Amidst the dull turning sound of the door, Charlotte's light figure disappeared into the dark corridor, while Charles sat steadily in his seat, his eyes fixed on the door. Charlotte gave him many surprises today, but what surprised him the most was the last news she gave. "Just now, there was not only one audience outside the room." In a tone that was almost mocking, she handed Charles a reality that he didn't want to know. Although this reality is somewhat unbelievable, Ciel does not doubt its authenticity. After all, there is no need for Charlotte to tell a clumsy lie to entertain herself. So, my sister did eavesdrop on her conversation with Prosecutor General Villefort. So, the question is, why did she do this? There is a more important question, has she done this before? He didn¡¯t have an answer to either of these questions, but both of them pointed to a terrifying possibility. He didn't want to doubt his sister, because it was too absurd. After all, he asked himself that he was really good to his sister, almost sincerely. He couldn't find any reason why his sister wanted to deal with him, and he didn't believe her either. What harm would it do to yourself? But then why does my sister still do that? Such an innocent and lovely child, what thoughts are running in his heart? He suddenly felt that "maybe his world is not as easy to control as he imagined." Ciel, who had always felt that he was able to handle it with ease, suddenly felt uneasy at this moment. And, there is an even scarier fact. Since Fran had been eavesdropping at that time, she must have heard what Prosecutor Villefort said about her parents - her mother died in childbirth when she gave birth to her, and her father was the big villain who killed her mother. This child, What do you think after hearing these facts? Will you be sad and miserable or angry and resentful? He wanted to discuss this issue with his sister tomorrow, but he quickly rejected the idea. Maybe it¡¯s because he feels there¡¯s no need to show off his cards now, or maybe he just doesn¡¯t want to embarrass the two of them further. Amidst this confusion and confusion, he fell into sleep. There were so many shocking things tonight that even he couldn't bear it. It wasn¡¯t until daybreak that Charles was awakened by the servant¡¯s knock on the door. It was already breakfast time at home. The old Marquis was born in the military and had a very stern personality, so he had always been strict in running the family and brought the habits of the army to his home. When he was at home, he had to eat on time at home every day, and his family members at home must also come to the table on time. Accompany the elderly. Over time, this habit formed in the family. Whenever a fixed time came, they would consciously come to the dining room. Even if someone overslept, the servant would urge him. This rule was still strictly enforced even if the old marshal was not at home recently. execution. With residual sleepiness, Ciel squinted his eyes and climbed up, then yawned, finished washing up, and came to the restaurant. The food on the table is the same as before, but the people sitting inside have changed a lot. Fran, who was wearing a white dress, was sitting in her usual seat, her eyes a little wandering, as if she couldn't figure out what was going on in her home; Valentine shrank timidly next to her, as if she was frightened. Like a squirrel, very nervous. On the other side of the long dining table, sat Valentine's father, Attorney General Villefort. It seemed that he had not slept well last night. He had big dark circles under his eyes, and his eyes were full of anxiety and depression. "Sir!" As soon as she saw Charles, Fran, who was originally a little confused, immediately became energetic. She opened her eyes wide and shouted to Charles, as if she was asking her brother why there were two more guests in the house overnight. "Good morning, everyone." Charles nodded to everyone present, and then sat next to his sister, "Ah, I'm sorry, I forgot to tell you, Valentine had something happen at home last night, so She came to our house to ask me for help and took a rest at our place. Well her father was the same. " "Yes, I am very grateful for the help Charles gave to our family." At this time, Attorney General Villefort also said. He laughed dryly and joined in the fun, "Thanks to his help, we finally got out of the bad situation." In order to please Charles, Attorney General Villefort is now keeping his body very low. At this time, he no longer cares about the dignity of his elders. He needs to let Ciel hide the truth for him and keep his position of power. ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?? Still didn't understand, he blinked his eyes in confusion, as if he really didn't understand anything. And Valentine is still very nervous now. It can be seen that she is still a little reserved and afraid in front of her father, who has been accumulating power for a long time. Although it seems that her father has reached some compromise with Charles, she still feels instinctively Fear. So her eyes kept wandering towards Ciel, as if waiting for an answer from him. There was a Fran between the two of them and they couldn't communicate directly, so Charles just gave her a reassuring look, and then went to eat by himself. Although Valentine still wanted to ask about the situation, she couldn't do it now, so she had to Let's eat together with our heads down. In this way, the two families had breakfast with an almost dull calm attitude, like a group of unrelated passers-by. After they had almost finished eating, Charles made a gesture to Valentine, and then left the table, while Valentine followed him carefully and walked out of the restaurant together. "Char, last nightdid you and my father quarrel last night?" As soon as she came out, she couldn't restrain the doubts in her heart, and immediately asked Charles, "How is it" " Don't worry, everything has gone smoothly." Charles turned around and gave her a warm smile, "I had a good exchange with your father last night, and he has forgiven you for running away. I won¡¯t scold you anymore, just go home with him later and take care of your grandmother¡¯s funeral.¡± ¡°How could that happen?¡± Valentine opened her mouth in surprise, obviously not. She too believed in Charles's calm explanation, "DadDad is not such an easy person to talk to. He will not agree with you easily. Could it bethat he is deceiving you?" She was too fond of her father. She understood, so she knew that her father was not an easy person to talk to. As soon as she heard Ciel saying that her father had compromised, she immediately panicked. She didn't care whether it was appropriate to speak ill of her father behind his back, so she directly reminded Ciel. "Don't ask more about the specific situation. In short, don't worry. He won't lie to me. He doesn't dare." Charles smiled mysteriously, "Now he is trying his best to calm down the previous turmoil. It can even be said that I need to please you, so you are basically safe now." "Really?" Valentine was still a little doubtful, but she was obviously very happy. "Of course it's true." Ciel nodded again. "Okay - I believe you. To be honest, I was shocked when I saw my father today. Not only did he not scold me, but he even greeted me It was as if It was as if we were here It¡¯s as if nothing happened at home.¡± Valentine murmured to herself, ¡°I never expected that a man like my father would relent. It¡¯s incredible.¡± That¡¯s because his sore foot was caught. , had to give in, Ciel replied in his heart. "You have worked really hard these days. Go back and have a good rest. Use this time to adjust your mentality. You still have a lot of things to do in the future." Charles came closer to Valentine, "Of course, although you My father has been accommodating, but this does not mean that everything will be calm. You still have to maintain the most basic vigilance - "Beware of my stepmother, right?" Valentine immediately took over. Ciel spread his hands, there is no need to say something too clear. "I understand, I will, don't worry." Valentine nodded, and then felt a little sad, "Actually Dad was not so harsh at first. It was not until he married his stepmother that he became "So, it would have been nice if he had been more cautious at the beginning!" Charles didn't think so. He felt that Attorney General Villefort was a born villain, selfish and unswerving, even if he married someone else. If the string continues, the nature will not change. At most, it will only appear to be a little more convergent on the surface. However, Valentine is a child after all. Which child is willing to admit that his father is a bad guy? She could only desperately find reasons to excuse her father and put all the blame on her stepmother. This is usually the case in similar families. People often accuse the stepmother of being cruel, but in fact, without the father's acquiescence or even participation, which stepmother can bully a child like this? Of course, in order not to displease Valentine, there was no need for him to say these words. "Valentina, no matter how much you regret what happened before or how painful it is, there is no point in it, because it has already happened." Charles felt that the heat was now on, so he mobilized the other party before leaving, "You just Be able to cheer up and have the courage to face things in the future. Don't forget what I said before. You are not only living for yourself, but also for your grandfather