There is no place more like France than Durand, not even Paris.

In this region with a pleasant climate, the beautiful Loire River flows quietly, and its banks bear the marks of the tenderness that is characteristic of France. Towering among the green grass along the river, most of them still stand, scattered like pieces on a chessboard, and although a few have been lost due to age and poor maintenance, these castles are all stunning and beautiful, almost a condensation of the medieval era that has just been said to have just ended.

In ancient times, the royal family used to come to live at the Château de Blois, where the court was located, to escape the hustle and bustle of the chaotic city of Paris, which was both a castle and a villa, with its rows of houses and blue roofs making it look more like a villa than a castle.

A short walk south from the Château de Blois, along the Loire River to the ridge overlooking the right bank of the river, a white-walled castle stands out.

The castle is a grand building, with a verandah of excellent workmanship, carved windows adorning it and a garden next to it, with an air of exquisite ostentation.

It was built by the ancestors of the Treville family to show off in the royal court – during the Revolution, when the Duke was beheaded for counter-revolutionary crimes, the castle was confiscated by the revolutionary government and auctioned off to raise military funds.

However, with the end of the Revolutionary era, the Duke of Treville, who had returned to France and was very much used by the Restoration, bought it back and made it his family property.

This time, though, members of the Trevier family have rarely returned, except for ...... Witness the last moments of life.

The spring rain is soft, like smoke and like a thin veil between the heavens and the earth, and the fine raindrops fall on the ground, like the beating notes on the piano, playing a melody full of vitality.

Under the blowing of the wind, the flowers in the garden have already opened their eyes, and the purple and red are not bright, and in the space outside the castle, the green grass and the wide river stretch to the invisible end. Everything is so full of life and so refreshing.

However, the people who stayed in this castle at this time had no intention of enjoying the beautiful scenery in front of them anymore, and the bodies and minds of these people were already immersed in grief.

In the depths of the garden there is a clearing, where crosses stand on the ground, and behind the crosses are tombs, some of which have been used, some of which are still waiting for the return of their masters.

After recovering the castle, which was a monument to the family, the Duke of Treville decided to make it a family cemetery – but the original cemetery had been destroyed by the storms of the Revolution, so only a few people have been buried here.

The Duke himself is dead, his wife and his brother's wife are buried here, and now it will finally have a permanent occupant.

“…… God's best children have returned to his embrace, and when Jesus returns, he will be resurrected with Jesus because he believes in his resurrection from the dead. "Next to a tomb that has been excavated, a priest dressed in black reads a eulogy in a low voice, adding to the gloom of the rainy weather." May God forgive you as you forgive others, and men come from dust and return to dust, and may your soul rest in Heaven, Amen! ”

With his last eulogy, four men slowly moved towards the tomb carrying the coffin—the first two, the grandsons of the deceased, Charles, who had inherited the title of Duke of Kerson, the other the present-day Duke of Treville, the nephews of the deceased, and the latter two were the Duke's two sons, Philippe and Eugène.

It was these four men from the same family who were bearing the same prominent surnames and carried their elders into the ground by the coffin.

There were only family members here, and there was no more hustle and bustle from others, and it was so quiet that it was not like the funeral of a marshal.

That's what Charles meant.

After returning to France with his grandfather's coffin, the country welcomed the return of the victorious marshal with great honor, and His Majesty personally greeted the coffin under the Arc de Triomphe, and in his speech he highly thanked Marshal Treville for his many years of hard work for the Empire, and the government also intended to bury the marshal with great honor.

Although this grace was indeed glorious, Charles eventually rejected the honor of burying the marshal in Les Invalides, and chose to bury his grandfather in the family cemetery, quietly returning to the loess, he did not want his grandfather to be an exhibit when he was finally buried - he had been shining in public for too long and needed a final rest.

At Charles's insistence, His Majesty the Emperor, although a little surprised, understood his thoughts, so he did not make any moves to stop him, allowing the henchman to go to his own cemetery to bury the marshal, and he even comforted the young man on rare occasions, and the intimacy of his attitude made the other ministers jealous.

