Miss Margaret had an aunt who had recently had a birthday, and she had a big ball at home, to which Margaret and her friends were invited.

They were accompanied by Sister Carlos, Madame Roland, and Miss Elsa.

Also, how can there be less Elena, who has always been keen on this?

Margaret's aunt, Miss Fremea Price—as she is rightly called—is still single, though she is over thirty years old.

Although Margaret's father, Mr. Jean-Noble Price, Miss Fremea's brother, arranged more than one blind date for the unworldly girl. However, in the end, it was not successful.

Moreover, there are many reasons for failure. For example, the personalities and habits of the two are not suitable, the values are far apart, or the tastes of the meal conflict......

Actually, it's not that Fremea is so picky, in her own words, "Why do you have to find someone who doesn't deal with her, and let your heart be blocked all day long?"

Mr. Price was also very worried about his sister. He always felt that Fremea just didn't want to marry, so she would do everything possible to find excuses to reject many suitors.

After all, Frémea's beauty had spread along the Seine to almost half of France—an exaggeration indeed—but this woman, who had matured enough both physically and mentally, was never short of visits from dignitaries.

If you look at it from the perspective of probability alone, such a large population base, no matter how demanding the requirements, there should always be one or two lucky people who can barely meet them, right?

As a result, the legendary lucky man never appeared.

No wonder Mr. Price judged so.

And this time for Fremea's birthday ball, Mr. Price has put a lot of effort into it. Not only did he postpone his scheduled work schedule, but he also canceled his plans to go skiing in the Alps and began preparing for the big party a month ago.

Mr. Price used almost every connection, and also contacted colleagues with whom Margaret's grandfather, Mr. Price Sr., had worked with. In the invitation, he repeatedly told them to bring their unmarried sons or grandchildren.

"Maybe this trip will be able to solve Ling Lang's lifelong affairs." He always ends his letters like this at the end of his letters.

As a result, this birthday party was organized into a "son-in-law conference" by Price's first life.

Relatively speaking, Margaret and her party of six are all ladies, and this is probably the only guest in the venue who is really invited to celebrate her birthday.

Miss Fremea also received her niece and her companions warmly.

"So, my father still hopes that you can get married soon!" Margaret said.

"Well, what can I do?" Fremea said bitterly, "Jean is always so careless, it's clear that you're almost the age of Jilu."

"Auntie, how old am I! You're almost thirty!"

"You girl, are you saying that I can't get married?"

"If you continue like this, you can't keep it, and you really won't be able to get married!"

"What can I do, look at the people Jean No's found." Fremea complained, "Either a depraved aristocracy, or a copper-smelling merchant, or a sycophant politician, or a dull scholar...... Anyway, I don't want to spend the rest of my life with any of them."

"Your assessment is too mean!" Margaret knew that her aunt had always had a bad tongue, but this time it was a bit extreme.

"Anyway, I'm not going to give in." Fremea swore solemnly, "If I really can't get married, I'd rather die alone than condescend."

Fremea's arrogant attitude resonated with Elena's heart.

"Miss Fremea, I understand you." Elena said, "How can a woman be bound by the shackles of marriage when she lives on her own?"

"Yes, yes, yes." Fremea nodded repeatedly, "Miss Medici's words hit the nail on the head. We can't waste our youth on boring men."

It seems that the two have reached a rare consensus on the emotional aspect.

"Really, why do you all hate the opposite sex so much?" Margaret said she didn't understand.

And on this point, Bella can guess one or two.

Let's start with Elena. Ever since Valdraz met, Bella had been well aware that Elena's views on love and marriage had been greatly influenced by Mr. Cosimo, Elena's father. Because of the absence of his mother, Mr. Cosimo may not have such an intuitive expression of his daughter's feelings, so Elena has always had a negative attitude towards men as creatures. Incidentally, this has caused Mr. Holder a lot of suffering.

As for Miss Fremea, according to Margaret's previous account, Mr. Price, the elder Price, Fremea's father, Margaret's grandfather, often went to sea for adventures in his youth. Extrapolating from the timeline, the time when he was keen on treasures happened to be Margaret's father, Mr. Jean Noe Price, had just started a family, and Fremea was still in the cardamom period at that time, probably about the same age as Elena now, maybe even younger, or even about the same age as Anna.