and your deadGrandpa and grandma, they hope that you can live well from the bottom of their hearts, so you must respond to their expectations with your own actions. Try your best to fight for the future! goodbye. " "Thank you so much You are always so calm and reliable. My cousin, if it weren't for you to help me, I really don't know what kind of situation I would have fallen into. You are my benefactor! "Valentine suddenly burst into tears, and then rushed towards Charles. Caught off guard, Charles could only stretch out his hand and hug Valentine. Valentine just lay on his chest, and couldn't help but She started sobbing. Ciel was a little embarrassed at first, but then he smiled helplessly and reached out to stroke her hair, as if he were a pet. "Okay, don't cry" Ciel could understand her. She had experienced so many disasters before, especially the deaths of her grandparents, so she had accumulated too much pressure. Last night she ran out of the house in a hurry, which was the peak of the pressure. She just relied on her strength to hold on. Now that I have received help from Ciel, I have temporarily gotten rid of the pressure and relaxed. The emotions accumulated before have poured out like a flash flood. In a sense, this is also a good thing. There is too much pressure to vent. If he did, people would be crushed. After Valentine vented like this, she would be in a much better mood. Under his comfort, Valentine's crying gradually stopped, but she still remained silent. On his shoulders, it seems that he wants to use this to gain the courage to continue fighting. "Without your help, I really don't know how to survive, so I am really grateful to you, Ciel. Her voice was still crying, "I will nevernever forget the kindness you gave me. I swear to you, as long as Ias long as I get out of the predicament, I will do everything in my power to repay you." Yes, no matter what you ask me to do, I will do it without complaint. I will do anything to repay you, anything! "This silly girl! I just ask you not to blame me for taking advantage of you!" Charles thought to himself. "Don't say that. We are relatives. We should help each other. Let's live a good life. This This is the best reward for me, girl. " Under Charles's deliberate comfort, Valentine, who was grateful to him, left with her father. The turmoil within the Villefort family was temporarily calmed down, although in calm waters There are still turbulent undercurrents underneath, but at least now, everything is calm on the surface. But at this time, Charles has to deal with another storm. "Sir, can you tell me now what happened last night. ? Why do we suddenly have so many uninvited guests at our house? "When Charles returned to his study, Fran walked in and asked directly. Her tone was less shy and tactful than usual, almost questioning, and she was obviously uncomfortable with the sudden situation. Understood. There was no smile on her face, but an angry look on her face, even a little angry. Where did this anxiety and anger come from? Or is it from some old memories that he overheard? "Valentine suffered a tragic blow yesterday, so she came to our house to rest. For a moment. " Charles tried to suppress his thoughts and explained to Fran what happened to Valentine last night. "Then I am even more incomprehensible, sir. Fran still didn't buy it, and asked Charles aggressively, "Her grandmother passed away. This is a very regrettable and tragic thing. I feel sad for her, but why is her first choice when encountering such a sad thing?" , instead of getting through it with the family, why do you choose to come to our house? Isn't this the appropriate approach? " "For a normal family, this is indeed inappropriate, but their family is not a normal family - as you can see, her father is not good to her, and her stepmother and younger brother often bully her, so she has no one to talk to. , feeling very lonely. Charles patiently explained to Fran, "I know it's inappropriate for her to do this, but please be considerate of her, her life is really not easy." " "I'm afraid it's not just the bad relationship with your family, right? Fran kept staring at Charles, "otherwise why would she throw herself into your arms?" I think she has other intentions, please think about it carefully! " "you saw it? "Ciel was a little surprised. "Of course I saw it! How could I not see you and her hugging each other in the corridor like that?Arrive? Fran interrupted Ciel loudly, "It's a shame she can do this. Grandma just left and she threw herself into someone else's arms" "Don't talk about her like that!" She was just too sad. I helped her so much. She was grateful to me and became dependent on me. "Char interrupted Fran. "Yes, just because she relies on you, she wants to