The implicit ridicule in Marquis Treville's tone made Alice feel a little embarrassed.
Of course she knew that her father-in-law wanted to bring Agnes and His Majesty together, and she would be happy to see it happen if His Majesty was unmarried. But now that he is already married and is about to have a child, what is the point of mentioning it again?
She was worried that doing so would embarrass her sister in front of the earl, and might even make her look like a shameless seeker of glory.
But she didn't dare to refute her father-in-law's words face to face, so she could only try to make up for it after hesitating for a moment.
"Agnes is also very proud to be His Majesty's friend. She feels that His Majesty is unparalleled among her generation and will definitely be able to create a great cause. If such a day comes, she will also be honored to be His Majesty's friend.
Yan."
Edmond Dantès did not notice the twists and turns between the general and Lady Alice. In order to complete the task assigned by His Majesty, he is obsessed with Miss Agnes and of course wants to seize every opportunity to get close to her.
"Speaking of which, I do miss Miss Agnes a little. Although there is a huge difference in status between us, Miss Agnes has always treated me with sincerity, which I admire very much. If there is a chance, I would like to do it again."
See her style with your own eyes."
Since the earl mentioned this, Alice couldn't refuse, so she nodded and agreed.
"Okay, I'll let Agnes contact you. However, Agnes has a very straightforward temper and sometimes doesn't know how to speak. If I offend you in any way, please forgive me..."
"Don't worry, I will never be hostile to Miss Agnes, nor would I dare to do so." Edmund replied with a smile, "After all, she can easily cut off my head, I have seen it before
She’s skilled.”
"Sir, who do you think she is!" Alice also laughed, and then protested coquettishly, "Agnes would never threaten others with violence. Swordsmanship is just an interesting skill for her.
It's not a way to bully others. Since you have been in contact with her for so long, you should know, right?"
"Although she has not threatened me, I have suffered enough at her hands, madam." Edmund laughed and replied, "Last time I came to Paris, Miss Agnes said she would teach me swordsmanship, so I had to give it a try.
After asking me for a while, I still have lingering fears when I think about it, and of course I am looking forward to learning more this time.”
"This stinky girl..." Upon hearing that her sister had so 'offended' one of His Majesty's trusted envoys, Alice was surprised and felt helpless, "She is so willful! I will definitely talk to her about it in the future."
"No, absolutely not. In my opinion, this kind of frankness is really the respectable and lovely thing about Miss Agnes." Edmund shook his head. "So unique and so dazzling, we may not be able to see it anywhere else."
Nowhere can be seen."
Seeing the count blowing her sister so hard, Alice couldn't help but blush slightly, but she also felt an indescribable pride, "Agnes is indeed very different, she is much better than me, and she will definitely be happy in the future."
No matter who she ends up with, she will be extremely lucky in her life."
...... Edmund didn't know what to say for a moment. As a close minister of His Majesty, of course he could know a little bit about His Majesty's "thoughts" about Miss Agnes, so he saw Alice looking proud and admiring at the moment.
, he actually felt a little bit unbearable.
However, the moment of unbearability quickly disappeared, and he remained politely silent, nodding in agreement with Alice's idea.
Then, Alice took the count to the guest's room to rest, and then returned to her father-in-law's study alone. At this time, General Treville was still teasing his granddaughter, with a kind smile on his face.
After hesitating for a moment, Alice couldn't help but ask.
"Father, why did you deliberately mention Agnes in front of the count?"
"Why can't you mention it? She is friends with the count and your majesty. They shared joys and sorrows together in Greece not long ago, and we have a certain friendship with each other. So moving her out can bring us closer to the count and your majesty.
"Relationship." The Marquis of Treville replied without looking up as he teased his granddaughter.
"But... your statement is too ambiguous." Alice retorted in a low voice, "If you don't know, you would think that the relationship between Agnes and Your Majesty is so close..."
"I'm just telling the truth. According to the information Edgar told me, His Majesty does have some sympathetic appreciation and admiration for Agnes. Isn't this normal? Agnes is already a natural among the young ladies in Paris.
She is highly respected." The Marquis of Treville replied coldly, "Besides, even if your Majesty has a closer relationship with her, what's the problem? This is an honor that no one can ask for."
Logically speaking, when the Marquis showed this expression, Alice would not argue anymore. She had always admired and feared her father-in-law, but she could not trust her sister alone.
"Some people will value reputation more than honor." She replied softly.
"What? Will being your Majesty's friend lose your reputation?" Marquis Treville finally raised his head, and then looked at Alice with a slight frown, "Then you think we have no reputation? We are His Majesty's servants."
"I didn't mean that..." Alice hurriedly defended herself, "I meant that Agnes shouldn't be so close to His Majesty, after all..."
"What, are you afraid that Agnes will do something indecent? Do you think she will do that?" asked the Marquis of Treville.
"No! With her character, how could she force herself to do that kind of thing?" Alice blurted out.
"Then what are you worried about?" Marquis Treville continued to ask, "Since Agnes will keep herself clean, there will be no issue of immorality at all. Do you still think that His Majesty will force her to do this regardless of dignity?
What's going on? If you really think so, you have simply demeaned both of them at the same time, two of the most outstanding young people of this generation in our country."
Alice was immediately speechless after being retorted by the Marquis of Treville.
Logically speaking, she didn't believe that Agnes would give in, let alone that His Majesty would really force her to do anything. So, in the end, what did she need to worry about?
She still vaguely felt that something was wrong, but she calmed down unconsciously, "Maybe I'm thinking too much, I'm just worried that something will happen..."
