Flowers, Swords and France

After coming out of Perriet Mansion, Charles took out his pocket watch and looked at the time.

It's not even noon yet.

Well, it should still be there. Charles thought to himself.

The carriage arrived at a small dilapidated attic. This kind of loft is usually rented out by owners to young people who have just arrived in Paris and are short of money but intend to start a career. Therefore, the facilities are extremely incomplete, and of course the rent is extremely low.

Walking up the creaking stairs and enduring all kinds of strange smells, Charles walked to the door of a room in the corner of the fifth floor.

He knocked gently on the door.

No response.

"Albert, it's me!" cried Charles in a low voice.

The door suddenly opened.

"It turns out it's you, Charles. I thought some creditor was here again..." Albert-de-Foa-Gray's delicate and slender face was full of surprise.

[Foat and Grail are both ancient aristocratic families in France. In 1398, the two families merged their surnames into one through marriage]

Even though he had the same surname, Charles had to admit that Albert was a handsome young man.

His facial features are round and gentle, his eyes are soft light blue, his forehead is extremely white, his brown hair is naturally curly, his skin looks white and crystal clear under the bright light, and his delicate face with a smile looks extremely happy and extremely happy. Infectious.

However, what is extremely inconsistent with this handsome and elegant appearance is his character. Charles has felt this since they were students together at the Lycée Henri IV.

[In the 19th century, French aristocrats and the bourgeoisie usually sent their children to the Lycée Henri IV, which produced countless elites. To this day, it is still the top aristocratic public school in France. 】

After graduating from school, Albert chose to live a life of dissoluteness. Now, at a young age, he was already well-known as a libertine. Even in their circle of libertines, Albert was already well-known. .

Today's nobles have long lost the high spirits of their ancestors. Under the pressure of the new rich, they are at a loss and make mistakes every step of the way. They have no choice but to watch their glory disappear.

The three glorious days in July 1830 drove away the Bourbon dynasty and officially announced the arrival of a new era in France. The nobles first lost their political power, then lost their hereditary privileges, and finally even the House of Nobles could not be saved.

[On July 30, 1830, July 30th, 1830, in order to resist the perverse behavior of the Bourbon dynasty, a revolution broke out in Paris, which eventually destroyed the dynasty and was known as the Three Glorious Days. 】

The seats in the French House of Nobles are hereditary, and the surnames of each family are recorded in gold books and are not replaced hereditary. However, at the end of 1831, France abolished the hereditary system of seats in the House of Lords and replaced them with appointments by the king. At the same time, the primogeniture system of aristocratic property was officially abolished and replaced by equal distribution among all children.

These reforms of the July Dynasty destroyed the foundation of the French nobility - their hereditary political status was deprived, making the nobility no longer naturally noble; the abolition of primogeniture made the wealth of the nobility decrease from generation to generation. Once the backing of power and wealth is lost, how valuable is aristocratic blood?

Facing the irreversible tide of the times, no matter how unwilling they were, the nobles had no choice but to accept it. If those shrewd, capable and ambitious monarchs and famous officials in France had their souls in heaven, they would probably have to sigh: France is about to end...

As time has evolved, the originally arrogant and proud French aristocrats, except for a few smart people who can adapt to the times, have gradually degenerated into two groups: one is reclusive, stingy to the point of being stingy, and takes the accumulation of wealth as a living thing. The last pleasure; a kind of dissoluteness, spending money like water, accumulating debts, living in a mocking attitude of everything, and not thinking about things today.

Albert is the latter type of person.

These swingers are a combination of contradictions. On the one hand, they are cynical and irresponsible, and regard having fun as the ultimate meaning of life; on the other hand, they are strong and bold enough to remain helpless despite the current situation of being heavily in debt. Living a carefree life, you can also do all kinds of shocking things.

However, these differences in surnames did not prevent Charles and Albert from becoming good friends. Maybe it's because the two have very different personalities that they are attracted to each other?

"Oh, my friend, please come in." Albert invited Charles into his rented house.

