Flowers, Swords and France

With anger that suddenly rose up and then was suppressed, Ciel slowly walked back to his home.

Why? Why am I so angry?

he asked himself in his mind.

The moment he heard Charlotte talking about himself, the thought "I want to kill his whole family" really flashed through his mind.

Why?

She is no longer in love. For a young and beautiful woman like Charlotte, it is normal for her to be pursued by others, right? It should be thought of beforehand. Besides, he had told himself countless times that he and Charlotte had parted ways and would never meet again, so there was no reason to be so angry.

But... the thoughts that arose at that moment were so real and terrifying, shattering all the boasts I had made before.

"I would rather enter a monastery than marry such a person..." At this moment, he suddenly remembered Charlotte's words later, and he felt a little relieved unexpectedly.

Then this relief was quickly replaced by self-blame. "Charles, remember, feelings are feelings, and career is career!" Marquis Treville's warning resounded in his heart again.

I'm such a half-assed fool...

Ciel shook his head mockingly. Forget it, don't think about it anymore, things are still important now, so he walked directly to his bedroom.

Until he returned home, he didn't see a sudden flash of sight in a room on the second floor.

Although Ciel had lowered his voice very softly, he was still noticed by a girl who was still asleep.

Fran, who was wearing pajamas, leaned against the window, carefully looked at her brother who had returned home, then returned to her bed with a smile, and leisurely returned to sleep.

Today my brother is back safe and sound, which is great! She hugged the pillow and muttered silently.

Since being hugged by her somewhat lost brother that day, she has never asked her brother anything. However, whenever he goes out at night, she always wants to confirm that he has come back before falling asleep, no matter how late it is. Even if her energy was a little sluggish in class the next day, she didn't care.

Before Ciel knew it, the care and bond between brother and sister had reached this point. Maybe this is the love between brother and sister who depend on each other for life? Maybe more than that?

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The next day, after Charles got up, he didn't care about doing anything else and ran directly to the old Marquis' room to receive guidance and seek advice. Fran, on the other hand, pretended that nothing happened. After breakfast, she said goodbye to her brother and grandfather honestly and went to accept the new day's schoolwork.

After arriving at the studio, Miss Marie-de-Leoran was a little surprised to see her friend who was in a bit of a bad mood.

"What's wrong? My dear friend! You seem to have been out of energy lately?" She stretched out her hand and wiped Fran's smooth face. "Did something happen at home? Or are you sick?"

Fran shook her head and sat down in her seat.

"Thank you for your concern, Mary, it's nothing." She replied softly. "I'm just a little tired."

"If you are tired, you should always pay more attention to rest!" Miss Marquis scolded in a low voice, "It's not yesterday and today. You have been doing this a lot lately. Even the teacher is a little unhappy!"

"I told you it's okay!" Fran smiled reluctantly, and then picked up the paintbrush. "Okay, let's draw first."

"Hey... you are really..." Miss Marquis couldn't help but sigh, and then picked up the paintbrush, "No matter what you do, you have to pay more attention to your health." Then she smiled again, "By the way, forget it. Congratulations, you will soon be Miss Painter..."

Just yesterday, the old Durenberg painter announced his decision in the studio. As the best among the students, Fran's paintings will be highlighted in his personal exhibition. Although several other students will also get the opportunity to exhibit, the old painter's preference for Miss Treville can be seen in terms of the quality and quantity of the selected works.

"Don't say that, it's still early." Fran's face was a little red, but the excitement on her face could still be seen. "Now it's just that the teacher took out a few paintings and showed them. I am still far away from becoming a real painter..."

"Stop being so modest!" Mary couldn't help but laugh, "If you don't even take the teacher's appreciation and preference seriously, then you will piss us off to death. Don't forget that we have gained nothing... You see, the teacher chose you this time, and the classmates didn’t say anything. This is what your talent deserves, but Miss Bowang has caused a lot of controversy..."

Fran still listened with a smile at first, but when she heard the next sentence, she hurriedly interrupted her friend's words, and then deliberately lowered her voice.

"Don't say that, Mary. I think Miss Bowen's paintings are quite good... Also, don't talk about these irrelevant things here, so as not to get into trouble."

Because of Fran's daily talent and hard work, the teacher's decision did not arouse too many complaints from the students. At most, it only aroused some private jealousy. However, for several other recommended candidates, the two parties each looked down upon the students on the opposite side, and often slandered and belittled each other.

This kind of mutual disparagement out of position inevitably turned into a quarrel every time.

