flower and sword and france

Chapter 4: Sister's Night Attack

With the dim candlelight, he found a young girl staring at him calmly with her blue eyes.

In horror, Ciel's eyes widened suddenly, and he could see more clearly.

The slender and beautiful girl frowned slightly, her expression very serious. And her loose blond hair floated a dark gold color in the dim candlelight, as if covered with a layer of tassel, which added a psychedelic color to the scene. The girl, wearing a thin pale pink cashmere pajamas, sat beside Charles' bed, holding a small candlestick in her right hand, while her left hand stretched forward, pressing the tip of her index finger on Charles' own forehead. .

After being absent for half a second, Ciel opened his mouth.

"Fuuuuuuuuuu"

He only had time to call out the first syllable, and the girl quickly sealed Ciel's mouth with her palm. Then looked at Ciel with menacing eyes.

After Ciel understood what was going on and returned to calm, the girl gently lifted her hand.

Forlan-Louise, granddaughter of the Marquis of Treville and sister of Charles, made her debut in this way.

After taking a few breaths to straighten his breath, Ciel glared at the girl in front of him.

"Are you crazy!" The voice was low but stern.

A fifteen-year-old girl sneaking into her twenty-year-old brother's room in the middle of the night, let alone nineteenth-century France, even the twenty-first century is somewhat appalling.

The girl still looked at her brother, but her expression was not filled with joy or anger.

"Do you know what you're doing? Miss Treville?" Charles emphasized again, feeling really angry.

Although this younger sister has recently entered a period of rebelliousness, but this time it is still a little too much. Perhaps, his elder brother really indulged his younger sister too much to develop her arrogant character?

It's time to take care of it.

Just as Ciel was reflecting on his education policy for his sister, the girl's arrogant expression finally loosened, and the corner of her mouth moved slightly upward, forming a slightly mocking smile.

"Of course I do, my elder brother. But now I am going to ask for your help."

The voice is clear and tactful, but there is not much respect in it.

Charles was annoyed again. "Then go back to sleep now!"

Under the scolding from her brother, Fran lowered her eyes slightly.

"Okay..." Ciel regretted a little, so he slowed down again, "Go back to sleep first, and tell me tomorrow if you have anything."

"No" Fran arrogantly rejected the other party's suggestion, "I want it now!"

After a moment of staring at each other, Ciel succumbed.

"Okay okay okay! What the hell is going on?!"

As usual, after winning the sibling rivalry, Fran had a triumphant smile on her face. The girl's smile, against the backdrop of her fresh red lips and fair skin, made Ciel's anger disappear in an instant.

But this smile didn't last long, and it returned to the coldness just now, showing how heavy the girl's heart was.

Before Ciel could continue to ask, she took out a page of letter paper from her personal pocket and handed it to her brother.

Charles had to force himself against the back of the bed, took the letter, and browsed the letter by the dim candlelight. And his sister sat by the bed watching him.

"Fran, my dearest friend, thank you so much for your letter..."

Glancing at the front, Ciel was taken aback, then immediately raised his head to look at his sister. "Who wrote it!" he whispered.

"Marie-de-Leoran, daughter of the Marquis of Leorand, my best friend," replied his sister, head bowed, in a low voice, "she was sent to Blois a while ago, and I sent her I just received her reply today."

[Blois is a small city about 130 kilometers southwest of Paris. There is a Carmelite monastery in this city. In the 17th and 19th centuries, in order to avoid dowry expenses, many French nobles sent their daughters here. Abbey. The famous mistress of Louis XIV, the Duchess of La Vallière, also lived here since 1674. 】

Hearing this answer, Ciel finally breathed a sigh of relief, and continued to read.

"...How moved your letter is! I implore you not to forget me in the future, send me a lot of letters and tell me about the outside world, this will be my greatest pleasure!

So look, my friend, what kind of life I live now! I can't sleep for six hours a day, and when I wake up in the morning to do morning classes, some people just fall asleep on their knees, swaying. After breakfast - how could you Parisians imagine what we were eating! ——Then continue cleaning.

The whole day, we had nothing but boredom, but don't get me wrong, that's not to say we don't have work to do. In fact, we have a lot of work to do to make us feel alive: all our personal clothes are taken away, and we have to sew our own clothes. We read over and over again, of course, all theological books, all outdated crap, not even the people who read them believe it. We will also make holy bread, reliquary boxes, draw icons...

All of my seniors have been ravaged by time and have lost all hope in the world, living their lives step by step all day long. Yes, live, that's all. I shudder to think that I will be like them soon enough...

My friend, you see, this is my whole life right now. Everyone says it's the closest place to God and heaven, but I'd say, if that's the case, I'd rather live in hell! May God forgive my arrogance!

I don't blame anyone for getting to where I am now, this is a disaster that fate has bestowed on me, and I can only endure it silently. In today's world, there is only one punishment that is heavier than being a nobleman without money, and that is being a nobleman's daughter without money! Under such a great sin, what can I do but suffer silently?

However, my friend, when I am replying to you, there is a jealous viper in my heart gnawing at our friendship, please forgive me! I know how precious our friendship is, but when I think of what a bright world you will live in, and what kind of seclusion I will live in obscurity all my life, I can't help but feel a pain in my heart, I can't help but want to. envy of you. God forgive my sins!

My friend, forgive me, don't forget my entrustment, and send me letters on time!

your most loyal friend

Marie-de-Leoran"

Charles finished reading it, and then he probably understood what was going on.

French nobles, in order not to give their daughters a large dowry, have always had the tradition of sending their daughters to convents as nuns; but after Napoleon promulgated the Civil Code, which stipulated that other children of nobles had the same inheritance rights as the eldest son, this kind of Old customs became more and more popular. In order to keep the family property as much as possible in the family, the nobles are more motivated to send their daughters to the monastery to serve God - at least God, the old man will not ask for an equal share of the family property.

And Fran, the poor friend, was probably sent to the monastery by his parents because of this.

Fran bit her lip, looking uneasy.

"If it goes on like this, she will die soon. Let a Parisian lady live like this, what kind of punishment is this!"

"Perhaps," Charles replied flatly.

Fran's fist quickly hit his arm, and the violent movement pulled up the thin pajamas, revealing a large piece of white greasy chest.

"How can you be so sympathetic!"

"Well, what do you want to do?" Charles didn't want to argue with her about morality.

"Does it even need to be said?" The younger sister raised her head to look at her brother, her blue eyes overflowing with scorching flames. "Let's go and save her!"

"Then how are you going to save it?"

"I haven't thought about it yet." Fran replied confidently, "So I'm not here to find you?"

"But there's nothing I can do!" Charles frowned, "Maybe I can bring someone into the monastery to take her away, but what's the point of that? She will lose her identity and family, and go from one misfortune to another. A misfortune...if it's her parents' choice, there's nothing I can do about it."

"You will definitely find a way." Fran stared at her brother closely, her eyes filled with wordless trust. "No matter what, you will find a way."

Charles didn't answer.

Tears slowly gathered in the girl's eyes and rolled down.

Charles sighed.

"Okay, I'll figure something out. Stop crying, Fran."

"Are you sure?" My sister was still a little suspicious.