Under the drizzle, the four men, with solemn and sad expressions, carried the coffin to the bottom of the tomb, and then lowered the coffin with all their strength.

When the coffin finally fell to the bottom of the tomb, a muffled sound came from the ground, and this may be the last call that the old man reluctantly left for his grandson.

When he heard this muffled sound, Charles, who was standing next to the tomb, couldn't help but tears welled up in his eyes again, sweat and rain had already soaked his clothes, but he didn't realize it.

"Charles, don't be too sad." His father-in-law, the Duke of Treville, patted him on the arm and comforted him, "I know that all this has hit you hard, but at least, he is dying, and when an eighty-year-old man leaves, we should congratulate him with a smile, especially someone like him who has come through life and death many times......"

"I know that at this age, everyone will leave." Charles nodded slightly, then replied in a hoarse voice, "However, I still think it's a pity, if only there were a few more years!" ”

"Ah......" the Duke sighed.

At the moment, Charles's expression was solemn, as if he was full of trouble, and a little confused, obviously under such a blow, he was already a little distracted, and it was indeed very different from his usual appearance.

He also wanted to persuade, but he also knew that this kind of pain was only healed by time, and wasn't he also in pain when he died his father?

"Then let's shovel the dirt, just look at it."

"No, I have to do it myself." Charles forced his spirits up, then picked up the shovel next to him, looked at the coffin left in the gloomy tomb, and then let out a long sigh.

"Goodbye, Grandpa."

Then he shoveled the narrator's dirt with his shovel, and as he moved, the other three men began to shovel the dirt as well, and large expanses of dirt began to pour into the tomb, and then quickly filled the tomb.

Completely left like that?

Charles looked at the tomb that had been filled in, and the thought suddenly flashed through him.

He had seen too many deaths, but no one had ever touched him so much, how could it be easily torn apart from the bonds they had accumulated over many years of coexistence?

No matter how sad he is, life still has to go on, and he knows that he must get out of the depression in his heart as soon as possible.

But, at least for now, he wants to take a break.

……………………

Not far behind the four men of the family, the women and children of the Tréville family also gathered to watch the funeral, the women were all dressed in black mourning clothes, and their expressions were also full of deep sorrow, but it was difficult to determine how much real pain in their hearts was.

The Madame was of course headed by the Duchess of Treville, but her daughter Charlotte, the other Duchess, was equally dominant, talking to her mother in a low voice, pulling her son Crowis and kneading her son's golden hair with her hands from time to time.

"My child, it's heartbreaking for you to suffer such a blow." Her mother leaned into Charlotte's ear and whispered to Charlotte, "I've never seen Charles lose their spirits so much." ”

"yes, Mom." Charlotte sighed helplessly, "Since my uncle died, he has been like this, and after returning to China, he has always locked himself in the study, not talking to me much, not seeing guests, and many things have stopped, hey......"

She didn't have much affection for Marshal Treville, and though she was a little sad, she had long since recovered.

"In these unsettling times, you should be strong and help Charles recover from his injuries as soon as possible, after all, the country needs him, and the family needs him." The Duchess hinted to her daughter, "Daughter, we are not a static family now. ”

"Mom, I will." Charlotte nodded. "I've been dealing with the backlog of Shire all this time, but ...... There are a lot of things that can only be done by him himself, so I'm very distressed......"

"Then pull him up early! Isn't it a wife's duty to soothe her husband's mental wounds? The Duchess lowered her eyelids, a little unhappy, "Charlotte, do you want me to teach you this?" Sleep with him for a while, as long as the man finishes venting his energy, he can say anything. ”

"Mom!" Charlotte's face suddenly became embarrassed, "Don't talk like that, your grandson is still here!" ”

Then she sank her face again and sighed, "Hey...... Charles hasn't had sex with me in a while, so I can't help it......"

