Poor Albert!

With such an exclamation, Charles lowered his head and secretly turned his gaze to the young man standing next to him.

And almost at the same moment, eyes from all over the place were also secretly focused here.

Only half an hour ago, he was the object of envy of everyone, but now, he has become a sympathetic unlucky bastard, the protagonist of tragedy. Even the most impersonal guy can probably understand his mood at this time.

Albert's face turned a little pale, and this sudden news obviously gave him a big blow.

In the previous two or three months, news of his marriage to Miss Tangral had spread throughout the capital, and had become big news in the social circles, and even his parents had told him about it in all seriousness, and everything seemed to be a certainty.

Although he was a little reluctant in his mouth, in fact, in his heart, he did not have much rejection of this marriage - after all, as Charles said, few marriages in these years were born out of love, compared to other people's fiancées, Miss Tangral has good looks, talents, and a large amount of dowry, what is unacceptable?

However, when he had accepted all this and was ready to live in the social world as a married person, the father of the fiancée publicly announced that he had not discussed the marriage of his children with the Marseff family, and that the social rumors were just rumors...... Is all this just a joke?

Joke?

What my father talked about seriously in front of him, would it be a joke? It's clear that Baron Tangral has reversed course!

Why did he do it? What happened during this time?

Albert's face turned pale, his hands trembled slightly, and the great doubts did not even allow his anger to come to his mind, but even so, a sense of humiliation left his mind blank.

In essence, he himself doesn't care about losing a rich fiancée, but Baron Tangral will obviously affect his father's reputation by doing so, maybe tomorrow, there will be a lot of embarrassing rumors circulating in various living rooms, Baron Tangral will make his father and son a laughing stock, even if Parisians are very forgetful, this hot news will last for a month or two, that is, the Malsef family will be ridiculed for a month or two!

To suffer such humiliation for no reason!

Even though he was usually a big personality, Albert still couldn't help but tremble when he encountered such humiliation, especially since this humiliation was not directed at him alone, but also humiliated his most respected father.

However, it was definitely not a wise move to break out here, he could not openly propose a duel with Baron Tangral, the other party would not respond, it would only make him a bigger laughing stock.

So, after a moment of astonishment and anger, Albert took a soft breath, and then barely squeezed out a smile, although this smile was ugly, but he still showed his composure.

"Charles, I've always wondered why you've been talking so much lately, but now you can see it, it's all a shadowless thing!" As if it were a casual conversation, he said to Charles, "I'm still young, so I don't need you to worry about getting me a wife!" ”

Albert complained like this, Charles was a little stunned at first, and then laughed dryly.

"Hey, I'm sorry, it's all my fault, the wind is the rain, it's just rumors...... Haha......"

Although Albert seems to be just a young master who does not know the world, after all, he is the son of a marshal, he can take the opportunity to take it and put it down, can endure humiliation, and can force a smile when he is sympathized and even ridiculed by everyone, Charles admires him a little.

As soon as the two friends sang and harmonized, the people around them quickly reacted, and they all laughed dryly, as if nothing had happened, and suddenly the usual noise in the living room returned, as if the previous turmoil had disappeared without a trace.

In order to save the face of the Malsev family, everyone wisely chose to keep silent and changed the subject—of course, when they returned and came to a private occasion, they still didn't mind telling the joke to anyone at all.

Seeing that his surroundings had returned to that happy state, Lucien de Bray smiled again, and stood easily and naturally beside his mistress, Madame Tangral, as if he were half the master of the place.

"Madame, I always thought you were keen to make your daughter Madame Malceff, but you were just joking with me." With a smile on his face, he quipped to Madame Tangral, "You have been hiding from me for a long time. ”

"My friend, at the time...... I wasn't joking with you at the time, I was just ...... It's just a little unexpected. Madame Tangral looked embarrassed, and then whispered to her lover, "Mr. Tangral feels that he needs to see again." ”

"Really? Take a second look? Lucien Debrey seemed to understand something, and then stole a glance at Baron Tangral, who was not far away. Oh...... That's right, after all, you are such a daughter, you should really choose a son-in-law well, and you can't delay Eugenie's life! Marshal Malsev is a well-known general in our country, and his character is not to be said, but his son needs to be carefully observed, and I have not heard of him being famous before. ”

He was indeed gloating, and he was deliberately giving Albert eye medicine.