In this way, it is not difficult to understand why the two of them are so like-minded in terms of their perception of the opposite sex.

In any case, Bella and the others are here to celebrate Fremea's birthday, and the topic of love or marriage is not the focus, at least nominally.

"Aha, don't come here unharmed!"

Bella and Elena heard a familiar voice and looked back, and sure enough, it was someone they knew.

"Pasteur, you're here to apply, too?" Elena asked.

"Huh? What are you applying for?" Monsieur Pasteur looked dazed.

"Ignore her." Bella took over, "Was Mr. Pasteur also invited by Mr. Price?"

"Well, to be honest, I came with the teacher." Mr. Pasteur replied, "Professor Pascal had been invited to the ball, but somehow he had to take me and Josep with him. Pierre should have been pulled up, but he had been so obsessed with studying that machine lately that he didn't come."

"It seems that Mr. Price's 'claws' have reached the University of Paris." Elena said meaningfully.

"This ......," Mr. Pasteur still couldn't grasp Elena's words, "it has something to do with our school?"

"Mr. Pasteur, you can go on something else." Bella said, "Just ignore her."

"Ugh...... Okay, then I'll go first." Mr. Pasteur bowed politely, "If there's anything to do, go find me over there."

With that, he returned to Professor Pascal.

"Mr. Price is so good that he even invited Professor Pascal here." Elena said, "Look at that, isn't it Count Altoa? Even the royal family came. And also, aren't those people from the club? Tsk, that's amazing......

After Elena said this, Bella discovered that the hall of this ball contained almost half of Paris's dignitaries, political celebrities and cultural elites. It's not so much that Mr. Price chooses a good match for his sister, but more like an exchange meeting for all walks of life.

At the same time, Bella noticed another familiar figure.

Although he changed into civilian clothes, it was still difficult to hide his resolute and resolute military temperament. Years of swordsmanship practice make the palms and knuckles look vigorous and powerful. Even with a goblet, it's like you're holding the hilt of a sword.

Mr. Murray was alone in the corner of the hall, not intending to communicate too much with the people around him. Until Bella and Elena came to say hello, he was silently tasting the red wine in his hand alone.

"I didn't expect to meet you here." Bella said.

"I didn't expect that." Murray replied, "Both of you are here for the ball?"

"Hmm. Miss Fremea is our friend's aunt, so we came to celebrate her birthday as well." Bella said, "Does Mr. Murray have a connection to the Price family?"

"Count...... Right?" Murray took a sip of the red wine in his hand and explained, "I spent some time in the Naval Fleet before I joined the Army. On one of my voyages, I had the good fortune to meet Mr. Price Sr."

"Huh? It should have been more than ten years, right?"

"Yes, I was a kid at the time, and I just had a playful mindset when I sailed with the Navy. Later, by chance, he was transferred to the Army, and he never had the opportunity to see Mr. Price again."

"It seems that Mr. Price has really found all the people he can think of this time." "Even Mr. Murray, who is in Aragon, has come from the Iberian Peninsula," Elena said.

"Actually, Mr. Price's invitation is one thing." Murray said, "I have business to come to Paris as well."

"Huh? Is it a diplomatic matter?" Elena asked.

Mr. Murray was part of the military in Aragon, the godson of Lady Isabel and the right-hand man of Ferdinand IV. If he had set foot on French soil, he would have represented almost the entire Iberian Peninsula.

"Hmm...... In any case, it is not an official diplomatic visit." Murray replied, "To be honest, the situation in Europe is tense at the moment, and Austria and Prussia may go to war again at any time. And France, as an ally of Austria, will certainly be involved. Britain, across the English Channel, would have supported Frederick II. Then, Spain became an important node on the western front of France. Fighting on two fronts was very bad for France. Therefore, the invitation to Versailles was received. I'm just going to come and check it out in advance, and then Iberia will decide whether to ally with France or not depending on the situation."