objections to this arrangement?"

"Oh. I have no objection. This is good. Charles and I are usually busy with a lot of things. It would be better to leave it to someone who has free time to take care of it early." Marquis Treville smiled and nodded. "I plan to leave all my property to Charlotte for disposal after the two of them get married."

Of course he is happy to be a favor. Anyway, for a waning old man like him, there is nothing to spend a lot of money on. After his death, apart from his granddaughter's part, his property will also go to Charles. Go, handing it over to Charlotte now is just to advance what is bound to happen, and there is no trouble-could Charlotte be short-changing his money?

"Very good." The Duke nodded approvingly, "So, Charlotte, have you seen? After you get married, you will be the mistress of the Treville family, and you don't even have to wait for the two of us to pass away! You Will you reject this arrangement?"

Of course Charlotte didn't refuse.

At this moment, her entire body was trembling slightly, as if the world was spinning.

Becoming the mistress of the entire family, isn't this what she has dreamed of since she was a child?

However, if all this requires sacrificing all one's dignity, it will be meaningless.

But...if he didn't love himself, why would Ciel make such an arrangement?

All kinds of thoughts were lingering in her mind, making her upset. She looked at Ciel, who was still holding her hand, as if to determine how sincere his confession was.

"Charlotte, okay, don't be angry." Charles still smiled at Charlotte and gently shook her hand, "I have told my grandpa and your grandpa today. No, I will never make you angry again..."

This kind of action, which was like a child's fawning, could bring back Charlotte's fond memories of the past. Looking into Ciel's eyes, she was finally shaken.

"Do you hope that I won't be able to rest in peace until I die?" Grandpa's question suddenly rang in Charlotte's ears.

No, she can't do that.

"Charlotte, I know I can't gain your trust by just saying nice words, so...I plan to prove it with actions." Charles slowly pulled Charlotte into his arms, "I did it for the exercise last year. I went to the city of Le Mans. On the outskirts of Le Mans, on the banks of the Loire River, I saw a large area of ​​beautiful countryside. The scenery there was beautiful, and there were vineyards everywhere. Looking into the distance, there was a beautiful scenery. There are many gardens and castles on the light blue sky. Next to the castle is the endless river... I plan to spend a lot of money to buy them all. I want to buy a large piece of land, no matter how much it costs. And it... is all yours. It will only be recorded in your name and become your place to spend the summer. I don't need your property, but I am willing to give everything to you, as long as you are happy."

Maybe he would lose a lot of money by investing his money in land with a low yield, but Charles was willing to do it to please Charlotte. "Now you can no longer say that I deliberately married you for profit, right? That's right... I love you, really."

A few tears appeared on the edge of Charlotte's eyes, and then slowly rolled down, leaving two bright tear tracks on her fair face.

She finally believed that Ciel really wanted to marry her and spend the rest of their lives together.

"Will you never betray me again?" Charlotte, with tears in her eyes, whispered next to Charles, "Will you stay with me forever?"

"I'd love to!" Charles laughed. "I said, I will give you everything, just wait!"

With a joy from the bottom of his heart, he suddenly lowered his neck and kissed Charlotte's lips happily.

Then, he raised his head again, and in the eyes of the three elders who were either surprised or approving, he loudly ordered his uncle with the spirit of a conqueror, "Go call the notary and the lawyer, we can sign a contract today and write down everything I said!"

Amid Charles's laughter, Charlotte slowly closed her eyes.

"I love you too."

Charles lowered his head again and gave Charlotte another long kiss. (To be continued...)