He had always had no good feelings for Marshal Malsev's family, and now he was very happy to see that the family was unlucky.

And, for an even more important reason, he was also coveting Miss Tangral.

That's right, although on the surface he was Madame Tangral's mistress, but he approached Madame only to get close to Baron Tangral's wealth, and he had no love for Madame, or even much respect.

But it was a different story for her daughter.

Miss Tangral, tall and passionate, like a burning fire, was so dazzling to a man like him, who had been living in the shadows. Even her snarky sneer seemed to Lucien to be full of a different kind of charm.

For those who have become accustomed to a false smile, the proud and enthusiastic Eugenie has a high appeal.

What's more, Eugenie is also the only daughter of Baron Tangral, as long as she can hold her in her hands, she can get an incomparably great wealth in the future......

Lucien de Bray carefully hid her fiery gaze from her mistress, who was very dependent on him and obedient, but it was all based on her thinking that she loved her, and if she knew that the object of her real covetion was her daughter, she would be mad with anger.

Madame Tangral, of course, could not detect what was going on in her lover's mind, and in fact she was now so distracted that she had no time to care about what others were thinking.

She didn't know how to explain it in order to get Marshal's family to forgive her family for what they had done today—perhaps no matter how she explained it, a rift between the two families had inevitably appeared.

She blamed her husband, she didn't understand why her always shrewd husband would suddenly take such a blatant offense, she resented herself even more, she didn't understand why she was in this situation, and she could only watch herself being dragged down by a hateful banker.

The anger and disgust for her husband, as usual, aroused the fire of indulgence in her heart.

Or rather, she needs a complete indulgence to vent the anger in her heart and calm herself again.

A life of despair needs to be tempered by desperate indulgence, and it has always been.

She took her glass, drank it hatefully, and then looked at Lucien de Bray with a smile on her face, "My dear, let's not talk about these unpleasant things, I want to go to the theater tonight, and Monsieur Tangral has important business to do, will you come with me?" ”

In this invitation, the smile on the corner of her mouth, the rosy lips, and the temptation between the corners of her eyebrows, no one can guess wrongly, what the so-called "going to the theater" means.

Lucien Debrey, who had been with her for a long time, understood better what it meant.

He took Madame's hand affectionately, then nodded, and looked at the other with the same passionate gaze, "I obey all your orders, Madame. ”

……………………………………

Tonight, for many people, it was a sleepless night.

Unlike the parlor of the great banker Baron Tangral, who was extremely lavish, Marshal Malsev's parlor was much more austere.

There are not many glittering decorations, and the whole is very modest, surrounded by a circle of large benches with backrests, and tables with various famous tobaccos, all in clay pots. Next to these crockpots, there is a row of fragrant wood boxes filled with cigar smoke from all over the world, painted embroidery on the walls, and porcelain from the Orient dotted in between.

More eye-catching than ornaments are the weapons placed in the living room, all kinds of guns are carefully mounted on the shelves, the barrels are shiny because of the careful maintenance of the owner, in addition to firearms, there are also a lot of cold weapons on the wall, there are armor, broadswords, stabbing swords, and even a knife that the owner bought from Japan in the Far East at great expense.

The entire living room was very neatly arranged, with a sense of solemnity, flaunting the identity of the owner.

At this moment, however, the Counts of Malsev, the famous marshal of the Empire, were not in the mood to admire his fine collections, and he paced restlessly on the carpet, his steps disheveled, and he no longer had the calmness and steadiness of his past; His broad face, now twisted together, made him even more restless.

The dim candlelight was like a ghostly fire projecting onto him, making him seem as if he was coming from a ghost.

This middle-aged man, with a very brilliant military resume, has made great achievements for the empire, and has won the trust and favor of His Majesty, but at this moment, like all parents, he is worried about his son, and he no longer has the heroic spirit of the past.

After pacing for I don't know how long, there was finally a sound of broken footsteps from the stairs in the center of the living room.

