Anna sat quietly under the tree, leaning against the trunk, already asleep.

Bella leaned down, gently stretched out her arms, and carefully picked her up from the ground.

Anna closed her eyes and instinctively snuggled into Bella's arms.

Seeing this, Pasteur and Josep lowered their voices for fear of waking up the sleeping little fellow.

"Can I borrow a guest room?" Bella asked quietly.

"Come with me." Miss Margaret said and led Bella up to the second floor.

After entering a guest room, putting Anna on the bed, and covering the quilt, Bella and Margaret returned to the hall on the first floor.

Elena stepped forward to inquire about the situation.

"Let her sleep for a while." Bella said.

"Although it is safe for the time being, I still feel a little unsure if I don't catch the prisoner." Elena said with some concern.

"Is there any progress on Mr. Price?" Bella asked.

"Not yet." Elena replied, "The problem seems to be in a bind."

"It's a bit hard for him." Bella expressed understanding, "It's just that there's no better way to do it right now."

Although it is a little uncomfortable to put this matter on Mr. Price, everyone will not help much in this regard.

"If the prisoner had done something, he would have been able to catch it." Elena said, "But, so far, the other party doesn't seem to have moved."

"yes, that's kind of weird." Bella was also surprised.

Has the other side already discovered that the fuse of the explosives has been removed?

So far, apart from a few of them, no one has been outside.

"It won't be long before the feast ends. Could it be that the negotiations over there have been compromised?" Elena guessed.

If Monsieur Robespierre had reached an agreement with the other party, it was possible that the other party would not have acted.

"It's hard to say, but even if it's settled, we haven't heard anything from here, have we?" Bella said, "But speaking of which, after the banquet began, it seems that no one has been here halfway through except for Officer Christopher, right?"

"Yes." Miss Margaret said, "If anyone is found, the servants will report it."

"Could it be that you didn't receive the news, so you didn't dare to act rashly?" Elena said.

"No, this kind of thing is obviously arranged in advance, and it should be carried out by default without getting the news, right?" Bella analyzed, "Because the negotiation process may not be smooth, then the people here have to act on the opportunity. The explosives have already been arranged, and if no one comes to inform them of the completion of the negotiations by the end of the feast, then the people here will detonate the explosives—it makes sense."

It is not the order to "execute" that is waiting for it, but the order to "stop".

"In other words, if you don't hear from your companions, this side will detonate as planned?" Elena said, "So, by the end of the banquet at the latest, the other party will definitely take action, right?"

"That's how it should be." Bella nodded.

"Wouldn't that be hard to find?"

When it's over, everyone will go back to their own homes.

Even if the plan fails, as long as the horse's feet are not exposed, nothing happens to the right to work, and no prisoner can be found at all.

"I've always felt like something was wrong." Bella touched her chin thoughtfully.

Located on the southern outskirts of Paris, about a dozen miles from the city, it is almost an hour away. And the Palace of Versailles is in the western suburbs of Paris, even farther away. If the other party wants Monsieur Robespierre to transfer supplies, then the documents must be issued through Versailles, and there are many checkpoints to pass.

No matter how you look at it, it is impossible to complete these tasks in a short period of time. Even if Monsieur Robespierre had agreed to the other party's request for the time being, he could have sent someone to block the document at any time before it left Paris. The other side will not fail to consider this. On the other hand, as soon as Monsieur Robespierre gets the news, he will definitely send someone here to ensure safety, and things will turn against them.

The fact that the explosives were planted near the villa showed that sufficient preparations had been made for a long time, and Mr. Price had not yet noticed it. With such a meticulous layout, how could there be such an omission?

"Where's Officer Christopher?" Bella asked suddenly.

"Looks like I just went to contact my subordinates outside." Elena replied, "I think I'll be here to control the situation when the banquet is over."

There are so many explosives, and it is impossible for Mr. Pasteur to be eliminated alone.

Wait, so many explosives -

How did you get here without knowing it?

It is difficult for such a dangerous thing to escape the scrutiny of Paris.

Was it shipped directly from the outside?

It would be overkill to threaten Monsieur Robespierre with so many explosives. There are more quick ways to kidnap his daughter, so why bother?