"What can happen? I think you are really overthinking." Marquis Treville disagreed at all, "Instead of worrying about these unattainable things in the future, it is better to think about how to complete the tasks assigned by His Majesty. This is more
More important."
After being coaxed and lectured by the Marquis of Treville, Alice was convinced. In other words, she subconsciously did not dare to believe the most terrifying possibility, so she would rather be persuaded by her father-in-law.
"Let Agnes be involved in these things, I'm afraid it will bring disaster to her..." She still had one final hesitation.
"Don't you know her well enough? How could she be afraid of any danger? If you face danger alone without calling her, that is something she will never forgive." Marquis Treville replied, "Besides.
, it doesn’t matter if you don’t have contact with the rest of your family, but you still have to deal with Agnes. Since she was the one who caused the trouble in the first place, isn’t it natural for her to bear part of the responsibility?”
"You can't say that..." Alice immediately defended her sister, "Agnes is not interested in these things. She was just eager to help for my sake."
"No matter what, having multiple helpers is always a good thing, and you can't do everything alone." Marquis Treville made the final decision, "As for the so-called risks, don't you think this actually reduces the risks?"
After hearing her father-in-law's explanation, Alice gradually became moved. Apparently she was temporarily convinced.
"I'll go call Agnes over. She hasn't come to visit for a long time..." After a moment of silence, she whispered.
The Marquis of Treville nodded, and an undetectable smile flashed in his eyes.
Alice said goodbye to him and walked out of the room, while the Marquis of Treville continued to tease his beloved granddaughter.
"My little darling...you must remember not to act emotionally, but to judge everything based on reason." After the door was closed, he whispered to his granddaughter.
Alice did keep her promise and sent a letter to her parents' house early the next morning.
Agnes, who was bored at home, suddenly received an invitation from her sister. Without any hesitation, she immediately dressed up and took a carriage to her sister's house.
After being informed by the servant, she ran straight to her sister's bedroom.
"Sister, long time no see!" She greeted her sister with a smile on her face.
"You are still so energetic, Agnes." Alice also smiled and greeted her sister.
Although her smile was very sweet, they were sisters after all, and Agnes soon noticed that her sister seemed to be worried.
"What? Did something bad happen?" she asked cautiously, "Is Xia Lu sick?"
"Not really, she's doing very well, and she's playing with her grandpa now." Alice still smiled, "It's true that I encountered some difficulties here."
"What's the matter? Just tell me." Agnes immediately confirmed, "Looks like you need my help?"
"There are no problems with father recently..." Alice did not immediately state her request, but asked a seemingly unrelated question first.
As soon as she heard this question, the smile on Agnes's face disappeared immediately, "Why do you ask, have you heard anything about it?"
"Then it seems something is really going on..." Alice smiled bitterly, as expected, "Did His Majesty the King reprimand his father recently?"
A grimace suddenly appeared on Agnes's face, looking extremely troubled. "Yes... Well... I am also responsible for this matter."
Once she heard her sister say this, Alice became even more aware, and she simply pointed it out. "Is it because of the Count of Monte Cristo?"
"Yes, that's it!" It was a family secret. Agnes would of course choose to keep it a secret from others, but she didn't have any scruples about her sister and just nodded and admitted, "Last time I brought Mr. Earl to our house.
, my father entertained him ceremoniously because of my reputation, and introduced the Count of Monte Cristo to many people... At first no one cared, after all, there are not many fresh faces in the Paris social scene? But a year later something big happened,
Someone discovered that among the vassals of the Kingdom of Ioannina, there was a person with the title Count of Monte Cristo... So some people with ulterior motives suspected that his father had colluded with the Bonaparte family. His Majesty the King even questioned him personally, and his father spent a lot of time.
It took a lot of effort to explain this matter... In order to protect me, he didn't say that I was the one who introduced it. He just asked a friend to take the responsibility, and he didn't know anything else."
Speaking of this, Agnes looked frightened again.
"Because of this, and because I left home for such a long time without any news, which made him worried, he was so angry that he almost went crazy. He scolded me severely several times and almost beat me. Hey, I gave
He brought such a big trouble, if he wanted to beat me, I would have to accept the beating, but fortunately he didn't have the heart to do it..."
Although what Agnes said was miserable, Alice still couldn't help laughing after hearing this. She could imagine her father's reprimanding but helpless look, which she had seen countless times in the past.
She suddenly felt nostalgic for her life before getting married.
"It's not your fault, Agnes, you also have good intentions. No one thought that things would develop like this..." After a moment, Alice sighed, "We are all just a lonely boat in the storm.
We can only let the stormy waves control us."
"Why are you so depressed all of a sudden?" Agnes was a little surprised. "It's all over. Dad has calmed down the storm. No one will hold him accountable. Although he was angry with me, he didn't beat me.
, is there anything else to feel emotional about?”
"Without the past, everything will not pass so easily." Alice shook her head dejectedly, "Agnes, I am different from you. I am now on this ship of the Treville family, and I must do my best.
It is my responsibility to make this ship ride the wind and waves without capsizing...because I am not alone, I have a husband and a daughter, and I can never accept them being left with nothing in the storm."
"Ah? What happened? Why did you make it so serious?" Agnes became even more nervous when she heard this, "Isn't someone coming to arrest the general...?!"
"It's not that serious. It's just that troubles are always following us. We can't get rid of them. Not only can we not get rid of them, but we should face them head on. Only in this way can we show our loyalty and value..." Alice sighed with emotion.
He became serious, "Agnes, the Count of Monte Cristo, is with us now, in the room next to you."