"Why can't you do it, there are so many ways!" Her mother glared at her, "You're so beautiful, a little more considerate, a few men can hold it up." ”

Charlotte didn't know what to say, but at this time, the son next to her opened his mouth to ask questions and relieved her.

"Mom, has my husband been living there since then? Will you never come to play with me again? He raised his hand and pointed to the tomb where his father stood.

The child was too young to know what death meant, and Charlotte didn't know how to explain it to him.

"yes, kid." After a moment, she nodded, "Our family, as long as they are too old to walk, will come here and lie down and rest forever until God calls us all up again." ”

"Will Mom and Dad be like this?" The beautiful blonde toddler's eyes widened, as if he didn't understand.

"Yes, we'll lie close to each other, so it's easy to say hello later." Charlotte replied casually. "Wait a long, long time, and you'll be lying there with your mom and dad."

"Oh......" The child nodded again, and then suddenly raised his white finger and pointed at a person next to him, "What about Auntie?" Will she rest here too? ”

"She?" Charlotte froze, then couldn't help but sneer, she really hadn't thought about it.

"Maybe." After thinking for a while, she replied, "Of course, the premise is that she is not married and becomes the wife of another family." ”

"Will she stay with you then?" The child continued to ask.

"No, how is that possible?" Charlotte shook her head, then pointed to the fence in the distance, "She has a corner there, that's all there at most." ”

"Why?" Clovis was puzzled.

"She's at this level." Charlotte's answer this time was very brief, and the child was confused, but it could be seen that the mother did not want to say more.

The child's unintentional words caused Charlotte to be upset for a while, her eyes moved slightly, and unexpectedly fell on her sister-in-law.

Fran, who has just returned from the front line, is much haggard compared to her beautiful appearance in the past, and her former innocence has begun to fade, but even so, that beauty is still amazing.

The two of them came back together, although it was normal, but for some reason, Charlotte always felt uneasy.

At this time, Fran was chatting intimately with her close friend Mary, and did not notice Charlotte's gaze, and Charlotte quickly took it back, as if nothing had happened.

"We'll be back in the afternoon, what about you?" At this moment, Charlotte's ears rang with her mother's inquiry.

"I'll go back with you in the afternoon, there are so many things to do at home, Lelouch has to take care of them." Charlotte replied, "As for Charles, he plans to stay here for two days, and I think it's good, the air here will help him lift his spirits sooner." ”

"Okay then." Mother nodded.

After finishing the conversation with her mother, Charlotte suddenly handed her son to her mother, "You can help me take this kid, I'll go over for a while." ”

With that, she walked over to another lonely man standing in the distance.

"How's it going, Agnes?" She casually asked, "Aren't you bored?" ”

"It's okay, it's not boring." Agnes smiled and replied, "If I didn't know who was buried, I would almost think that you were acting out a serious tragedy, really, this picture is quite solemn, with the demeanor of an aristocracy." ”

"It's not a compliment......," Charlotte smiled wryly, "we're really grieving the loss of our family." ”

"But not my family." Agnes shrugged.

Indeed, all this was basically a matter of concern to her, she did not like the old marquis in the first place, and it was only for Charles's sake that he was not held accountable back then, so of course there was no sadness at the old man's funeral, as if she was enjoying some kind of drama.

"Well, we're reasonable people too, and we won't force you to cry along with us." Charlotte sighed again, "I have to leave here in the afternoon and go back to Paris, Charles is going to stay here for two days, and you can see his current state, so please take care of this poor nephew when the time comes." ”

"yes, yes." Agnes nodded immediately, "I think he's pretty pitiful right now. ”

"Also...... Hmm......" Charlotte lowered her voice, "take care to help me too, and don't let people ruin the harmony of our family—"

"I know!" Agnes laughed, "Charlotte, you're like an unlucky ass who couldn't sleep for months after picking up the jewels......"

"Who's to say it isn't......" Charlotte sighed wearily.