The footsteps were getting closer, apparently coming down the stairs.

At the sound of the footsteps, Marshal Fernand de Marseff finally restrained his agitation a little, and looked up at the man on the stairs.

This is a middle-aged woman in an off-white dress and simple clothes, she has long black hair, although she is old, this black hair is still silky and smooth, and her dark brown eyes are as smart as flowing water. Although she doesn't use powder, her skin is still white, and her figure is as supple as when she was a girl. Her demeanor is subtle and measured, although she looks worried, but she has not lost her due composure, and the whole person looks dignified and there is no lack of high-pressure taste.

"Mercetes, how is he?" Seeing his wife, Marshal Malsev hurriedly walked over quickly, and then asked anxiously.

"He's fine." Mrs. Malcev shook her head, finally reassuring her husband, "He's just...... It's just a little frustrating. I coaxed him, and he was quickly relieved, and then went to sleep. ”

"That's good......" The marshal finally breathed a sigh of relief, and then immediately frowned, looking out the window hatefully, "That bastard of Tangral, he actually did such a good thing!" I won't spare him! ”

Today he was indeed very angry.

A few months ago, he had agreed with Baron Tangral that they had married each other, and he thought he had paved the way for his son and chosen the perfect fiancée, but tonight, when his son returned home dejected, everything changed.

He was shocked to find that Baron Tangral had reversed course at the last minute - he had openly said outside that he had not talked to him about marriage before!

Although on the surface, Baron Tangral said things like "I would love to see Albert as my son-in-law", but everyone could see that this was just a face-saving statement for the marshal.

Anyway, it's a public humiliation!

As the marshal of the Empire, Count Malsev had long been accustomed to dictating to his subordinates, when had he been humiliated in this way? What's more, this humiliation still comes from a friend he has known for many years.

As soon as he heard the news, the marshal immediately burst into a rage, and if he hadn't had the last of his senses, maybe he would have rushed to the baron's palace with his adjutant to make a big fuss.

Fortunately, his wife, Mercetes, stood up, calmed her husband's emotions, and then took his son into his room, and finally put him to sleep.

Children can sleep, but adults still have so many important things to do that they don't have room to sleep.

The biggest problem facing the couple now is, how should all this end?

There is no doubt that as soon as the news spreads, the Malseffs will inevitably become the laughing stock of the social world, and for a family with such a high social status, this is the most unbearable situation.

"I know go pay a visit to Emily and find out what the hell is going on." After a long silence between the husband and wife, Mercetes finally spoke, "Don't go, I'm afraid you'll quarrel with them then." ”

"Okay, there you go." Count Malseff sighed, and seemed a little depressed, "But I don't think it's useful for you to see Emily, such a lack of virtue must only be done by Tangral, if you go, he must have avoided you, what can Emily say?" ”

"At least we can talk about how to make the farce end." Merceth Tess blinked, "We can discuss it with Emily and ask her to come forward and explain to everyone, she came to us before to ask about marriage, and although we are happy to see it, the two families have not talked about it in substance......"

Hearing his wife say this, Marshal's brow furrowed even tighter.

This is what makes him the most uncomfortable, although Tangral blatantly broke the contract, and the nature is very bad, but for the sake of his own face, he can really only follow his wishes, otherwise wouldn't it seem that he is greedy for wealth and wealth, and he has to send his son over to be a son-in-law?

It's really uncomfortable to have this breath blocked in my heart.

"So, will outsiders believe it?" He sighed, "It's hard for us to believe we haven't worked on this before. ”

"I don't care so much at this time." Madame shook her head, "As long as we can give everything an explanation, people in high society are very forgetful, as long as we give an explanation, it won't take two months for people to forget about it." ”

"But two months is enough for me to lose face ten times with Your Majesty!" Marshal Malsev still frowned, "Mercetes, you know, I am favored in front of Your Majesty, many people hate me, usually I don't give them any chance, and now they can catch me!" When the time comes, they will definitely add fuel and vinegar to spread the word about me in the palace, embarrass me, and make His Majesty laugh at me! ”

"Your Majesty has always been very tolerant of your subordinates, he will not treat you as a laughing stock, even if there are any villains who tell right and wrong, it will definitely not affect the relationship between you and Your Majesty." Mercetes replied firmly. "In the final analysis, your greatest advantage is that you can fight for Your Majesty, as long as you continue to have this ability, who can shake your position?"