The room was unbelievably shabby: there was no furniture at all, just a bed and a few boxes with luggage. The floor and walls of the room were covered with stains, and there were no signs that the owner had ever cleaned them up.

Because of his son's misdeeds and lack of repentance, Albert's father had already cut off financial assistance to him (his father happened to be the first type of person mentioned above), so this direct descendant of one of the oldest families in France Now I can only live in this ghost place.

"Please take a seat," Albert said, pointing to a box, in the manner of a king receiving his courtiers.

Charles followed his example and sat down on a dusty box. A sour smell entered Charles's nose from under the bed. It seemed that the other party had drunk a lot of wine last night.

"My friend, did you play crazy again last night? You have to wait until noon to get up every day."

When he talked about this, Albert became a little energetic, "That girl was so energetic last night, I didn't come back until two o'clock!"

"Then how much debt have you owed recently?" Charles poured cold water on him.

"It's only tens of thousands of francs... I can't remember the exact amount." Albert also sat on a box next to him, frowning as if he was calculating the numbers. After a moment, his brows relaxed again, "No matter what It.”

"Albert, don't live like this, you will destroy yourself." Charles still couldn't hold it back and advised his friend softly.

"Carpe diem is the only life I want." Albert still looked nonchalant and directly rejected his friend's suggestion, "Okay Charles, why did you come to your door today because of the wind?"

"Nothing, I just want to see you and ask you for a favor."

"Want to see me? Then you can see clearly now..." Albert stretched, "Poor Albert is still the same..."

Charles shook his head and smiled bitterly, giving up the persuasion again.

"As for asking me for help...of course you can. Tell me, is there anything you need Albert to do?"

Ciel pondered for a moment.

"My cousin Charlotte, the granddaughter of the Duke of Treville, is to marry the son of the Marquis Léolan."

Albert didn't look very interested, he just raised his slender eyebrows. "Oh, what then?"

Read the original text in Liu#9@书/吧!

"My friend, you know how much it costs for a duke to marry off his daughter. But no matter how much I ask and find out, no one can tell the details of this marriage. Both families are tight-lipped about it. I can't figure it out - generally speaking, if it's a normal marriage, wouldn't both parties publicize how much money each family contributed, for fear that others won't know? It's like..."

"As if there's something fishy in it?" Albert answered.

Ciel nodded. "Furthermore, I heard that the young lady of the Leolan family was sent to a convent recently. When you combine these two things... you feel something is wrong, right?"

"Since you are here today, why don't we go for a walk in the Bois de Boulogne together?" Albert didn't know if it was possible, but stretched again and then stood up. "I just happened to catch a ride. I made an appointment there this afternoon."

"Okay." Charles agreed. Anyway, he felt a little uncomfortable staying here.

Soon, the two people sat side by side on Charles's light carriage and headed straight towards the Bois de Boulogne.

The carriage was galloping on the road, and for a while only the sound of horse hooves could be heard. Until a while later, Albert suddenly asked.

"It seems that you are very interested in this marriage? What, why is your cousin provoking you?"

"He didn't mess with me...but he messed with someone he shouldn't have messed with, so I had to come here to run errands." Charles also replied jokingly.

"Then what do you want me to do?"

Ciel's expression became serious and he lowered his voice.

"My friend, I know that you have a wide circle of friends and are well-informed. And you see, I have such a relationship with the Duke of Treville's family. If I go to inquire on my own, I'm afraid people will be wary... So, I want to ask you to help. I want to know what's going on in this marriage."

"Okay, no problem." Albert nodded without hesitation. "I'll find a way to find out clearly."

"Thank you!" Charles stretched out his hand and squeezed the other person's slender right hand, "I knew it was right to ask you!"

"However, I am still a little curious. Why are you so active? Can you get any benefits from it? Or are you entrusted by someone to save poor Miss Leolan?" Albert was very interested. Staring at Ciel, "Ciel, I know you too well. You are not a good man who is willing to be kind to others. You don't like to do those chivalrous and righteous things at all."

"Of course it's for..." Ciel didn't intend to hide anything from the other party.

"Your sister, right?" Albert answered quickly before Charles could answer, "I knew it."

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