With so many explosives, not only is it troublesome to arrange, but it is even more so when it is dismantled-

Could it be that the other party didn't want to deal with the aftermath in the first place?

Perhaps, the other party has already decided to detonate the explosives?

In this villa, it's not just Mr. Price throwing a birthday party for his sister. The younger generation of several aristocratic families, the leaders of the business community, the cultural elite of the University of Paris, some members of the French royal family, and the Jacobins under the influence of Madame Roland, the Girondists and Robespierre, all gathered together important figures from half of Paris.

If there is nothing but something now, it will be enough to shake the entire European continent.

But because there are all the forces here—plus Mr. Murray and other representatives from the Iberian Peninsula—if they do anything, they will be the enemy of half of Europe.

Even Prussia and England could not have been completely reckless.

In the absence of a primary beneficiary, such an act would be meaningless.

And, in fact, the explosives never detonated.

Could it be that they didn't intend to detonate it in the first place?

Thinking of this, Bella quickly left the banquet hall and came outside.

Officer Christopher just returned.

"I've got it all figured out." "Once the identity of the other party is confirmed, the arrest operation can be carried out immediately, and the explosives can be removed at the same time."

"Officer Christopher, can I ask you something?" Bella asked.

"What's that?"

"What were you busy with before you came here, to be precise, before you learned of this case from Monsieur Robespierre?"

"You mean, this afternoon?" Officer Christopher was puzzled, why did he suddenly ask this question?

"I heard Mr. Price say that you and Monsieur Robespierre were the only ones who did not show up for the appointment. And Monsieur Robespierre must have received the threatening letter after that, right? In other words, you couldn't come to the banquet because of something else, right?" Bella asked further.

"Hmm." The officer hesitated, "You mean, don't you ......?"

"What were you up to?"

"This ......," Officer Christopher looked a little embarrassed, but after a moment of struggle, he decided to tell the truth, "I won't tell you that there was a theft at the Palace of Versailles."

"The theft of Versailles?"

Bella vaguely recalled that Miss Robespierre seemed to have mentioned the matter to Monsieur Price as well.

"Is Monsieur Robespierre also busy with this?" Bella continued.

"That's right." Officer Christopher replied, "At that time, we were discussing the next steps."

"May I ask what is missing?"

"Maps."

"What map?"

"Map of Paris." "To be precise, a map of the defenses of the various districts of Paris and the layout of the tunnels," said Officer Christopher.

"Could it be that someone is going to attack Paris?" Bella asked, "But even if you had a map, it's unlikely that you wouldn't be able to do it without enough troops, right?"

Moreover, the arming situation can be changed at any time. If a large force approached, it was impossible for the surrounding defenders to turn a blind eye.

"That's right, it's going to be difficult to attack Paris." Officer Christopher continued, "However, it is only possible to use the fabric of the city and destroy one or two departments. Wait! If that's the case......

Christopher's expression suddenly became anxious.

"But that's outrageous, isn't it?" The officer was still a little incredulous.

"But isn't that what we're doing now?" "Monsieur Robespierre is preoccupied with his daughter's affairs, and you have left the city of Paris and come here with your men," said Bella.

In other words, the defense of Paris is now unusually empty.

"But it's true that there's explosives buried here?"

"Imagine if it weren't for Mr. Pasteur, wouldn't you and your men still be busy dealing with explosives?"

Not everyone has Mr. Pasteur's skills. Moreover, it would have taken a long time just to find out where the explosives were buried – if it had not been for the "Laplace Detector" invented by Monsieur Pierre.

Of course, if it weren't for Anna's reminder, Bella might not have noticed.

"The other party did not hesitate to go to great lengths to lure us away, what is it for?" Officer Christopher muttered to himself.

"Since it was so carefully arranged, and they did not hesitate to plant enough real explosives here, then the other party's purpose must be worth it."

"But if I leave now, what happens here......

"Don't worry." "Now that Mr. Pasteur has dismantled the detonator, it's safe at least for a short time."

"Hmm...... Alright then, I'll rush back to Paris right away." With that, Officer Christopher walked out the door briskly and disappeared into the night.