"There are many people who can fight for Your Majesty, but I am not the only one missing." The marshal smiled bitterly, "Don't look at my appearance as beautiful, but secretly there are many people who think that I am in their way and want to kick me away." ”

"As long as His Majesty is ......," Mercetes tried to comfort him.

"I've been following him for so many years, don't I know him yet? There is one thing I will tell you privately - Your Majesty is a monster, my dear. There was a hint of misery in the marshal's smile, "Our Majesty is both affectionate and ruthless, and sometimes I even suspect that he has never loved anyone in his life!" His most common tactic was to show favor to his ministers, and then to encourage those who were jealous of them, and his favorite thing to do was to keep his servants alive in fear that they might be replaced at any time, and force them to bow down to him! I use me to scare the patriarchs, and then I use the newcomer to scare me, who never trusts anyone and is always on the guard of everyone...... So, you know, I can't show any flaws, I'm just a good knife in his hand, once it's rusty, it's useless, and then I'll be thrown aside and no one cares about it anymore. ”

"Oh God!" Hearing her husband's evaluation of His Majesty the Emperor, Mercetes opened her mouth wide and was speechless for a while.

In any case, it was a very dangerous thing to judge the emperor, and it was only now when the situation was in turmoil that Marshal Malsev confided in his wife.

And his evaluation of His Majesty was so harsh, it was even more beyond Madame's imagination.

Madame did not expect that His Majesty, who had always been as gentle and gentle as a poet in front of people, would be such an existence inside; She didn't expect that the relationship between two people who had a very strong relationship in front of outsiders would be so dangerous.

His Majesty has praised his husband more than once as his confidant and a model for the new generation of soldiers in the Empire, but he has deliberately put him in a nervous and uneasy situation.

"Fernand, it's useless to worry so much about it now, you should calm down." She reached out and caressed her husband's rough cheek lovingly. "In any case, since Your Majesty can use you, he will not abandon you for a trivial matter...... As long as we try to make amends, this incident won't hit you hard. ”

After a pause, she spoke again, "Besides, I think it's bad news, but ...... But there are not necessarily no positives. The kind of man Tangral has a bad reputation despite being rich, and we all know how he behaves, he is a complete scumbag, and his actions prove this even more...... So I think it's a good thing that we don't have family relations with this kind of person. Our Albert is so good, I'm sure it's not a problem to find a good wife. ”

Marshal Malsev did not reply, but walked over to his collection of swords, reached out and stroked the cold blade.

The cold metal stimulated his palm, and the murderous aura in it calmed his heart.

"You're right, Mercetes, it's not yet irreparable." He said coldly, "As long as we find a way to make Tangral face the reality and then take back our fate, then the humiliation we have suffered will no longer exist, and no one will care about this turmoil." ”

"You...... Do you still want to marry them? Madame was a little stunned, "They have all treated us like this, can they still be in-laws?!" Fernand, do you really covet their family's possessions? ”

"I do like their possessions, but it's for our son, and what's the point of having money for me at this point? Not for him! The marshal turned his head abruptly and looked at his wife, "Think of our son, Mercetes! I am the marshal of the Empire, and everyone envies me, but Albert does not want to be a soldier, and my prestige in the army will not be needed until I retire. If I don't find him a solid backer while I still have prestige, what can I leave him? ”

Madame Fernand closed her eyes .......

"I don't blame you for pampering him, every mother does on her son, but let's face it, dear." The marshal sighed, "Our son is lovely and versatile, but he lacks solid willpower and the decisiveness to do great things. Actually, it's nothing, and I don't expect him to do anything big in the future, but we can't just watch him decay after we die, right? So, we have to find him a good family so that he can live his life like this in peace and stability after I retire. Tangral is disgusting, but his fortune is not fake, as long as Albert marries his only daughter, do we have to worry about anything in the future? ”

Then, he sighed again, "Madam, at this age, what more can I pursue?" I've already looked down on any achievements, the only thing I care about now is the family, only you and our son, I can't bear to watch him fall after leaving us, so I'm going to do my best to pave the way for him, you should be able to understand me, don't you love him more than I do? ”

The marshal's heartfelt words moved Mercetes and felt a little lost, for her husband's words were tantamount to believing that their sons would not be able to achieve their father's career in the future, and that they would have to be a rentier who kept money, and this assessment was a little hurtful for any mother.