This situation was most obvious in the case of Miss Lola de Beauvain, the leader of the Bank Party. The teacher selected two of her paintings, but was subjected to a lot of derogatory remarks and cynicism from the opposite group. Some people even deliberately ridiculed her. I paid the teacher a large amount of money privately to get this result. However, from Fran's point of view, the selected painting of Miss de Beauvin was indeed very good, and the teacher dealt with it impartially and without favoritism as always.

Moreover, Fran was afraid of getting involved in the disputes between the two parties, so she immediately stopped Mary's words. Because of her background, although she was a neutral party, Mary still leaned slightly towards the aristocratic party. She just did not stand directly because she was afraid of trouble, so it was not surprising that she said such a thing.

However, it was too late for her to stop.

"Controversy? I don't think there is anything controversial. My talent is enough to deserve this award."

A cold voice sounded behind the two of them.

Fran and Mary turned their heads back subconsciously, and then took a breath of cold air in their hearts at the same time.

Laura, the leader of the bank party, was looking at the two of them with her arrogant and indifferent eyes. She was wearing a luxurious dress as usual, with her hair still in a high bun, and she looked so majestic. "Ms. de Leoland, maybe you have a different view on this, so can you explain it to me...?"

Mary was a little hurt by this sight. This is one of the direct heirs to tens of millions of francs of wealth!

"Miss Bowen, I...I mean...I mean..." Under the suppression of Laura's momentum, Mary was a little nervous, "It's just that some people think that there are other works that can be comparable to yours. That’s all…”

"Oh? I don't think so. Maybe you can give me an example?" Laura continued to press forward relentlessly.

Mary's face became increasingly ugly.

Fran observed the surrounding area covertly and found that Matilda didn't come again today, so there was basically no one who could control her. She sighed secretly, now she was the only one to take action.

"Miss Bowen, Mary didn't mean that!" Fran smiled and smoothed things over. "Anyway, from my point of view, your work is indeed quite good. The teacher is not the kind of person who shows favoritism. You relied on your own strength to obtain the results." His favor..."

Fran's words finally calmed the other party down.

The banker lady lowered her gaze and let Mary go. "Huh, after all, there are still people who know the goods. There is such a gap between outstanding people and ordinary people."

Read the original article in Liu#9@书/吧!

Fran kicked Mary lightly under the table, and Mary understood and left the corner temporarily.

After Mary left, this corner fell into temporary silence, which made Fran feel a little uneasy.

"Don't worry, I just came here just to congratulate you, but I didn't expect to hear Miss Leolan's comments about me." Fortunately, Laura broke the silence by saying, "You are so beautiful on the painting. He is indeed better than me, I can’t help but notice this.”

Fran smiled reluctantly. "Thank you for your congratulations!" Then she looked at Laura carefully, "Miss Bowen, Mary just mentioned it unintentionally, and did not mean to target you..."

"I won't take it to heart." Before she could finish speaking, Laura answered directly. "I'm tired of saying this today, how could I still take it to heart?"

"That's good." Fran breathed a sigh of relief.

"Do you remember my last proposal?" Laura suddenly asked again.

"Proposal?" Fran was startled for a moment, then remembered.

Before Matilda came back last time, Laura had approached him and proposed that he join Laura's party, but he declined. Unexpectedly, she still didn't give up and came again this time.

Still, the answer won't be any different.

"Sorry, Miss Bowang..." Fran's tone was gentle but firm, "I just want to paint well here, and don't want to get involved with other things..."

The banker's daughter stood quietly and looked at Fran.

Fran looked back at her with a smile, but felt a little nervous inside. She must be not used to rejection from others, right?

"She is so beautiful, and so talented..." Laura suddenly sighed, then shook her head, "It doesn't matter, you can come to me anytime in the future."

Fran's mood relaxed.

Just when she thought Laura would leave, Laura suddenly walked closer again, and then she looked carefully at the painting in the frame. "Is this your family?"

"Yes." Fran nodded, "The scene is my living room. One of the characters is my grandfather, and the other is..." She paused slightly and said, "My brother."

"Nice painting." Laura commented, then nodded and prepared to leave.

"Miss Bowang, are you an only daughter?" Fran asked casually.

"No." Laura suddenly replied coldly, then turned and left.

"There are two heirs in my family, which is really a lot."

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ps1: I have a short business trip tomorrow, so I won’t be able to update, but I will make up for it in two updates the day after tomorrow.

ps2: I found out that this novel actually has a forum, which is so surprising! I didn’t expect that I would be able to enjoy this kind of treatment. Thank you to the kids who opened the bar...

ps3: This book will be strongly recommended next week. In addition to the normal updates during this period, I need to save up some manuscripts. During the list period, I will update twice a day without hesitation!

o(n_n)o~

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