make you her own. You are not a woman, so you won't understand, but I can see it. Fran said anxiously to Charles, "So you must not be fooled by her. This kind of people like to pretend to be pitiful and win the love of others" Charles did not speak, but just looked at Fran. , he never thought that these words could come out of his sister's mouth. She has always been so well-behaved, considerate, and compassionate, but the words just now were so mean, it almost seemed like she was coming from someone else's mouth. What came out of Charlotte's mouth was that she was in a state of confusion, otherwise she would never have said such harsh words. Maybe she felt that she had gone too far, Fran's face suddenly became a little angry. Hong, obviously feeling embarrassed. "I'm sorry, sir, I I'm afraid I went too far. Valentine is not a bad person. I shouldn't have said that to her. She has suffered so much. Fran's voice was a little quick, and her breathing became heavy, "II really have no ill intentions towards her, I'm justI'm just afraid that you will be cheated, I'm justvery afraid of losing you!" " "Losing me? Charles was a little confused. "What do you mean?" " "It doesn't mean anything, I'm just afraid God, I'm really afraid of losing you! "The blush on Fran's face faded, replaced by paleness and a little incoherent, "You you are so different from before! " "What's different? "Charles is still a little confused. "You used to never help others like this. You would smile politely and keep your distance - but you were different from Valentine. You were always helping her. , spared no effort, and even dragged grandpa to help her. I don¡¯t know what charm this girl has. Is it worth your efforts to help? " "Can't I help her? "Char lowered his gaze slightly. He didn't like others to interfere in his own affairs, "I have my own plan. " "You want to help Valentine, I understand, and I support it, but you don't be moved by her pity. It's just a weapon of a girl. Whether she does it intentionally or unintentionally, are trying to deceive you with this weapon. Fran became even more anxious, "I'm scared I'm scared. It's because you were fascinated by her pity that you served her so wholeheartedly." " When his sister said this, Charles felt a little dumbfounded. "Yes, since he helped the Marquis of Noirtier make his will, he has been helping Valentine. In the eyes of others, it may really happen. What kind of association? So it¡¯s no wonder that Prosecutor General Villefort acted like that. Wait Charles finally understood why Fran was so concerned about gains and losses. She must have heard it last night when she was eavesdropping. The prosecutor's proposal was not rejected in person, so she was frightened, afraid that she was really interested in Valentine! Because she was too nervous, she broke out today and wanted to "change her mind." So, the key. Yes, what is your intention? Is it really just for the purpose of gathering a chess piece? It¡¯s not necessarily the case. After getting to know Valentine a little bit, Ciel should be a leader to her. Appreciate and sympathize with her, she is indeed a very interesting girl. But, Charles asked himself, he definitely doesn¡¯t have that kind of special sentiment. ¡°Then don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t be deceived, I¡¯m still quite clear-headed. Charles replied calmly, "Don't worry, I have nothing wrong with Valentine. She is just a friend." " "Really? Fran looked at Ciel expectantly. "Yes." "Char nodded. "I only helped her out of sympathy and and some other reasons. As for what you are worried about, you are definitely overthinking it. " "Can you promise me? Fran asked nervously. "How insecure are you" Charles couldn't help but tease her, and then he stretched out his finger to his sister, "I promise you, I will never treat her." It¡¯s nothing more than a split thought. " Fran stretched out her hand, hooked his finger, and shook it hard twice. Then, herAn ecstatic smile appeared on her face, and then like Valentine just now, she hugged Charles directly. "Great, it seems you still remember grandpa's instructions." Fran breathed a long sigh of relief, seeming relieved. "Sir, you really scared me." Because of the sense of crisis, the color returned to her face, and her innocent expression seemed to be resurrected. "I don't know why you suddenly have so many thoughts." Charles touched her head, "Did you hear some rumors? Yesterday the prosecutor told me that he didn't mean it." This was a subtle test by Charles. . "Sir, no one said anything to me." The child in his arms answered almost without any consideration. "I was just imagining it, I'm sorry" The acting is really amazing. Ciel had to make this comment in his heart with half pain and half happiness.