"Well, since you've said so, let's do what you want." In the end, she could only helplessly reply, "Fernand, I hope Albert can appreciate everything we do!" ”

"I'm not worried about that." The marshal smiled, and then made a joke, "Our son lacks everything, that is, he does not lack kindness, he is the kind of child who will be grateful to his parents." ”

………………………………

On the same night, there were different people who never slept.

In the villa of the Count of Monte Cristo, in Oteuil, everything is as silent as ever.

In the study on the second floor of the villa, the shadows of the trees projected from the windows were swaying in the breeze, and seemed to be dancing with the dim candlelight in the study.

The owner of the villa, the Count of Monte Cristo, was sitting next to his desk.

He wears a pure black coat that sets off his already pale skin like a vampire.

And just across from him, there were two people.

One was a tall young man, standing upright, his falcon-like gaze roaming around, not letting go of any lurking danger.

And in the rocking chair next to the bookshelf, a young girl lies on her back. Although she was wearing a maid's costume, she swaggered her legs, her blonde hair and white stockings swayed slightly with her slender feet, without the image and consciousness of a maid.

"Hey, Earl, you're really well guarded in this realm." The girl swayed the rocking chair and squinted her eyes slightly, enjoying the comfortable feeling, "You don't plan to arrest us and go to the official later, right?" ”

"Miss Charlotte Sewell, I've heard your name for a long time, and I've finally seen you today." The Count of Monte Cristo was not at all displeased by the rude behavior of his guests, but smiled slightly, "Don't worry, seeing that you are so beautiful, I am sure that no one will bear to hurt you." ”

"Oh, don't praise me like this, it's embarrassing!" Charlotte smiled merrily, and was obviously very pleased with the Count's compliment, "Did you invite us here to see my beauty?" ”

"That's a very important reason, but it's certainly not the only one." The Count replied solemnly. "Actually, Miss Sewell, I invite you here to discuss cooperation with you."

"Cooperation?" Charlotte and the young man next to her glanced at each other.

Although she was mentally prepared at the beginning, Charlotte was still a little apprehensive when the Earl really found out.

Charlotte and the others have long known that the Count of Monte Cristo has a huge power, a hidden criminal leader, and they have always hoped to use this power, but because the Count has maintained a distance from them, intentionally or unintentionally, they have not been able to achieve their goal.

Today, however, the Count offered to cooperate.

That's a good thing, but there must be some problems hidden in it.

"Is there anything you'd like us to help you with?" Charlotte quickly calmed down, and then looked at the Count calmly, "In the spirit of friendship between our two sides, if it is something we can do, we don't mind helping you." ”

"It's great that you can be so generous." The Earl was still smiling, "So, let's have some information sharing first, such as - the big operation you've been planning lately?" ”

The smile on Charlotte's face suddenly disappeared and was replaced by vigilance.

"I don't know what we're going to do."

"It seems that your sincerity is not as good as it seems." The Count of Monte Cristo shrugged his shoulders and seemed a little distracted, "Or are you too low on your side to have access to real information?" ”

This slightly acerbic teasing made Charlotte's blue eyes flash a trace of evil, but it quickly disappeared.

"Excuse me, what information have you come across?" She laughed again, "If I know anything, I'd be happy to add it to you." ”

"Well, since I invited you here, it really deserves to be open and honest on my side first." The Count nodded, then turned his gaze to Charlotte's beautiful face, "According to a source I absolutely trust, I have heard that you seem to be preparing to fight in the south and rescue that Prince Carlos, is it true?" ”

Charlotte's face suddenly turned pale, and then, her slender golden eyebrows squeezed together, and a hideous gaze fell on the Count of Monte Cristo, but it did not make him react.